Upgrade Locations

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Sonic Adventure 2 Character Upgrade Locations

Sonic Adventure 2 contains special upgrades that are available to Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Dr. Eggman, and Rouge. While most are unique to each character, all characters can receive the Mystic Melody which are useful for completing most of the characters' "Find the chao" mission. There are a total of 28 upgrades that can be obtained through out the game. Initially you won't be able to retrieve some upgrades when you first play some stages and you may have to backtrack to get some of these upgrades, as some have requirements in order to acquire. This can be done by using Stage Select to go back and pick up any missing upgrades. If you still have trouble finding them, a video walkthrough can be found in each spoiler under their name.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic receives the most upgrades with a total of six. They are listed below.

Spoiler! (click here to reveal)

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Sonic Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Sonic Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube

Light Shoes

• Purpose: Allows Sonic to use Light Dash, enabling him to race across a trail of rings.
• Requirements: None.
• Location: Metal Harbor. After the first Point Marker, find the area near the beginning in which you must do the homing attack on the robots floating in the air. Once you land on the platform past them, you should notice there is nowhere to go, and all that is there, is a ring trail. You should notice a tower with a pulley in it. Jump on this pulley to go up the tower. Once up there, you should find the Light Shoes. Use these to get across the ring trails!
• Required For: Strictly speaking, nothing in the story requires this--you can manage everything except the final mission of Crazy Gadget without it (though you won't be able to get an A rank for Metal Harbor's second mission). However, the player is certainly meant to rely on this upgrade at points in both Metal Harbor and Crazy Gadget.
  Equivalent: Shadow's Air Shoes

Magic Gloves

• Purpose: Allows Sonic to use Magic Hands, enabling him to turn any enemy into a ball which he can then throw at another enemy. This move must be selected by pressing the button followed by the button.
  
• Requirements: In order to get this with any semblance of consistency you'll want the Flame Ring and Bounce Bracelet already collected.
  
• Location: City Escape. After the loop and wall run in City Escape, you should end up in an area with a staircase, and two poles that you swing on (one in hard). If you look on the ground, you will notice 4 metal containers. Simply do the bounce attack on these containers to bust them open. The Magic Gloves will be inside.
  
• Required For: Nothing. It's purely a novelty item to make Sonic's life easier when dealing with enemies.
  
• Equivalent: None

Ancient Light

• Purpose: Allows Sonic to use Light Attack, enabling him to charge up and destroy many enemies in a row.
  
• Requirements: None
  
• Location: Green Forest. After you come off the second loop (half loop), you should hit springs and bounce onto the platform. When you land, run to the right, and you should find a 10 Ring capsule. If you get close enough to the edge here, you should see one of the flying enemies. Simply do a homing attack on him, the item capsule behind him, and the item capsule behind that. This should land you on another platform where you will see the Ancient Light.
  
• Required For: Nothing. It's purely a novelty item to make Sonic's life easier when dealing with enemies or overhead item boxes.
  
• Equivalent: Shadow gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Bounce Bracelet

• Purpose:Allows Sonic to use Bounce Attack. It comes in useful both as an attack and getting to high places.
  
• Requirements: None
  
• Location:Pyramid Cave. Allows you to bounce after jumping so you can reach higher platforms.
  This one is very simple to get. Simply stay on the correct path through out the stage. If you do so, you should run right into it.
  
• Required For: The final missions of Green Forest and Crazy Gadget. Everything that nominally asks for a bounce in story mode can be circumvented, but there are places in Pyramid Cave and Final Rush where it's far more convenient to have it.
  
• Equivalent: None

Flame Ring

• Purpose: Allows Sonic to break steel containers with a Somersault or Bounce Attack.
  
• Requirements: None
  
• Location: Crazy Gadget. After the second hyper-warp tube, you should end up on the ceiling of a room. Simply run to the other end (beware of the blue enemies awaiting you), and press the switch to drop to the ground. You should notice 3 metal containers in your way. Turn around and run to the back wall, then go right. There should be a spring waiting for you. Bounce up onto the above platform. There should be a set of metal containers in a "U" shape. The Flame Ring will be in the center. Use it to bust the metal containers.
  
• Required For: Completing Crazy Gadget, which makes it the only one of Sonic's upgrades to be truly intractable during story mode.
  
• Equivalent: Shadow gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Mystic Melody

• Purpose: Allows you to open up new paths or shortcuts when played at the ancient shrines.
  
• Requirements: None, except that the Flame Ring is incidentally needed to get to this point in the story.
  
• Location: Final Rush. This upgrade is kind of challenging. Mainly due to the difficulty of explaining where it is. When you read the area with a lot of grinds, stay straight and keep going until you reach an area where you take the speed boosts up a grind, then hit a spring. You should land on a platform with two grinds. A purple/yellow grind, and a orange/yellow grind. Take the orange/yellow grind. Make sure you crouch while going down it. You should go down it, then fly off at one point, and land on a platform with a rocket on it. This rocket takes you to a 1-Up. From there, jump to the platform below that. You should see a spring, and a animal on it. Go up the spring. Follow the platform, grind up the railing. Then land on another platform. You should see a ancient shrine, and past that the Mystic Melody.
  
• Required For: Nothing. All of Sonic's lost Chao missions can be managed without this; the most challenging to go without is probably City Escape.
  
• Equivalent: Every character gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

[FeLizP]

Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow receives four different upgrades, all of which Sonic also has or at least an equivalent to.

Spoiler! (click here to reveal)

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Shadow Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Shadow Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube

Air Shoes

• Purpose: Allows you to dash through a line of rings.
• Requirements: None
• Location: White Jungle. After reaching the area where there are 4 crates in your way, bust through them, and follow the path. You should come out and swing on a vine. When you come off the vine, you'll end up on a platform. In normal mode, there are 2 enemies here, and a chao. Note the crate on the right side. Bust the crate open and drop down. You should find the Air Shoes here.
• Required For: Nothing. White Jungle is slightly tougher to complete without having this item, and significantly so in the final mission (as well as Final Chase's 3rd mission--though see Mystic Melody below), but it's entirely manageable.
• Equivalent: Sonic's Light Shoes

Flame Ring

• Purpose: Allows Shadow to break steel containers with a Somersault
• Requirements: None (Air Shoes)
• Location: Radical Highway. Simply run through the board until you come to an area with a stack of wooden containers. You should also see a "Road Closed Ahead" sign on the right side, along with a pulley. Simply jump up these wooden containers, or take the pulley up, and continue on the platform. You should bounce up onto another highway. Rather than run forward, turn back and you should see a spinning object, do the somersault underneath it. Then there is a chao, waiting to talk to you. Simply use the Air Shoes to go down the line of rings, and you should run into a spring and bounce up, landing right in front of the Flame Ring. Alternatively, the gap is small enough that jumping it without a light dash is comparatively simple.
• Required For: Nothing. There's one part in the final mission of White Jungle where Shadow is faced with a blockade of metal boxes, but it's possible to squeeze around the sides. Nothing else even comes close to requiring this item.
• Equivalent: Sonic gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Ancient Light

• Purpose: Allows Shadow to use Light Attack, enabling him to spin charge to gather energy then release on the enemies.
• Requirements: None
• Location: Sky Rail. This is located at the beginning of the stage. Simply follow along until you reach the area in which you find the first rocket. Don't take the rocket, rather jump across and do a homing attack on the nearby enemy. Now land and run to the chao box. Get near the edge, or just jump high up in the air and go over the edge. A line of enemies should appear, do the homing attack on them, you should finally hit a spring to bounce you up to the top where you will find the Ancient Light.
• Required For: Nothing--it's purely a novelty item to make Shadow's life easier when dealing with enemies or overhead item boxes.
• Equivalent: Sonic gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Mystic Melody

• Purpose: Allows you to open up new paths or shortcuts when played at the ancient shrines.
• Requirements: None
• Location: Final Chase. Follow this stage until you reach the area with the 3 holes you can jump in. After jumping into the center hole and coming out, you should end up near the huge area of vertical gravity tubes. Simply work your way from each tube to the next. You should end up near a tube that has an electric field around it. Jump to that tube and go to the top. From there, you should see the Mystic Melody.
• Required For: Nothing. All of Shadow's lost Chao missions can be managed without this; the most challenging to go without, by a significant margin, is Final Chase.
• Equivalent: Every character gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Miles Tails Prower
Tails can receive four upgrades. Even though he has five stages, one of his stages does not have an upgrade.

Spoiler! (click here to reveal)

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Tails Upgrades (Re-Upload) [German Subs] - YouTube Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Tails Upgrades (Re-Upload) [German Subs] - YouTube

 


Laser Blaster

• Purpose: Upgrades the Homing Missile to have a larger attack pattern.
• Requirements: Bazooka, which in turn demands the Booster.
• Location: Prison Lane. Right next to the Goal Ring there is a room behind a set of bars. To open them, you must destroy the GUN Beetle that's hiding in the upper left-hand corner.
• Required For: Nothing--it's purely a novelty item to make Tails' life easier when dealing with groups of enemies.
• Equivalent: Eggman gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Booster

• Purpose: Allows the Cyclone to hover.
• Requirements: None.
• Location: Mission Street. After exiting the first tunnel, you should come out onto the highway. The road in front of you should drop due to an earthquake. Drop down onto it and run to the cross section. You should see a purple sign pointing to the right. Go left and the Booster should be waiting for you.
• Required For: Completing Mission Street, as well as Hidden Base and Eternal Engine later on in the story.
• Equivalent: Eggman's Jet Engine.

Mystic Melody

• Purpose: Allows you to open up new paths or shortcuts when played at the ancient shrines.
• Requirements: Bazooka
• Location: Hidden Base. Near the beginning of the stage, there should be an area where you enter a building and go down a small hallway before coming outside. When you go through here, and come to the outside, you should continue forward a bit before turning left. When you do, there should be a checkpoint near there. After that, continue forward, and you should end up in an area full of blocks in the sand. Follow these along the left side until you reach a building you destroy, then use a pulley to get on top of. Continue on until you reach an area where there are bomb-throwing monkeys. Kill the monkeys and continue on. You should now be at a area with a lower platform below you. Go onto this lower platform and go to the end. There should be 4 metal containers blocking your way. Simply blow them away and enter. The Mystic Melody should be inside.
• Required For: Nothing. All of Tails' lost Chao missions can be managed without this; the most challenging to go without, by far, is Eternal Engine.
• Equivalent: Every character gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Bazooka

• Purpose: Upgrades the Volcan Cannon so that it can destroy steel containers.
• Requirements: Booster.
• Location: Eternal Engine. Go through the board until you reach an area with a long bridge and a blue blob type enemy at the end of it. The best method here is to kill the enemy and destroy the bridge. This will drop you to a platform below. Here you should find a platform with a switch on it. Hit the switch and find one of the springs to launch you up. Land on the platform with a capsule on it and it should ascend to the top, allowing you to enter a doorway. Inside should be the Bazooka.
• Required For: Nothing. There's a roadblock near the end of Eternal Engine that can't be torn down without this, but it can be circumvented along with most of the rest of the stage. Unless you're familiar with how to do this, though, you'll want the upgrade for that point.
• Equivalent: Eggman's Large Cannon.

[FeLizP]

Doctor Eggman
Doctor Eggman has five different upgrades, more than the other two characters in his alignment.

Spoiler! (click here to reveal)

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Eggman Upgrades (Re-Upload) [German Subs] - YouTube Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Eggman Upgrades (Re-Upload) [German Subs] - YouTube

Jet Engine

• Purpose: Allows the Egg Walker to hover.
• Requirements: None
• Location: Lost Colony. Allows you to hover after jumping.
• Continue through the stage until you get to a room that is a big circle with no exit. When you enter this room, go to the left and follow the path until you turn again. You should find some metal containers in here that allow you to go up. There is only one set goes all the way up. Follow it up and you should find the Jet Engine.
• Required For: Completing Lost Colony, as well as Weapons Bed and Cosmic Wall later on in the story, and the 3rd missions of Iron Gate and Sand Ocean.
• Equivalent: Tails' Booster.

Laser Blaster

• Purpose: Upgrades the Homing Missile so that it has a larger attack pattern.
• Requirements: Either the Jet Engine, or the Large Cannon (which in turn incidentally demands the Jet Engine). Note that without Large Cannon, you won't be able to do anything except restart after collecting it.
• Location: Iron Gate. Right after the second Point Marker, there will be a room with four ring jars in the middle. In the room are two water tanks. Destroy them and it will reveal four steel containers destroy them and go straight towards the Laser Blaster.
• Required For: Nothing--it's purely a novelty item to make Eggman's life easier when dealing with groups of enemies.
• Equivalent: Tails gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Mystic Melody

• Purpose: Allows you to open up new paths or shortcuts when played at the ancient shrines.
• Requirements: Jet Engine
• Location: Sand Ocean. This is very simple to get. Right at the beginning, on the first spinning platform, go to the left. You must jump and use your Jet Engine to glide your way to the platform. From there, the Mystic Melody is right in front of you.
• Required For: Iron Gate's 3rd mission. Solutions to reach the lost Chao without this item exist in Lost Colony, Weapons Bed, and Cosmic Wall, while it's not even nominally asked for in Sand Ocean.
• Equivalent: Every character gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Large Cannon

• Purpose: An upgrade to the Volcan Cannon so that it can destroy steel containers.
• Requirements: None, except that the Jet Engine is incidentally needed to get to this point in the story (and will be required for the level in any case shortly after this item).
• Location: Weapons Bed. The path straight ahead will have a stack of steel containers, too high to jump over. Go into the center room in the building to the left. The Large Cannon while be behind the door.
• Required For: Nothing in the story--the stack of metal containers can be circumvented in order to advance past the first carrier, as can all similar roadblocks later on. There's finally a blockade of boxes in Iron Gate's final mission can can't be bypassed over or around, marking the one point where this item is required.
• Equivalent: Tails' Bazooka.

Protective Armor

• Purpose: Gives the Egg Walker more health points (an increase of 1/7 of its original health bar, about 14%).
• Requirements: Jet Engine.
• Location: Cosmic Wall. When you get past the second checkpoint, there should be an area where you go up from platform to platform. You should then go over a wall and start free falling. On your way down, go to the left side, and you should see a platform with a rocket on it on your way down. Land on this platform and shoot off the rocket. It will bust some cages, allowing you to reach the Protective Armor. After the cages are busted, hover over to the platform and collect your armor. Your life guage should now be bigger, and when full, will be a dark blue rather than a light blue.
• Required For: Nothing--it's purely a novelty item to allow Eggman to take more hits
• Equivalent: None.

[FeLizP]

Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles has a total of five upgrades.

Spoiler! (click here to reveal)

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Knuckles Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Knuckles Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube

Shovel Claw

• Purpose: Allows Knuckles dig in the ground or on walls.
• Requirements: None.
• Location: Pumpkin Hill. As soon as the mission begins, the Shovel Claw lies on the platform directly in front of you.
• Required For: Completing Pumpkin Hill. The first time you go through the level in story mode, the game will only allow the final piece to appear in locations that require digging, to ensure that you've picked up this item before moving on.
• Equivalent: Rouge's Pick Nails

Air Necklace

• Purpose: Allows Knuckles to breathe underwater.
• Requirements: None, except that the Shovel Claw is incidentally needed to get to this point in the story.
• Location: Aquatic Mine. Set the water level to No. 3 first. Go down into the underwater brick room. Take the dash panel that lead to a room with many wooden 2-by-4s. Dive down deeper and you will find another brick room with a narrow vertical tunnel. Begin to surface there and you should find the Air Necklace. Be sure to move fast as you could run out of air.
• Required For: Nothing. The player was meant to have this before tackling the 3rd or final missions of Death Chamber, but it's possible to do without. Nothing in Aquatic Mine or Cannon's Core was designed to require this item, but it was meant to aid significantly in those levels nonetheless.
• Equivalent: None.

Hammer Gloves

• Purpose: Allows Knuckles to smash steel containers by punching, Drill Claw, or (in the case of overhead floating containers) Spiral Upper.
• Requirements: None, except that the Shovel Claw is incidentally needed to get to this point in the story.
• Location: Death Chamber. As soon as the mission starts, hit the hour glass in front of you. It will open the door that leads to a hallway. Once there, go to the first room on your right. The Hammer Gloves are right there.
• Required For: Nothing. As this upgrade is available almost immediately in the level, it was meant to be the mandatory first stop in the player's tour, with metal boxes blocking all three doorways out of the opening room.
• Equivalent: Rouge's Iron Boots.

Sunglasses

• Purpose: Allows Knuckles to see invisible objects, whether it be springs or item jars. It has to be a selected command on the small menu in the right hand corner of the screen.
• Requirements: None, except that the Shovel Claw is incidentally needed to get to this point in the story. Note that unless you have the Hammer Gloves (above) already, you won't be able to do anything except restart after collecting this item.
• Location: Meteor Herd. From your starting location, go to the center structure. Then go around to the opposite side so you are directly across the stage from your original location. You should see a meteor on a platform. Get on the other side of this. Now, get near the very edge, run to the meteor and hit the Button to punch it towards the center structure. If you do it right, it should hit the gray door with a red light on it. It will bust open and there will be a switch. Hit this switch and the top area will open up, allowing you inside. On the very bottom platform you will find the Sunglasses.
• Required For: Nothing. It's intended to be used to open up a path to one or more pieces in the final missions of Wild Canyon, Pumpkin Hill, Aquatic Mine, and Meteor Herd, but an alternative solution exists in every case.
• Equivalent: Rouge's Treasure Scope.

Mystic Melody

• Purpose: Allows Knuckles to activate the ruins found on stages.
• Requirements: None. The most straightforward way to obtain this upgrade demands having the Shovel Claw already, though.
• Location: Wild Canyon. From the start of the stage, jump on to the air lift. Once to the outside, go to the Lonely Statue. From there, jump onto the wall and climb up a bit. You should see one of the pictures that Knuckles can dig through. Dig through the picture (the oval image) and you should find the Mystic Melody on the other side
• Required For: Nothing, at least not in Dreamcast. All of Knuckles' lost Chao missions can be managed without this, except perhaps the GameCube version of Meteor Herd. The most difficult to go without on Dreamcast is probably Death Chamber.
• Equivalent: Every character gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

Rouge the Bat
Rouge has four different upgrades. Although she has five stages, one of the stages does not have any upgrades.

Spoiler! (click here to reveal)

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Rouge Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: All Rouge Upgrades (Re-Upload) - YouTube

Pick Nails

• Purpose: Allows Rouge to dig in the ground or on walls.
• Requirements: None.
• Location: Egg Quarters. Go into the Egg Fish Chamber. You will see that there is a room with bars blocking the door way. Use the missile to smash the bars. The Pick Nails are in that room.
• Required For: Completing Egg Quarters. The first time you go through the level in story mode, the game will only allow the final key to appear in locations that require digging, to ensure that you've picked up this item before moving on.
• Equivalent: Knuckles' Shovel Claw.

Treasure Scope

• Purpose: Allows Rouge to see invisible items, whether it be item jars or springs.
• Requirements: None, except that the Pick Nails are incidentally needed to get to this point in the story. The most straightforward path to this item additionally requires having Mystic Melody and Iron Boots already, and in fact if you obtain it without having Iron Boots, you won't be able to do anything except restart after collecting it.
• Location: Security Hall. In the C Block of the yellow floor level, there will be a ruin. Play the Mystic Melody and platforms will appear. The platforms lead to a hidden room blocked by steel containers. The Treasure Scope awaits on the other side.
• Required For: The final mission of Egg Quarters. Alternative solutions exist to the paths opened up by this item in the final missions of Dry Lagoon and Security Hall, and also in Security Hall's 3rd mission (to find the Chao).
• Equivalent: Knuckles' Sunglasses.

Iron Boots

• Purpose: Allows Rouge to smash steel containers via kicking, Drill Drive, or Screw Kick.
• Requirements: None, except that the Pick Nails are incidentally needed to get to this point in the story.
• Location: Mad Space. In the Dreamcast version, go down to the red-lighted launch pad. It will be the only one without a steel container over the switch. The rocket will take you to the Capsule Planet. From there, fly over to the Spherical Planet. The Iron Boots will be in the little house. In the GameCube version, head straight to the yellow-lighted launch pad that will take you directly to the Spherical Planet. The Iron Boots are in the same place.
• Required For: Nothing on Dreamcast; there was an intent for it to be required along with Mystic Melody en route to completing the 3rd missions of Dry Lagoon, Egg Quarters, and Mad Space, along with the final missions of Egg Quarters and Security Hall. However, all of these can be circumvented. On GameCube, the Mystic Melody can't be skipped in the 3rd mission of Mad Space, and so neither can the Iron Boots.
• Equivalent: Knuckles' Hammer Gloves.

Mystic Melody

• Purpose: Allows Rouge to activate the ruins found on stages.
• Requirements: None. The most straightforward way to obtain this upgrade demands having the Pick Nails already, though.
• Location: Dry Lagoon. It's in secret room 2, accessible by digging through the painting located below the first eastern wall ledge, in the Small Oasis.
• Required For: Egg Quarters' 3rd mission.
• Equivalent: Every character gets an identical copy of this upgrade.

[Clavat93]

thanks. nice guide dude
it would be nice if you post it a few years ago when i've played SA2B on my game cube xD
but now i have it on the cube and on xbox

[ScottHarris]

Thanks for this.