Sonic Spinball (8-bit)

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Game Gear
Master System

Sonic Spinball

System(s): Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear

Publisher: Sega

Majesco Sales (US; re-release)

Developer: Sega Interactive

Genre: Action^[1]^[2]

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1994-09	$?	?
US (Majesco)	199x	$?	1200
EU	1994-09^[3]	€?	2526
PT	1994	?	GGJ2526
GR	199x	?	?
UK	1994-09^[3]	£29.99^[3]^[4]	2526
BR	199x	R$?	077060
ZA	199x	?	?
EU	1995-01-25	€?	9034
GR	199x	?	?
AU	1995	$?	FSON05SEC
BR	1995-01-25	R$?	028480
PT	1995	4,990	MSJ9034

Sonic Spinball also known as Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball is a 8-bit port of the Sega Mega Drive game Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, for the Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System.

Gameplay

The objective of this pinball game remains the same as the 16-bit game as obstacles still need to be cleared, Chaos Emeralds must be collected, and bosses must be defeated. Enemies are the same and the theme of the levels are also the same.

Although the levels carry the same theme as the 16-bit game, the layout of the levels and the graphics are different. Due to the different level layout there are several more opportunities to travel on foot. The speed is also slower and can make the game feel a bit floaty. The bonus stages are also different as they have the same objective level to level, and do not change to a first person perspective. There are also hidden rooms which contain cheat code bearing monitors, which when broken, will display a cheat code. The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and SatAM character cameos are also dropped from the Bonus Stage, although curiously, the AoStH model for Robotnik is used on the box art, while the Doctor's usual games look was used on the 16-bit packaging.

It is also possible to win a free ball after getting a Game Over. This is done by stopping the on screen spinning roulette wheel that appears and matching these four numbers with the last four numbers in the current score. If the four numbers are matched up successfully a free ball will be rewarded.

Manuals

Main article: Sonic Spinball (8-bit)/Manuals

Versions

Also released on

Sonic 2 in 1 for the Game Gear (1995)
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the Nintendo GameCube and PC (2003-2004) - GG version
Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and Playstation 2 (2005) - GG version
Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos & Spinball for the Techno Source Plug and play console (2005)
Sonic PC Collection for the PC (2009) - GG version
FunPlay 20-in-1 for the Plug and Play console (2009)
Sonic Origins Plus for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, Steam and Epic Games Store (2023) - GG version

Production credits

Game Gear version

Sega Interactive

Developed by: Sega Interactive Development Division

Programming & Art

Lead Programmer: Hideki Ikeda
Lead Artist: Michael Chung
Producer: Jason Lewis
Programmers: Terry Kirch, Frank E. Lucero, Hooell Monleon, Roy Pitchford, Alan Shapiro
Artists: Sandy Christensen, Larry Flores, Kevin Lee, Michael Tamura
Technical Director: Michael Terlecki
Art Director: Maureen Kringen

Sound & Consultation

Musical Composition/Sound Effects: Paul Gadbois (Music Director), Dave Delia, Howard Drossin, Brad Scott Gish
Graphics Utilities: Claude Foucault, Alex Suzdaltsev
Multimedia Support: Steve Lashower, Fred Weimer
Title Page: Sega Technical Institute
Gameplay Consultation: Jack Loh
Physics Consultation: Dr. Scott Gould
Special Thanks to: Steve Apour, John Duggan, Jim Tomasko, Chris Warner, Everyone at Sega Technical Institute, Western Arcade, Ric "Big Dog" Curtis, Bob Morrison, Kevin Lee, John Kuwaye, John Brandstetter, Brianna L. Lucero, Dr. Michael E. Klein, and... Tails

Sega of America

Product Manager: Chrissie Huneke
GameGear Marketing: Robert Lindsey

QA

Lead Tester: Marc Dawson
Assistant Lead Tester: Stan Weaver, Greg Vogt
Testers: Crisi Albertson, Jennifer Brozek, Joe Cain, Ivan Foong, Lawrence Gibson, Rick Greer, Randall Hauser, Richie Hideshima, Darin Johnston, Jeff Loney, Ryan McLaughlin, Joanna Pataki, Dave Perkinson, Loran Pudinski, Sam Saliba, Kevin Seiter, Tim Spengler, Mark Subotnik, Maria Tuzzo, Matt Underwood, Fernando Valderrama, Alex Villagran, Gregg Watkins, David Wood, Bill Person, Greg Becksted, Brian Harp, Andrew Podesta

Source: In-game credits^[5]

Master System version

Sega Interactive

Developed by: Sega Interactive Development Division

Programming & Art

Lead Programmer: Hideki Ikeda
Lead Artist: Michael Chung
Producer MS: John Brandstetter
Producer GG: Jason Lewis
Programmers: Terry Kirch, Frank E. Lucero, Hooell Monleon, Roy Pitchford, Alan Shapiro
Artists: Sandy Christensen, Larry Flores, Kevin Lee, Michael Tamura
Technical Director: Michael Terlecki
Art Director: Maureen Kringen

Sound

Musical Composition/Sound Effects: Paul Gadbois (Music Director), Dave Delia, Howard Drossin, Brad Scott Gish

Support & Special Thanks

Graphics Utilities: Claude Foucault, Alex Suzdaltsev
Multimedia Support: Fred Weimer, Steve Lashower
Gameplay Consultation: Jack Loh
Physics Consultation: Dr. Scott Gould
Special Thanks to: Steve Apour, John Duggan, Jim Tomasko, Chris Warner, Everyone at Sega Technical Institute, Western Arcade, Ric "Big Dog" Curtis, Bob Morrison, Kevin Lee, John Kuwaye, James Brandstetter, Brianna L. Lucero, Dr. Michael E. Klein, and... Tails

Sega of America

Product Manager: Chrissie Huneke
GameGear Marketing: Robert Lindsey

QA

Manager of Test: Steve Patterson
Lead Tester: Marc Dawson
Assistant Lead Tester: Stan Weaver, Greg Vogt
Testers GG: Crisi Albertson, Jennifer Brozek, Joe Cain, Ivan Foong, Lawrence Gibson, Rick Greer, Randall Hauser, Richie Hideshima, Darin Johnston, Jeff Loney, Ryan McLaughlin, Joanna Pataki, Dave Perkinson, Loran Pudinski, Sam Saliba, Kevin Seiter, Tim Spengler, Mark Subotnik, Maria Tuzzo, Matt Underwood, Fernando Valderrama, Alex Villagran, Gregg Watkins, David Wood, Bill Person, Greg Becksted, Brian Harp, Andrew Podesta

Source: In-game credits^[6]

Artwork

Physical scans

Game Gear version

Reception »

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart File:SonicSpinball GG US manual.pdf Manual

Game Gear, US (Majesco rerelease)
Cover
Cart File:SonicSpinball GG US majesco manual.pdf Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart File:SonicSpinball GG EU manual.pdf Manual

Game Gear, GR (Zegetron)

Game Gear, PT
Cover

Game Gear, BR
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, ZA
Cover

Master System version

Reception »

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart File:SonicSpinball SMS EU manual.pdf Manual

Master System, PT
Cover
Cart File:SonicSpinball SMS PT manual.pdf Manual

Master System, GR (Zegetron)

Master System, AU
Cover
Cart File:Sonic Spinball SMS AU Manual.pdf Manual

Master System, AU (Classics)
Cover

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart File:SonicSpinball SMS BR manual.pdf Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

✔

CRC32	a9210434
MD5	8e3b44fda375ad9748b678e9c6b45502
SHA-1	df21d42b55b1b4a25704957fe323728b775eb84d

512kB

1994-05-30

Cartridge (US/EU)

✔

CRC32	3283580d
MD5	697986b161416f0a825c36e9b9cae1b8
SHA-1	1b6f1469d0e707aab3eba3c6748f350a30eb530f

512kB

1994-03-07

CD-R disc^[7]

"0307" prototype

(201 kB) (info)

Sonic Spinball (8-bit)

From Sonic Retro

Contents

Gameplay

Manuals

Versions

Also released on

Production credits

Game Gear version

Master System version

Artwork

Physical scans

Game Gear version

Master System version

Technical information

ROM dump status

References