Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball/Showdown

In this level you need to collect 5 Chaos Emeralds before defeating the boss, Robotnik. The overall layout of this level is as follows:

		Boss room
	Left girders	Bombs	Right girders
Left outer area	Left table	Center table	Right table	Right outer area

You start in the center table.

Center table

There is a Chaos Emerald at the top of the center table, but it's protected by 4 metal doors. Hit the triggers directly next to the emerald to open the doors, and once all 4 of them are open, shoot directly upwards in a straight line to grab the Chaos Emerald.

You can leave the center table via passages in the upper left and right corners, or a hole in the roof directly above where the Chaos Emerald was. From here, you can fall into a shaft either to the left or right of the center table. There are three lanes at the top of each shaft for you to choose; the lane closest to the center of the level will take you to one of the outer pinball tables, while the lane furthest from the center of the level will take you back to the center table. After you've escaped from the center table, you'll need to visit both the left and right tables in either order.

Left table

Shoot the trigger in the right pathway 3 times to open the 3 metal doors above the flippers. Next, go up through the path that was previously blocked by those doors to hit a sock that will launch you to a Chaos Emerald.

The route to the Chaos Emerald can take you back to the center table. You can also leave the left table by going through the leftmost upward shaft, which provides easy access to the leftmost outer area.

Left outer area

At the far left end of the level, beyond the left table, lies another emerald. You will have to get above the pinball tables first, then make your way over as far left as you can. At the left edge of the level, you can drop down onto a platform with a hook. Jump onto the hook to reveal a flipper. Use the flipper to launch yourself up into a Chaos Emerald. After you get the emerald, you'll slide back into the left table.

Right table

Launch yourself up into the rightmost shaft. You'll destroy a wasp the first time; the second time you'll grab onto a hook. Drop down onto the platform below you, and spin dash to the left to reach a Chaos Emerald.

The route to the Chaos Emerald is one way to escape the right table, and provides easy access to the rightmost outer area. Another way is to take the leftmost path up, which will drop you into a shaft that can lead back to the center table.

Right outer area

(The right outer area is a mirror copy of the left outer area, so these instructions are the exact same as for the left area, but with reversed directions - left becomes right and vice versa)

At the far right end of the level, beyond the right table, lies another emerald. You will have to get above the pinball tables first, then make your way over as far right as you can. At the right edge of the level, you can drop down onto a platform with a hook. Jump onto the hook to reveal a flipper. Use the flipper to launch yourself up into a Chaos Emerald. After you get the emerald, you'll slide back into the right table.

Upper girders

Once you have obtained all 5 Chaos Emeralds, it's time to travel all the way to the top of the level to get inside Robotnik's ship and fight him. There are various paths you can take. Directly in the center of the level, above the center table, you will find bombs raining down from Robotnik's ship. You can jump from bomb to bomb to make your way up into a hole at the bottom of Robotnik's ship.

Alternatively, use the pairs of flippers above the left or right tables to launch yourself far up towards Robotnik's ship. You can also use spin dashes from horizontal platforms above the left or right tables to reach metal hooks. When grabbed, these hooks will reveal flippers that allow you to launch yourself high up.

Below the ship's wings are hooks you can grab onto to reach a door. Or, if you manage to launch yourself really high all the way on top of the ship's wings, spin dash into the ship's window to break into the boss room from the side.

Boss room

It's time to defeat the evil Robotnik once and for all. You have to smash into the window cover protecting Robotnik 10 times, but he deploys two mechanisms to defend him:

• Claws will grab Sonic and dump him into the bottom corner of the room.
• Socks will launch Sonic sideways into the ship's windows. The third time you hit a window, it'll break, sending you flying out of the boss room altogether and all the way down to the bottom of the level.

Disable Robotnik's defenses by hitting the trigger directly underneath him. The trigger effects operate on a cycle:

1. Enable a claw
2. Enable other claw
3. Disable a claw <--- START HERE
4. Disable other claw
5. Disable socks

When you enter the boss room, hit the trigger three times to disable both claws and his socks. Now the way to Robotnik is open, so launch yourself up onto his window and smash it as often as you can.

At some point, the message "SMELL MY SOCKS !!" will appear at the top of the screen. This means Robotnik has reactivated his socks. You'll want to disable those socks again, but because of the trigger effect cycle you'll have to hit the trigger five times: twice to enable the claws, twice to disable them again, and a final fifth time to bring down the socks. Now continue hitting Robotnik until you get another "SMELL MY SOCKS !!" message, at which point you'll have to hit that trigger five more times - this cycle will repeat until you've hit Robotnik 10 times. At that point, he is finally defeated. Congratulations, you have beaten Sonic Spinball!