[JBertolli]

I watched a video on google getting past the goal ring. He doesn't get any rings past the goal ring but there is a very complicated and lucky strategy possible to get a few more rings!

First, get to the goal ring and start crazily flying into the right corner behind the goal. You should be able to get onto the floor soon enough. This is the lucky part. You must have cream fly up in the air more so that she is on top of an invisible floor above. Big should be on the ground the way he is in fly formation with amy inside him. Now try to fly and they will go to cream on the invisible floor :O Once you've done this, fly into the right corner of the wall and you should get through it! Now you can get more rings. I got two but unfortunately, I only had 201 rings before hand and only ended up with 203. I'm sure more than two is possible.

I have a video but it is only of me on the invisible floor and through the wall but not getting any rings. It won't show how to get onto the floor :/ I am going to try again as much as I can to get there with 440 rings and more!

EDIT: Yes!! I got 448 rings! I am predicting that 470 is possible: There is a balloon that maycontain 10 rings, a line of 10 rings, and two 5 ring containers. I HAVE VIDEOD THE WHOLE THING! In case someone doesn't understand.

EDIT 2: VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fC3dJy8CaY

I got there using a different strategy :/ Get lucky for Cream to say "cheese, get them!" Which I guess cheese attacks. I think it let me fly higher but this is probably random luck. I don't think the balloon is possible to get so I think 462 is the max (two 5 ring boxes and 12 loose rings).

[Tha CGS]

Hmm... y'know, this has provided me with a reason to return to Sonic Heroes for a little while. I put it on hold in favour of '06, to play something different from a while. But yeah, this sounded too interesting to hold up on. And I've also gotta try the Chaotix wall thing still, which I haven't done since Marth posted the vid on how to do it Xp

One thing I found intriguing was, there is a piece of the invisible floor you stand on before getting into the elevator shaft that sticks out into it. So, you can actually land and take off again if you're low on the flight guage, without having to go back inside and get back out to the shaft. Shame that it still doesn't allow you to reach the balloon, so I would have to agree with JB that 462 is the limit here. I'll probably make a vid of my own at some point showing this piece of the floor you can stand on while still having free access to the shaft.

**EDIT: OKs... with how tedious my method of recording videos from my X-Box 360 is for me, I've chosen not to for now. Instead, I've taken a picture of the screen with Team Rose standing on that piece of the invisible floor I was talking about:

Click here for picture.

The spot isn't too far away from the inside area, but it isn't too big, so you have to be careful.

Also, as you can see here, I've got 450 rings. I actually managed to get 453 before I 'chickened out'. A few times, in pursuit of getting the second monitor and the further back rings of the 12 loose ones, I went too far into the shaft and couldn't return, generally leading to inevitable death. However, I am wanting to experiment something with the proper entrance to the elevator shaft, since one time I was able to save myself by landing there. The invisible floor you go on to get out there blocks getting back in this way, or at least it seems to, but I think there may be a way to get back in if you land here. Maybe with this, I can try getting more rings, with having some more courage to venture out.

[JBertolli]

I think I've found how to do this pretty easily. Get on the second floor and fly again so that you are almost to the invisible floor. Whenever I alternate A and B here, I get right up to the invisible floor.  It helps to use you thumb for the control stick towards the corner, and you right middle and index finger for A and B. And you don't want to go too far past the elevator wall or you won't get back.