Maybe it is just because I remember when pinball was still relevant in the arcade scene, but I really enjoy pinball games in general. I have been involved with digital pinball since Video Pinball on the Atari 2600 where I would see my parents stay up till 3 in the morning flipping their scores in that game. Sonic Pinball Party is helping to scratch that pinball itch I have been having recently.

Sega seems to like the idea of the digital pinball game since they have used Sonic in the past with Sonic Spinball, and more recently with Pinball of the Dead. Sonic Pinball Party is a decent game of pinball that seems to build on the Pinball of the Dead engine and adds in some nice extras for good measure.

The main play modes in Sonic Pinball Party are: Arcade mode, which is your standard play for score mode. Story mode, which you play in order to unlock another board and mini games. Tutorial mode which gives you a rundown of basic and advanced techniques to use for each board in the game. Party mode gives you access to three GBA link games in which you only need one cart. Tiny Chao Garden which is nearly identical to the previous versions found in Sonic Advance 1 and 2, except that the Rock Paper Scissors game was replaced with a 'lite' puzzle game which is a much better replacement. Then you have the Casinopolis area featuring pinball versions of Roulette, Slots and Bingo. Of course, you also have the obligatory Options mode which allows you to listen to the tunes in a sound test, select languages and tweak the controls to your liking.

The Arcade mode is where the bulk of your play will be once you unlock a couple things in the Story Mode. In the beginning, you have access to the Sonic and NiGHTS tables while you have to beat the first level in Story mode to unlock the Samba de Amigo table. The Sonic and NiGHTS tables are the most traditional pinball tables, and are pretty similar overall. The Samba table is much shorter and less traditional but also includes some minor rhythm games to go along with Samba's musical rhythm game roots.

The Story mode basically gives you objectives to meet while playing the tables. For instance, you will go up against a mind controlled Tails while having to score 15 million points in less than five minutes. As you can see, the story is not going to win any awards and once you jump through the hoops of the Story mood and unlock the extras, you are probably not going to find yourself wanting to go back. The Tutorial mode is actually quite nice and would greatly help new pinball players out as well as helping the pros out with the advanced table features.

The Party games are very simplistic titles called Hot Potato, Hockey and Ladder Climb. The first two are versus games while Ladder Climb actually involves multiple players working together to flip a ball between flippers towards a goal. Hot Potato and Hockey are similar style games which involve opponents flipping the pinballs at each other on opposing fields. Overall, these games feel like minor afterthoughts, however, it is at least nice that they are using the one cart link feature. I doubt many people will find a lot of use out of these games.

Casinopolis is basically there so that you can earn more rings for use in the Tiny Chao Garden. After playing through a little of the Story mode, you gain access to the Slots and Bingo games in addition to the initial Roulette game. Like the two main tables in the game, these mini casino games are all set up the same way. Once you get into a groove, these games tend to get pretty easy. Again, these are just in there to give you an easy way to earn rings for the Chao raising sub game. The Chao raising game is there so that you can raise a baby Chao on the go and then upload it to a Gamecube Sonic Adventure game. The new puzzle game in Tiny Chao Garden is a sort of Bust-a-Move lite, which is pretty enjoyable overall. Not a bad update to the game, but otherwise everything else seems the same.

The core of the pinball gameplay is pretty solid overall and feels very much like Pinball of the Dead. The physics still feel a little floaty compared to a super realistic pinball game. It does not really take away from the enjoyment, but purists may be a little put off. My main gripe is that the two main tables could use a little more diversity. The tables in Pinball of the Dead were all completely different and unique whereas the Sonic and NiGHTS tables feel pretty similar. The tables have everything you need though, with bumpers, ramps, lights, and plenty of lanes to lose a ball. If you like pinball, you will have no problem logging quite a few hours into this game.

The graphics in Sonic Pinball Party are very nice and borrow a lot from the original source material. The Sonic table has a lot of familiar elements from Sonic Adventure and there is no mistaking the NiGHTS table for anything else. Everything is bright and colorful and surprisingly I did not find myself losing track of the ball like you can in a lot of digital pinball games. The tables change their look completely as you go from level to level, however the table layout remains the same. I am sure we could have seen some more diversity if this title was in development longer.

The music and sound in the game is my favorite part in Sonic Pinball Party. Not only do we have all of the classic sounds from the Sonic, NiGHTS and Samba games, but we also have a lot of music from all over the Sega universe. The Sonic tables will play a lot of familiar classic tunes from the series and the NiGHTS table is instantly recognizable. I really enjoyed hearing the songs again, even though they could have been of a higher quality. The Samba table has a lot more songs from all around from more obscure titles such as Burning Rangers and the cult hit, Chu Chu Rocket.

In the end, Sonic Pinball Party is a pinball game and therefore limits it's audience right out of the gates. With that said, it is a decent game that gives you plenty to do, although pinball purists may not find what they are looking for here. Sega fans should be happy with the throwbacks to games like NiGHTS and the overall solid action. Since pinball is such a niche market overall, I would have to only recommend this title to people who already know they love pinball games. The game is a hit in my household, though, since I had to steal the game back from my wife in order to even write this review.