Sonic Spinball
-- Intro --
I remember an old NES game called Pinball Quest. You were given a
series of pinball boards, and by completing a task (usually knocking down all the drop targets)
you could advance to the next. They all connected together, meaning that new areas would open up
as you'd score points. Sonic Spinball is alot like that, except it's funner.
-- Story --
Dr. Robotnik's back in the game: this time, he's betting his chips on the
Veg-O Fortress. Built right into an active volcano, the Veg-O Fortress draws its energy from
the magma flowing beneath, and uses the extra horsepower to zap helpless animals into robot
minions faster than ever before. Sonic's on the job! The bad news is that the Doc was
anticipating his arrival, and has created an elaborate pinball defense system to guard his
super-efficient, streamlined factory. ...no problem!
-- Gameplay Info --
Although it is at heart a pinball sim, Spinball tosses in a hefty helping of
mission-based goodness, along with a dash of Sonic style.
The standard Sonic moves are here: run, jump, Spin Dash. You don't get much
chance to utilize them, however, which is just as well anyway because he controls like a brick
scraping against concrete. Luckily, that's completely unimportant in Spinball. The real action
takes place when Sonic plays the role of the pinball in his classic Sonic Spin pose. From there
it's bumper-bumpin', flipper-flippin', Ring-grabbin', Badnik-boppin' goodness all the way!
The object is to locate and collect all the Chaos Emeralds within any given
stage. In order to reach one of the shiny gems, you must first open the path to it. This is
usually done by hitting special targets, destroying certain Badniks, or something to that
effect. Once your goal is accomplished, some unique effect will happen (such as toxic sludge
being drained from a pit, a new gate being opened, the track on a minecart being switched, etc.)
and the Emerald will be up for the taking. The number of Emeralds varies from level to level,
but there are definitely more than seven in total (and they're all the same darn color,
too).
After collecting all the Chaos Emeralds in a stage, the path to the boss will
open up. Bounce, flip, and spin your way up and defeat the Badnik to advance to the next
stage. Or, if you're playing the 8-bit version, the Bonus Cage. In the Bonus Cage, the object
is to spin around three giant, connected birdcages (complete with harmless Badnik bird in the
center), collecting Rings, One-ups, Continues, and all that good stuff. In order to advance to
the next cage in each triple set, you must first nab half the Rings in the cage you're in. Once
you've done that, the door to the next cage in the group will open up. The catch is that you
must make it out of the third cage within the time limit, or you get to keep zilch of your loot.
You can gain extra time by popping open the clock monitors.
Special Stages are present in the Genesis version as well, although they follow
a different schema. They're set up like real pinball machines, with Sonic at the
controls. You play one after each level (barring The Showdown), and the object is to complete
the given task in three balls or less:
- Toxic Caves: Destroy the seven robot machines and free the animals within, but avoid
Robotnik, who's cruising around the center of the board on his Mobile.
- Lava Powerhouse: Destroy the four teeth on the giant Robotnik head, and knock down
those targets in the back, too.
- The Machine: Knock the Scratch clones out of the way and destroy the robot machine.
There's another kind of bonus stage, too. Collect ALL the Rings (every single
one, you insolent knave!) on the board, then locate a familiar-looking Star Circle somewhere
around the level. Hop into it and you're warped off to the multiball stage, which is like a
normal Special Stage, except you're knocking around three balls at once (ahem). The object is
to destroy the crab, which is guarded by two invincible Clucks.
Another extra unique to the 8-bit version is the "Match Screen". It's like a
little slot-machine you get to play when you get a game over. Four digits spin up on the screen,
and if they match the final four digits of your score, you get a free ball. Hey, at least
there's a chance...
The stages include:
- Toxic Caves -- (Toxic Pools in the 8-bit version) It's a stinky sewer o' toxic sludge.
Don't hang around on the lowest platform or Rexxon will rear its ugly head and turn you into a
snack. Home to Cluck, Worm, Forebot, and Rexxon.
- Lava Powerhouse -- It's the lava power source, which means...it's hot. A couple of weird-ass
kangaroos on a see-saw pump thingie send you flying back into the game everytime you fall off
into the side. Home to Ferron, Forebot, and Cluck.
- The Machine -- This is the part where all the helpless animals are being turned into robots.
It's like a giant machine, hence the name...ya know? Home to Monkey and Vulture.
- The Showdown -- (The Final Showdown in the 8-bit version) The volcano is erupting, the
Veg-O Fortress is crumbling, and Robotnik's escaping all at the same time. Uh-oh. Home to
Wasp and Vulture.
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Information
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Review By:
Green Gibbon
Debut:
November, 1993 (Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball)
Players:
1
Publisher:
SEGA
Developer:
Sega Technical Institute
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Codes & Cheats
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A Hidden Emerald
At the third level, go to the cells. Hit the middle cell. A emerald will drop. Go to the bottom and there will be an emerald waiting for you.
Bonus Stage
If you have Sonic & Knuckles, you can access a special bonus stage. To activate, insert your Sonic Spinball cartridge into Sonic & Knuckles, then turn on your Genesis. Wait for a screen with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Robotnic and the words, "No Way". Now hold A + B + C and you're ready to play.
Level Select
From the Options screen, press A, Down, B, Down, C, Down, A, B, Up, A, C, Up, B, C, Up. To activate, hold A and press Start for level 2, hold B and press Start for level 3, or hold C and press Start for level 4.
Multi-ball Stage
There's a great multi-ball stage in Sonic Spinball. To reach it, get all the rings on a level. Then find the gate -- it looks like a large sparkling ring. Voilą: multiball play!
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Music |
Toxic Cave Zone
Lava Powerhouse
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Pictures
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