The key to getting an A rank in Knuckles' and Rouge's stages are to get whatever the game wants you to get as fast as possible and use only one or zero hints. You see, the game will give you a bonus for finding an item quickly and with little to no hints. For example, if you find an item in under a minute, the game will give you 2000 points. However, if you use a hint, you'll get either 1500 or 1000 points. If you get an item in over a minute and use no hints, you'll get 1000 points. This bonuses will make it very, very easy to get an A rank. Needless to say, this is much easier said than done.

The best way to do this is to develop a route that'll let you quickly explore the major areas and see if your radar will ping. If you do the run through and nothing pops up, restart. Keep doing this until your radar goes off in one of the rooms you explore. Later on I'll talk about some routes I use when I go for an A rank.

Unlike other characters, enemies barely matter when going for an A-rank. The points they give is minimal compared to the whopping 2000 or 1000 points you get for finding an item quickly.

If you're starting off a level, its okay to grab a hint if you feel you really need it. As long as you get at least one or two Perfects (2000 points) for an item, you should still be able to get an A-rank, depending on the mission and the time you think it'll take to complete the level.

The Gold Robot isn't really needed, unlike Sonic and Shadow's stages. If you run into him, take him out, but don't search an entire level for him. The time you spend looking for him isn't worth the reduced bonus for finding an item.

However, if you're getting less points then you want (like it took longer to find an item than you expected and you only got 1000 points instead of 2000), then destroy the Gold Robot if you can. The 1000 points from him can compensate for the points you lost because it took too long to find an item.

Here's a list of routes I use to get an A-rank. If you can't find anything at the end of each section, reset and try again.

Quickly run across the lower indoor area, then climb up and check the upper indoor area. Then, hop into the wind tunnel. Check if your radar pings in the upper center outdoor area. If not, check each of the wings.

From start, go right and use a rocket to go up Church Mountain. From there, glide to the largest mountain and climb up it. If you get nothing, then float to the part of the level that has the ghost train control buttons. When you get there, check the upper area, then the lower.

From start, go up and hit the switch that removes the water. From there, run around on each level. If your radar hasn't pinged, explore the mineshafts on the bottom two floors.

This is a big map, but a good way is to quickly check each of the colored rooms. I recommend going into the colored room, quickly checking it out, then going back and using the side paths to reach the next colored room. The game tends to hide keys in the side paths, which is why it's good to use them to travel between the colored rooms instead of heading straight through the colored rooms to the core.

Note that the side paths will usually dead-end at one point. In that case, simply go back to the last colored room you were in and go through it to enter the core area.

Go to the building in the center of the map and look for a platform with a rocket on it. Use the rocket. When you get off the rocket, look for a spring and use it. It'll lead you to a rocket that'll send you to the uppermost part of the level. After getting there, glide around the uppermost part and see if your radar goes off.

First, save the turtle by destroying the robots near it. From there, probe the lower area, then climb up to the upper part. If you can't find anything, use the turtle to go to the second part of the level. Check the center of the water area, then check the left and right branches.

Do what I suggested in Death Chamber; quickly check each colored room, then use the side paths in each colored room to move between them. As with Death Chamber, the game tends to hide keys in both the colored rooms and the side paths. Make sure to run and avoid as many enemies as possible.

From start, either go forward and take a left, then take another left at the corner to find a rocket, or go straight and take a right, then climb up the wall you see at the end of the path.

No matter what path you use, reach the top floor. Now, glide around the perimeter of the vault area. If nothing pops up, look for the platform with the pulley on it near the top of the vault area. Use the pulley to get to the laser beam room. Check the laser beam room.

From start, run forward and activate the rocket. Now, hop on the rocket and ride it up. Check the planet you land on, then use the rocket on the Holy Planet (the one with the big crater on the top) and ride it to the uppermost area in the level. Check the uppermost area.

The best way to get an A rank for the 100 ring missions is to plot out a route that lets you quickly find all of the ring item capsules in a level. The ring capsules are essential to getting an A-rank because of how many rings you can get from each item capsule.

Of course, don't forget to pick up rings scattered around. :)

Getting an A-rank for the Lost Chao missions are simple. First, find the Chao (using guides is okay :) ). Now, go back to the mission and make a beeline for the Chao. Knuckles and Rouge are fast enough that you can easily get to the Chao well under the A-rank time.

An A-rank in Hard Mode is actually easier than getting an A-rank in other missions. This is because the item locations never change in Hard Mode. Basically, all you need to do is complete it the first time, the immediately redo it and make a beeline for each item. Since you know where each one is, getting 2000 bonus points per item and a nice time bonus is simple.