| Written by: | Ian Flynn |
| Year: | Six |
| Release Date: | September 27, 2023 |
| Story Count: | 1 |
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Amy Rose's debut game, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, this special focuses on the young girl and her quest to save her friends from another plot hatched by the fiendish Dr. Eggman and his top Badnik, Metal Sonic.
Amy Rose is having a picnic with some of her animal friends in Flower Field Zone, partaking in her favorite pastime: Tarot Card reading. Upon turning over her first card, Metal Sonic interrupts her picnic, forcing the girl to hide. Realizing that Dr. Eggman is up to no good again, Amy journeys to find out what is going on, while recruiting some familiar faces along the way to help her out.
Amy's 30th Anniversary Special contains examples of:
- Artificial Outdoors Display: The plant life on Eggman Island Zone are all apparently built by Eggman, with Amy accidentally hurting herself on a fern she was trying to brush away. The leaves are sharp enough that Bark can destroy a Coconuts badnik by throwing one like a knife.
- Badass in Distress: Bark, Fang, Ray, Tails, Mighty, and even Sonic himself all get captured by Eggman and Metal Sonic in the same capsules he usually breaks. The blue blur states he was ambushed by Metal Sonic before he was imprisoned, much to his own embarrassment.
- The Bus Came Back: A lot of the characters who first appeared in 2021's Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): 30th Anniversary Special make a return in this comic. This includes Classic Amy, all three members of the Hooligans, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel.
- Company Cross References: Bean has a framed photo of Bin the Duck from Dynamite Dux in his capsule after doing some renovations, who was the primary inspiration for Bean. It's also a nod to how the duck is the bomb-loving woodpecker's father, according to Bean's biography in the Fighters Megamix official guide.
- Continuity Cameo: Among all of the freed up animal friends who get captured, Vector the Crocodile and Honey the Cat appear to be among them.
- A Day in the Limelight: As indicated by the title, this one-shot is all about a young Amy Rose saving her friends. Sonic himself makes a few appearances in flashbacks or Imagine Spots, and doesn't physically appear until near the end of the one-shot. Since Metal Sonic also debuted in the same game as Amy, he is showcased to be the main threat of the comic. Ray the Flying Squirrel and Bark the Polar Bear likewise share the spotlight with Amy as her teammates.
- Enemy Mine: It's subverted at first, with Fang dismissing Amy after she frees him from his imprisonment. But when the two reunite again in Eggman Island Zone, Fang gives a small nod towards Amy near one of the Egg Capsules, subtly indicating that he was willing to work with Amy to trap Metal Sonic while the pink hedgehog served as a bait.
- Fauxshadow: After drawing the Chariot, Amy and Ray hypothesize that its meaning of heroism and strength could either be referring to Mighty, Sonic, or Knuckles, before they end up rescuing Bark. However, while Mighty and Sonic are indeed revealed to be two victims that Metal Sonic has captured, Knuckles never appears for the rest of the story despite being hinted at.
- Luxury Prison Suite: Bean turned the inside of his capsule into this. He bemoans the "awful" amenities, however.
- Jaw Drop: Eggman, after being absent almost the entire one-shot, arrives at his island base, only to find it completely empty. His drink is dropped alongside his jaw.
- Mythology Gag:
- When Metal Sonic first arrives, he grabs Amy's strawberry-flavored cake and crushes it in its hand. Not exactly strawberry shortcake, buuuut...
- One of Amy's first friends to help her out on her journey is a blue Flicky, which doubles as a Call-Forward to when she would help out a different blue Flicky find its family in Sonic Adventure.
- One panel that has Amy describing Tails has him depicted in a dark blue sky surrounded by stars. This image is based off the bad ending of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit), where Sonic looks up and sees Tails among the stars before running off.
- What Amy says before she rescues (who she presumes to be) Sonic is almost the exact same thing she says in Sonic Adventure 2 when she is about to break him out of Prison Island:Amy: Never fear, Amy Rose is here!
- The synopsis for the one-shot describes Amy as "Cool, sweet, and pink!", a reference to Knuckles Chaotix, where Amy can be found in the game's Sound Test saying "Cool, sweet, and catchy!".
- The location where all of Amy's friends end up being imprisoned is called Eggman Island Zone, which may or may not be the same island as the locale of SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
- The Cover B art by Mauro Fonseca resembles the title screen of Sonic CD.
- Silent Snarker: The blue Flicky Amy takes along with her acts this way, having no dialogue. It communicates through tweeting at her or through its actions/facial expressions, usually at exasperation to Amy jumping to conclusions. It is still very supportive in her adventure to save her friends however.
- Skewed Priorities: Bean has apparently taken to decorating his capsule's interior after he was captured, instead of trying to escape from it, much to Ray's confusion. When he leaves, he complains how the amenities were awful, having packed everything in his suitcase.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: With many of their friends getting captured by Eggman and Metal Sonic, Amy starts off the journey alone, but manages to save Ray the Squirrel and Bark the Polar Bear. The three then form an impromptu team to save the rest of their comrades. Amy tries getting Fang's help at first, but he walks away after being saved.
- Tarot Troubles: The plot kicks off when Amy draws the Tarot card for Death (indicated by the Grim Reaper in the art), which is followed by Metal Sonic arriving with the intent on capturing her. Once she sees Metal Sonic leave, she comes to the conclusion that Eggman is hatching another evil scheme.
- A Taste of Their Own Medicine: After Metal Sonic had gone through the trouble of capturing Amy's friends into capsules, Amy tricks him into flying into one, and stays imprisoned by the end of the one-shot. Fang, who got himself captured by Metal Sonic a second time, takes the time to gloat about it in his face.Fang: Bwa-ha-ha! That's what you get, you mook!
- Wingding Eyes: When Amy fears Sonic's been put in a capsule, her eyes briefly turn into Eggman's emblems.
- You Have Failed Me:
- According to Fang, he and the other Hooligans botched a job for the good doctor, so they were all put in capsules for their failure. Once freed, Fang immediately decides to go after Eggman by himself.
- After being absent for the entire one-shot, Eggman comes back to his base, only to find it completely empty and devoid of the animals alongside the heroes he previously captured. He calls out for Metal Sonic (who he doesn't see is captured in a capsule), berating him for his failure.Eggman: What happened here?! Metal Sonic! Where are you?! You had ONE! JOB!
