Spinball does something that I don't quite see anywhere else: A pinball game, in which you're not constrained to just one static pinball table, but rather, you're plopped into an exploration-based level with pinball mechanics inside of it. Mild aspects of collect-a-thon gameplay are presented here, where you find ways to get to the Chaos Emeralds, eventually unlocking the boss once you've amassed them all, before you're thrown into the next of the game's 4 stages.

While unconventional, I think was a smart way to do a Sonic-themed pinball game, and could potentially make it more appealing for non-pinball fans. (or would it be more apt to say "pinball non-fans...?") But, I'm only talking about the non-pinball fans that have a chance of getting into pinball through this. I'm a non-pinball fan who has next to no chance of ever getting into pinball at all. The only other pinball game I played is that one that came free with Windows XP, and not even because I like playing it, the sounds just make me feel 8 years old again. And I only ever played this one because as a Sonic fan, we are clinically deranged.

Anyway, when it comes to pinball, I don't know how to make it work. I don't know the tricks. I might try my best to use the flippers at JUST the right time to launch the ball where I want it to go, but it'll end up somewhere else, probably in the bottomless pit. Spinball either requires a ridiculous amount of precision, or some semblance of luck, it's hard to tell, and I'm certainly not one to dissect the inner workings of it. Just ain't my thing.