Slot machine

Slot Machines (パチスロ) are large machine gimmicks that appear in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. These machines are part of a casino or other themed zones. When the player hops in the slot machine, he or she has the chance to gain or lose Rings, or get nothing, depending on whether they get double or triple matches of the pictures on the wheels. As they are seen in casino-themed zones, they are featured above or in the middle of a pinball table.

Even since their debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, slot machines have become a recurring gimmick in the Sonic the Hedgehog games. The rules of slot machines have usually been the same while some additions and changes have been in different games.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Slot machines make their first appearance in the Casino Night Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where they are seen as part of the zone's colorful pinball tables. In order to activate the slot machine, the player must jump into the three parallel bars. These parallel bars are identical to ones around the zone. The player can press, or  to stop the wheels. If the player does not get any matching pictures, the character will fall out of the bars.

In the 2013 re-release of the game, a slot machine is also present in the "Casino Night Zone" segment of Boss Attack Zone where it was the only source of Rings for the player before fighting the Catcher Eggman. The results from various combinations on the slot machines are listed below:

Sonic & Knuckles
A single slot machine appears only in the Slot Machine type of Bonus Stage in Sonic & Knuckles, which the player can access by gathering over twenty rings and passing a Star Post. This Bonus Stage functions similarly to the Special Stages of Sonic the Hedgehog, as the camera rotates while the player navigates a large arena with a colorful looking slot machine in the middle with several bumpers and jump stands set around the machine.

The slot machine has the traditional three wheels with golden arrows pointing to the middle. Instead of parallel bars, it has a glass dome the player enters to activate the slot machine. It functions the same way as it did in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but now formations are somewhat different and expanded further. Also there are now also icons with Knuckles added to the slot machine wheels. Getting rings makes the machine glow and spin around the arena faster. The results from the various combinations on the slot machine are listed below:

Sonic Adventure
Slot machines are only seen in Casinopolis in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. There are smaller ones in main hall that the player cannot enter. The player can jump or do a Homing Attack on one of them, which will reward the player with five rings only once. There is also a traditional slot machine featured in the middle of the Sonic-themed 777 Slots Pinball table, which the player can activate by hopping into the middle right pipe on above part of the pinball table.

The slot machine functions differently than in previous games, as while the player can get triples on the straight line, he or she can also get a diagonal match, if the player gets same pictures on wheels on that formation. Some formations can affect the pinball table as well. The player can press to make the wheels stop from left to the right. After this, the player either gets rewarded with something depending the formation or nothing. The light of the side triangles on both sides can help the player time the wheel's stopping. The results from various combinations on the slot machines are listed below:

Sonic Pocket Adventure
Slot machines in Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure are similar looking and functioning as ones from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. They are featured in Cosmic Casino Zone, where they are seen as part of the pinball tables of the zone and have similar results and rewards after playing them.

Sonic Heroes
In Sonic Heroes, there are two variations of slot machines in Casino Park and BINGO Highway along with giant slot machines seen in the background of both stages. In the game, both variations are light-green machines that can only be found in pinball table sections of both zones. Each team is able to enter by being launched with a flipper either below the hatch (where the team usually comes out after playing the slot machine) or the upper hatch that is right above of the machine. To stop the the reels from spinning, the player needs to press the Jump button (/). Both variations will grant the player rings depending on the combination of the symbols.

The first, smaller variant only has one slot wheel on the machine. In turn, once the player stops the reel, the result will be granted to the player. If a teammate who is not the selected leader is currently inside these variation of slot machines, the player can stop the reels no matter how far they are from their teammate. The second variation is a more traditional three slot-wheel machine, which works like in previous games. However, this time around, the player must stop the reels (press the Jump button) three times and it includes more symbols than the one slot-wheel machines. Note that the slot machine can hold up to a maximum of the player's entire team (three characters) that can multiply the result based on the number of characters (balls) inside the slot machine.

Shadow the Hedgehog
One of the bosses in Shadow the Hedgehog called Egg Dealer is a large four foot tall robotic vehicle created by Dr. Eggman. Egg Dealer has a slot machine-like mechanism. All of its attacks are determined by the results on the wheel, which the player can take advantage of and use against the machine.

Sonic Rivals 2
In Sonic Rivals 2, the Slot Machine appears only in Neon Palace Zone Act 1. Unlike the rest of the games, the slot machine doesn't give to the player any Rings or Bombs. Instead, only serves to advance through the way: if the slot machine gives every icon to the player three times (regardless if it gives a different icon to the player), it will give character to step forward right, but if it gives an Eggman face, it will sent the character down.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
Slot machines appear in Casino Street Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I. They are only seen in the first act and also in the second act in the mobile phone versions of the game. Similar to ones from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, slot machines are part of the pinball arena of the zone and are activated by entering parallel bars below or above the slot machine. All the results are also identical to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with the exception of replacing Tails icons with ones of Ring. It should be noted that if the player is Super Sonic, the outcome will always be three Jackpots.

In Act 2 (mobile phone versions), using the slot machine is a major means of scoring a lot of points for the act objective (earn 100,000 points) based on the outcome of the slot machine.

Sonic Colors
In the Wii version of Sonic Colors, slot machines are gimmicks that appear only in the Sonic Simulator. In order to activate it, the player must Homing Attack or Spin Jump into the lever on the left. If three identical slots appear when they stop spinning, the machine "dances" and the player receives that item.

Do not mix these two symbols: the Rainbow Eggman symbol means jackpot, which gives you rings, but the 7 symbol in this game gives you spike balls.

Sonic Generations
Slot machines have made appearances in both the console and Nintendo 3DS versions of Sonic Generations, featured in Casino Night. Slot machines in the Nintendo 3DS version are similar to ones in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The slot machines in the classic act are placed in the exact same locations as they were in the original Casino Night Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Slot machines in the console versions are part of the Casino Night DLC pinball table. The player has to proceed to higher levels of the pinball table in order to play with the slot machines.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
In Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, slot machines appear on the loading screen before each race. If the player has at least five All-Star coins, he or she is able to spin the slot machine. Should the three slots match, a new item is obtained. The player can win an item at the start of every lap or start with an item at the start of the race. If the pictures do not match, the player does not earn anything, and can spin once more if he or she has the required number of coins. Slot Machines are also available in selected chapters of the game's World Tour, where they can be accessed any time on the map.

Sonic Lost World
In the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World, slot machines are featured in the second, hidden pinball table section at Frozen Factory Zone 3. The player can entered the pinball table by finding the hidden yellow spring on the top of the left chip stack near end of second part of the Zone. On the pinball table, there are three slot machines, each of them set on three parts of the pinball table upwards. All the slot machine results are the same from Sonic Generations. The third, upper slot machine has a hatch, which opens after getting enough points from the pinball table and allows the player to proceed through the Zone.

Slot machine wheels also appear as regularly rolling obstacles in Frozen Factory Zone 3, which can make the player lose Shield, Rings or life upon physical contact.

Trivia

 * According to Yuji Naka, slot machines are based on the Sonic Team's experiences at casinos while they were working in America.