Sonic Spinball

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 continued the wave of good momentum that Sega was having with the Genesis. While not the lofty 15 million copies of its predecessor, Sonic 2 still went on to sell 6 million copies. So after that success, you'd think that Sonic 3 would the next game out the gate, right Well, no. Sonic 3 was always planned for a Christmas of 1993 release, but due to some major issues (many of which we'll get into in the Sonic 3 review), Sonic Team needed a few more months to go before Sonic 3 would be able to hit store shelves.

With the concern of not having a Sonic title on the Genesis for the entire year, Sega would enlist the American division of  Sega Technical Institute to get a Sonic game ready for the holiday season. Their inspiration for a new game came from Sonic 2 and the positive feedback of the Casino Night Zone, a level where you could use Sonic like a spiny blue pinball. And thus, Sonic Spinball was born. It was released in North America on November 23rd, 1993, selling just over a million copies. Sonic Spinball was actually part of a triple release of games for an event called "Sonic Mania Day". This included Sonic Chaos for Game Gear and Sonic CD for the Sega CD.

Sonic Spinball was met with mixed reviews. Many feeling it controlled poorly and lacked any actual pinball physics. But is Sonic Spinball that bad? Let's find out with this review.

The story sees Dr. Robotnik once again trying to turn the animal citizens of Mobius into his robotic slaves. This time his grand scheme is his new Veg-O-Matic fortress, a powerful device with pinball like schematics and powered by the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic and Tails head to the fortress via an aerial assault, only to be shot down. Sonic finds his way into the Veg-O-Matic by entering through its sewer system, and his mission becomes clear. Take the chaos emeralds, destroy the parts to the fortress and defeat Robotnik once more.

Sonic Spinball is a one to two player game. You control Sonic through four pinball inspired levels, collecting the chaos emeralds and defeating the Robotnik bosses within. You jump with either A, B or C and can spin dash by holding down and either of those buttons. When it comes to the pinball functions, you control left flippers with A, right flippers with B and both flippers with C. Essentially, you'll be using C for the most part.

You'll start in the Toxic Caves as you have to hit switches to free the chaos emeralds. Be it one in a pool of toxic liquid that you have to drain, then row to on a little metal barrel, or two emeralds that you have to get via a mine cart, but need to get to the levers to clear the paths. Eventually culminating with a giant Robotnik scorpion. This follows with a trip through the Lava Powerhouse where steam bursts help you jet your way to emeralds, the inside of the machine where you have to find your way around the many mechanical trappings to collect five more emeralds and finally the showdown with Robotnik atop the volcano where windsocks and shooting lava rocks can be your friend and foe.

Littered between each level is a bonus stage. These use the same pinball mechanisms as the main levels, though you can shake the table, which could cause a tilt. In bonus one, you have to free your friends from the roboticizers behind Robotnik. You'll see Tails, along with several characters from Sonic SatAM including Princess Sally, Rotor, and even Bunnie Rabbot. This game came out right when both Sonic cartoons were airing. After a bonus level where you knock Robotnik's teeth out, the final one has you destroying the multiple Scratch robots (AKA the chicken guy from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog) to destroy the machine they're guarding. But there is also a fourth hidden bonus level if you get every ring in the levels.

So, there's definitely a lot the game has to offer in terms of originality and a lot of ambition put into the look and feel of the game. Too bad the physics are terrible. Do not go into this expecting a strong pinball game. Bouncing Sonic with precision is a pain for the most part and takes way more trial and error to get him into that sweet spot. You'll be doing well, but suddenly end up screwing up and losing a life without hesitation. Not to mention that the speed can often leaving you feel disoriented and can cause a bit of failure that way as well. It makes the game a little harder than it should. But while it's not pinball perfect, you can get the hang of the game's trappings. While it's a difficult game with only a few lives and no continues, it is still a short four levels, and once you get the feel for each level, you can manage to succeed.

Graphically the game looks really good. Lots of detail in the levels, the enemies, and even Sonic, despite being a smaller sprite this time around. The game goes for a more darker, mechanical look to the game as opposed to the more bright and jollier look of Sonic 1 and 2, showing just how much different a mindset for Sonic that the American side of Sega had. I particularly like the first level with little details like the mechanical sea serpent that will jump and attack Sonic if he's idle. Another nice touch is how the score HUD acts much like the LED board of a pinball table with how different words will pop up, or little Robotnik faces. It adds a little more personality to a game that's already brimming with it.

The game looks great and also sounds great (well, the Options menu can be grating). Once again going for less of a whimsical soundtrack like the earlier games, this one goes for a slightly more action heavy and slightly more mechanical sounding soundtrack, which works in this game's favor. Best song is easily the Lava Powerhouse, which really shows off that very mechanical feel. Same with the boss music which is also a really solid track.

Overall, Sonic Spinball isn't anywhere as good as the main line Sonic games for the Genesis. But that shouldn't discount it as a decent title. If the basics of the gameplay and the pinball physics were better tweaked, it could have been a much better game. That said, it still delivers in sound and presentation and seeing as it was always just a stop gap title until Sonic 3, it does the job well enough. It's an easy enough game to find, and I'd say it's at least worth a play.

RATING: B-