Corkscrew loop

Corkscrew Loops, also referred as Corkscrew Speedways in US manual of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, are recurring level structures in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. As they name implies, they are corkscrew-shaped paths that loops around themselves, which create bridge over gaps and hollow areas for the player. The Corkscrew Loops first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Description
Like the traditional shuttle loops, the corkscrew loops only appears in the various games' Zone. In order for the player to pass through a corkscrew loop, the player must have gained enough momentum to reach high speeds with his/hers playable character in order to remain in contact with the surface of the corkscrew loop when passing through it. If the player has not gained enough speed or slows down while passing through a corkscrew loop, he/she will fall out of the corkscrew loop and into the gab area below it.

Corkscrew loops as first presented in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are well-known level structures in Emerald Hill Zone, where they are placed over lower pathways in the Zone. The corkscrew loops here are usually located on the upper pathways. The player can easily gain momentum to pass through these corkscrew loops by running or spinning through regular downhill shuttle loops that come before them.

Since their introduction Corkscrew Loops have made numerous appearances in later games, such as in Sonic Chaos, where they are featured at Turquoise Hill Zone and Mecha Green Hill Zone. In the latter of these Zones, the Corkscrew Loops go downwards into the chasms, which have bottomless pits on the bottom. They are also seen briefly in Hydrocity Zone Act 2 in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where they go downward in a similar to those in Sonic Chaos, but are more automated. In Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, Neo South Island also features regular corkscrew loops.

Corkscrew Loops mostly appear in the 2D and 2.5D games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. However, they have also been featured in several 3D games as well, such at Speed Highway in Sonic Adventure and Radical Highway in Sonic Adventure 2. In these games, corkscrew loops are larger than they are in the 2D and 2.5D games, as the player has to keep running through them to get to the other side, since these loops are usually set above bottomless pit areas.

In Sonic Advance 2, corkscrew loops are seen at Leaf Forest, where some sections of the loop's pathway can suddenly turn down in a straight line and then proceed down the same route. In Sonic Advance 3, they are featured at Route 99, where some of them are placed over bottomless pits. They are regularly seen along with upwards going corkscrew loops at Leaf Storm in Sonic Rush. Splash Hill Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I also has traditional corkscrew loops. Games such Sonic Unleashed have grind rails in the form of corkscrew loops. Tropical Resort in Sonic Colors also features large, automated corkscrew loops. Additionally, Green Hill in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations also has huge corkscrew loops, which are also featured at Speed Highway and even in Tropical Resort and Radical Highway in Nintendo 3DS version of the same game.