"Sonic Spinball" redirects here. For the 8-bit version, see Sonic Spinball (8-bit).

Fast Facts on Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega Technical Institute, Polygames System(s): Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Virtual Console, iOS, Steam Genre: Action (JP box), Table (Sega of Japan master list) Release Date RRP Code EU 1993-11-15 £49.99 1537 US 1993-11-23  ? 1537 JP 1993-12-10 6,800 G-4112 AS 1993  ? 1537 AU ?  ? FSON05SMC AU (Gold) ?  ? FSON05SMC BR 1993  ? 044600 US 2007-03-12 800 points ? JP 2007-03-13 600 points ? EU 2007-04-05 800 points ? US 2010-09-13 $4.99 ? EU 2010-09-13 £3.99 ? US 2010-12-16  ? ? EU 2010-12-16  ? ? ESRB VRC PEGI OFLC CERO GRB

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (ソニックスピンボール) is a pinball game (using Sonic as a ball) combined with the storyline of the Sonic the Hedgehog. The games title is a pun on pinball and Sonic's famous spin move. It is the only official game to incorporate the characters and setting of SatAM, and one of only two for Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (the other being Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine).

The plot revolves around the Veg-O-Fortress, Dr. Robotnik's new mass-roboticization facility built in and around the Mt. Mobius volcano. Sonic must use the fortress' special "Pinball Defense System" to his advantage, working his way up from the bottom of the volcano's interior by stealing the Chaos Emeralds that keep the volcano stable, destroying the doctor's boss guardians and, eventually, taking out the massive roboticizer itself, the Veg-O-Machine. The grand finale is at a launch hangar built around the volcano's crater, as Robotnik attempts to escape Mt. Mobius in a rocketship before it erupts.

The game is unique as it was coded entirely in the C programming language when the norm was assembly.[1]

Storyline

Dr. Robotnik has assumed control of Mt. Mobius and turned it into a mechanical base. Utilizing energy produced by the magma flowing under the volcano, this new monstrosity (the Veg-O-Fortress) has the power to transform helpless animals into robot slaves at an astounding rate. Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails fly onto the scene to mount an aerial assault, but Sonic is knocked off the wings of Tails' airplane by a blast from the fortress. He falls into the water, but is rescued and taken to the subterranean levels of the Veg-O-Fortress. The fortress must be destroyed from the inside-out, and the only way to make that happen is to trigger an eruption in the volcano it's built on. Sonic knows this can be done by removing the Chaos Emeralds that keep the volcano stable. Robotnik, however, is also aware of the fragile relationship that exists between the Emeralds and the mountain, and he's set up an elaborate Pinball Defense System to make sure the precious jewels don't go anywhere.

Gameplay

Sonic Spinball is basically a continuation of the pinball themed levels first seen in Spring Yard Zone and Casino Night Zone from the first Sonic games. As with those games you have some control of Sonic while he is being knocked around the pinball themed levels. The D-pad will move him while in ball form and the , , and buttons will cause the flippers to flick. If he happens to land on a flat surface you can move in a similar fashion to the Sonic games and be able to jump and perform the Spin Dash. This does not happen often as there are few platforms to land so platforming is kept to a bare minimum.

The objective of the game is to collect the Chaos Emeralds which are hidden in each level and defeating the levels boss. To do this obstacles must be cleared and levers must be switched. Rings are scattered around the level but do not grant free lives or extra protection from hits (enemies never attack and you are always in ball form when encountering them anyway). However, if all the rings in the level are collected it will open up the opportunity to visit a hidden multi-ball Bonus Stage known as Cluckers Defense.

Unlike traditional Sonic games, you can actually fall outside of the boss arena. The bosses take a lot more hits than normal Sonic bosses, but to compensate it's easy to hit them multiple times in a row.

Versions

There are two versions that were released in the US, each with differences in music. The European and Japanese versions are based on the final US version but with a few different music arrangements and bug fixes. See the Game Development section for more info.

Manuals

• Sonic Spinball US Manual
• Sonic Spinball US Majesco Re-Release Manual (pdf)
• Sonic Spinball EU Manual
• Sonic Spinball JP Manual
• Sonic Spinball AS Manual

Also Released On

• Sonic Spinball for the Sega Game Gear and Master System (1993)
• Sonic Spinball for Tiger LCD (1994)
• Sega Archives from USA Vol. 1 for the PC (2000)
• Sega PC Smash Pack for the PC (2000)
• Sega Smash Pack for the Game Boy Advance (2000)
• Sonic Mega Collection for the Nintendo GameCube (2002)
• Sega PC Mega Pack for the PC (2003)
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox (2004)
• Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 (2005)
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Super Monkey Ball Deluxe for the Xbox (2005)
• Virtual Console on Wii (2007)
• Mega Drive Twin Pads for the Blaze Plug and play console (2008)
• Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Shadow the Hedgehog for the PlayStation 2 (2009)
• Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (2009)
• Sonic PC Collection for the PC (2009)
• Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (EA Mobile) for Mobile Phones (2009)
• Steam (2010)
• Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection Volume 3 (2010)
• Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection Gold Edition (2011)

Production Credits (US Manual)

Programming: Polygames, Scott Chandler (SEGA Technical Institute), Jason Plumb (SEGA Technical Institute), Ken Rose (SEGA Technical Institute), Dave Sanner (SEGA Technical Institute), Earl Stratton (SEGA Technical Institute), Steve Woita (SEGA Technical Institute)
Game Design: Peter Morawiec, Hoyt Ng
Art: Tom Payne, Kurt Peterson, Brenda Ross, Katsuhiko Sato, Craig Stitt
Sound and Music Effects: Barry Blum (Sega Multi-Media Studio), Brian Coburn (Sega Multi-Media Studio), Howard Drossin (Sega Technical Institute), OUI Multimedia
Director of SEGA Technical Institute: Roger Hector
Producer: Yutaka Sugano
Art Director: John Duggan
Marketing Product Manager: France Tantiado
Lead Testers: Joe Cain, Wesley Gittens
Testers: Michael Bench, Steve Bourdet, Daniel Dunn, David Forster, Rick Greer, Casey Grimm, Jason Kuo, Simon Lu, Dumot Lyons, Bill Person, Kimberly Rogers, Kirk Rogers
Manual: Neil Hanshaw, Carol Ann Hanshaw
Special Thanks: Thomas J. Abramson, Alan Ackerman, Dominique Adevereaux, Justin R. Chin, Diane A. Fornasier, David Javelosa, Deborah McCracken, Patrick Meehan, Bert Mauricio, Stephen Patterson, Noel Pulido
A Special Bow To: Hirokazu Yasuhara and Yuji Naka, creators of Sonic The Hedgehog

Production Credits (In-Game)

Development Staff

Game Concept: Peter Morawiec
Programming: Lee Actor, Dennis Koble, Ken Rose, Steve Woita, Jason Plumb, Earl Stratton, Dave Sanner, Scott Chandler
Game Design: Peter Morawiec, Hoyt Ng
Art: Katsuhiko Sato, Tom Payne, Craig Stitt, Brenda Ross, Kurt Peterson
Music and Sound Effects: Brian Coburn, Barry Blum, Howard Drossin, OUI Multimedia
Testers: Joe Cain, Wesley Gittens, Rick Greer, Kirk Rogers, Kimberly Rogers, Daniel Dunn, David Forster, Simon Lu, Steve Bourdet, Casey Grimm, Jason Kuo, Mike Bench, Bill Person, Dermot Lyons

Management Staff

Producer: Yutaka Sugano
Art Director: John Duggan
Director of Sega Technical Institute: Roger Hector
Marketing: Diane Fornasier, France Tantiado, Tom Abramson

Resources

	81	Sonic Retro Average
		Based on 6 reviews
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games 73 №145, p77 GamesMaster 81 №12, p86/87/88 Mega 83 №15, p34/35 Sega Magazine (UK) 82 №1, p125 Sega Power 90 №49, p95/96 Sega Pro 79 #26 Pg 28/29

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Physical Scans

Mega Drive, US
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Mega Drive, US (Majesco rerelease)
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Mega Drive, EU
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Mega Drive, JP
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Mega Drive, AU
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Mega Drive, AU (Gold Collection)
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Mega Drive, BR
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Mega Drive, Asia
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Artwork

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External links

• Sega of Japan Virtual Console page (Japanese)
• Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball on Apple.com: GB, US, JP
• Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball on Steam

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Sonic Spinball (16-bit)
Sonic Spinball Main Article Levels Enemies Bosses Prerelease Cheat Codes Commercials Print Advertisements Magazine Articles Game Development	Levels: Toxic Caves Lava Powerhouse   Bonus Stage The Machine The Showdown Enemies and Obstacles: Buster Cluckbird Ferron Krondor Magma Worm Rexxon Unknown TM Enemy Enemies and Obstacles: Scorpius (TC) Robo-Boiler (LP) Veg-O-Machine (TM) Robotnik's Ship (TS)