Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (Genesis) Playthrough

Channel:

Eric Corp Incorporated

Subscribers:

1,960

Published on November 10, 2014 11:04:57 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFugBHFW2BE

Game:

Sonic Spinball (1993)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 36:31

616 views

3

This is a playthrough of the game: Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (or Sonic Spinball for short).

Opinions:
Sonic Spinball is a game I always had mixed feelings toward. Unlike the main Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Genesis, I'm always a bit hesistant to play this one again after a while.

The graphics here are a mixed bag. The backgrounds are pretty decent, and the enemy sprites are fairly detailed. However, Sonic himself looks a little weird and the animation on most things are a bit choppy. My point is that it's graphically okay, but is not on Sonic levels of quality, in terms of visuals.

The music here is decent enough with some good tunes like the boss theme, but the problem is that it sounds a little too generic as it sounds a little similar to other Sega Genesis titles. The sound effects are okay, but some are a bit obnoxious here with the spin dash, the Robotnik "EEEEE", and the scare chord it plays when you're in danger or about to die.

The gameplay is pinball with an actual goal to do in each level which in this case, collect all of the Emeralds, reach the boss room, and defeat the boss. There is also times when you're on foot to do some little platforming or moving from one place to the other, which is okay for what it is though the controls could be better. While it can be enjoyable to rack up some serious points and the pinball tables do add a bit of variety in each of the levels to break up the monotony, there are some serious issues that mar up the experience. The game does suffer from some trial-and-error, as you'll go through pinball tables without any clue what to do. The game doesn't really explain what to do in each of them, which may trouble first-time players. This is made even worse in the later stages especially in The Machine and Showdown, where the Emeralds are put in places that some people may not even expect.

Plus the game suffers from a lot of glitches that mostly result in you phasing through objects, flippers, and even parts of the background that wouldn't normally happen. Some odd glitches that happen that include the ability to die on the first boss (see 36:07 in video) and some objects in the game being stuck on the screen for a bit.

Also, the game really suffers from difficulty spikes: the first two levels once you figure it out shouldn't be too hard to complete, the third one is a little harder at least in the lower center board and trying to find all of the Emeralds at first, and the final level is ridiculously hard as there are a lot of death spots and the pinball table layouts in this level are incredibly dumb and require precise shots in certain spots (even though I made it look easy here) to move on. I mean you do have the ability to move Sonic in the air, which sometimes helps but not always. I understand that it's the last level, but it's annoying when the game was never too difficult, then they throw you in the final stage that feels like it was hastily done. It ends up catching the gamer off-guard by throwing a curveball. It doesn't help that upon dying, all of the switches and doors that were opened or changed in some way reset to default. It's not too bad in the first three levels, but it gets annoying in the final stage when you have to press the blocks four freakin' times again.

Finally the bonus stages that appear at the end of levels 1, 2 and 3, and going in the portal upon getting all of the rings in the level (see 34:42 in video). They are small and do have a simple objective (which they do explain what to do) to complete within 3 balls. They are pretty decent to play, though it can be very aggravating and it's all because of one issue: the space between the flippers are too big. There will be multiple times when the ball hits something which sends it flying in the middle with no opportunity to bring the ball back up. I don't know if that was intentional, but still. Also, there are some questionable collision detection in the second bonus stage with Robotnik's teeth with the ball instead going inside his mouth, instead of hitting his tooth like it should. Still, there is some fun here.

Despite my multiple issues with the game, I wouldn't call it a bad game... it's average at best. The game is still sorta addicting as most good pinball games tend to have once you get the hang of it or at least memorized where each Emerald is in the levels. Some of the pinball tables have good design and the ball physics for the most part work fine. While it isn't exactly in the same quality as the main games, it's something that I would play in a lazy afternoon.

Grade: C

Developers: Polygames, SEGA Technical Institute (STI)
Publisher: SEGA
Year: 1993
Platforms (from Wikipedia): Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Virtual Console, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PC, Dreamcast, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iOS, Sega Zone

This is only for the sake of entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

2014 Eric Corp Incorporated

Other Statistics