Sonic Spinball

"Pinball and Sonic. What could be better?!"

Well, I myself have never had a SEGA Genesis. I've only ever played this on Sonic Mega Collection, but it's still the same game. Released in 1993, people probably rushed to grab it, as I can imagine Sonic was highly popular back then. So when I get my Sonic Mega Collection and I play this game, it becomes one of my favorites. Let me tell you a little about the game and why I love it so much.

Story: 7/10
Now... I'm not too in tune with this story here. Probably because I've never beaten the game. Anyway, apparently Sonic is trying to thwart Robotnik's evil plans again... yadda yadda... same ol', same ol'. He's flying on a plane no doubt ridden by Tails, near Robotnik's base(?), and Robotnik's laser things are shooting at him and he has to bail into the water! He appears on some unknown place and you start playing. It's... confusing. Then again, it's... pinball. It doesn't have much of a story.

Control: 10/10
The control is superb. It's very simple, as the Genesis controller used 3 main buttons. Once you get used to which button controls which flipper you'll be doing it without thinking. It does fall a bit short, however, for something else they included: some of Sonic's moves. You can do the spin dash, but why bother? There isn't much room to run around and when there is you won't WANT to spin dash. But it's the same as how he does his spin dash originally, so...

Graphics: 10/10
Hey, it's Sonic! It's got some awesome graphics... it may not have the best effects but those looked pretty great for a first-generation console. The frame rates are as usual, fast, but that's Sonic for you. They've included a few classic things in the game, as well: Flickies, Cluck, the Chaos Emeralds... Classic.

Sound: 8/10
The sound effects sound alright. There are some sound effects when you get rings, when you fall onto the platform below the flippers on the first level, when you drain the slime... but they don't sound to good.

Music: 9/10
It's just such a catchy tune. Though it's a bit repetitive, it goes perfectly well with the game but not with the usual Sonic theme. I would've preferred Sonic music in this game.

Replay Value: 10/10
It's pinball! How can you NOT replay it?! It's also got a fun Sonic twist and you just pay for the whole game, and no more wasted quarters and... yeah.

Buy or Rent?:
Definitely buy. If you don't have a Genesis anymore, you can get Sonic Mega Collection like me and get even MORE games for the price of maybe 2 Genesis games. I HIGHLY recommend this game.

FINAL SCORE: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/03, Updated 02/28/03