Sonic Spinball

Name:
Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball - North America
Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball - Europe
Sonic Spinball - Japan

Other Names (Nicknames): N/A

Release Dates:
November, 1993 - North America
November, 1993 - Europe
December 10th, 1993 - Japan

Quality: 16-Bit, Side-Scrolling Platformer

Game System(s): Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

Also released on:
(1). PC - RealPlayer Arcade, Sega Smash Pack
(2). Gameboy Advance - Sega Smash Pack
(3). Gamecube/Playstation/X-Box - Sonic Mega Collection (Plus)
(4). Although this is not an exact additional release, an 8-Bit version of the game was made for the Game Gear and Master System with little differences. (Only the Toxic Caves and Showdown bosses are different, and several new bonus stages.) However, the Game Gear/Master System is NOT a port. It is in fact an entirely different game.

Developer(s): Sega Technical Institute

Character Introductions: Although, this doesn't have to do with the game storyline, Sonic Spinball was the very first (and so far only) Sonic game that Sally, Rotor, Bunnie and Muttski made cameo appearances in when you free them from incarceration in one of the bonus stages.

Region Game Takes Place On: Veg-O Fortress, on Mobius.

Concept Introductions: Sonic Spinball's gameplay is centered entirely around the premise of pinball. The stages are structured like and utilize the same elements of a pinball machine, and Sonic is meant to act as the pinball with his spinball form (you even use a pinball mode of gameplay to defeat the bosses). However, at times (usually the beginning of the stages), Sonic can walk like normal. When normally walking, Sonic uses all of the usual abilities: spinball jump, spindash, etc., etc. Also, this is the first, and so far last game that has ever introduced the assets and concepts from the SatAM cartoon and Archie Sonic comics.

Concept Deductions: Pretty much all conventional Sonic game assets (zones, high speed running, loops, checkpoint markers, powerups, etc., etc) are not in Sonic Spinball. The Chaos Emeralds are accessed by getting to secret passages or rooms in the regular stages, and are required to finish it in the first place. The only "Special" Stages in Sonic Spinball are bonus stages that you go to once you finish a level (for the first three, anyway).

Storyline:

           Dr Robotnik is at it again! This time, he built his all powerful Veg-O Fortress right on an active volcano, the magma from which is what powers the fortress and an all new roboticizing machine that turns animals into, you guessed it, robots! But now, he can do it faster than ever before! Whoopie! Sonic arrives a little too late, as Eggman had already foreseen Sonic's ulterior motive to put the good doc to justice! So he fortifies the base with a pinball defense system to ward off our hero. Of course, this was no problem for Sonic.

Personal Criticism/Opinion:

           Sonic Spinball is the most difficult of the Genesis era games to beat. I beat it… on ROM. Haha. Yes, it is very hard to beat this game indeed. Things are a breeze until you get to the Showdown level, ironically. As for the game itself, Sonic Spinball was the first Sonic game that adapted its environment and style to the comics and TV shows, which at the time there were two of (SatAM & AoStH). It is this factor that causes Sonic Spinball to be generally looked down upon by Sonic fans (which are primarily made up of Sonic Team purists). The development team of this game was also of SOA. Sonic Team had nothing to do with the creation of this game, thus why Sonic Spinball is unique compared to the rest (except DRMBM). As luck would have it, the game was later released in Japan and nothing was changed. Perhaps this confused Japanese fans as to what Sonic's true story is?

           Sonic is the only playable character in this game. Tails makes a brief cameo in the beginning when he is flying Sonic to the Veg-O fortress. Sonic's controls for when he is not in spinball form are the same as any generic Sonic game, except they are so slow on reply time and are jittery as all get out, making them useless. Each of the four levels have different boards and rooms which are accessible depending on how many Chaos Emeralds are collected. The Chaos Emeralds are all blue in this game and there are 17 in all. This proves this game's Archie roots since in the comics, there are tons of Chaos Emeralds and they are not multi-colored. The levels are quite large and time consuming and once you get all the Chaos Emeralds for the stage, the boss room finally opens at the very, very top of the level.

           Since Sonic Spinball is a breath of fresh air for the Sonic gamer (at the time it was), it was definitely a hit. It was also released around the holidays AND at the pinnacle of Sonic's career along with Sonic The Hedgehog 3. It luckily got quite a lot of praise back then, since large scale fanbases did not form for Sonic yet: meaning no Sonic Team purists or SOA-lovers. Because in all honesty, the game actually deserved the success it got. But now that fans look back and begin forming their usually outmoded opinions, Sonic Spinball is considered one of the craptacular Sonic games these days.

Let's see some GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:

Replay value? Medium. Sonic Spinball's difficulty is obviously one thing that makes somebody want to play it again. As in — maybe if you play again, you'll actually beat it. But after that, maybe every so often.

Graphics? The graphics are the only loathed things in Sonic Spinball that are actually justified. Sonic's sprite is god-awful, and the frame count is so low that when he walks, he actually looks like an Atari 2600 character sprite. The graphics for the levels and boards aren't as bad, but could have been done a lot better. They don't really look like something you'd see in a Sonic game.

Music & Sound Effects? Sonic Spinball's music was made in part by one of SOA's main music go-to guys (from a Sonic standpoint, anyway). And that is Howard Drossin. Contrary to popular belief, Sonic Spinball's music is actually pretty cool. Especially Toxic Caves. All of the music is original and all of the sound effects are original as well. … That is only natural, since this game had nothing to do with Sonic Team.

Storyline? Just another "Eggman takes all of the animals and turns them into robots, Sonic has to get the emeralds to stop him" storyline, except under a pinball gameplay style cover. Nothing big here. These are becoming so common that I think I'll stop counting them against the game's overall quality.

OVERALL RATING? I rate Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball as a 5/10.