Stardust Speedway

Sonic the Hedgehog CD

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"Stardust Speedway Zone" redirects here. For the Sonic Mania version of this stage, see Stardust Speedway Zone (Sonic Mania).

Stardust Speedway

Sixth round, Sonic the Hedgehog CD
Number of Acts: 3
Location: Little Planet
Level theme: urban
Boss: Metal Sonic
Maximum rings, Act 1: 241 + 30 (Present), 241 + 10 (Past), 246 + 30 (Future)
Maximum rings, Act 2: 210 + 50 (Present and Past), 220 + 50 (Future)
Maximum rings, Act 3: 40 + 60
Non-English names: JP: 星くずのサーキットMedia:SonicCD MCD JP manual.pdf^[1] ES: Velocémetro de Polvo EstelarMedia:SonicCD MCD EU manual.pdf^[2]
← Wacky Workbench \| Metallic Madness →

Stardust Speedway is the sixth Round of Sonic the Hedgehog CD. Like with every other Round in the game, Stardust Speedway consists of two standard Zones that span all time zones, followed by a shorter third Zone set in the future which contains the boss. Geographically, Stardust Speedway is located on the Little Planet.

Overview

Stardust Speedway is a very psychedelic stage consisting of many, many twisting highways decorated with musical instruments and flashing spotlights in the night sky, making for Sonic CD's largest Round. Many of these highways are littered with Springs and Speed Boosters that instantly propel Sonic to top speed, sending him both on his way and in the opposite direction. Thare are also floating launchers that require the player to time their entrance to be fired a certain direction, but some launchers will have them time a button press to get fired out in the direction they want.

The Round's most prominent gimmick is a path-swapping system, as many of the roads converge with each other at many places. By Spin Jumping at the many yellow panels with blue spheres on them found throughout the Round, the player will switch between different paths, allowing them to switch to roads in the background and back to the foreground. Combined with the dizzying speeds, the player can easily become disorientated. However, there are plenty of places where the player will bounce back and forth, which are very useful for activating a time warp. The only hazards the player needs to watch out for besides the Badniks are spiked balls and swinging spiked platforms.

Near the end of Zone 2, the player will arrive at a giant building that varies in appearance based on what time zone they're in. In the Present, the building appears to be a giant golden Eggman statue that's under construction, but only in the Bad Future will its construction be complete. In the Past, the building is a Gothic-styled cathedral, while in the Good Future it takes the appearance of a beautiful cathedral.

Upon arriving at Zone 3, Sonic will be thrusted into a fated race with Metal Sonic, with Amy Rose as the prize...

Quotes

“	A jetcoaster ride against a starry sky backdrop. An unprecedented battle with Metal Sonic is about to take place, the strongest rival of all...	„
— Sonic the Hedgehog CD JP manualMedia:SonicCD MCD JP manual.pdf^[1] (translation by Vertekins)^[3]

“	Shoot through a maze of valves and pipes in a world of stardust and music, mind-boggling speed... and danger. Wipe out lightning bugs before they catch you in their currents. Look for certain ways to open passageways and bypass springs. Watch your step!	„
— Sonic the Hedgehog CD US manualMedia:SonicCD MCD US manual.pdf^[4]

Differences between Time Zones

Present

This Round has a lot of music-related things, and is bustling with life! Lots of wacky things can happen here in the noisy highways.

Past

Everything is calm here; it's dark and quiet. A lot of vines cover up the highways, and the background features a Greek/Roman-style acropolis before a rippling lake. Destroy the robot transporter, or else...

Bad Future

...everything will be chaos. Most of the instruments are destroyed and left to rust and dissolve, and everything is covered in buildings like an evil metropolis. Lightning flashes in the background, and eerie clouds lurk in the sky here, covering the stars.

Good Future

Freed from Eggman's grasp, this round becomes as bright and bustling as it should be. Crazy loop-de-loops, strange structures, and even more speed await in this futuristic theme park. It would also appear that the statue of Eggman being built in the Present has been torn down.

Enemies

None of Stardust Speedway's Badniks have official names besides those which appear in the game's source code, but they are:

	Dango — Rolling pill bug Badnik.
	Hotaru — Firefly Badnik that pursues the player in pairs.
	Kabasira — Swarming mosquito Badnik.
	Kanabun — Flying beetle Badnik with a propeller on its back.

Animals

	Pocky
	yellow bird

Other game appearances

Sonic Generations

Classic Sonic runs through Stardust Speedway as Metal Sonic chases him in Sonic Generations.

Main article: Metal Sonic (Sonic Generations boss)

Stardust Speedway's Bad Future returns in Sonic Generations as a Rival Battle level. It isn't named in this game, as it is simply the setting for a boss battle with Metal Sonic. Its soundtrack is a remix of the EU/PAL version's soundtrack in all versions, but a remix of the US version is unlockable.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode Metal

Stardust Speedway is briefly shown during the opening sequence of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode Metal, complete with Sonic CD's original title card, where Metal Sonic is left in a broken, inactive state for a long time. Dr. Eggman would send a drone to the Little Planet to revive Metal Sonic, and order him to fly back to Mad Gear Zone on Sonic's world for repairs.

Strangely, Stardust Speedway appears in its Bad Future incarnation, reusing assets from Sonic Generations.

Sonic Mania

Main article: Stardust Speedway Zone (Sonic Mania)

The stage reappears in Sonic Mania in its Past and Present versions respectively Act 1 and Act 2, with a new and varied range of gimmicks including those imported from Marble Garden Zone. The player appears in the past of the Zone because of the powers of the Phantom Ruby in the hands of Dr. Eggman.

In other media

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie comics)

Sonic races against Mecha Sonic in the Stardust Speedway Zone.

Stardust Speedway appears in issue #25 of Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, under the name Stardust Speedway Zone. An artificial Zone created by Dr. Robotnik, Sonic was forced to proceed there from the Collision Chaos Zone due to Snively destroying the path behind him with the laser of a Robo-Pod. In the Zone, Sonic was forced to race Mecha Sonic (also known as "Metal Sonic v1.0"^[5]) in exchange for the freedom of Amy Rose and Miles "Tails" Prower, while Robotnik was waiting for a chance to crush Sonic with a trapped gate at the race course's end.

This incarnation of the Zone is based entirely on its present time zone from Sonic CD, most likely inspired by its depiction in the game's animated credits sequence. Some of the Zone's skyscrapers are decorated with billboards of the Sega Saturn logo, Akira Yuki from Virtua Fighter and Espio the Chameleon, technically making this his first appearance in Archie's Sonic comics.