Product Review

The Sega mascot's unfortunate foray into pinball, Sonic Spinball is a dull, repetitive game in which the blue-haired hedgehog slowly bounces around four different worlds (including The Toxic Caves and Lava Powerhouse), bumping into bumpers and other targets, spinning into robots, battling bosses (Dr. Robotnik), and grabbing rings and Chaos Emeralds. There's a little running and jumping involved (and even a mine cart), but most of the action involves batting Sonic with pinball-style flippers and hoping he lands where you aim (the tunnels and other exit points can be tough to hit). The graphics lack the vibrancy and polish of the standard Sonic the Hedgehog games, and the ineffectual techno-pop music and sparse sound effects are about as disappointing as the game itself. For a vastly superior pinball game on a comparable system, try either Alien Crush or Devil's Crush for the TurboGrafx-16.