I should've done this a long time ago when I was finishing up the playthrough for this game.
There's a fairly well-known shortcut in Scrap Brain Zone's Act 3. Just go under the bridge that you activate at the start of this Act before it closes up on the other side, then follow the path from there and you'll eventually reach the red springs leading to the Final Zone.
That way, you can completely bypass the long underwater course that you'd otherwise have to take and not worry as much that the air bubbles take so long to come out here.
Uhhhh... Just don't fall into those gaps on the way.
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6/27/22: HOO-HOO! If you're coming in from Sonic Origins, lend a hand and share this video to your friends! This should work all the same in that version of this game!
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/40f9l5BImbU/mqdefault.jpg)