| Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball | |
|---|---|
 US cover art by Greg Martin | |
| Developer | Sega Technical Institute[a] |
| Publisher | Sega |
| Producer | Yutaka Sugano |
| Designers |
|
| Artist | John Duggan |
| Composers |
|
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Platforms | Sega Genesis,Game Gear,Master System,Windows,Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genre | Pinball |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, also known asSonic Spinball, is a 1993pinball video game developed bySega Technical Institute and published bySega for theSega Genesis. It is a spin-off of theSonic the Hedgehog series. Players controlSonic the Hedgehog, who must stopDoctor Robotnik from enslaving the population in a giant pinball-like mechanism. The game is set in a series of pinball machine-like environments with Sonic acting as the pinball.
It was developed by the American staff of Sega Technical Institute, as the Japanese staff was occupied with developingSonic the Hedgehog 3 andSonic & Knuckles. When Sega management realized thatSonic 3 would not be completed in time for the 1993holiday shopping season, they commissioned anotherSonic game. After a hasty nine-month[5] development,Sonic Spinball was released for the Sega Genesis in November 1993, with ports for theGame Gear andMaster System releasing in 1994.
Sonic Spinball received mixed reviews, with critics praising the novelty and graphics but criticizing the controls. A second pinball game,Sonic Pinball Party, was released in 2003, and aSonic Spinball spinning rollercoaster opened inAlton Towers theme park, in 2010.Spinball has been ported to various consoles and included in Segacompilations.
Sonic Spinball is apinball game in which the player controlsSonic the Hedgehog, who acts as the pinball.[6] The majority of the game takes place within the "Pinball Defense System", which resembles a series of large pinball machines.[7] The game comprises fourlevels,[8][9] each containing numerous flippers that can be used to aim Sonic's trajectory and launch him through the level. Sonic can be maneuvered while airborne with input from thedirectional pad, which can be used for better positioning following an impact with a bumper or target or when Sonic is descending toward the drain, bumpers or flippers.[10]
The goal of each level is to collect all theChaos Emeralds and subsequently defeat the newly accessibleboss located at the top of the level. Some Chaos Emeralds are blocked off by obstacles that require Sonic to hit certain switches or bumpers in order to create a clear path.[11] The boss at the top of each level requires a specific strategy to defeat. A "status strip" at the top of the screen provides hints for defeating bosses, as well as encouraging messages when the player makes progress. The strip also tells the player how many Chaos Emeralds are left to collect in a level.[12] Following the defeat of an boss enemy, abonus round is initiated.[13] These rounds are shown as Sonic playing a regular pinball machine. The player is given three balls to shoot around the board, the object being to accumulate points by hitting as many bumpers and targets as possible. At any point in the bonus round, the player may trigger atilt shake that rattles the table and affects the ball's trajectory. If the tilt shake is used too often, however, all flippers will lock out, leaving the ball to fall down the drain. When the goal of the bonus round is fulfilled, or if all three balls fall through the flippers, the bonus round will end, and the next level will begin.[14] When all the game's Chaos Emeralds are collected and all four boss enemies are defeated, the player wins.[15]
Sonic starts the game with threelives. A life is lost when Sonic falls through a drain. An extra life can be earned by accumulating 20,000,000points,[16] which can be accumulated by hitting bumpers, navigating through loops, collectingrings and destroying enemy characters.[17]
The game takes place in the universe of theSonic the Hedgehog TV series. The evil scientistDoctor Robotnik has built a fortress on top of a volcano to transform the animals of planet Mobius into robot slaves. The volcano'smagma fuels the fortress and the pinball machine-like defense systems. The volcano is kept in stable condition withChaos Emeralds.[8]Sonic the Hedgehog and his friendTails mount an aerial assault on the fortress. Sonic is knocked into the waters that surround the volcano, but surfaces in the caves below the fortress. He infiltrates the defenses, absconds with the Chaos Emeralds, and frees the animals. Without the Chaos Emeralds, an eruption begins to destroy the fortress. Sonic destroys Robotnik's escape ship. Tails rescues Sonic, while Robotnik falls into the volcano, which sinks into the ocean and explodes.[18][19]
The marketing/research folks indicated thatSonic's casino levels were among the favorites, birthing the idea of the overall direction. I honestly don't know who came up with that, but it sounded fun and doable, so STI [Sega Technical Institute] jumped on it.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 boosted sales of theSega Genesis in the 1992holiday shopping season. When Sega of America's management realized thatSonic the Hedgehog 3 would not be ready until next year, they commissioned another game that could be completed in time for the 1993 holiday season.[20]Sonic Spinball was developed by mostly American staff fromSega Technical Institute while the Japanese staff were producingSonic 3.[21]
Sega's research suggested that the Casino Night Zone was one of the most popular levels inSonic the Hedgehog 2. This provided designer Peter Morawiec with a direction for the new game. Morawiec drew inspiration from the 1992Amiga gamePinball Dreams to combine pinballmechanics with the gameplay ofSonic the Hedgehog. Morawiec and three colleagues designed basic animations depicting Sonic as a pinball. The animations were demonstrated to Sega's senior management, who approved the project.[20]
The game would have to be completed in under a year to be ready in time for the 1993 holiday season. Morawiec considered this a "tight" schedule for a game that would capitalize on the series' popularity in North America.[22] To speed up production, Sega sent veteran staff from Japan to assist, including regularSonic the Hedgehog artist Katsuhiko Sato. Despite the transfer of these staff, the game was still not predicted to be complete in time. As a result, Sega Technical Institute staff changed theprogramming language fromassembly toC, an unusual choice for Genesis games at the time.[22][23] Morawiec said the choice causedframe rate and optimization problems, but greatly accelerated development. A large part of the game's development happen in June and August 1993, the project evolved from a roughly playable build to a completed game.[22]
Immediately before the game was due to ship, the team was informed that Sega did not own the rights to theSonic the Hedgehog theme tune. Morawiec recalled uproar among the team afterHirokazu Yasuhara, the lead designer onSonic Team, explained that the tune was owned by the Japanese bandDreams Come True, whose memberMasato Nakamura composed the soundtrack for the first twoSonic games. Morawiec tasked lead composerHoward Drossin to write a new theme within two hours.[24]
Morawiec believe the game would face "acceptance challenges" from both fans and the gaming media, as it strayed away from the traditional platforming genre. After returning to the United States from Europe, Morawiec was surprised to find that the game had sold well, and was pleased that it benefited from the franchise's popularity. Nonetheless, he regretted that the team had lacked time to "polish" the game.[25]
After theGame Gear gameSonic Drift received poor reviews in Japan, Sega released an8-bitport ofSonic Spinball for theGame Gear in its place worldwide in late 1994.[26] It was also released for theMaster System in Brazil and Europe in January 1995.[4] The 8-bit version is mostly identical to the Genesis game, with downgraded visuals and different, more platforming-oriented bonus stages. The Master System version was released near the end of the console's lifetime and did not sell well, and became a valuablecollector's item.[27]
Sonic Spinball has been rereleased on 11 different platforms.[25] The Genesis version of the game has been rereleased on theSonic Mega Collection compilation for theGameCube,PlayStation 2,Xbox andMicrosoft Windows,[28]Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for theXbox 360 andPlayStation 3,[29] and multiple iterations of theSega Smash Pack series of compilations,[30] including a port toGame Boy Advance. The Game Gear version appears as an unlockable game inSonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the GameCube and Windows,[31] as well asSonic Gems Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2.[32] The game was intended to be included in theSonic Classic Collection for theNintendo DS, but was cut for unknown reasons.[33] The Genesis version was released on theWii'sVirtual Console on March 12, 2007, in North America and April 5, 2007, in Europe.[34] An emulated form of the game was also made available foriOS devices via Apple'sApp Store in 2010,[13][35] but was later removed along with other Sega games in 2015.[36] It was released onSteam in 2010[37] and on theNintendo Classics service in 2022.[38]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8/10, 7/10, 6/10, 7/10 (Genesis)[39] |
| Mean Machines Sega | 81% (Mega Drive)[40] |
| Electronic Games | 93% (Genesis)[41] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C (Genesis)[42] |
| MegaTech | 86% (Mega Drive)[43] |
The Genesis version received generally positive reviews upon release. Laurie Yates ofElectronic Games gave it a highly positive review, with scores of 90% for graphics and sound, and 95% for playability and replayability.[41] Scary Larry ofGamePro referred to it as a "a fun, fast, and frenetic" pinball game, complimenting its graphics, music and controls while saying that pinball purists may not appreciate the games "cutesy additions to a pinball motif".[44]
The visuals were generally well received.[11][45][39] Ed Semrad ofElectronic Gaming Monthly thought that the game being set inside apinball machine was a novel idea, and also labelled the game's visuals, music, and sound effects as "top-notch". Al Manuel of the same publication opined that the graphics were not as "sharp" as otherSonic the Hedgehog titles, and also thought the sound was unimpressive.[39]
Bob Strauss ofEntertainment Weekly felt that the game initially boasted a terrific concept, but had an ultimately flawed execution, saying that Sonic, acting as a pinball, often moved like a "leaden marble".[42] Rich Leadbetter fromMean Machines also expressed concern over the game's lack ofreplay value, saying that despite its addictive gameplay, the four levels were not enough, especially given the price.[40]
Andromeda ofGamePro, in a mixed review of the Game Gear version, criticized the control configuration and felt that the game was a mediocre example of a pinball game, but admitted that it had a similar feel to previousSonic the Hedgehog titles.[46]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 61% (6 reviews)[48] |
| Metacritic | 68/100[47]iOS |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Eurogamer | 4/10 (Virtual Console)[49] |
| IGN | 7.5/10 (Virtual Console)[11] |
| Jeuxvideo.com | 15/20 (Mega Drive)[45] |
| Nintendo Life | 4/10 (Virtual Console)[50] |
Retrospectively,Sonic Spinball received mixed reviews, holding a score of 61% at the video gamereview aggregatorGameRankings.[48]
In a retrospective review, Lucas Thomas fromIGN felt that the game's graphics matched those of laterSonic games on the Genesis, and consideredSpinball's minigames to be "visually distinct and well-done."[11] A reviewer fromJeuxvideo.com thought the graphics were "generally good", but indicated that there were other visually superior games for the Genesis.[45] In similar vein, William Avery ofGameSpot noticed that the game contained some slowdown.[51]Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead criticized the game's sluggish frame rate and slowdown that occurred when "things threaten to get hectic" in-game, noting that it suffered from "the old Mega Drive problem".[49]
Various aspects of the gameplay garnered a mixed reception from critics, though the game's control scheme received the most criticism.[11][46][42][49] Jeuxvideo.com's reviewer enjoyed how Sonic himself acted as a pinball, but noticed that the controls were less precise and responsive when compared to otherplatformers.[45] Dan Whitehead asserted that the game's controls were "muddled by the half-and-half approach", and criticized its "clunky"game engine, saying that the game's control scheme ruined the pinball environments.[49] Thomas stated, "There are aspects of the control that could have been tighter, and its difficulty level may be a bit too extreme for new players."[11] Damien McFarren fromNintendo Life said that the game comes across as both a poor platformer and a poor pinball game due to its unconvincing ballphysics and frustrating platform elements.[50]
A second pinball game in the series,Sonic Pinball Party, was released for theGame Boy Advance in 2003 to generally favorable reviews.[52]
In 2010, a spinning rollercoaster,Sonic Spinball, opened in theAlton Towers theme park inStaffordshire.[53] Although the rollercoaster was not originally designed with aSonic the Hedgehog theme, the ride became part of a sponsorship deal between Sega and Alton Towers. ASonic the Hedgehog-themed hotel room was later made available at Alton Towers Hotel, which featured various playableSonic the Hedgehog games, as well as wallpaper based onSonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I.[20]
Citations
On November 23 Sega will be releasing their trio of Sonic titles. Sonic Three on One Day, as it will now be known sees the worldwide release of Sonic CD (Mega CD), Sonic Spinball (Mega Drive) and Sonic Chaos on Master System and Game Gear.
Publications
Sonic Spinball can be played for free in the browser at theInternet Archive
