- "Sonic Spinball" redirects here. For the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear versions, see Sonic Spinball (8-bit). For other similarly-titled media, see Sonic Spinball (disambiguation).
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (Japanese: ソニック・スピンボール) is a pinball game for the Sega Mega Drive featuring Sonic as the ball. The game's title is a pun on pinball and Sonic's famous Spin Attack move. It is the only official game to incorporate the characters and setting of the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series, and one of only two for Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (the other being Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine).
The game is unique as it was coded entirely in the C programming language when the norm was assembly[31].
Story
Sonic and Tails approaching the Veg-O-Fortress in the opening sequence.
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. Sonic must use the fortress' special "Pinball Defense System" to his advantage as he works his way up the volcano's interior, 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 rocket ship before it erupts.
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, the player has some control of Sonic while he is being knocked around the pinball tables of each level. 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, the player can move him in a similar fashion to regular 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. Sonic is also capable of grabbing ledges with a move known as the Cliffhanger Flip.
The objective of the game is to collect the Chaos Emeralds which are hidden in each level, then defeat the level's 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 Sonic is 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 Clucker's Defense, while other Bonus Stages are played after clearing each level. Extra lives are awarded for every 20,000,000 points scored.
Unlike traditional Sonic games, the player can actually fall outside of the boss arena, though the boss will remain in the state it was last left in providing the player doesn't lose a life. 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.
Sonic Spinball also features alternating multiplayer for up to four players. All players take turns to play through the game using the first Control Pad, switching out whenever a player loses a life or completes the game.
History
Development
Versions
An enhanced port of the game for Windows PCs was planned, but was cancelled. A cover design intended for this port was posted online by Sega Forever on July 27, 2023[32].
Version history
System |
Version |
Size |
Date |
Comment |
Ref |
Icon |
|
|
0000020000000000000000000000002.0.0
|
4.8MB
|
201211292012-11-29
|
|
[33]
|
|
|
|
0000010000000000010000000000001.0.1
|
4MB
|
201012162010-12-16
|
|
[23]
|
|
|
Comparisons
Also released on
Production credits
Manuals
Magazine articles
Artwork
International cover illustration
Unreleased PC version cover
Physical scans
|
86
|
Sonic Retro Average
|
Based on 2 reviews
|
|
Mega Drive, JP
|
Cover
|
Cart
|
Mega Drive, US
|
Cover
|
Cart PCB
|
Mega Drive, US (ESRB)
|
Cover
|
Cart Manual
|
Mega Drive, US (Majesco rerelease)
|
Cover
|
Cart
|
Mega Drive, US (Not For Resale)
|
|
Cart
|
Mega Drive, EU (Assembled in U.K.)
|
Cover
|
Cart Manual
|
Mega Drive, EU (Made in Japan)
|
Cover
|
Cart PCB
|
Mega Drive, PT
|
|
Cart Manual
|
Mega Drive, SE (rental)
|
Cover
|
|
Mega Drive, AU
|
Cover
|
Cart
|
Mega Drive, AU (alt)
|
Cover
|
Cart
|
Mega Drive, BR
|
Cover
|
Cart
|
Mega Drive, KR
|
Cover
|
|
Mega Drive, Asia
|
Cover
|
Cart
|
Technical information
ROM dump status
System |
Hash |
Size |
Build Date |
Source |
Comments |
|
|
|
✔
|
CRC32
|
677206cb
|
MD5
|
841e347b30a6e298ee2b0c722f19fe74
|
SHA-1
|
24bf6342b98c09775089c9f39cfb2f6fbe7806f7
|
|
1MB
|
1993-09
|
Cartridge (US)
|
|
|
|
|
✔
|
CRC32
|
aea0786d
|
MD5
|
800c7c12bc1eae7ddb61186875b29733
|
SHA-1
|
f61a568314133b60de82ac162b5b52473adc9e1c
|
|
1MB
|
1993-09
|
Cartridge (EU)
|
|
|
|
|
✔
|
CRC32
|
acd08ce8
|
MD5
|
3a12dc6b4f41681e0dc0ae3b2f894b4f
|
SHA-1
|
43b2fdac9c747d6f6a629347c589599074408cd9
|
|
1MB
|
1993-09
|
Cartridge (JP)
|
|
|
|
|
?
|
CRC32
|
e9960371
|
MD5
|
3fb84c8a3dcc64af079e4c37cd2ec8e0
|
SHA-1
|
8f372e3552e309d3462adeb700242b251f59def1
|
|
1MB
|
1993-09
|
|
Alternate music
|
|
|
Page
|
✘
|
CRC32
|
b1524979
|
MD5
|
693395f3acb238994641ae09562e8fee
|
SHA-1
|
b426457e5b440ed33ee1756bc6dad2bdcd0c0d9f
|
|
1.25MB
|
1993-08
|
Cartridge
|
|
|
(487 kB) (info)
|
Page
|
?
|
CRC32
|
c203c557
|
MD5
|
5c8462f885aabd7c7921dc029ee62d49
|
SHA-1
|
1b17e659f8a18656c36b8e26cc997c0d8312761b
|
|
1MB
|
1993-09-17
|
EPROMs
|
|
|
(501 kB) (info)
|
Page
|
?
|
CRC32
|
f9ad829e
|
MD5
|
0c728a848f9c6ee4dac2283b7a88e459
|
SHA-1
|
d8a1172c286cd9b8d2236542bcc7b89b99495992
|
|
1MB
|
1993-09
|
Cartridge (US)
|
Pirate
|
|
|
|
External links
References
- ↑ File:Spinball-box-jap.jpg
- ↑ File:SonicSpinball MD KR cover.jpg
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
- ↑ [gamepro, issue 54, page 52 gamepro, issue 54, page 52]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MERwuwZK9YM (Ghostarchive)
- ↑ [cvg, issue 145, page 77 cvg, issue 145, page 77]
- ↑ [megapower, issue 5, page 68 megapower, issue 5, page 68]
- ↑ [mz, issue 34, page 39 mz, issue 34, page 39]
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/02.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-05 23:11)
- ↑ http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_spinball/ (Wayback Machine: 2007-03-12 15:17)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/Qvx2MMVOqUeFz0yNvKVpn004CTXoJvnd (Wayback Machine: 2010-11-23 00:57)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/sonic_spinball (Wayback Machine: 2017-07-04 17:39)
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Sonic-Spinball--279085.html (archive.today)
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.de/Spiele/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Sonic-Spinball--279085.html (archive.today)
- ↑ http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19770&pageID=4 (Wayback Machine: 2012-04-03 02:30)
- ↑ http://games.real.com/allgames.php?mode=spnav (Wayback Machine: 2004-08-02 23:32)
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 https://steamdb.info/app/34313/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-11-17 19:48)
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 http://steamdb.info/app/34313/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-05-22 19:40)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 https://steamdb.info/app/34313/history/?changeid=5749741
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 http://steamdb.info/app/34313/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-11-17 19:48)
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 http://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/sonic-spinball/id386379635?mt=8 (Wayback Machine: 2010-12-21 10:10)
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 http://www.sonicstadium.org/2010/12/sonic-spinball-out-now-on-iphone/ (Wayback Machine: 2017-06-21 15:40)
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sonic-spinball/id386379635?mt=8 (Wayback Machine: 2010-12-30 01:33)
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 http://www.4gamer.net/games/049/G004989/20101217098/ (Wayback Machine: 2011-02-21 19:53)
- ↑ http://sega.jp/kt/apple/spin/ (Wayback Machine: 2010-12-20 05:41)
- ↑ https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/024066ce-d840-4af5-a4c0-8e70d94a2667 (archive.today)
- ↑ @NintendoAmerica on Twitter (archive.today)
- ↑ @NintendoEurope on Twitter (archive.today)
- ↑ @NintendoUK on Twitter (archive.today)
- ↑ @NintendoAUNZ on Twitter (archive.today)
- ↑ https://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=83&title=Interview:%20Peter%20Morawiec (Wayback Machine: 2008-04-07 22:35)
- ↑ @segaforever on Twitter (archive.today)
- ↑ http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sonic-spinball/id386379635?mt=8 (Wayback Machine: 2014-03-01 05:51)
- ↑ [gamesmaster, issue 12, page 86 gamesmaster, issue 12, page 86]
- ↑ [megaaction, issue 15, page 10 megaaction, issue 15, page 10]