Sonic Pinball Party[a]is a video game released for theGame Boy Advancein 2003. It is a celebration of sorts forSonic Teamfeaturing many references to its previous games, mostly prominentlySonic the Hedgehog,Nights into Dreams,andSamba De Amigo.There was also a release on a Twin Pack cartridge bundled withSonic BattleandSonic Advancerespectively in 2005.
| Sonic Pinball Party | |
|---|---|
 European cover art, depicting Sonic, Nights and Amigo | |
| Developer(s) | Sonic Team Jupiter |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Akinori Nishiyama |
| Producer(s) | Yuji Naka Hatao Ogata |
| Artist(s) | Yuji Uekawa |
| Composer(s) | Tatsuyuki Maeda Teruhiko Nakagawa Yutaka Minobe |
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action,pinball |
| Mode(s) | Single player,multiplayer |
Plot
editThe story is set in Casinopolis (inStation Square), whereDoctor Eggmanturns the people gambling into robots, andbrainwashesMiles "Tails" ProwerandAmy Rose.Sonicmust rescue his friends by winning a pinball tournament called the "Egg Cup Tournament."
Gameplay
editSonic Pinball Partyis a pinball video game with the objective being to earn as many points as possible. During both the Story and Arcade Modes of the game, the player starts each match with three pinballs, each one shot onto the playfield from the plunger. When the pinball rolls into the hole on the bottom of the table, the player loses a ball and must try again with another. Losing all three pinballs ends the pinball match. The player can control each pinball on the table using the twoflippersset on the lower part of the table or the lone flipper placed in the upper right side of the table, and has the ability to shake the pinball table in three directions. With these methods, the player can make the pinball sling and hit one of the pinball tables' targets in order to gain points.[2]
Story Mode features five different matches, while the basic goal of Arcade Mode is simply to gain points until the player has run out of balls. The player's best scores from Arcade mode will be listed in the Rankings if they are high enough. Rings/Blue Chips collected in either Story or Arcade Mode can be used to purchase Chao Eggs and similar objects in the Tiny Chao Garden or as wagers in the Casinopolis minigames.[3]
Development and release
editSonic Pinball Partywas published bySegaand developed bySonic Team.The game was first announced in January 2003 by Sega of Japan.[4]
The game was released in the United States on May 27, 2003.[5]It was sold exclusively atTargetstores.[6]The game was later re-released in 2005 in compilation collections for the Game Boy Advance withSonic Advance,Sonic Battle,andColumns Crown.[7][8]In Europe, the game was co-published by Sega andTHQ,with the latter holding exclusive distribution rights as well.[9]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 77/100[10] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.5/10[10] |
| Game Informer | 6/10[11] |
| GamePro | 4/5[12] |
| GameSpot | 8.1/10[13] |
| GameSpy | 74/100[14] |
| IGN | 8.3/10[15] |
| Nintendo Power | 82/100[10] |
| Play | 83/100[10] |
Sonic Pinball Partyreceived generally positive reviews from critics and journalists alike; onMetacritic,it has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 15 reviews and onGameRankingsit has a score of 79.38% based on 16 reviews.[10]GamePropraised the graphics and the gameplay, stating it to have "enough extras to keep any Sega fan enthralled."[12]Frank Provo ofGameSpotpraised the game's overall gameplay and the artistic quality of pinball tables, while also saying that the multiplayer mini-games were "welcome additions to the overall conglomeration that composesSonic Pinball Party,even if they don't really fit the premise of standard pinball. "[13]
Craig Harris ofIGNpraised the game for the "virtual" aspect of the pinball gameplay and offering a huge amount of content, but criticized its lightweight physics which made it difficult to pull off skilled, bulls-eye shots, and the Casino mini-games for not being balanced very well. His overall statement was thatSonic Pinball Partywas "a great game, but not quite a must-have."[15]Christian Nutt ofGameSpywas not completely satisfied with the game, stating that it was "serviceable enough pinball romp that's too focused on presenting a pseudo-realistic game without the technical clout to back it up."[14]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^Harris, Craig (May 27, 2003)."Sonic Pinball PartyShips ".IGN.RetrievedMarch 10,2024.
- ^"Sonic Pinball Party - Guide and Walkthrough - Game Boy Advance - By AxemRangerBlue - GameFAQs".gamefaqs.gamespot.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-10-31.Retrieved2022-10-31.
- ^Harris, Craig (2003-05-29)."Sonic Pinball Party".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-10-31.Retrieved2022-10-31.
- ^Varanini, Giancarlo (January 9, 2003)."Sega announces Sonic Adventure DX, Pinball Party".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2019.RetrievedDecember 20,2019.
- ^Harris, Craig (May 27, 2003)."Sonic Pinball Party Ships".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2019.RetrievedDecember 14,2019.
- ^Harris, Craig (June 10, 2003)."Sonic Pinball Party Ship".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2019.RetrievedDecember 14,2019.
- ^Sinclair, Brendan (November 17, 2005)."Sega puts out a pair for portables".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2019.RetrievedDecember 14,2019.
- ^GamesIndustry International (November 8, 2005)."THQ And SEGA Bring Double Doses Of Sonic To PAL Territories".GamesIndustry.biz.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2019.RetrievedDecember 19,2019.
- ^Calvert, Justin (September 11, 2003)."THQ to copublish Sega Europe GBA games".GameSpot.Archived fromthe originalon September 29, 2007.RetrievedJuly 24,2021.
- ^abcde"Sonic Pinball Party".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on 16 September 2016.Retrieved25 June2016.
- ^"Sonic Pinball Party".Game Informer. Archived fromthe originalon 13 August 2004.Retrieved3 July2016.
- ^ab"Review: Sonic Pinball Party".GamePro. Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2007.Retrieved26 June2016.
- ^abProvo, Frank (25 June 2003)."Sonic Pinball Party Review".Gamespot.Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2016.Retrieved26 June2016.
- ^abNutt, Christian."Sonic Pinball Party (GBA)".GameSpy. Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2006.Retrieved26 June2016.
- ^abHarris, Craig (28 May 2003)."Sonic Pinball Party Review".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 10 December 2015.Retrieved25 June2016.
