Tails isn't usually the one doing the heavy lifting. He’s the pilot. He’s the mechanic. He’s the kid brother who flies you back up when you fall off a platform in Sky Sanctuary. But for a brief, weird moment in the mid-90s, he became the most broken, overpowered character in the entire franchise. I’m talking about Super Tails, a transformation so rare that most modern fans think it's a glitch or a fan mod. It isn't. It’s a piece of genuine Sonic the Hedgehog history that SEGA seems terrified to touch again.
If you grew up with a Genesis, you know the drill. Sonic gets the seven Chaos Emeralds and turns gold. He’s fast, he’s invincible, and he’s basically a playable cheat code. But when Sonic 3 & Knuckles hit the scene in 1994, the stakes changed. This wasn't just another sequel; it was a massive, two-part epic. If you managed to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds and then went back into the Special Stages to get the seven Super Emeralds—basically giant, glowy versions of the originals—something incredible happened to the sidekick. Miles "Tails" Prower finally caught up.
The Flicky Army and the Power of the Super Emeralds
Most people don't realize how specific the requirements were for Super Tails. Unlike Sonic or Knuckles, who could go "Super" with just the standard set of seven emeralds, Tails stayed his regular, orange-furred self. To see him transform, you had to lock Sonic 3 onto the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge. Then, you had to grind through fourteen total Special Stages. It took forever. Honestly, it was a massive chore.
But the payoff? Ridiculous.
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When Tails transforms into his Super state, he doesn't just turn a brighter shade of yellow. He starts flickering with a high-contrast palette, and he gains a personal security detail. Four golden Flickies—those little birds you rescue from Badniks—begin circling his head. They aren't just for show. These birds are heat-seeking missiles. If a boss or an enemy enters the screen, the Flickies zip off and tear them to shreds. You don't even have to jump. You just stand there. Tails is basically a god of destruction while his tiny bird friends do the dirty work.
Why the Flickies are a Big Deal
In the lore of the 16-bit era, the Super Emeralds were supposed to be the "true" form of the gems, fueled by the Master Emerald. Because Tails is younger and perhaps less naturally attuned to chaos energy than a hedgehog or an echidna, the game designers at Sonic Team—led by Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara—likely felt he needed an extra boost to justify the transformation. It wasn't enough to just make him fast. They made him a commander of nature.
The birds actually make sense if you look at the 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog ending, where Flickies are the primary animal friends. By the time Sonic 3 & Knuckles rolled around, the Flicky had become a mascot in its own right. Giving Tails a "Flicky Army" was a nod to the series' roots. It's a shame we haven't seen it in 3D.
The Great Erasure: Where Did Super Tails Go?
After 1994, things got weird. SEGA started moving away from the Super Emeralds. They decided that the standard Chaos Emeralds were the "canon" limit. Because Tails can't transform with just the regular emeralds in the classic games, his Super form was effectively "de-canonized" for a long time.
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Look at Sonic Heroes. Look at Sonic Mania. In Heroes, when Team Rose or Team Sonic goes Super, Tails just gets a shiny golden bubble around him. He doesn't change color. He doesn't get his birds. It’s incredibly disappointing. Fans call this "Super Shield Tails," but let's be real—it’s a nerf.
Why did they do it? Complexity. Balance. Take your pick. If you give every character a Super form, Sonic loses his "special" status as the protagonist. But by doing that, SEGA alienated a huge portion of the fanbase who grew up thinking Tails was just as capable as his big brother.
The Mania Exception
When Sonic Mania dropped in 2017, Christian Whitehead and the team at Evening Star had a choice. Do they stick to the strict "Sonic-only" rule, or do they give the fans what they want? They chose the latter. Sorta. In Sonic Mania, Tails can finally use the seven Chaos Emeralds to transform, which was a huge shift from the Genesis era. But there's a catch. He still doesn't get the Flickies. He's just "Super Tails" in name and speed. It feels like a half-measure.
Comparing the Power Scales
If we’re being objective, the 1994 version of Super Tails is arguably the strongest character in the history of the 2D games.
- Super Sonic: Faster, invincible, but has to physically hit enemies.
- Super Knuckles: Can glide and climb faster, creates tremors when hitting walls.
- Super Tails (S3&K): Invincible, flies indefinitely, and has automated turrets (the Flickies) that kill things before they even reach him.
In a speedrun context, Super Tails is a monster. He trivializes bosses like the Great Eggman Robo because he can just hover at the bottom of the screen while the golden birds peck the boss to death. It’s hilarious to watch. It’s also probably why he’s been relegated to "non-canon" status in most modern lore discussions. He's too broken for his own good.
How to Actually Play as Super Tails Today
You don't need an old Genesis gathering dust in your attic to experience this. The most accessible way right now is Sonic Origins or Sonic Origins Plus. These collections feature the "Anniversary Mode" which supports widescreen and actually makes getting the emeralds a bit easier thanks to the "retry" tokens.
- Start a new game in Sonic 3 & Knuckles (within the Origins menu).
- Choose Tails as your character. Just him. No Sonic.
- Hunt for the giant rings in the first six zones.
- Once you hit Mushroom Hill Zone, the "Super Emerald" quest begins.
- Enter the Hidden Palace via the giant ring and step on the gray emeralds.
It's a grind. No doubt. But seeing those birds start circling Tails for the first time in 4K is a core memory for any platforming fan.
A Note on Mods
If you're on PC, the Sonic 3 A.I.R. (Angel Island Revisited) mod is the gold standard. It fixes some of the sprite layering issues and even allows you to customize how the Flickies behave. The fan community has done more to preserve Super Tails than SEGA has in thirty years. That’s just the reality of the situation.
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The Future of the Two-Tailed Wonder
Is there a chance we see a "Hyper Tails" or a return of the Flicky Army in a future 3D title like Sonic Frontiers or whatever comes next? Honestly? Probably not. SEGA has been very protective of the "Hedgehogs Only" rule for Super transformations lately. They want to keep the brand identity tight.
However, with the success of the Sonic movies and the Knuckles spin-off series, the writers are looking for ways to give the side characters more agency. We saw Tails using his gadgets and his wit, but we haven't seen him tap into the emeralds on the big screen yet. If they ever decide to go there, they'd be foolish not to include the Flickies. It’s the one thing that makes him stand out from the rest of the cast.
Super Tails represents a time when Sonic games were about more than just speed; they were about secrets and "true" endings that felt earned. He’s a reminder that even the sidekick can become a powerhouse if you're willing to put in the work to find those hidden rings.
To see Super Tails for yourself without the grind, your best bet is to check out high-level speedruns of Sonic 3 & Knuckles on platforms like Speedrun.com. Pay attention to the "100% All Emeralds" categories. Watching a player manipulate the Flicky AI to delete bosses in seconds is a masterclass in 90s game design. If you're playing the Origins collection, make sure to use the "Level Select" cheat (Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Up, Up on the sound test) if you want to skip the grind and just see the transformation in action. It's worth it just to see the orange blur take charge for once.