Spinball isn't hard nor bad, it's mediocre and a bit time consuming. I've beat the game only three times in my life, it's not one I got back and play often. I'd rather play Sonic 3D over it any day and I'm sure I'm probably not the only one.
I get bored of Spinball as soon as I get to what I guess is the middle of Toxic Caves. Not really any incentive to get better than that.
I like Spinball's music and overall grimy atmosphere (frankly I think the art style contributed more to the "SatAM universe" allegation than the Freedom Fighters being in it on their own), but it's not really very fun. I'm already not a fan of doing pinball in the classic casino levels, but this has way less control and way more mandatory things you're required to hit with the ball.
One thing that probably leads to people hating Spinball is seeing it as a Sonic game with pinball elements, when you're meant to see it more as a pinball game with Sonic elements, like minor ball control, etc.
Spinball just baffles me a bit. When the response to Casino Night Zone is "there should be a whole game made out of that", you would think we're dialing all the way into the casino-isms we were introduced to, but instead it's like one of those 90s Williams pinball tables where you're the Epic Dude in Thunder Mountain hitting bumpers that are canonically supposed to be sewer worms and dodging a pit made of toxic goo. Like I guess that's cool, but it's not what I wanted or expected. Really showcases how "American" American Sonic was. I do think the soundtrack is pretty good though (and that includes the options music). Shame that it plays bad.
To expound on my dumb bait post I wrote when I was dead tired. The reason I specifically hate spinball is because of how little control you actually have over sonic and when you are given control, he feels like he ate 3 cinder blocks before starting the game. Otherwise I think it’s fine, music is cool art style is unique and it’s a cool idea. Just don’t like the playing part of the video game.
I'm no expert on musical genres, but I've heard CD's JP soundtrack described as being influenced by New Jack Swing, which appears to have originated in the US, by all accounts a 'Western' nation and 'culture' if there ever was one. Also for what it's worth, I agree a lot of it sounds like dance music. Have a few tracks on my workout playlist. But also also, been watching through Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and early on in the first season there's an episode where 2 Unlimited's 1992 song Twilight Zone plays, and it super reminded me of The Immortals' 1993 song Techno Syndrome (the Mortal Kombat theme song). This took me down a rabbit hole. Both groups were part of the same Belgian dance techno scene at the time, so it makes sense that there'd be some resemblances. Did one rip the other off? Well, it also turns out that the two individuals comprising The Immortals form the group Lords of Acid, who released Take Control in 1991, which also sound kinda similar. It spends the first 17 seconds sounding like shit you'd hear at a sporting event (which isn't surprising, considering that's the only thing I associate with this other track by 2 Unlimited), followed by a good 6 seconds sounding like it belongs in the Vectorman OST, before you hear.......some straight up Sonic CD JP OST audio cues. Samples? Whatever the right word is, listen to it and you'll hear exactly what I'm talking about. So, Sonic CD's Japanese OST is decidedly very Belgian dance techno, and Belgium is a 'Western' nation and 'culture' as far as I'm aware? So, I dunno, call this episode #536 of "Trying to pigeonhole Sonic into one culture or another is really pointless if you spend any time at all digging into shit".
Note: I'm not up to date with the IDW comics, I got caught up like a couple years ago and just let myself fall behind, I think I read up to 75-ish? I never got to any of the Riders arc stuff which I know features Surge prominently. I do not like Surge and Kit. Don't get me wrong, I think their designs are fantastic (the best of the IDW originals, honestly), I like their personality and abilities, and along with Starline I think the idea of a trio based on glitches from the games that mirror Sonic/Tails/Knuckles is really cool. It's just a few things about how they are written and their execution that I really do not vibe with. Starting with the most shallow reason, Kitsunami is just a horridly bad name. Like oh my god, it's so... cringe is really the only thing I can think of. I get that they wanted him to have a pun name, like 'Miles Prower = Miles Per Hour". But having 'kitsune' in the name feels so nerdy. Like, it's acknowledging the fact that Tails having two tails makes him look like a kitsune, it just feels too meta, like it's not a decision someone actually living in universe would make. It's also a bit weeb-y. These are names that I thought of that I prefer to Kitsunami and are also puns: League- A unit of distance when sailing, so like how miles are for land. Also as in "being in league with someone", because he is Surge's sidekick. Tide- Like the ocean tide, but also he is "tied" to Surge. Fathom- Also a unit of distance, plus "fathom" means to comprehend, because he is the thinker of the group. Seven C. Fennec- Numbers for names is just a good trope. Sounds like "Seven Seas". It has an initial because Tails is one of the only characters with a last name. C. Lily- Not really a boy name but it reminds me of R. Mika. I just don't like the stories that center around them. The plotline about Surge actually being a lab experiment with altered memories designed to fulfill their master's whims, who has similar powers to Sonic, and later has to find their own 'real' identity.... that's just shadow. Like Surge really does come across like the writers chafing at not being able to write Shadow the way they wanted to, so they made Surge who is just Shadow with the numbers filed off that they can write all the angsty drama with that they want. Except when Shadow did it, there was a giant space laser that was going to blow up the planet. Surge runs around in the sewer and tips over a few cars I think. Honestly, I really hate how most writers make characters who revolve around Trauma, because it basically means the story has to pause every so often so the character can yell for a bit. It feels way too soap opera-y. Especially mind controlled induced trauma, because that just means nothing really happened to make them like that. I don't like how Surge and Kit were explicitly created by Starline to respond to Eggman's failings. Again, it feels too meta. It's like criticizing a james bond villain for putting the hero in a slow death trap instead of shooting them, this isn't a character flaw is just a genre/tone thing. Starline is basically Scotty in Autin Powers, except we are supposed to take him seriously. Especially since we know the story has to return to the status quo to fit in with game canon, so pointing out made of character flaws feels kinda pointless because its not like it's ever going to change. I think it would've been cool if Kit's powers were related to the Artificial Chaos enemies from SA2. Like he had one injected inside him, and now he's like Crona from Soul Eater.
This isn't to disagree with hoiyoihoi or to start an argument, but I do find it funny how people think less of something when they figure out what they're doing on a meta level or how it is structured. "YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING! You're trying to say something and I noticed, and I don't like it. STOP! I figured you out!" "I better not see that gun turn into a Chekov's gun or I swear..!"
I mean, characters being aware of meta-tropes is basically the same as breaking the fourth wall, in that it can be good or bad depending on how it's used. But if done poorly it just takes the audience out of the experience. I like stories to progress because of developing themes or because they had something to say about the human condition. Characters acting based on knowledge of tropes usually just means the story finishes because of some technicality or rules lawyering.
Assuming a person doesn’t like a technique just because they understand it and can recognize it for what it is is wild.
This is a silly one but it's always annoyed me how people praise Sonic for being able to use Chaos Control with a fake Chaos Emerald, but never give Tails credit for making a fake emerald so excellently that it could even pull off Chaos Control. To me that might still be his greatest achievement as a genius.
