Sonic Spinball (Game Gear version)
FAQ/Walkthrough
by dungeonconquerorB



-Table of Contents-


1. Copyright Notice
2. Version History
3. Basics/Differences from Genesis version
4. Walkthrough
5. Acknowledgments
6. Contact Info and Closing



1. Copyright Notice


This document is copyright (c) 2005, 2007, 2012 Buck Seward
(dungeonconquerorB).  The websites that can post this FAQ without my written
permission are GameFAQs.com and sonicstyle.org.  Cheatsguru.com is NOT allowed
to have any of my FAQs.  If you want to post it on another site, contact me
and ask me nicely.  I will look at your website and E-mail you with my
decision.  In the event that you do post it, you may NOT alter it in any way.
You CAN: print the FAQ for your own use, or tell your friends about it.  You
CAN’T: give anybody a copy of it, or sell anybody a copy of it.  The same
thing goes for giving or selling any part of it.  If you want to take some of
the information contained in this FAQ and use it in one of your own, just make
sure to credit me for the information.  All trademarks and copyrights in the
form of names of characters and places from Sonic Spinball are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright owners.



2. Version History


Version 1.00 9/23/2005:  First complete version.  There is still a lot about
this game that I don’t know, but I know enough to get you through the game and
beat it.  If there is something you know that you think I should add, E-mail
me.  In particular, I would like to know the locations of the secret power-up
rooms in the first two levels, Toxic Pools and Lava Powerhouse.

Version 1.20 2/7/2006:  I got an E-mail from Skywalker9072 with the location
of the secret power-up room in Lava Powerhouse.  I also rewrote and corrected
parts of the Walkthrough for Level 4: Final Showdown, and added info on
exiting the boss room in Level 1: Toxic Pools.

Version 1.21 8/25/2006:  This version is just to add sonicstyle.org to my list
of allowed websites.  I still haven’t gotten info on the Toxic Pools power-up
room.  Sorry.

Version 1.22 6/13/2007:  My E-mail address has changed.  See Contact Info at
the bottom of the FAQ.

Version 1.32 7/4/2007:  After I found out about the game’s debug code, I was
able to find the location of the Toxic Pools power-up room.  Try as I might,
though, I can’t find a regular way in.  If anybody out there has that info,
please E-mail me.  I never like to call any version of a Walkthrough final,
but if nobody gives me the info on the entrance to that room, this will
probably be the final version of this FAQ.

Version 2.00 2/29/2012:  I had a nice e-mail from HylianHeroLink with info on
how to get into the secret power-up room in Toxic Pools.  Why in the world
they put the hardest room to get into in the first Level, I don’t know.  But
finally, the FAQ is entirely complete to my satisfaction.  I also did a few
small things to tidy up a little.  I made one little spelling correction, I
added one word to the Walkthrough for Level 4: Final Showdown, just for
clarity, and I added a little piece to my Copyright Notice to make it match
the ones in my other FAQs.  Now this probably will be the final version of
this FAQ, but I won’t officially name it that because it’s a walkthrough.



3. Basics/Differences from Genesis version


First off, the controls.  The +Control Pad can still be used to move Sonic
when he’s standing, or to alter Sonic’s trajectory in the air, which is vital
for reaching some spots.  You can also do the spin dash by holding Down and
pressing one of the action buttons.  Start still pauses the game.  Buttons One
and Two both make Sonic jump.  Button One also works the left flippers, and
Button Two also works the right flippers.  There is no third action button on
Game Gear, so if you want to flip both flippers at the same time, you have to
press both Buttons.  Overall, the controls are not as quickly responsive or as
reliable as they were on Genesis, but you can still do the flipper-catch
trick, which helps a lot.  Particularly, it is harder to simply move from one
flipper to another.

Sonic Spinball is a tale of the absolute final battle between Sonic the
Hedgehog and Dr. Robotnik (or Dr. Eggman for the unseasoned).  After suffering
defeat after defeat, Robotnik finally retreats to the keep at his Veg-O
Fortress, inside a volcano.  This is the location of the actual machine that
Robotnik used to turn all those animals into robots.  If Sonic can stop him
here, Robotnik should be gone for good.  However, this will be a battle unlike
that of any other Sonic game.  The Veg-O Fortress is made up of four areas,
each with multiple pinball tables.  In each area, either three or five Chaos
Emeralds have been scattered.  As Sonic, you must retrieve them, find your way
to the area’s boss table, and beat the boss to move on.  After each area, you
will enter a bonus round.  You have to go around the room collecting rings
and/or hitting things that bust open for points.  After enough of this, an
exit will open up.  Go through it to reach another room.  After three rooms,
the exit will take you out.  That’s all the basics.  Now follow me and we’ll
go on the journey.



4. Walkthrough


Level 1: Toxic Pools

Of the four levels, the first one was changed the most to make it easier.  You
start off on the bottom table.  This table has two sections, upper and lower.
To get anywhere else, you must go to the upper section.  To do this, either:
1. hit the weird dot in the middle straight from the bottom to be shot up; 2.
go up one of the small side pipes to the upper plunger things, or 3. go up the
large green pipe on the far left.  I find way number three to be easiest.
Now, you must drain the toxic liquid surrounding one of the Emeralds.  There
are two small targets, one on each side of the upper section.  In general
pinball lingo, these kinds of things are called “flags.”
Hit them both to drain the liquid.  Then, go back down to the lower section.
The way is now open to the two side tables.  Go through one of the small side
pipes to make the transition.

On the side table, you need to get to the top section either by shooting hard
upward and to the outside, or by going through the small loop with the worm
heads to unlock the door and then going through where the door was.  Once at
the top, jump and catch yourself on the flipper.  There are two places you can
go.  If you shoot at the end of the flipper, you will reach the spiral gate to
the boss table, which won’t let you in unless you have all the Emeralds.  If
you shoot at more of an upward angle, the spiral gate there will send you to a
plunger.  Use one of the action buttons to activate it and go to the top
table.

The top table is where you get to the Emeralds from.  To get to the first one,
just fall through the center between the flippers.  It’s that easy.  From
there, you will be sent to the bottom table and will have to work your way
back to the top table.  Once back on the top table again, there are two more
spiral gates.  One is on the right side, about halfway up the table.  The
other is left of center, about two-thirds of the way up.  Each of these gates
will send you into a hidden area with an Emerald.  Just walk into the pipe
under the Emerald to collect it, and then you will fall into a lower area.
From here, try to remember which direction the gate sent you in when you went
to the Emerald.  Go that way again and jump over the hole to be shot into one
of the side tables.  Going the other way would take you to the bottom table.
Once all Emeralds are collected, enter the boss table from one of the side
tables.

On the boss table, the object is to either shoot up the middle to be
transported to the top, or go up the sides and come around to the center.
Either way, fall down and bash the big Robotnik head.  Do this sufficiently
and you win.  This is one of two boss tables that were changed from the
Genesis version.  If you fall out of the boss table, you will be sent back to
the top of the right side table, through the spiral gate that you enter the
boss table from.  Whenever you fall out of any boss table in this game, you
have to start the boss over when you get back.  This kind of makes the Level 3
boss suck.

Secret power-up room: This is crazy, man!  The room is at the lower-left
corner of the Level, but it’s locked.  The lock is tied to 4 flags on the top
table.  As you shoot into the table from the plunger, if you look fast you can
see the 4 flags near the top of the table.  The one on the far right you can
reach from the bottom-left flipper.  You have to shoot above the upper-right
flipper, and it’s very tough to go up high enough.  The one on the far left is
a little tougher.  You can reach it from the bottom-right flipper, or you may
be able to reach it from the flipper that’s under it by flipping lightly
straight up.  For the other 2, there’s no sure-fire way to hit them.  You have
to bounce around on the bumpers up there in such a way that you roll around
the top edge and graze across them.  It will still count.  Once all 4 flags
are down, you have to get to the area below the left Emerald room.  This is a
whole lot easier if you can do it at the same time as you collect the Emerald.
If you’ve already gotten it, you have to go to the bottom table, fall through
the far left side lane and hold left to land in the tunnel.  However you got
there, go left until you’re on the edge of the gap. Now jump left as far as
you can.  If you go far enough, you’ll sail over the water spout, into the
wall, and end up in the room.  Try to get both of the items in there before
you hit the plunger to get out.  If you accidentally step onto the plunger
before that, tap the button lightly and hold left, and you can stay in the
room.


Level 2: Lava Powerhouse

You start out on the lower left table.  There are two lower tables, two upper
tables, and a central area where the Emeralds are.  The first thing you need
to do is to open the door to the lower part of the central area.  You must hit
the door three times to open it.  You can either hit the thing in the center
of the table from the bottom to be propelled into the door, or you can go into
the loop that you entered the table through to be shot into the door that way,
just like the Genesis version.  Once the door is open, do one of those things
one more time to go to the central area.  Unlike the Genesis version, the door
will stay open in case you fall back into the lower table.

One very good difference in the central area is that you no longer have to
bounce off of the chickens to reach the pressure tube.  Just press one of the
action buttons when you are under it, and the pressure tube will shoot you
right into the first Emerald.  Fall back down, and then go through the
pressure tube again, but this time, go left or right at the top.  Do a spin
dash to the side to get to the upper part of the central area.  Here, you need
to shoot yourself out to one side and go down into one of the upper tables.

No matter which one you choose first, you will see a loop, similar to the ones
on the lower tables, on the inside next to the central area.  Go through that
twice to bust a stopper and go down.  Unlike the Genesis version, you will
fall down onto a flat floor instead of being sent right into the Emerald
shaft.  Also, instead of having to push the button again each time you need to
activate the jets, just jump into the shaft and hold the action button until
you have the Emerald.  Fall down and you will be back at the bottom of the
central area.  Go back to the top and do the other side table for the other
Emerald, and then go through one of the pressure tubes at the top of the
central area to enter the boss table.

Here, you need to shoot up the sides and catch yourself on the platform.
Watch out for the steam vent, and jump into the boiler to attack the two
Robotnik heads.  This is much easier than the Genesis version because the
platforms at the top always catch you.  If you fall out of the table, you
don’t go down to the bottom to that death trap, going into one of the lower
tables if you narrowly escape like on Genesis.  Instead, you appear right
under a pressure tube that will send you into the upper right table.  Just a
hop, skip, and pressure tube back to the boss.

Secret power-up room: When you go into the upper-left table, stop on the flat
platform at the top.  Jump to the left through the wall to find a pressure
tube that will send you into the room.


Level 3: The Machine

Now the tables get more complex.  You have kind of a double bottom table, with
left and right parts, plus two side shafts, a central area, and all manner of
tunnels.  Keep in mind that in these last two Levels, you can collect the
Emeralds in any order, but the order I outline is relatively easy.

You start out falling into the right part of the bottom table.  As you are
falling, you may see what looks like a metal cage on the right that has an
Emerald in it.  On this version of the game, you can pass right through those
cages without even slowing down.  So, head for the cage and get the Emerald.

Next, you will be in the right side shaft.  You will fall into one of three
automatic plungers that will shoot you up toward a flipper.  In both shafts,
try to go into the left or right plunger, because the middle ones are harder
to use.  Anyway, however you can, get to the top of this shaft, where you will
see a moving platform.  Jump on the platform, and then off the left side of it
at the left end of its path.  Bingo!  Emerald number 2.

From here, you will fall through some tunnels into the central area, called
the Animal Prison.  You may fall into a small hole in the floor, but this is
easily jumped out of.  There is an automatic plunger on either side.  Using
them, you can go up to the cages and bust them open.  The spiral gate that you
see sends you to the top of the Prison, making it easier to bust the cages.
The idea is to stay in the middle, because the absolute center cage has an
Emerald inside.  Once it is open, the Emerald will fall into the hole in the
floor mentioned earlier.  Go there and collect it.  You may not be able to
stay in the Animal Prison long enough to get the Emerald the first time.  If
so, don’t worry.  You’ll be back later anyway.  When you exit the Animal
Prison, try to do it on the left at the bottom.  You should easily collect the
fourth Emerald and go into the left side shaft.

This one’s a little harder.  There are three flippers on the left side of this
shaft, and one on the right next to the top left one.  On the right side of
the shaft, going up, there are two spiral gates and then the metal cage with
the Emerald.  The upper spiral gate takes you to the top of the shaft, but the
lower gate takes you back to the bottom table, so avoid it.  What you have to
do is get to the middle left flipper (which is hard by itself), and make a
very tough shot to get the Emerald.  I don’t know how many times it took me to
do this the first time, but I think it was about six.  After this, you will
fall back to the Animal Prison, so you can get the Emerald there if you missed
it.

There are a number of ways to get to the boss table.  From the top of the
Animal Prison, you can try to bounce into a tunnel on the left or right, which
will take you to an automatic plunger.  Or, you can go to the very top of one
of the side shafts, where you will find some tunnels that will take you to the
plunger that way.  Either way, kill the enemy over the plunger and then use it
again to go through the spiral gate to the boss table.

On the Game Gear version, this boss is the hardest one in the game.  You have
to destroy the Veg-O Machine itself.  First, look for two flags, one on each
side, between the entrance to the table and the Machine.  If you can hit both
of these before you fall out of the table, they will keep you on the table.
And, on this version, you don’t have to hit them again after you use the
saving effect.  It’s permanent.  Once the flags are down, try to go up the
tunnels on either side of the Machine.  Bounce around up there until the pipe
on each side is destroyed.  This will let you enter the Machine.  Go in the
Machine and bounce around until it is destroyed.  It is really important to
hit the flags before you do this last step, because when you come back out of
the Machine, like you will several times, you will be going very fast, and it
is hard to save yourself.  The last step is also hard because it will look
like you have destroyed the Machine once or twice before you’ve actually done
it.  If you fall out of the table before you hit the flags, you will be sent
to the top of the Animal Prison.

Secret power-up room: At the top of the left side shaft, the entrance is
somewhere on the left wall.


Level 4: Final Showdown

Jeez!  This place is so complex, I won’t even try to describe the layout.  The
volcano has gone active now, and you are trying to go through the scattered
remnants of about six tables to Robotnik’s escape ship.  A couple of the
Emeralds have been moved to easier locations than the Genesis version, but the
Level is still very hard because of the slower-to-respond controls.

The place where you start is in the bottom center.  If you fall through the
far side lanes, the rocks automatically shoot you back up, but if you fall
toward the lava anywhere else on this Level, you die.  The first Emerald is in
the top middle part of this table, but it’s blocked by three blocks.  You have
to hit the blocks to destroy them.  The challenge is to stay on this table
long enough to get the Emerald.  If you go to the sides at the top, you’ll
leave the table.  The first time you leave on each side, there will be an
enemy that will knock you down into a kind of in-between area, where one of
the Emeralds is, but the enemies will be gone after that.  From the in-between
areas, you can go either back to where you started, or to a table on either
side.  The idea is to start going down on the side that you _don’t_ want to
end up on.

It doesn’t really matter which side you do first, but I’ll talk about the left
side first.  On the lower table, go to the far right part.  After destroying
an enemy, you will be able to hit a switch.  Hit it three times, and then go
up just left of where the switch was.  If you go up far enough, a spring will
throw you into the Emerald of the in-between area.

The second time you go from the starting point to the left side, you should
get to the flippers of the upper table.  From the right flipper, just roll
hard to the left off of it and you should get the Emerald.  There may be
another way to get this, but that’s definitely the easiest.

On the right side of the Level, on the lower table, go up the far left side.
If you go high enough, a spring will throw you into the Emerald in the other
in-between area.

The second time, when you get to the upper table, roll hard to the right off
of the left flipper to get the Emerald.  You can also get this Emerald from
the lower table by going to the far right side of the lower table.  After you
kill the enemy, you can reach a handle that will bring a platform under you to
catch you.  Face left on this platform and spin dash.

Finally, to get to the boss table, you have to get to the area above the
Level’s starting point.  Here, you will find two rows of springs going up.
Simply bounce up them to the boss table.

First off, if you fall out of the boss table (which is very easy), you will go
right back where you came from, close to the right row of springs.  Just
bounce back up them and try again.  Now, the boss table has four sets of
flippers: one on the bottom; two in the middle, in an area of bumpers; and one
on the top.  You have to get to the top section.  Robotnik is at the very top
center, but his hovercraft is anchored in some girders and you can’t hurt him.
Instead, go to the left or right side of the area.  On each side, you will
find two things that look like wheels.  Jump on top of these, and after a few
seconds they will explode.  When all four of the things have been destroyed,
Robotnik will be released from his moorings and will begin to fly around a
little.  Just keep trying to hit him and eventually you’ll win.  I cannot
express to you how much easier this boss is than the Genesis version.

Secret power-up room: On the far left side of the Level, at the bottom, stand
on the area of platform beside the flipper.  Walk through the wall and you’re
there.

By the way, this game has time-wise the longest credits sequence I have ever
seen.  You have to be very patient, but it does end.



5. Acknowledgments


Thanks to GameFAQs for hosting the FAQ.

Thanks to Skywalker9072 for giving me the location of the secret power-up room
in Lava Powerhouse.

Thanks to HylianHeroLink for giving me the info on how to get into the secret
power-up room in Toxic Pools.



6. Contact Info and Closing


My E-mail address is [email protected].  In the Subject line, be sure
to put the word FAQ and the name of the game you are talking about, or you are
subject to erasure.  I welcome most all comments about my FAQs.  If you like
my work, please tell me, because it means I’ve done my job and helped someone
out there.  I can also take _constructive_ criticism.  If you know how I can
improve a FAQ, or if you know some information that I don’t or an easier way
of doing something, or even if I need to be corrected, please tell me.  It
means you actually care! :)  I do not accept messages simply saying that you
don’t like my work, and it only takes one message with any kind of profanity
for me to block you.  This was my first posted FAQ, made out of necessity,
because there were no others on the internet for this game.  After 16 years of
video game playing, I felt able to play this and beat it with no help except
what I remembered of the Genesis version.  I hope you like the result.  And
remember:  “Don’t just beat it, conquer it!” – dungeonconquerorB.

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