This article is about the Sonic the Hedgehog CD stage. For the Sonic Mania recreation of this level, see Metallic Madness Zone.

Not to be confused with Metal Madness.

Metallic Madness (金属の狂気^[1], Kinzoku no kyōki^?) is the seventh and final Round in Sonic the Hedgehog CD. It is Dr. Eggman's base located on Little Planet. The concentration of all of Eggman's intellect, Metallic Madness is a giant mechanism filled with death traps.^[1] As with the other Rounds in the game, Metallic Madness consists of two Zones and a third, shorter Zone that features the Round's boss.

Description[]

Present[]

In the present, Metallic Madness is a green-tinted factory owned by Dr. Eggman. The floor has built-in turbines. In addition, some small plaques with Eggman's face adorn the buildings. In Zone 1, the factory is full of green and red turbines. In Zone 2 on the other hand, Metallic Madness features gigantic machines that can be seen in the background.

Past[]

In the past, Metallic Madness is under construction, though many of the machines and computers appear intact and functional with a lavender hue. Building girders are strewn about the ceilings and floors in many areas, construction cones can be seen on the ground and the metal shines with a soft, light purple hue. Many parts of the Round also appear either absent or unfinished, with many elements having been replaced with floating blocks in some places. In Zone 1, most of the local factory appears unfinished as well, revealing some hanging wires, a magenta sky with orange clouds, and many construction machines in the background. In Zone 2, Metallic Madness takes place fully outside, with the gigantic machines from the Present having been replaced with cranes and girders that can be spotted under a light blue sky with white clouds.

Future[]

Bad[]

In the bad future, Metallic Madness appears foreboding and in a state of great decay, as if it has been abandoned for years. The machinery and surrounding walls and flooring have a rusted brownish-green hue to them, with a pitch black background illuminated with multicolored mechanical pillars and countless computer consoles. Though functional, many of the surrounding mechanisms -- if not the entire base itself -- appears cracked, broken, and desperately clinging onto whatever electrical power it can, as if in danger of shutting down at any time. Both Zones feature the same general layout as in the present, though with different color tones and broken-down machines.

Good[]

In the good future, Metallic Madness has become a botanic laboratory of some kind, with the metal walls and floors looking sleek and clean with a bright blue hue. Mechanical plants and fountains adorn specific areas. Miles of forestry have sprung up all around it, as if Eggman was never there. The plaques also no longer show Eggman's face; instead, they have been replaced with peculiar-looking symbols. The place looks almost like a sprightly, futuristic laboratory where Animals dance freely and victoriously amidst the corridors. Despite the lighter feel, however, many dangerous traps are still present. In Zone 1, the turbines have been replaced with machines that feature domes with big plants inside them. In Zones 2 and 3, the Round takes place entirely outdoors, revealing a clean, light blue sky with clouds, geometric and blue-purple buildings, and small laboratories covered in miles of vegetation.

Story[]

Having invaded Little Planet, Dr. Eggman would construct Metallic Madness and install robot teleporters in the past in order to infest the region with Badniks. Thanks to this, Eggman managed to conquer the future of the planet and rewrite history in his own image. As such, in the future, Metallic Madness and therefore, Eggman's base in general, would turn into a cold and rusty abandoned base, albeit with all of its machines working properly.

After Sonic the Hedgehog arrives in the region, he manages to re-write Metallic Madness's history and revert Eggman's effects in the region. Unlike many other things Eggman had done to the planet however, Metallic Madness is not removed from existence due to Sonic's meddling; instead, a remodel would take over the base, turning it into some kind of botanic laboratory. Traveling into the complex Sonic faces Eggman in a final showdown. In the end, Sonic wins, thereby triggering a chain reaction that causes Eggman's entire base to crumple, thus forcing Sonic to escape Little Planet with Amy Rose.

Gameplay[]

The floor in Metallic Madness has built-in turbines, so the playable character must watch out for death traps such as moving buzz-saws, cages with spinning bars, and spinning blades on wheels.

There are also Springs on moving wheels, which can make it tricky to reach higher places. Towards the end of Zone 2, Sonic gets shrunk down to a quarter of his original size upon passing through a shrink ray, allowing him to fit into smaller passages and jump higher. At the end of the shrinking mini-maze, Sonic returns to his normal size.

Overview[]

Zone 1[]

This section requires an expansion.

Zone 2[]

While there are several routes throughout this Zone, the most straightforward routes start out at the beginning. There, the player will find two crush blocks that move up and down, sandwiched by a yellow Spring. By the time the player steps on top of the second crusher, they can jump up to the ledges on the left in order to reach a red Spring. Once the playable character has been launched away by the red Spring, the player will find various gimmicks along their subsequent course, including Conveyor Belts and Flywheels. From there, the player has two route options: they can either work their way up to the top, where they can find a Past Time Warp sign, or continue to the right.

• If the player should go right, they can choose to trigger a Lamppost atop a wall that can be reached with a red Spring, or enter a high-speed warp tube. Within the high-speed warp tube in particular, there are three pathways to take. For the most direct route, the player has to go left at the junction, then go past the exit door on the right and drop down. There, they will find another exit door. Beyond the step from there is a section where the road splits in two. From here, jump over the gap, avoiding the spikes, and get onto the ledge where there is a flat section. From there, atop the following step is a Mecha-Bu, followed by a crusher block.
  • To the right from there is a Lamppost. Jump off the structure from here to ascend the next wall, then get over the gap and over the spikes. From there, step onto the stack of crusher blocks and head in the rightward direction upon launch. However, the player has to Watch out for Bigboms. From here, take the Spring on the wheel and head up the nearby Conveyor Belts towards a diagonal Spring. To the left from there is another red Spring atop a wall and a future Time Warp sign. Up and to the right from there is a yellow Spring. By continuing to the right from there, the player can trigger a Lamppost. Be careful, however, as another Bigbom will intervene. Beyond there is a T-junction. In this junction, the right side features a door that locks behind the playable character, so it is advisable that the player goes down instead. To the left from there are some disintegrating platforms with a gap in-between them and a red Spring on the bottom. It should also be noted that going left at the end of the incoming corridor is a past Time Warp sign safeguarded by crusher stacks. To get to the optimal route from there, the player must ignore the Spring at the bottom of the gap and continue downward. There, the player will find a Flywheel and some spikes. To the left of this flywheel, the player can pick up a Shield monitor. Also, below the player, they can trigger a Lamppost. To the right on the other hand is a walking platform mech with some Dango sliding around on the bottom of the road. The walking platform mech is the only way to ascend the long wall on the right, which is topped by a Bigbom. One up there, a door will open and the player will be able to pass through a Shrink ray. Once shrunken, enter the narrow corridor and head down. From there, take the Spring where there are some square-shaped platforms to land on. The player must use the Springs to get all the way to the top. To the left from there are some walls to jump over. At the same time though, the player has to avoid some upside-down spikes.
    • From there, head down and to the right where there is a crusher block, and use the Spring that appears to get up to the Conveyor Belts, all while minding the crusher block. From there, down below is a T-junction. Here, the player has to ignore the door on the right and head to the left instead. From there, as soon as the road opens up, there been will be a Bigbom blocking the door on the left. By heading below and to the right from there, the player can collect a Power Sneakers monitor. From there, as the incoming door is a growing-ray, another Lamppost, and a Switch which opens a high-speed warp tube. From here, use the wheelie Spring on the right while holding right to avoid some spikes. Past the door from there is the final challenge: a series of five crusher platforms that will slowly descend with the gaps displayed in black. As soon as all five crushers have been cleared, jump up and to the right to reach the Goal Sign.

Zone 3[]

This Zone features various routes that include several hazards and a variety of Rings and item monitors. Upon approaching a small room, a Hotaru appears and moves around, shooting beams of electricity. Destroying it will cause two more to appear. The player must defeat all of three of them to open up the passage to the final fight with Eggman.

Boss[]

Main article: Egg Spinner

The boss of Metallic Madness is the Egg Spinner, which is Dr. Eggman in a sphere-shaped vehicle with four blades. Eggman will use these blades in a creative variety of attacks, with this including bouncing them, throwing them against the playable character, and extending them out from the machine's body. However, most of these attacks will leave the vehicle vulnerable, where the player should attack using a Spin Attack against it. One hit will tear apart one blade, so four hits are enough to destroy the vehicle.

Robot transporter locations[]

• Zone 1: In the past, the player must take the path at the very bottom of the stage and eventually find a room that leads downwards. If they go inside, they will have to jump across a series of spikes and disappearing platforms before going upwards and finding the robot transporter with a Super Ring monitor. It should be noted that, in the other three timelines, the entrance to the transporter's room is different, instead being next to a conveyor belt of dropping platforms.
• Zone 2: In the past, the player has to go at the top of the Zone at the beginning and enter a high-speed warp tube. They should then pick the left path to end up in a small room with a tall section next to it. The player must not just fall into this section; instead, they must pick up enough speed and jump before falling. If done successfully, they should find a crusher and use to go up, leading them to find the robot transporter.

Trivia[]

• While Metallic Madness itself does not appear in the Sonic the Comic series, the cyber-formed appearance of the Miracle Planet from "The Sonic Terminator" story arc (Sonic the Comic #24-#28) was based on Metallic Madness, as revealed in the script for Sonic the Comic #26.^[2] In particular, the concept of Sonic being shrunk in size to fit through a small hole is based on an obstacle from Zone 2 of this level. Writer Nigel Kitching provided a video reference of the level for artist Richard Elson to work on.
• Metallic Madness Zone 3 is the only Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog CD that contains a bottomless pit.
  • Collision Chaos and Stardust Speedway also contain bottomless pits, but the player cannot fall into them unless they enter the Time Warp in a spot that would put them outside of the map in the time period they travel to.
• Metallic Madness' music had appeared several other times, being referenced or remixed:
  • In Sonic the Animation, "Metallic Madness" from the Japanese soundtrack is used for the scene in which a disguised Dr. Eggman wreaks havoc.
  • "Metallic Madness" from the Japanese soundtrack is used as the theme for Metal Sonic's All-Star Move, the Maximum Overdrive, in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.
  • "Metallic Madness" from the Japanese soundtrack was remixed as the music for the Zoah Colony in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
  • "Metallic Madness "P" mix" was used in the trailer for the 2013 remaster of the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • The music for Act 2 of Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic Mania contains a sample of the music played in Metallic Madness from the Japanese version of Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
• In "Metallic Madness "B" mix" from the Japanese soundtrack, phrases like "Sonic, dead or alive, is m-m-mine," "You can't do anything, so don't even try it. Get some help," and "Don't do what Sonic does," can be heard in speech synthesis, which sounds like the "speech" synthesis program included in the operating systems of Amiga computers, which were commonly used to develop Sega Mega Drive games.
  • "You can't do anything, so don't even try" is presumably a twisted version of the lyrics of "Sonic - You Can Do Anything," the theme for the intro of the Japanese version of the game.

• At one point in Metallic Madness Zone 2's past, one diagonally-aligned red Spring on a tall hall section will send the player to the upper left, supposedly leading towards a high left ledge where the player can continue progressing through the Zone. Unfortunately, in the original Sega CD version of the game, the ledge is placed too high for the player to reach, even if the player does not hold down the directional input on the control pad while being sent into mid-air by the red Spring. The player thus has to take another pathway and find Time Warp sign to perform the Time Warp. This section is later fixed in Windows 95 version of the game, as well as in Sonic Gems Collection and the 2011 remaster, where the red Spring is placed slightly higher and dropping platforms have been added.
• All three of Metallic Madness' Zones have different backgrounds, though Zone 3 is just a zoomed-in version of Zone 2.
• In Zone 2, entering the Time Warp after being affected by a shrink ray will return the playable character back to their normal size.
• In the 2011 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog CD, there is a glitch where the player can end up in the bad future version of Zone 3 even after collecting all of the Time Stones. However, this will not affect the ending of the game.
• Metallic Madness is the only Round in the game that does not contain any Metal Sonic holograms.

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

Sega CD[]

Music[]

Video[]

• Full Round (Sega CD)

References[]