The main characters of this game are Sonic and his partner Tars, and at the beginning of the game you can choose Sonic, Tars or both; in this game, both have almost the same ability. In the two-player mode, the player controls Sonic, and Tars is controlled by the computer. A second player can join at any time to control Tars.

The game is divided into several levels, and each level is divided into one to three chapters. In the last chapter of each level, the player will face off against the villain Dr. Egghead. Some of the levels have unique designs, such as the Emerald Hill Zone, which has a spiral cycle, and the Chemical Plant Zone, which has a gas pedal that allows players to speed up.

Sonic and Tars through the jump rotation to beat the enemy. This work added a new skill "Super Dash Attack" (Super Dash Attack), the player will control the character will rotate, curl into a ball, and fast forward attack. If you run into an enemy, fall off a cliff or exceed the ten-minute game time limit without a gold ring, the player will lose a life and start over from the previous checkpoint. Death with no lives remaining ends the game.

Special levels are available when players collect more than 50 gold rings in a level and pass a checkpoint. Players have to advance in a 3D-like tube road, collect gold rings and avoid bombs. If you accidentally touch a bomb, you will lose ten gold rings and your speed will be temporarily slowed down. There are three checkpoints, and if the required number of gold rings is not reached when passing the checkpoints, the level will end; if the player successfully passes all three checkpoints, the player will receive a Chaos Gem. There are seven special levels in the game, and the difficulty increases with the number of special levels completed; if you cannot complete the previous level, you cannot move on to the next level. When the special level ends, the player will return to the checkpoint used to enter the special level and the number of gold rings will return to zero.

When the player collects all Chaos Gems, selects Sonic to play the level, and collects 50 gold rings in the level, he can transform into Super Sonic. Super Sonic's maximum speed, acceleration rate and jump height will be increased and he will be immune to all enemy attacks. Super Sonic will lose one gold ring per second, and if the number of gold rings reaches zero, Sonic will change back to his original form.

In addition to the single player and normal two-player mode, the game also has a "two-player race mode". In this mode, the screen is divided into two, two players are racing in the same general level or special level; when one player reaches the end, the other player must complete the level within one minute, otherwise the game will directly settle the score. In the normal level, the game will compare the scores of two players, completion time, the number of gold rings and other five elements of the game, the player who wins three of them wins. In the special level, the player with the most gold rings wins. The game ends when all levels are finished, or when one player loses all lives.