SONIC THE HEDGEHOG SPINBALL (SMD)
A pipe dream supposedly borne from the popularity of Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s Casino Nights zone, Sonic Spinball had all the ingredients to be an inspired divergence for the talismanic blue hedgehog. An adoring fanbase would have another dose of Sonic to look forward to, whilst a broader range of players would be introduced to the brilliant but never-quite-mainstream delights of video game pinball, itself enjoying an early-nineties golden period courtesy of the likes of Pinball Dreams and the lauded Mega Drive port of Dragon’s Fury.
Fate would ensure, however, that the project would do little for the standing of SEGA’s mascot and less still for the pinball genre. To say circumstances were unfavourable to Sonic Spinball’s prospects would be a gross understatement. That Spinball exists was largely down to SEGA making unsatisfactory progress in the development of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The Japanese company knew they needed something to sell to the punters in the run-up to Christmas 1993 and the result was a hurried development, the first bonafide cash cow of Sonic’s lineage.
The bosses are creepily entertaining, like this Robotnik/scorpion fusion in the Toxic Caves
Considering the less-than-favourable lead-up to Spinball’s release, the game could have been worse. That said, there’s a barely disguised patchiness to it all, with gameplay hampered by poor controls and the overall experience dampened by clumsy design. The gameplay consists of some creative but below-par pinball action and a small dose of platforming. The less said about manoeuvring Sonic, the better: response times are tediously slow and the hedgehog moves with all the purpose of a lead weight. He struggles visibly with basic environmental elements like walls and there’s none of the fluency of the platformers. Levels are considerably more expansive than your average pinball tables, routinely offering two or three tiers as well as secondary sections. The ambition behind the designs is quite admirable.
Perhaps Sonic Spinball’s greatest positive is its unusual and perhaps unexpected visual direction, based on the enjoyable animated series. It delivers an edgier, grimier aspect to the graphics, doing away with the bright and clean chequerboard aesthetic of the platformers and focusing instead on big, extravagant enemy sprites and spooky, industrial locations. When Sonic collects an emerald or pulls himself up a ledge, the sprite momentarily expands to give the feeling he’s moving into the screen and towards the player, which is a neat effect. A few shortcomings hint at the game’s constricted development cycle, however. The Sonic sprite in particular lacks quality and smoothness of animation (there clearly aren’t enough frames attributed to his movements) whilst the game is dogged by persistent slow-down.
Perhaps Sonic Spinball’s greatest positive is its unusual and perhaps unexpected visual direction, based on the enjoyable animated series. It delivers an edgier, grimier aspect to the graphics, doing away with the bright and clean chequerboard aesthetic of the platformers and focusing instead on big, extravagant enemy sprites and spooky, industrial locations. When Sonic collects an emerald or pulls himself up a ledge, the sprite momentarily expands to give the feeling he’s moving into the screen and towards the player, which is a neat effect. A few shortcomings hint at the game’s constricted development cycle, however. The Sonic sprite in particular lacks quality and smoothness of animation (there clearly aren’t enough frames attributed to his movements) whilst the game is dogged by persistent slow-down.
I, like many who grew up with a Mega Drive, retain some good memories of Sonic Spinball. Whilst this nostalgia hasn’t been entirely dispelled in replaying it, it’s fair to say the majority (if not the entirety) of the positives relate to the first level and its bonus stage. The Toxic Caves setting is a novelty unto itself, marking a pronounced detour from the green hills synonymous with kicking off Sonic’s games. The level houses plenty of cool touches and uses some nice tricks to act as a safety blanket for new players. Here, it doesn’t matter if the flippers are a little unreliable, because should Sonic slip between them, there’s a window of opportunity for him to escape the gaping maw of an incoming robot crocodile. Amid the higher tiers, the hedgehog can avoid becoming submerged in deadly toxic waste by landing on a conveniently placed (and humorously animated) barrel with an oar. Working out how to collect the three emeralds, riding the various pipelines and a fun minecart bit make for an eclectic opening level, rounded off by a memorably creepy boss that sees Robotnik crossed with a scorpion.
The bonus stages arguably play a better game of pinball than the main levels. It’s a peculiar move, a mini-game adopting the same genre as its main adventure. These smaller tables play like ordinary pinball and are lots of fun, distinguishable from the main game in that they play from a semi-3D perspective that’s quite effective. They look nice and deserve credit for details such as Sonic’s reflection in the machine, and his eyes moving to track the motion of the ball. The series has always been renowned for its fun bonus stages and these are some of the most enjoyable parts of Sonic Spinball.
The bonus stages arguably play a better game of pinball than the main levels. It’s a peculiar move, a mini-game adopting the same genre as its main adventure. These smaller tables play like ordinary pinball and are lots of fun, distinguishable from the main game in that they play from a semi-3D perspective that’s quite effective. They look nice and deserve credit for details such as Sonic’s reflection in the machine, and his eyes moving to track the motion of the ball. The series has always been renowned for its fun bonus stages and these are some of the most enjoyable parts of Sonic Spinball.
By the second level, Lava Powerhouse, the game’s fortunes plummet. Suddenly, dropping through flippers results in instant death, and this exposes problems with the game’s design. Firstly, it shines an unfortunate light on how inconsistent and unpredictable the physics behave, and the sluggishness of the flippers. More troublesome is the absence of continues, a strange choice given the normally inclusive nature of the series. Lose a couple of lives quickly (something that’s easy to do from this point onwards) and before you know it, it’s back to the very beginning and having to make your way through the Toxic Caves again. This is fine the first few times, but this isn’t your typical Sonic adventure: practice won’t see you clearing early levels in a few minutes. Replaying levels becomes arduous very quickly, whilst losing lives almost always feels cheap and demoralising. Things don’t get any better: survive to table three, The Machine, and you’re rewarded with an even more labyrinthine layout that shows up the game’s inadequate controls.
Rounding off the at-times farcical story of its creation, Spinball’s developers were informed on the eve of the game’s launch that they didn’t own the rights to the Sonic the Hedgehog theme tune, meaning a new one had to be composed in a matter of hours. Whilst some of the murky jingles chime with the darker style, most come across as little more than a tinny-sounding racquet, whilst effects sound flat and weak.
Rounding off the at-times farcical story of its creation, Spinball’s developers were informed on the eve of the game’s launch that they didn’t own the rights to the Sonic the Hedgehog theme tune, meaning a new one had to be composed in a matter of hours. Whilst some of the murky jingles chime with the darker style, most come across as little more than a tinny-sounding racquet, whilst effects sound flat and weak.
The first level shows off some nice idea, like Sonic cheating death with a handily placed barrel 'n' paddle
Four levels, a fair bit of aggro and little genuine enjoyment is what Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball ultimately has to offer. The lack of continues was likely a means of manufacturing lifespan and making the game harder to finish, but all it does is act as a demotivating factor, as playing through levels with such an underwhelming frame rate is both a let-down and a frustration. Sonic Spinball was a great idea and there’s evidence of bright spots in the design, but what should have been an exciting fusion of genres will instead be remembered as a wasted opportunity.
REVIEWS OF 16-BIT ALTERNATIVES FOR FANS OF SONIC AND PINBALL