Stardust Speedway Zone (Sonic Mania)

Stardust Speedway Zone is the sixth Zone for Sonic Mania. This Zone is a re-imagination of the Stardust Speedway from Sonic the Hedgehog CD for the Sega Mega-CD.

Overview
This Zone takes place in its original location as an orchestra palace with large plants covering most of the area.

The first Act of this Zone has plant life growing everywhere. There are also ancient buildings seen in the background and glowing, fireflies float everywhere. Statues and pottery are littered throughout the Zone. In the second Act, the plant life has made place for a neon-lit cityscape crossed by a highway made out of coppers. The Robotnik statue originally found in the Bad Future of the eponymous Round from Sonic the Hedgehog CD can also be found in the boss area of the zone.

Act 1
Act 1 begins in the Past era of Stardust Speedway Zone. Large capsules, similar to the ones seen in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, are also located throughout. Destroying these will release flowers.

Act 2
Act 2 takes place in the Present era of Stardust Speedway Zone.

Act 1
The boss of Act 1 is a giant version of the Hotaru Badnik. When the battle starts, it will immediately disappear and be replaced with a single regular-sized Hotaru, which will phase around the arena attempting to zap the characters. When this one is destroyed, a pair of Hotarus will form a chain of energy between themselves and descend from the top of the screen, attempting to trap the characters under the chain and take damage. Destroy one of these in order to make the large Hotaru reappear. It will rain down a large column of energy as it travels from one side of the arena to the other before disappearing again and restarting the process. It is vulnerable as long as it is visible.

Trivia

 * This marks the first time in which Knuckles is playable in a Sonic CD Zone, the other being Metallic Madness.
 * In keeping with the nomenclature of Sonic Mania, Stardust Speedway is referred to as a "Zone". In Sonic CD, "Zones" are the individual levels that make up a stage (typically referred to as an "act") and the stages themselves referred to as "rounds".
 * When fans questioned about the absence of the iconic "huehue"(s) during the Act 1 music, Tee Lopes, the game's composer, jokingly responded with a video on Twitter.
 * Stardust Speedway Zone shares many similarities with Marble Garden Zone. Both are ancient cities and have large pillars that work the same.
 * In Act 2, if the player takes the mini rocket, they will see a bunch of Rings arranged in the shape of a diamond. This is a reference to "Diamond in the Sky", a song from Sonic R.