Forgotten Gaming- Sonic Spinball

Name- Sonic Spinball

Console- Sega Genesis

Developer- Sega Technical Institute

Released- November 1993

1993 was the year of Sonic spinoffs. With Sonic 1 & 2 (’91 and ’92) firmly planting the franchise in popularity, the following year padded the series with offshoot offerings. We saw Sonic Chaos for the GameGear (and Master System overseas), Sonic CD for the Sega CD, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine for the puzzle lovers and finally Sonic Spinball. Ever play the pinball areas in Sonic 2’s Casino Night and wonder what a whole game of it would be like? Wonder no more.

Spinball is a pinball platformer. Yes, you read that right. Four giant, segmented pinball tables with minor platforming elements connecting them, each with their own gimmicks and even bosses. Story is that Dr. Robotnik built a new fortress within a volcano, designed to turn animals into robots (a common trope in Sonic’s early days). To keep out intruders, Robotnik created the Pinball Defense System, aka the aforementioned pinball tables. Unfortunately for him, Sonic curls into a ball quite easily and becomes the pinball, working his way up the fortress to destroy the machines and oust Robotnik.

Rarely does the game look as traditional as this.

Sonic starts out in the Toxic Caves, the sewers under the fortress. From there he enters the Lava Powerhouse that uses the volcano’s kinetic energy to keep things running. Sonic then enters The Machine in charge of roboticizing the animals, and then finally chases down Robotnik in the Showdown while the entire fortress crumbles. I always appreciate when Sonic stages have a flow to them, not just randomly going from grasslands to snowy mountains to casino cities with nothing connecting them. In Spinball you know exactly where you are and why you are there.

Many gamers are divided on this game, as it takes such a specific concept and bases an entire game around it. The physics in this game are also very loose, and Sonic bounces all over the place when all you want to do is shoot him in a specific direction. Many write the game off as unplayable and unfairly difficult, that is until you realize you always have control of Sonic himself. Unlike traditional pinball where you are at the mercy of the flipper and maybe a tilt or two, in Spinball you can always use the D-Pad to nudge Sonic in whatever direction you need. You still need to use the flippers to get him in the general direction, but in the air you can adjust his trajectory. This really sets the game apart from other pinball adventures, and really hasn’t been seen since.

Collect all emeralds on each table to face the boss.

The other thing that makes Spinball unique and interesting (even 21 years later) is its audiovisual presentation. Spinball was made by an all-American division of Sega known as the Technical Institute, or STI. STI wasn’t the most prolific studio, but all of its games (Kid Chameleon, Comix Zone, Sonic 3…) were renowned for their edginess. No games looked or sounded ‘cooler’ and ‘mature’ as theirs. They exploited the Genesis’ darker color palette to create games that were colorful yet very moody. They also exploited the Genesis’ rough sound capabilities to make music and sound effects that were overly crunchy, almost snarling. Essentially all of the console’s shortcomings became their advantages. If you needed any proof to argue the Sega Genesis was the ‘cooler’ console than the Super Nintendo, STI’s games gave you all the ammo you needed.

Thus, Spinball is one of the darkest and edgiest Sonic games in the series. The music, though catchy, uses very hard synths and minor melodies. The graphics show a game world that simply isn’t a happy, pleasant place: grime drips off of the Toxic Caves, animals are visibly roboticized in The Machine (their skeletons and all), and the game’s bosses are completely grotesque. The boss of Lava Powerhouse is a giant boiler containing Robotnik heads, and each time you hit a head it pukes lava. And yet all of this never comes off as shock value, or as the developers trying too hard. In a twisted way it’s almost tasteful. The subtle imagery combined with the sinister music makes Spinball a game that is borderline frightening, especially when you’re only 5 years old playing this for the first time! And my generation came out just fine, much better off than the sanitized, politically correct generation succeeding it.

Everything that made the 90s awesome, all in one picture. Let's boogie...

One can’t talk Spinball until they mention the other ‘main character’ of the game, the Status Strip. Like many pinball games, Spinball always shows a strip on top of the screen showing basics such as your score and balls remaining. But it also reacts to what’s going on in the stage: offering you clues, praising your achievements, and even deriding your mistakes. As the game goes on the Status Strip takes on a personality of its own, with text color changes and little icons. In my opinion the Status Strip steals the show, and it’s always entertaining to see what it displays next, and how. It’s always light-hearted and on your side, and it becomes your best friend in this otherwise intimidating, unfriendly game.

In conclusion, Sonic Spinball is an infamous Sonic spinoff that gets a bad rap by people that simply don’t know how to play it. It isn’t always the easiest game, but it’s not the unplayable mess that many make it out to be. It’s also a rare glimpse at a Sonic game that embraces a mature slant in the proper way, through solid atmosphere, sound direction and theming. It’s a game that simply makes you feel cool when you play it. That kind of thinking helped the Genesis back in the 90s and it’s a fun feeling to relive today.

Dash away to a simpler time, when games used to be fun.