- Release Date: May 29, 2003
- Genre: Traditional
- Style: 2D Pinball
- Similar Games: Muppet Pinball Mayhem (Game Boy Advance), The Pinball of the Dead (Game Boy Advance)
Game Description
Available exclusively at the Target retail chain, Sonic Pinball Party features themes and locales from three of Sonic Team's most recognizable properties, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Samba de Amigo, and NiGHTS. Each table offers animated sequences, bonus events, and music pertaining to a specific game. The Sonic-themed table, for example, presents familiar environments, like the Neo Green Hill Zone and Secret Base Zone, in addition to characters such as Tails and Dr. Eggman.Arcade Mode, Versus Mode, Story Mode, Tiny Chao Garden, and Casinopolis are the five modes of play, with the latter featuring bingo, slots, and roulette mini-games that earn players coins for use in raising a Chao. By advancing through Story Mode, players can unlock various extras and secrets, while Arcade Mode is a single competition on a choice of tables. Tiny Chao Garden lets players raise Chao included in the game or downloaded from the GameCube titles Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
Sonic Pinball Party also includes three multiplayer games playable using a single cartridge. Air Hockey has players using their flippers to shoot balls into an opposing player's goal while defending their own. Hot Potato involves quickly batting balls away so other players are stuck with bombs, while Ladder Climb is a cooperative effort in which players attempt to keep a ball moving upwards through a vertical column lined with flippers.
~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Sonic Pinball Party seemed like a guaranteed hit on Game Boy Advance, combining the recognizable Sonic franchise with Sonic Team's quirky Samba de Amigo and NiGHTS, in a colorful pinball realm featuring mini-games, battery backup to save high scores, and challenges against characters such as Knuckles and Tails. Yet the idea never comes together as well as anticipated, leaving players with yet another Sega game on the handheld that is unable to deliver the thrills one associates with an experienced developer and publisher. If Sega isn't careful, the company is going to spin Sonic and friends right into the ground.Where does Sonic Pinball Party go wrong? The first problem is the ball physics, which don't feel realistic when compared to serious pinball simulations. Rather than follow a format introduced in Sonic Spinball, with Sonic himself functioning as the "ball," the developers attempted a more traditional setting with elements you'd expect to find on an actual pinball table rather than one in a video game. Yet the ball itself feels too lightweight, making each carom or ricochet off embankments seem random. It's difficult to consistently make specific shots even when the flipper is pressed at a precise moment simply because the ball doesn't have any weight or momentum behind it.
Unfortunately, the poor table design doesn't help matters. Most of the action is uneventful, with the overwhelming majority of points tied to unlocking specific events, which are difficult to activate with any degree of consistency. There are a few ramps, some bumpers, and a few animated targets, but the table seems small and activity is kept to a minimum. Samba de Amigo's table is by far the worst -- not only is it short in length, but there are only a few bumpers in the middle and one or two ramps that wrap around the outer edge. While players can activate a mini-game (played on the simulated dot matrix screen) mimicking Samba's rhythm-based action on Dreamcast, the time leading up to those rare moments is filled with tedium.
Sonic Pinball's modes of play are just as poorly implemented as the pinball action or just as boring. The Casinopolis offers five basic tables based on casino games like roulette and slots, but the only payoff is to win coins used to purchase items for the Chao Garden. If players aren't yet sick of raising the Tamagotchi-inspired critters, it's only because they haven't tried previous Sonic games, as Sega has been throwing this feature into so many titles it's hard to keep count. It's time to say "ciao" to the Chao. The Story mode isn't much better, as the objectives to advance are so difficult it's doubtful players will ever complete it. One of the early goals is to score 15 million points within five minutes, which would be hard enough on a "real" pinball table, much less one offering so precious few targets.
Sonic Pinball Party offers colorful graphics, a whopping 48 music tracks, an assortment of play modes, and some of the most tedious gameplay found in a pinball title, handheld, or otherwise. The tables are colorful but sparse, the songs are plentiful but sound terrible, and the modes are varied but ultimately disappointing. Not even the multiplayer aspects can redeem this title, which only serves to further sully Sega's reputation as a publisher. Sonic the Hedgehog is no longer a character who can be depended upon for quality games, unlike a certain Italian plumber, a limbless alien, or even an orange bandicoot.
~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
The concept was good, but the execution was not. None of the tables are interesting, and the missions presented in the Story mode are annoyingly difficult.~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
Bright, colorful graphics but not much in the way of animation or special effects.~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
Though Sonic Pinball Party features music from an assortment of past Sega games, players might not recognize them: the sound quality is awful. Voice clips are strangely absent, aside from a strange "Boooo" whenever players lose a ball.~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
The replay value would be off the charts if the actual pinball was any fun. The tables are dull, the sound is grating, and the physics are off. Players can, however, compete with friends, raise a Chao, and save their high scores.~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
The manual would have benefited from some color, but each table is depicted in its entirety with a complete list of features.~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
