Sonic Spinball (8-bit)
Sonic Spinball (ソニックスピンボール Sonikku Supinbōru?), also known as Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, is a pinball game released for the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is an 8-bit port of the Sega Mega Drive game Sonic Spinball, and was released for the Sega Master System and Game Gear in 1994.
Plot[edit | edit source]
Dr. Eggman has assumed control of a volcanic mountain, where he has built the Volcano Veg-O Fortress for his evil scheme of turning all the creatures on Mobius into robots. Harnessing energy from the molten lava in the volcano to power his fortress, Eggman has imprisoned thousands of Animals in the Veg-O Fortress, whom he plans to turn into robots using his Veg-O Machine. To fortify his fortress, Eggman has also installed a complex pinball system inside the Veg-O fortress.[2]
Eventually, Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower try to attack the Veg-O Fortress using an airplane. While Sonic falls off the plane, he manages to make his way into the Toxic Pools, the lowest point of the Veg-O Fortress. From there, he scales the fortress from the inside, collecting the Chaos Emeralds stabilizing the volcanic activity inside the fortress along the way to ensure the Veg-O Fortress's destruction. He also destroys any Badniks along the way, freeing the Animals inside them. Eventually, he arrives in The Machine, where he frees the imprisoned Animals and destroys the Veg-O Machine. With the Veg-O Fortress just about finished, Sonic gets onboard Eggman's escape ship as it takes off with Eggman inside and destroys it. Afterward, Eggman falls back into the Veg-O Fortress as it gets destroyed.
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
Like its 16-bit counterpart, Sonic Spinball is a pinball-themed game where the player must guide Sonic the Hedgehog, who assumes the role of the ball, through several levels. While Sonic is curled into a ball, the player can use Flippers to launch him up and/or across the respective levels. When Sonic is not curled into a ball, his moveset resembles that from the main titles in the Sonic games; in addition to being able to walk around on the floors of the pinball table-based levels, Sonic can also jump, crouch, and perform the Super Spin Dash.
Throughout the game, the player's objective is to collect Chaos Emeralds, which are hidden around the levels. Each level has a different amount of Emeralds to collect. Their collection is obligatory, as collecting them all lets the player fight the boss of the level and progress with the game. Each Emerald is required to be collected in different ways though.
Sonic Spinball makes use of a variety of Item Boxes, with there being three different types: the extra life, the Continue, and a secret, unnamed Item Box type that contain hints to secret codes that can be used in the game.
Like other Sonic games, Sonic Spinball features a life system. As the player cannot take conventional damage throughout the game; Sonic can only die if he falls off a level's pinball table. Lives can be earned from the extra life Item Boxes. If Sonic dies, the player can resume gameplay at the cost of a life. Losing all lives will result in a Game Over. However, the player will be able to keep playing if they use a Continue.
Controls[edit | edit source]
| Button formation | Movement | |
|---|---|---|
| Sonic | Pinball | |
| Directional buttons left/right | Move | |
| Directional buttons up | Look up | N/A |
| Directional buttons down | Look down/Crouch | |
| Directional buttons down + Template:1 Button (Game Gear)/Template:2 Button (Game Gear) | Super Spin Dash | |
| Template:1 Button (Game Gear)/Template:2 Button (Game Gear) | Jump | Tilt left/right flippers |
| START | Pause | |
Objects[edit | edit source]
Items[edit | edit source]
Gimmicks and obstacles[edit | edit source]
Characters[edit | edit source]
Playable characters[edit | edit source]
Non-playable characters[edit | edit source]
Enemies[edit | edit source]
Bosses[edit | edit source]
Levels[edit | edit source]
Sonic Spinball consists of four levels, in which the player must find a certain number of Chaos Emeralds in order to advance. Doing so will allow the player to enter a boss room where they will fight the boss of that level. The levels in order are:
- Toxic Pools: A stinky cavern full of toxic sludge and mine carts where Dr. Eggman dumps all his industrial waste. There are three Chaos Emeralds to collect here.
- Lava Powerhouse: A power station of sorts that uses magma and steam energy to run various machines. There are three Chaos Emeralds here.
- The Machine: A high-tech level where Animals are turned into Badniks. There are five Chaos Emeralds to find here.
- Final Showdown: A rocket ship that Dr. Eggman tries to escape in. There are five Chaos Emeralds here.
Bonus Stages[edit | edit source]
In-between levels, the player has the opportunity to score points and Continues in a Bonus Stage. Here, Sonic is dropped into a giant birdcage/fish tank, complete with Rings, bumpers, treasure boxes, and mechanical birds/fish. The objective in these stages is to collect as much loot as possible within the time limit. Spin into a treasure box three times to open it and earn different loot. Also, collecting at least half of the Rings in the cage lets the player proceed to an adjoining cage. Each Bonus Stage consists of three cages, but if the player fails to make it to the exit within the time limit, they do not get to keep any of their loot.
Other modes[edit | edit source]
Options[edit | edit source]
Options is the setting menu for Sonic Spinball which contains the following prompts:
- Control: Select which button is needed to tilt the Flippers, featuring to different presets:
- Type 1: Template:1 Button (Game Gear) controls the left Flippers and Template:1 Button (Game Gear) controls the right ones.
- Type 2: Pressing Directional buttons down controls the left Flipper, Template:2 Button (Game Gear) controls the right ones, and Template:1 Button (Game Gear) controls both of them at the same time.
- Difficulty: Change the difficulty level from "Easy" to "Normal". "Easy" will reduce the number of drop targets the player needs to hit.
- Continues: Selects how many Continues the player will get at the start of the game.
- Sound FX: Play several in-game sounds.
- Music: Turns the game's music ON and OFF. It also allows the player to listen to several tracks featured in the game.
Development[edit | edit source]
| This section requires an expansion. |  |
Reception[edit | edit source]
| This section requires an expansion. | |
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 4.25/10 (GG)[3] |
| Mean Machines Sega | 90% (GG)[4] |
| Sega Power | 82% (GG)[5] |
| Sega Pro | 59% (SMS)[6] 60% (GG)[7] |
| Super GamePower | 3.2/5 (SMS)[8] |
Re-releases[edit | edit source]
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- The game's artwork shows Dr. Ivo Robotnik from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series. Similarly, the doctor's in-game sprite during the final battle also resembles his latter depiction. Although, the doctor exclusively wears a bodysuit and gauntlets that appears to be slightly based off the ones from his said design in the 16-bit version of the game, the latter depicts his head for the character that is more similar to his regular main series design in both the cover and game.
- The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog design was likely used as it was the same design used in the official series stylebook at the time.
- The total Chaos Emerald count in Sonic Spinball is sixteen, as opposed to the standard set of seven, and they are all blue-colored.
- This was the final Sonic title released for the Sega Master System.
- However, in Brazil a port of Sonic Blast was later released for that console as well.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Game Gear Review: Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball". Mean Machines Sega (EMAP) (24): 90. August 1994.
- ↑ Sonic Spinball (Sega Game Gear) United States instruction booklet, pg. 3.
- ↑ "Review Crew: Sonic Spinball". Electronic Gaming Monthly (61): 36. August 1994. Archived from the original.
- ↑ "Game Gear Review: Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball". Mean Machines Sega (24): 90-91. October 1994. Archived from the original.
- ↑ Crook, Simon (September 1994). "Sonic Spinball". Sega Power (58): 64. Archived from the original.
- ↑ Hill, Mark (February 1995). "Review: Sonic Spinball". Sega Pro (41): 48. Archived from the original.
- ↑ Hill, Mark (September 1994). "Review: Sonic Spinball". Sega Pro (36): 50-51. Archived from the original.
- ↑ Bros, Marjorie (May 1995). "Master: Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball". Super GamePower (14): 47. Archived from the original.
Template:Spinball (8-bit) info