High-speed warp tube

High-Speed Warp Tubes are a recurring gimmick that appears throughout the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Description
High-Speed Warp Tubes appear as manufactured devices and natural environmental phenomena depending on the nature of the stage they appear in. As their name would imply, High-Speed Warp Tubes forcefully speed up the player's speed and warp them to new locations.

When using them, the character will roll into a ball and roll through the tube. In most games, if the player enters the tube at a slow speed, the tube will automatically increase the character's speed, although in certain games, such as Sonic Adventure 2, the character will travel through the warp tube no matter at what speed they enter the tube.

Sonic the Hedgehog
High-Speed Warp Tubes make their first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog. When the player approaches them either while running or rolling, they will curl into a ball and speed up as they travel through the tube until they are spat out the other end at high speeds, often allowing them to reach greater heights.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
High-Speed Warp Tubes appear again in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. While they still function the same as before, a different type of Warp Tube appears in Chemical Plant Zone, which have lids that must be broken with a Spin Jump before entering them. These tubes have straight layout rather than being curvy, and they maintain the player's speed. These Warp Tubes will also only launch the player out upwards, with a lid that ha s a spring on it preventing the player from going back into the Warp Tube.

Sonic Adventure 2
A few High-Speed Warp Tubes appear in Sonic's Crazy Gadget stage in Sonic Adventure 2. Like in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the player must first break a lid in order to enter the Warp Tube, at which point the tube will suck Sonic in and take him to the next section of the stage.

Variants
Underground Pipes are a form of High-Speed Warp Tubes that can only be accessed by using the Yellow Drill ability and, as such, can only be found in underground or underwater areas.