This week’s addition to Nintendo Switch Online includes the Sonic spinoff Sega quickly threw into the holiday season of 1993 when they realized Sonic 3 wasn’t going to be ready on time. Fortunately, Sonic Spinball is pretty solid (some may disagree, but they’re not writing this piece).
Spinball is a game inspired by the Casino Night section of the original Sonic. As in that zone, you play pinball, with a curled-up Sonic serving as your ball. Sonic can do things the traditional metal ball bearing he’s replacing cannot, like angle himself toward his targets (by pushing the D-pad) or jump off a platform (to avoid falling into the gutter, or be eaten by something). For some reason Eggman built an entire fortress with a pinball theme that is fully functional, which allows Sonic to just simply bounce around and collect all the Chaos Emeralds at his leisure. Robotnik put a few robot bosses in his way, but overall, it wasn’t a well-thought-out plan.
Note: Sonic Spinball is technically...
