[nitsuja]

Is it allowed to exit via Knuckles' route in Lava Reef 2 when playing as Sonic or Tails, or are such times invalid? I ask because that exit gives no act completion screen, and I remember there being some rule about that screen needing to be visible if the level normally displays it.

[yse]

It's fair game. That rule probably needs rewording.

[SadisticMystic]

This one's an oddity because Lava Reef 2 never actually displays a completion screen; only act 3 does.  The level has 2 exits, with each character only supposed to have access to one of these: one goes straight to act 4 (Hidden Palace) and is treated as a new level, and one dumps you into act 3 but is treated as a continuation of act 2.  Because you're completing a level that doesn't show completion (and which is clearly completable normally, though you usually have to use Knuckles to do that), I don't think that rule applies and you can claim a boss skip as valid.

[Spinballwizard]

I'm curious as to how that happens. (Though I haven't seen Sprint's TAS so if it's something in there I wouldn't know.) I tried doing it as Tails earlier, but got trapped by walls that only Knuckles can break. Is zipping (or whatever you want to call it) involved somewhere? </curious, not calling bs>

[nitsuja]

If you watch the newer S3&K TAS (this, although I plan to obsolete it soon) you'll see it. It can be done in real-time with Sonic. Tails isn't the right size to zip there, so skipping the boss with Tails is probably only possible in a TAS (because it would require going through both of the unbreakable walls using only spindashes).

EDIT: By the way, even though there are two extremely difficult moves in a row, you don't have to actually succeed at them in a row to skip the boss. Both of them can be retried ad infinitum until you get through, and you'd have to fail 10 or 20 times in a row to be slower than waiting through the boss fight. It's actually pretty easy compared to a lot of the tricks you guys do, I'm surprised nobody has beaten my time yet...