All collection keys in Rail Canyon in Sonic

Sonic Collection Keys are scattered throughout Shadow's seven stages, with a total of 18 found in all stages except the final one (which only has six). Players looking to unlock the many chests scattered across the void will need to keep track of every last key.

Three of these keys can be found in each act of the stage, and the remaining 12 can be found in the challenge missions of each stage. Rail Canyon is the second stage of Shadow. Sonic Compared to Space Colony Ark, it does a much better job of hiding some of the collection keys. This guide explains how to find all 18 collection keys.

How to find all collection keys in Rail Canyon Act 1 in Sonic

Rail Canyon Act 1 is a fast, frantic race across the railroad tracks leading to Eggman's Base. Once you've gained access to the Doom Wings, it's much easier to access all of the collection keys in this section, so we recommend revisiting this guide once you've obtained them.

How to get the green collection key in Rail Canyon Act 1 in Sonic

The first collected key in this act is very easy to access. At the start of the act, it is at the end of the rightmost rail of the rail section. Make sure to stay to the right as you take this first set of rails. Then you'll crash without even trying.

How to get the blue collection key in Rail Canyon Act 1 in Sonic

The blue collection keys require a bit more setup and are easiest to access using Doom Wings. When riding the rail shown in the first image above, stay in the center and collect items that can refill your Chaos Control meter. As soon as you grab the item, use this ability to stop approaching enemies from destroying some rails, then jump on the left or rightmost rail and launch yourself into the air. This will take you to the rail shown in image 2, which you need to ride until you see another rail on the left.

Go to that rail to reach the boost ring. As you fire downwards, activate your Doom Wings to interrupt your fall and immediately glide forward and up the tunnel. The blue collection key is here.

How to get the yellow collection key in Rail Canyon Act 1 in Sonic

The final collected key of this stage is found near Golling. To start, you need to move to the leftmost or rightmost rail in the grinding section shown in image 1. You then complete the ensuing train dodge sequence, ride the rails to the end and are launched into the air. The yellow collection key is on one of the rooftops, so you'll need to land on top of the falling hangar, so land on it to get it and then use the rooftop to easily get to the exit.

How to Find All Collection Keys in Rail Canyon Act 2 in Sonic

The collection keys in Rail Canyon Act 2 are fairly easy to access, but some require good use of Chaos Control to access them.

How to get the yellow collection key in Rail Canyon Act 2 in Sonic

To get your first collection key, you'll need to start the level and take the highest path possible until you reach the switch shown above. Jump into it and create a railroad track that will take you right to the Collection Key.

How to get the blue collection key in Rail Canyon Act 2 in Sonic

To get this collection key, you'll need to reach the section shown in image 1 and climb to the top of the destructible scaffolding (use Chaos Control if necessary to avoid breaking before you reach the top). Use the boost ring here. It is launched directly with the blue collection key.

How to get the green collection key in Rail Canyon Act 2 in Sonic

Once you reach the section shown in image 1 and the chaos control bar is full, the green collect key is really easy. If you use Chaos Control to stop the train, you won't have to knock down the scaffolding and then jump to the highest point. Scaffolding layers and grind rails will take you right there.

How to get the Challenge Act Collection Key in Rail Canyon in Sonic

Rail Canyon's four challenges offer keys to collect, so here's a quick breakdown of how to find all of the available keys.

How to get the Collection Key in Rail Canyon Act 1: Challenge 1 – Aim and fire with the Chaos Spear!

The first collection key in this section is the yellow collection key that can be found right along the main path, lying on the ground right in front of the giant fan, as pictured above.

To get the second collection key, use the fan to head upwards and hit the boost ring on top of the structure. To find a blue collection key, go straight along the path you landed on.

The third collection key is along the grind rail after using the zipline shown in image 1. Ride the zipline and jump on the rail to reach the rail shown in image 2. (This requires precise timing and is very easy to miss, so be careful.) This railway will take you straight to the blue collectible key.

How to get Collection Key in Rail Canyon Act 1: Challenge 2 – Ring Collector Lv1

To get the first collection key here, you can reach the top of the tunnel by hitting the grind rail shown in image 1 and jumping at the end to reach the boost ring. Use the spring on the far side, then bounce across the enemies shown in image 2 to reach the platform. Use the Chaos Spear on the purple enemy and use the yellow collect key to bounce onto the platform. The floor is unstable, so grab it quickly and use the spring.

To get the second collection key, go to the grind rail section right before the goal ring, go to the rightmost rail, and jump over the boost ring that contains the blue collection key. Now you have to complete the level and start over to get the final key.

This time, don't use the boost ring shortcut to get to the top of the tunnel, but instead go through it. Then play the level as usual until you reach the grinding section shown in image 1. The blue collection key can be found a little further into that section along the rightmost rail.

How to get Collection Key in Rail Canyon Act 2: Challenge 1 – Chaos Control Master Lv2

The yellow challenge key can be found by progressing through the stage until you reach the first section with collapsed scaffolding. Use Chaos Control to stop the collapse, then climb to the top and look to the left to see a yellow collection key floating there. Grab it and move on.

In the next section, as you reach more scaffolding, use Chaos Control to freeze incoming enemies so they don't break the scaffolding. Then climb to the top. There is a blue collection key floating at the top. Grab it and move along.

The final key can be found in the section with the floating spiked ball as shown in the image above. Once the ball is positioned as shown, use the chaos control to stop time, then use the boost ring on the left to get another blue collection key. This is the last one available for this challenge.

How to Get Collection Key in Rail Canyon Act 2: Challenge 2 – Dash Ring Rush Lv1

To get your first collection key here you need to follow the path shown in image 1 above. Use the boost ring to reach the upper path and follow it until you reach the section with the key. You can easily jump up from the central part of the scaffolding or use the boost ring in this area to launch yourself upwards. Get this yellow collection key, then activate all boost rings to make springs appear. Use it to leave the area.

Use the spring, land on the Grind Rail again, and use the shortcut shown in the first image above to launch upwards. Proceed along this new path until you see the shortcut shown in the second image, then use it to climb higher and go left to find a blue collection key. Grab it and continue upward.

Go a little further and bounce across the enemy shown in image 1 with a homing attack, then use the boost ring shown in image 2 to climb into an enclosed space. Enter the first cannon, align it as shown in image 3, then fire the second cannon. Wait until the third cannon is above the boost ring and then fire through the ring. Finally, wait until the third cannon is under the blue collection key and fire through it. That's it for this challenge.