The casino level in Sonic Adventure is host to two pinball games, one of them expected, the other not. Of course I'm referring to the Sonic pinball table and the NiGHTS pinball table that Sonic Team decided to throw into Sonic Adventure.
A Sonic pinball level of some sort has been a tradition in Sonic games ever since its debut in Sonic 2; the pinball levels were so popular that Sega made a Genesis game called Sonic Spinball full of just Sonic pinball levels. The Sonic Adventure Sonic pinball table isn't extremely exciting; hit Sonic around like a pinball, earn coins. If you aim it right, you can hit Sonic into special slots that throw him into separate scenes more akin to what was shown in the Genesis Spinball.
Sonic Pinball (28 Seconds) - 2.97 Meg MPEG Format
The real show at the casino are the NiGHTS pinball tables; paying homage to Sonic Team's first Saturn title, while at the same time hinting at the team's next Dreamcast project. The first table features a bunch of bumpers as well as cards you can hit and match for extra coins. All of this in a very well done NiGHTS theme, complete with proper music and the evil-NiGHTS clock floating around the table. Hit Sonic into the right slot and you advance to the second table; again, a great NiGHTS theme: rings, bumpers, music, etc. Should you happen to have Sonic fall through on this second table, he drops back down to the first table - but not directly. No, in the middle of going back to the first table, Sonic warps into a NiGHTS environment reminiscent of the first level in the Saturn game; in the middle you see NiGHTS doing his famous acrobatics as NiGHTopians look around. When you first enter the NiGHTS environment you'll be floored; NiGHTS and the NiGHTopians look amazing! In the end though, you can tell Sonic Team wasn't really going all-out with this NiGHTS scene; you can see where the polygons join where the sky and the ground meet, the entire environment is just blocky and rough. Nevertheless, I'm impressed enough to hope for NiGHTS 2 on Dreamcast...
NiGHTS Pinball (41 Seconds) - 4.33 Meg MPEG Format
