Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
From Sonic Retro
- "Sonic Spinball" redirects here. For the 8-bit version, see Sonic Spinball (8-bit).
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| Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball |
|---|
| System(s): Sega Mega Drive/Genesis |
| Publisher: Sega |
| Developer: Sonic Team, Sega Technical Institute |
| Genre: Pinball |
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Sonic Spinball 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 both SatAM and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
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]
Contents
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 spindash. 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
Also Released On
- Sonic Spinball for the Sega Game Gear and Master System (1993)
- Sonic Spinball for Tiger LCD (1994)
- 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)
- Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the Sony Playstation 2 and Microsoft X-Box (2004)
- Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and Sony Playstation 2 (2005)
- Virtual Console on Nintendo Wii (2007)
- Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Sony Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 (2009)
Production Credits
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 Stuio), Brian Coburn (Sega Multi-Media Stuio), 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
Resources
Box Art
US cover
US cart
EU cover
EU cart
JP cover
JP cart
Asian cover
Brazilian cover
Brazilian cart
Artwork
| Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems | |
|---|---|
   |
1991 Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Eraser 1992 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 1993 Sonic the Hedgehog CD | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine | Sonic Spinball 1994 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Sonic & Knuckles 1995 Chaotix | Sonic Classics 1996 Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island |