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Sonic Pinball Party

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Sonic Pinball Party title.png
SonicPinballParty GBA JP Title.png
Sonic Pinball Party
System(s): Game Boy Advance
Publisher: Sega (JP/NA), THQ (EU)
Developer:
Peripherals supported: Game Link Cable
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1-4
Official in-game languages:
  • 日本語
  • English
  • Français
  • Deutsch
  • Español
  • Italiano
  • Release Date RRP Code Rating
    Game Boy Advance
    US
    2003-06-15[1] $? AGB-P-A3VE
    AGB-A3VE-USA
    ESRB: Everyone
    Game Boy Advance
    UK
    2003-10-31[2] £? AGB-P-A3VP
    AGB-A3VP-UKV
    PEGI: 3+
    Game Boy Advance
    DE
    2003-11-07[3] €? AGB-P-A3VP
    AGB-A3VP-NOE
    USK: 0
    Game Boy Advance
    JP
    2003-07-17[4] ¥4,800 (5,040)[4] AGB-P-A86J
    AGB-A86J-JPN
    CERO: Free
    Game Boy Advance
    AU
    2003 $? AGB-P-A3VP
    OFLC: G

    Sonic Pinball Party (ソニック ピンボール パーティー) is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Developed by Jupiter and Sonic Team, this spin-off serves as a celebration for Sonic Team-developed franchises, featuring many references to other games they developed.

    Sonic Pinball Party was released exclusively to Target stores in North America[5]. Because of this, it went largely unnoticed and has since became highly sought after. This drew ire from fans in Canada and Mexico, which do not have Target stores, and Sega made no alternate arrangements to get the game to other stores in those countries. It wasn't until the release of Sonic Advance & Sonic Pinball Party Combo Pack that Sonic Pinball Party became available in other retail stores.

    Gameplay

    Players control the two flippers and can also shake the board in 3 directions. The goal in Arcade mode is simply to rack up points. Rings collected in either Arcade or Story mode can be used in the Tiny Chao Garden or in the Casinopolis mini-games. Omochao can also explain to the player how the tables work in the Tutorial mode.

    This is one of several games to include the Tiny Chao Garden mini-game, which is unlocked by default in this game.

    Tables

    The game features 3 Pinball tables: one is based on the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the second is based on the Sega Saturn classic NiGHTS into Dreams, and the third is based on the Sega Dreamcast and arcade game Samba de Amigo. Each table has its own unique sets of rules.

    SPP GBA SonicTable NeoGreenHill.png
    Sonic the Hedgehog table
    The Sonic table features Chao Holes that will cause a Chao to hatch, evolve and reincarnate for bonus points as well as starting a Mini Game Mode when the Chao is raised into a cocoon. Lighting the RING lights will allow the player to start Ring Mode by shooting into the Feature Hole, which gives the player 120 seconds to collect as many Rings as they can.

    Lighting the EGG lights will start Egg Mode when shooting into the Feature Hole, which will make Dr. Eggman appear on the table. Defeating him will start a Clear Bonus mode then advance the player to the next Zone. The Zones are all based on the ones from Sonic Advance, and cycle through Neo Green Hill Zone, Secret Base Zone, Casino Paradise Zone, Ice Mountain Zone, Angel Island Zone, Egg Rocket Zone, X-Zone, and The Moon Zone infinitely until a Game Over. The player must enter Ring Mode in every Zone before beating Eggman at X-Zone to enter The Moon Zone.

    Going into a hidden hole three times changes the player's character to Tails, then Knuckles, then Amy, and back to Sonic.

    SPP GBA NiGHTSTable SpringValley.png
    NiGHTS table
    The NiGHTS table features an Enemy Hole that will start a Mini Game Mode when the ball is delivered into the hole three times. Shooting into the Pian Hole three times starts Acrobat Mode, in which the player must perform acrobatic moves within a time limit for a bonus. Lighting the CHIP lights will allow the player to start Blue Chip Mode by shooting into the Symbol Hole, which gives the player 120 seconds to collect as many Blue Chips as they can. All collected Blue Chips are converted to Rings after the game ends.

    Hitting the Ideya Palace three times will start Dualize Mode in which the player has 180 seconds to shoot into the Ideya Capture Hole to earn an Ideya. After collecting all five Ideya, shooting at the Ideya Palace will start Boss Mode, in which the player must defeat a Nightmaren boss to start a Clear Bonus mode and advance to the next area.

    SPP GBA SambaTable.png
    Samba de Amigo table
    The Samba table is smaller than the other two tables. On this table, the player must turn on all loop lights, then shoot the ball into the Song Play Hole to start Song Play Mode. In Song Play Mode, the player must shoot the ball through the loops and ramps that are lit at the moment. When the mode is over, the player's performance is graded with a Rank from A to E.

    Lighting all the FEVER lights will start Fever Play Mode when shooting into the Song Play Hole. In Fever Play Mode, the player is presented with a mini-game in which they must press the flipper buttons in time when the Rhythm Balls pass over the targets. When the mode is over, the player's performance is graded with a hit percentage.

    The song that plays for Song Play Mode and Fever Play Mode is determined by whatever pose that Pose Man is in, and hitting the Rhythm Ball Bumpers prior to starting either mode will change Pose Man's pose and select from one of nine possible songs.

    Story Mode

    Story mode uses Sonic the Hedgehog as the story's main character as he works his way through the Egg Cup Tournament at Casinopolis to rescue his brainwashed comrades and all the captured animals from Dr. Eggman.

    Notavailable.svg
    First Match - Vs. Knuckles
    In the first match, Sonic is challenged by Knuckles to score 10,000,000 points on the Sonic table, starting from Neo Green Hill Zone. Completing this match unlocks the Samba de Amigo table for Arcade mode.
    Notavailable.svg
    Second Match - Vs. Tails
    Having been brainwashed by Eggman, Tails challenges Sonic to score 15,000,000 points within 5 minutes on the Sonic table, starting from Casino Paradise Zone. Completing this match liberates Tails from Eggman's control and unlocks the Slot mini-game in Casinopolis.
    Notavailable.svg
    Semifinal Match - Vs. Amy
    Having been brainwashed by Eggman, Amy challenges Sonic to defeat Gillwing on the NiGHTS table. Completing this match liberates Amy from Eggman's control and unlocks the Bingo mini-game in Casinopolis.
    Notavailable.svg
    Final Match - Vs. Metal Sonic
    The final match pits Sonic against his robotic rival Metal Sonic. To win, the player must complete seven Zones on the Sonic table, starting from Neo Green Hill Zone.
    Notavailable.svg
    Extra Match - Vs. Dr. Eggman
    Though Sonic wins the tournament, Eggman suddenly appears and challenges him to a race to score 30,000,000 within 5 minutes on the Sonic table, starting from Neo Green Hill Zone. Eggman gradually earns 200,000 points every two seconds, though the player should focus less on that and more on scoring quickly within the time limit.

    Party Mode

    There is also a Party Mode available in which up to four players can play pinball-themed minigames together using Game Link Cables, with only one copy of Sonic Pinball Party required for the host player. There are three different games to play, which are:

    SPP GBA PartyMode HotPotato.png
    Hot Potato / Bakudan (爆弾)
    The objective of this mini-game is to use the flippers to shoot Bomb Balls into the three holes to send to opponents. When a player drops a Bomb Ball between their flippers three times, they will retire from the game, and the last player standing wins. However, players who have been retired can still distract the survivors by sending harmless black balls to their boards.
    SPP GBA PartyMode Hockey.png
    Hockey (ホッケー)
    The objective of this mini-game is to keep launching balls to prevent them from falling down between the flippers. Each player plays on the same field as one another, but they will only be able to see their own side of the field. Each player starts with 100 points, and will lose a point for each ball (3 points for golden balls) that falls between their flippers. The game ends when time is up, or when a player loses all of their points, and whoever has the most points left is the winner.
    SPP GBA PartyMode LadderClimb.png
    Ladder Climb / Biru no Bori (びるのぼり)
    Unlike the other two mini-games, this is a co-op mini-game in which the objective is to work together to fling a single ball up a vertical passageway as far as they can within the time limit. Each player is assigned to a flipper based on colour (or one side of the wall when there are only two players). Passing a checkpoint line will add extra time to the timer. If the ball falls straight down, mashing the flipper button will attract the ball to a player's flipper. The game ends when time is up, with the players' score representing the height reached.

    Casinopolis

    In the Casinopolis mode, the player can use Rings to gamble in a trio of casino-themed mini-games, hosted by Cream the Rabbit and Cheese. The three games are Roulette, Slot, and Bingo. Only Roulette is available at the start and the other two need to be unlocked by playing through Story mode.

    Each time the ball is dropped between the flippers in these mini-games, the player loses one Ring. To exit these mini-games, the player must press Start.

    SPP GBA Casinopolis Roulette.png
    Roulette
    In this mini-game, the player must shoot the ball into one of the two Bet Holes to place their bet on a random number on the roulette wheel. If the player gets the same number more than once, its panel will change colour, raising the payout from 2x to 4x to 8x. The player must keep increasing their bets as many times as possible within 120 seconds, as the roulette wheel will spin when time is up. If it lands on any of the lit panels, the player will win Rings.
    Notavailable.svg
    Slot
    In this mini-game, the player must shoot the ball into one of the two Bet Holes to earn one pay line on a ChuChu Rocket!-themed slot machine, up to a maximum of three. After a certain amount of time passes after paying one pay line, the reels will spin, and the player will earn Rings if three pictures line up.
    Notavailable.svg
    Bingo
    In this mini-game, the player must shoot the ball into one of the two Bet Holes to light up a random number on the bingo card. If the player gets a "Bingo" by forming a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line, they will be paid Rings. The quicker the player gets a "Bingo", the more Rings they'll win.

    Hidden content

    Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Sonic Pinball Party/Hidden content

    Sound test

    NOTE: This game's Sound Test does not feature corresponding titles.

    # Title Usage
    001 Title Title Screen
    002 Main Menu Main Menu
    003  ???  ???
    004 Ending Story Ending
    005 Story Story Demo
    006 Staff Roll Credits
    007  ???  ???
    008 Results Results & Ranking/High Scores
    009 Casinopolis Casinopolis Game Select Menu
    010  ???  ???
    011 Neo Green Hill Zone Neo Green Hill Zone Table (variation of "Neo Green Hill Zone Act 2" from Sonic Advance)
    012 All Clear  ??? ("All Clear" from Sonic the Hedgehog)
    013 Boss Egg Bonus (Sonic boss) / The Moon Zone Table ("Boss" from Sonic the Hedgehog)
    014 Ring / Blue Chip Ring/Chip Big Bonus ("Star Light Zone" from Sonic the Hedgehog)
    015 Jackpot Jackpot Bonus ("Spring Yard Zone" from Sonic the Hedgehog)
    016 Stage Clear Stage Clear Jingle (Sonic Tables) ("Stage Clear" from Sonic the Hedgehog)
    017 Super Sonic Racing Clear Bonus Countdown (Sonic Tables) / Multi Ball Bonus (NiGHTS Tables) ("Super Sonic Racing" from Sonic R)
    018 Open Your Heart Multi Ball Bonus (Sonic Tables) ("Open Your Heart" from Sonic Adventure)
    019 Secret Base Zone Secret Base Zone Table ("Secret Base Zone Act 1" from Sonic Advance)
    020 Casino Paradise Zone Casino Paradise Zone Table ("Casino Paradise Zone Act 1" from Sonic Advance)
    021 Ice Mountain Zone Ice Mountain Zone Table ("Ice Mountain Zone Act 1" from Sonic Advance)
    022 Angel Island Zone Angel Island Zone Table ("Angel Island Zone Act 1" from Sonic Advance)
    023 Cosmic Angel Zone Egg Rocket Zone Table ("Cosmic Angel Zone" from Sonic Advance)
    024 X-Zone X-Zone Table ("X-Zone" from Sonic Advance)
    025 Paternal Horn Spring Valley Table ("Paternal Horn" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    026 The Amazing Water Frozen Bell Table ("The Amazing Water" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    027 Gloom of the N.H.C. Mystic Forest Table ("Gloom of the N.H.C." from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    028 Take the Snow Train Splash Garden Table ("Take the Snow Train" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    029 Suburban Museum Soft Museum Table ("Suburban Museum" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    030 Under Construction Stick Canyon Table ("Under Construction" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    031 Message from Nightopia Twin Seeds Table / Clear Bonus Countdown (NiGHTS Tables) ("Message from Nightopia" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    032 NiGHTS and Reala Nightmaren Table (NiGHTS boss) ("NiGHTS and Reala" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    033 Dreams Dreams Clear Bonus Countdown (Nightmaren Table) / Fever Bonus (Samba de Amigo Table) ("Dreams Dreams" from NiGHTS into Dreams)
    034 Burning Hearts Fever Bonus / Song Play Change (Samba de Amigo Table) ("Burning Hearts ~Burning Angel~" from Burning Rangers)
    035 We are Burning Rangers Fever Bonus (Samba de Amigo Table) ("We are Burning Rangers" from Burning Rangers)
    036 Phantasy Star Online Fever Bonus / Song Play Change (Samba de Amigo Table) ("The whole new world" from Phantasy Star Online)
    037 Can still see the light Fever Bonus (Samba de Amigo Table) ("Can still see the light" from Phantasy Star Online)
    038 Vamos a Carnaval Samba de Amigo Table / Fever Bonus ("Vamos a Carnaval" from Samba de Amigo)
    039 Mambo de Verano Fever Bonus (Samba de Amigo Table) ("Mambo de Verano" from Samba de Amigo)
    040 ChuChu Rocket Fever Bonus / Song Play Change (Samba de Amigo Table) ("Title" from ChuChu Rocket)
    041 ChuChu Fever Acrobat Bonus (NiGHTS Tables) / Fever Bonus (Samba de Amigo Table) ("ChuChu Fever" from ChuChu Rocket)
    042 Mini Game 1 Table Mini Game 1 (Elevator, Super Jet, Chaos Emeralds, Amy Flash, Chip Box, Star Chip)
    043 Mini Game 2 Table Mini Game 2 (???)
    044 Mini Game 3 Table Mini Game 3 (Alarm Egg, Checkpoint, Hang Air)
    045 Mini Game 4 Table Mini Game 4 (Jet Stream, Jump Attack)
    046 Mini Game 5 Table Mini Game 5 (Grind)
    047  ???  ???
    048 Casinopolis Mini Game Casinopolis Mini Game (Roulette, Slot, Bingo)
    049 Roulette Roulette Spin (Mini Game (Roulette))

    NOTE: There are a few tracks that are not accessible via the Sound Test:

    • Party Mode
    • Results (Party Mode - Results)
    • Tiny Chao Garden
    • Mini Game (Tiny Chao Garden - Mini Game)

    Production credits

    Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Sonic Pinball Party/Production credits

    Versions

    Also released on

    Manuals

    Artwork

    Physical scans

    Segaretro-round.svg Reception »
    Game Boy Advance, US
    SPP GBA US back.jpgNospine-small.pngSPP US Boxart.jpg.jpg
    Cover
    Pinballparty cart us.jpg
    Cart
    Game Boy Advance, UK
    SPP GBA UK back.jpgNospine-small.pngSPP EU Boxart.jpg
    Cover
    Game Boy Advance, FR

    Game Boy Advance, DE
    SPP EU German Boxart Back.jpgSPP EU German Boxart.jpg
    Cover
    SPP EU German Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Game Boy Advance, ES

    Game Boy Advance, JP
    Spp gba jp back cover.jpgSPP JP Boxart.jpg.jpg
    Cover
    Game Boy Advance, AU
    SonicPinballParty GBA AU Box Back.jpgNospine-small.pngSonicPinballParty GBA AU Box Front.jpg
    Cover

    Technical information

    ROM dump status

    System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
    Game Boy Advance
    CRC32 08794743
    MD5 de40b1738a7c670ca28ddf44bb908df6
    SHA-1 92b5c19cb4dee8fdfc15a8abdc699822d5373042
    8MB Cartridge (US)
    Game Boy Advance
    CRC32 4435917e
    MD5 95ce5443198044f4546a42d9d67be0e2
    SHA-1 153cbdf30d133f92fa811a212b3d8bf6857fd29c
    8MB Cartridge (EU)
    Game Boy Advance
     ?
    CRC32 43b5f167
    MD5 0c8060d8231b01fb2b6670a5e059122d
    SHA-1 b458f8c15178025960974fc520a9b28e8a7c25ee
    8MB Cartridge (JP)

    External links

    • Sega of Japan catalogue pages: Game Boy Advance (archive)
    • Nintendo catalogue pages: JP, US (archive)

    References

    1. http://www.nintendo.com/games/gamepage/gamepage_main.jsp?gameId=1695 (Wayback Machine: 2003-08-14 02:35)
    2. http://www.amazon.co.uk:80/THQ-Sonic-Pinball-Party-GBA/dp/B0000TIWU6 (Wayback Machine: 2007-09-04 04:56)
    3. https://www.amazon.de/THQ-Sonic-Pinball-Party/dp/B0000D94TM/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-06-21 17:50)
    4. 4.0 4.1 http://sega.jp/gba/sonicpp/ (Wayback Machine: 2003-12-03 20:23)
    5. http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/423/423510p1.html (Wayback Machine: 2004-08-04 00:40)


    Sonic Pinball Party
    Sonic Pinball Party title.png

    Main page | Maps | Credits | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception


    Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems
    Game Boy Advance
     2001  Sonic Advance | Tiny Chao Garden     2002  Sonic Advance 2     2003  Sonic Pinball Party | Sonic Battle     2004  Sonic Advance 3 | Sonic X: A Super Sonic Hero     2005  Sonic Advance & Sonic Pinball Party | Sonic Advance & ChuChu Rocket! | Sonic Advance & Sonic Battle | Sonic Battle & ChuChu Rocket! | Sonic Pinball Party & Sonic Battle | Sonic Pinball Party & Columns Crown     2006  Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis    
     Demos  Sonic Advance 3