Slot machine

The Slot Machine (パチスロ) is a gimmick in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are large machines that appear as a part of casinos or similarly-themed Zones. By interacting with them, the player can either receive additional rewards or lose Rings.

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

Description
The slot machines are large devices based on the real-life machine, although they typically only feature the slot machine's trademark reels within a device or a frame. They are commonly encountered within casinos or similarly-themed Zones. Because they appear in casino-themed Zones, they are usually featured above or in the middle of a pinball table.

Slot machines are usually activated when the playable character inserts themselves into the opening or ball slot on the slot machine. The reels on the slot machine will then begin to rotate, and it is the player job to match the different symbols on the reels by stopping the reels at appropriate times. Depending on whether the player gets double or triple matches of the pictures on the wheels, the player can gain or lose Rings, receive additional rewards, or get nothing at all. Afterward, the player will be deposited from the slot machine.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
The slot machines made their first appearance in the Casino Night Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In this game, they are seen as part of the Zone's colorful pinball tables. The slot machines themselves are a row of three reels within a red frame.

To activate the slot machine in gameplay, the player must jump into the three parallel bars that are positioned either above or below the slot machine (these parallel bars are identical to ones around the zone). The player can press, or  to stop the wheels.

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 is the only source of Rings that the player can utilize before fighting the Catcher Eggman.

The results from various combinations on the slot machines are listed below:

Sonic & Knuckles
In Sonic & Knuckles (and its add-on extension Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles), a single slot machine appears in the Slot Machine-type Bonus Stage. In this game, the slot machine has a blue background frame shaped like a "+" and a red and yellow outline. It also has the traditional three wheels, with golden arrows pointing toward the middle. It also has a glass dome with a red frame around it in its center

The slot machine's Bonus Stage functions similarly to the Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog, as the camera rotates while the player navigates a large arena with the slot machine in the middle, with several bumpers and Jump Stands set around the machine.

In gameplay, to activate the slot machine, the player has to enter the glass dome in the center of the slot machine. From here on, the slot machine functions the same way as it did in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, except the formations are somewhat different and expanded upon. The player can press, or  to stop the wheels. Also, 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
In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, the slot machines are only featured in Casinopolis. There are smaller ones in main hall that the player cannot enter. However, the player can jump or do a Homing Attack on one of these slot machines, 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 in the upper section of the pinball table. This particular slot machine's only features are its reels in the middle of the pinball table. In gameplay, the slot machine functions differently from those in previous Sonic games. While the player can get triples on the straight line, they can also get a diagonal match, if the player can arrange the pictures on the wheels in 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. The light from the side triangles on both sides can also help the player time when to stop the reels.

The results from various combinations on the slot machines are listed below:

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
In Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, slot machines are featured in Cosmic Casino Zone. In this game, the slot machines are a part of the Zone's pinball tables. The slot machines themselves look identical to those seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

To activate the slot machine in gameplay, the player must jump into three parallel bars either above or below the slot machine. The player can press / to stop the wheels. The slot machines also have results and rewards similar to those seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 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. Their appearance differs significantly to their previous appearances; they feature a blue-checkerboard surface with several green, blue and yellow triangles with a red outline on top. It has three pentagonal red/orange striped attachments and its six reels are surrounded by a green outline.

Like previous games, the slot machine provide various rewards based on which three icons on the top row are matched. The reels' icons take on the image of Eggman's face, a Ring, an Emblem and Power Sneakers. In addition, the outcome of the three reels on the top row to decide which direction the player exits out of the slot machine; if any reel stops at Eggman's face, the slot machine will immediately drop the player down to the lower route; otherwise the player will be launched to the right in the upper route. To use the slot machine in gameplay, the player must press to stop each reel from spinning.

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 Casino Night Act 1 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, they are 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 they have 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.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, the slot machines look much like they did in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but with a new frame surrounding the slots and ball entrance. In gameplay, they function as they did in Sonic 2, and can be found exclusively in Casino Forest.

Trivia

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