Sonic’s greatest spin-off is 30 years old today – and it’s time for another one
The life of a gaming mascot is hard work. Just ask Sonic the Hedgehog – who has been in well over 100 games – or, depending on how you count it, double that, or more. He’s a hard working chap.
Sonic’s long-standing rival Mario is even more prestigious – but one thing that largely sets them apart is Mario’s propensity for doing relatively random stuff. Sonic dabbles from time to time, but you don’t typically find him masquerading as a doctor or whatever else. Sonic is usually a speedy hero or racer, just in different forms. But in honesty, a lot of those forms aren’t all that great.
One of them is truly brilliant, however. And it’s 30 years old today. I’m talking, of course, about Sonic Spinball. Spinball remains a remarkable, brilliant game – and for my money, it’s probably the best non-platformer Sonic game, unless you count the more general ‘Sonic & Sega All-Stars’ crossover kart racers as Sonic games. I don’t, because, well, they’re crossover games; they just put Sonic in the title ‘cos he’s most famous. Sonic Spinball, meanwhile, is all about the blue blur.