Spring Catapult

The Spring Catapult,^[1] also known simply as the spring,^[2] is a gimmick in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It can usually be found in casino-themed Zones. In gameplay, as the playable character spins on a Spring Catapult, its spring will depress, then launch the player forward or upward at high speed.

Description

Spring Catapults work similarly to the plungers on real-life pinball tables. Spring Catapults are usually located in a sharp turn or at the other end of a tunnel. When the playable character enters the tunnel, they start rolling down it, before ending up on the top of the Spring Catapult's spring where the character continues to roll around in one spot. When the player holds down the jump button, the Spring Catapult's spring depresses. Once the spring is fully depressed, the player can release the jump button and launch the playable character forward or upward through the tunnel's most direct route.

If the Spring Catapult is not fully depressed, the playable character will only be launched a short distance and will fall back on the Spring Catapult. In a few games, the player does not need to load the Spring Catapult as it automatically launches the playable character itself.

Game appearances

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

The Spring Catapults were first seen in the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. These objects are only featured in Casino Night Zone and are referred to as "springs" in the North American instruction manual.^[2]

In gameplay, the player can load and release the Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing , or . After being launched from the Spring Catapult, the characters usually enter a shuttle loop or one of the pinball sections in the Zone.

Sonic Spinball (8-bit)

In Sonic Spinball (8-bit), there are several large red Spring Catapults set around the Toxic Caves. In gameplay, the player can load and release these Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing or . These springs will send Sonic back to the pinball sections.

Knuckles' Chaotix

In Knuckles' Chaotix, there are several Spring Catapults featured in Speed Slider, despite the stage not being pinball-themed. In gameplay, the Spring Catapults will automatically launch the playable characters out of their tunnels once the playable characters land on their spring.

Sonic Adventure

In Sonic Adventure and its remake Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Spring Catapults can be seen on the right side of the pinball tables in Casinopolis, though they are only used in Sonic the Hedgehog's story. In gameplay, these Spring Catapults automatically send Sonic into the pinball table.

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

In Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, Spring Catapults are featured in Cosmic Casino Zone, which closely resembles Casino Night Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In gameplay, the player can load and release the Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing /.

Sonic Pinball Party

In Sonic Pinball Party, a single Spring Catapult is featured on the right side of all the pinball tables. Like in Sonic Adventure, the shooter will launch automatically in gameplay. Instead of launching playable characters however, it launches regular pinballs.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, Spring Catapults are featured as one of the gimmicks in Casino Street Zone. In this game, their appearance and mechanics are similar to the Spring Catapults featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In gameplay, the player can load and release the Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing ////.

Sonic Generations

In the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations, Spring Catapults are featured in both the first and second Act of Casino Night. In this game, the springboard on the Spring Catapult has a red background, with a blue center with yellow star in it. It also loads much faster than it did in its debut game. In gameplay, the player can load and release the Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing .

Two Spring Catapults also appear in the DLC-exclusive Casino Night minigame in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations. The first one is located in the lower right corner of the pinball table, where the player will start the minigame. Right next to the start-up shooter is the second Spring Catapult where the player can fall down from the higher level of pinball table. In gameplay, the player can load and release the Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing /.

Sonic Lost World

In the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World, the Spring Catapults make a reappearance. They are seen in the casino-themed Frozen Factory Zone 3, where they are normally set around the pinball tables. They are very similar to the ones from the console/PC version of Sonic Generations. In gameplay, the player can load and release the Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing /.

Sonic Forces

In Sonic Forces, the Spring Catapults are featured exclusively in Casino Forest. In this game, the springboards on the Spring Catapults have received an entirely different design. This time, they look like round stone slabs with yellow markings on them. In gameplay, the player can load and release the Spring Catapults by holding down and eventually releasing //.

In other media

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

A single Spring Catapult is seen in episode "Robotnikland" of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, where it is part of large pinball table called "Pin-Ball Blizzard" in a park that Dr. Robotnik has taken over. The Spring Catapult is first seen bursting Sonic into the pinball table. After a while, Robotnik sends a large pinball ball into the game with the Spring Catapult. After Sonic starts to rule the pinball game however, Robotnik sends Scratch and Grounder into the Spring Catapult and launches them onto the pinball table, only for the two of them to get bounced back and forth while Sonic escapes the "Pin-Ball Blizzard".

Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)

In the episode "Game Guy" of the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series, Sonic gets launched once by a large Spring Catapult when he enters Robotnik's giant pinball table inside a large pyramid base.

References

↑ Sonic Team (1 November 2011). Sonic Generations. Xbox 360. Sega. Area/level: White Space. "Casino Nights controls menu: Spring Catapult."
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Mega Drive) United States instruction booklet, p. 13.

Navigation Templates to Spring Catapult

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Characters	Sonic (Super Sonic) \| Tails (Super Tails**) \| Knuckles (Super Knuckles) \| Dr. Robotnik \| Animals (Becky, Cucky, Flicky, Pocky, Pecky, Cucky, Ricky, Picky, Rocky, Locky, Wocky, Micky, Tocky)
Badniks	Aquis \| Asteron \| Balkiry \| Banper* \| Batbot** \| BFish* \| Bubbler* \| Bubbler's Mother* \| Buzzer \| Cactus* \| Chop Chop \| Clucker \| Coconuts \| Crawl \| Crawlton \| Flasher \| Frog* \| Gator* \| Gohla \| Grabber \| Grounder \| Jellygnite** \| Lobster* \| Masher \| Nebula \| Octus \| Rexon \| Shellcracker \| Slicer \| Snail* \| Spiker \| Spiny \| Stegway \| Turtloids \| Redz \| Whisp
Zones	Emerald Hill Zone \| Chemical Plant Zone \| Aquatic Ruin Zone \| Casino Night Zone \| Hill Top Zone \| Mystic Cave Zone \| Oil Ocean Zone \| Metropolis Zone \| Sky Chase Zone \| Wing Fortress Zone \| Death Egg Zone \| Green Hill Zone* \| Hidden Palace Zone** \| Genocide City Zone* \| Sand Shower Zone* \| Rock World Zone* \| Wood Zone* \| Egg Gauntlet Zone \| Boss Attack Zone \| Proto Palace Zone** \| Special Stage
Bosses	Drill Eggman \| Water Eggman \| Tonkachi Eggman \| Catcher Eggman \| Submarine Eggman \| Drill Eggman II \| Hidden Palace Zone boss** \| Submarine Eggman II \| Flying Eggman \| Barrier Eggman \| Mecha Sonic \| Death Egg Robot
Moves/Techniques	Climb \| Crouch \| Glide \| Insta-Shield** \| Propeller Flying \| Spin Jump \| Super Dash Attack \| Super Spin Attack
Items	Air Bubble \| Bomb \| Booster \| Bumper \| Capsule \| Continue \| Fan \| Flipper \| Iron ball \| Jump Panel \| Metal nut \| Monitor (Super Ring, Shield, Power Sneakers, Invincible, Extra Life, Teleporter, Eggman, Lightning Shield, Flame Shield, Random, Water Shield, S) \| Ring \| Signpost \| Spring \| Spring Catapult \| Star Circle \| Star Post \| Switch
Other	Original Soundtrack \| Bumper wall \| Cannon \| Chaos Emerald \| Conveyor Belt \| Corkscrew loop \| Crusher \| Death Egg Robot \| Debug Mode \| Egg Jet \| Giant spear \| Gondola \| High-speed elevator \| High-speed warp tube \| Mega Mack \| Perfect Bonus \| Seesaw \| Shuttle loop \| Slot machine \| Spikes \| Stone pillar \| Time Attack \| Tornado \| Totem pole \| West Side Island \| Winding Tunnel Exclusive to the prototype versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. * Exclusive to the 2013 re-release version.

Sonic Spinball (8-bit)

Main article | Staff | Gallery

Playable characters		Sonic
Non-playable characters		Tails \| Dr. Robotnik \| Animals (Flicky, Cucky) \| Hip and Hop
Stages		Toxic Pools \| Lava Powerhouse \| The Machine \| Final Showdown \| Bonus Stage
Enemies		Buster \| Buzz Bomber \| Cluckbird \| Ferron \| Krondor \| Magma Worm
Bosses		Toxic Pools Boss \| Roboiler \| Veg-O Machine \| Final Showdown Boss
Moves/Techniques		Crouch \| Jump \| Super Spin Dash
Gimmicks and obstacles		Bumper \| Drain Bumper \| Flipper \| High-speed warp tube \| Sewer Warp \| Spring Catapult
Objects		Chaos Emerald \| Item Box (1-Up, Continue) \| Drop Target \| Ring
Other		Planet Mobius \| Sonic the Hedgehog Boom \| Veg-O-Fortress

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

Main article | Staff | Beta elements | Gallery

Playable characters		Sonic (Super Sonic) \| Tails
Non-playable characters		Knuckles \| Mecha Sonic \| Dr. Robotnik \| Animals (Flicky, Pocky, Pecky, Cucky, Ricky, Picky)
Zones		Neo South Island Zone \| Secret Plant Zone \| Cosmic Casino Zone \| Aquatic Relix Zone \| Sky Chase Zone \| Aerobase Zone \| Gigantic Angel Zone \| Last Utopia Zone \| Chaotic Space Zone \| Special Stage
Enemies		Asteron \| Balkiry \| Buzzer \| Chop Chop \| Clucker \| Coconuts \| Grounder \| Masher \| Nebula \| Shellcracker \| Slicer \| Spiny \| Whisp
Bosses		Neo South Island Zone boss \| Secret Plant Zone boss \| Cosmic Casino Zone boss \| Aquatic Relix Zone boss \| Aerobase Zone boss \| Gigantic Angel Zone boss \| Last Utopia Zone boss \| Chaotic Space Zone boss
Moves/Techniques		Spin Attack \| Spin Dash \| Spin Jump
Gimmicks and obstacles		Bumper \| Bumper wall \| Conveyor Belt \| Crusher \| Dash Panel \| Fan \| Flipper \| Goal Plate \| High-speed warp tube \| Jump Panel \| Metal nut \| Slot machine \| Spring \| Spring Catapult
Objects		Air Bubble \| Capsule \| Chaos Emerald \| Giant Ring \| Item box (1UP, Invincible Protect, Power-Sneakers, Shield, Super Ring) \| Star Post \| Switch \| Photo piece \| Ring
Other		Continue \| Corkscrew loop \| Debug Mode \| Shuttle loop \| Totem Pole \| Tornado \| Winding Tunnel

Sonic Adventure

Playable characters		Sonic (Super Sonic) \| Tails \| Knuckles \| Amy \| E-102 Gamma \| Big \| Metal Sonic*
Non-playable characters		Dr. Eggman \| Beta (Mark II) \| Chao \| Chaos (Chaos 1, Chaos 2, Chaos 4, Chaos 6, Perfect Chaos) \| Cream* \| Delta \| Epsilon \| Froggy \| Grandma \| Mr. Know-It-All \| Pachacamac \| Tikal \| Unnamed Sonic robot* \| ZERO \| Zeta \| Animals (Deer, Elephant, Gorilla, Kangaroo, Koala, Lion, Mole, Parrot, Peacock, Penguin, Rabbit, Seal, Sea Otter, Skunk, Swallow)
Adventure Fields		Egg Carrier \| Mystic Ruins \| Station Square
Action Stages		Emerald Coast \| Windy Valley \| Casinopolis \| IceCap \| Twinkle Park \| Speed Highway \| Red Mountain \| Sky Deck \| Lost World \| Hot Shelter \| Final Egg
Sub Games		Sky Chase \| Sand Hill \| Hedgehog Hammer \| Twinkle Circuit \| Boss
Enemies		Beat \| Bladed Spinner \| Boa-Boa \| Buyoon \| Cart Kiki \| Cop Speeder \| Egg Keeper \| Electro Spinner \| Fighter Aircraft A \| Fighter Aircraft B \| Gola \| Ice Ball \| Icecap's unnamed aircraft \| Kiki \| Leon \| mechanical fish \| Pirate \| Rhinotank \| Sky Deck's unnamed jet fighter \| Spiky Spinner \| Sweeper
Bosses		Chaos 0 \| Chaos 2 \| Chaos 4 \| Chaos 6 \| E-101 Beta \| E-101 Mark II \| E-102 Gamma \| E-103 Delta \| E-104 Epsilon \| E-105 Zeta \| Egg Carrier \| Egg Hornet \| Egg Viper \| Egg Walker \| Knuckles the Echidna \| Perfect Chaos \| Sonic the Hedgehog \| ZERO
Moves/ Techniques	Playable characters	Bolt of lightning \| Climb \| Dig \| Flight Mode \| Glide \| Hammer Attack \| Hammer Jump \| Hover \| Homing Attack \| Homing Missile Launch \| Jump Attack \| Laser Gun \| Light Speed Attack \| Light Speed Dash \| Lure Attack \| Maximum Heat Knuckles Attack \| Pick \| Propeller Flight \| Punch Attack \| Rapid Tails Attack \| Spin Dash \| Spin Hammer Attack \| Spin Jump \| Tails Attack
Moves/ Techniques	NPCs	Arm Punch \| Bomb Attack \| Bomb Gun Attack \| Charge \| Double Punch \| Earthquake Attack \| Electric Arm \| Energy Ball Attack \| Flame Thrower Attack \| Guiding Missiles \| Instantaneous Liquefaction \| Laser Beam Attack \| Homing Tail Slice \| Inhale Attack \| Marble Attack \| Phantom Shadow Move \| Punch \| Quarter Attack \| Scorpion Attack \| Shockwave Attack (Chaos 6) \| Sonic Boom \| Spin Attack \| Spinning Spike Attack \| Spouting Attack \| Squash Roll Attack \| Swing Punch
Gimmicks and obstacles		Bumper \| Bumper Car \| Cannon \| Conveyor Belt \| Crank \| Dash Panel \| Dash Ring \| Drum Can \| Explosion Trap \| Fan \| Flipper \| Fountain \| Goal Balloon \| Hanging Bell \| Helicopter \| Hint Box \| Hint Orb \| Icicle \| Iron ball \| Jump Panel (plate) \| Jump Panel (ramp) \| Jump Ramp \| Laser field \| Lit Panel \| Mirror \| Monkey Detonation Switch \| Orca \| Power cube \| Rocket \| Satellite \| Slot machine \| Spring \| Spring Catapult \| Switch \| Teleporter \| Wide spring \| Wind Path \| Zip Line
Objects	General	Air Bubble \| Capsule \| Cart pass \| Chao Egg \| Chaos Emerald \| Doll \| Emblem \| Emerald Shard \| Employee ID Card \| Item Box (5 Rings, 10 Rings, Extra Life, High-Speed Shoes, Invincibility, Magnetic Shield, Random Rings, Shield, Smart Bomb) \| Key Stone (Gold Statue, Ice Stone, Silver Statue, Wind Stone) \| Point Marker \| Ring \| Sandboard \| Snowboard \| Sonic Token
Objects	Level Up Items	Ancient Light \| Crystal Ring \| Fighting Gloves \| Jet Anklet \| Jet Booster \| Laser Blaster \| Life Belt \| Light Speed Shoes \| Long Hammer \| Lure \| Power Rod \| Rhythm Badge \| Shovel Claw \| Warrior Feather
English voice actors		Ryan Drummond (Sonic) \| Corey Bringas (Tails) \| Michael McGaharn (Knuckles) \| Deem Bristow (Eggman) \| Jennifer Douillard (Amy) \| Jon St. John (Big) \| Elara Distler (Tikal, Station Square Train Voice, Default Menu Voice) \| Steve Broadie (Gamma, Pachacamac, Mystic Ruins Train Voice) \| Tomoko Sasaki (Chao)
Japanese voice actors		Jun'ichi Kanemaru (Sonic) \| Kazuki Hayashi (Tails) \| Nobutoshi Canna (Knuckles) \| Chikao Ōtsuka (Eggman) \| Taeko Kawata (Amy) \| Shun Yashiro (Big) \| Kaori Asoh (Tikal) \| Jōji Nakata (Gamma) \| Tōru Ōkawa (Pachacamac) \| Kaho Kōda (Station Square Train Voice) \| Nobutoshi Canna (Mystic Ruins Train Voice) \| Elara Distler (Default Menu Voice) \| Tomoko Sasaki (Chao)
Music	Songs	Believe In Myself \| It Doesn't Matter \| Lazy Days \| My Sweet Passion \| Open Your Heart \| Unknown from M.E.
Music	Albums	Sonic Adventure Original Sound Track (Digi-Log Conversation) \| Sonic Adventure Remix \| Sonic Adventure: Songs With Attitude Vocal Mini-Album \| Sonic Adventure Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition \| Passion & Pride: Anthems with Attitude from the Sonic Adventure Era
Other		777 Slots Pinball \| Angel Island \| Auto Running \| Black Market \| Card & Pinball \| Chao Adventure^ \| Chao Garden (Station Square Garden, Mystic Ruins Garden, Egg Carrier Island) \| Chao Race \| Chao Stadium \| Chao in Space \| Chao Machine \| Chao Search* \| Corkscrew loop \| Debug Mode \| E-100 Series \| Egg Carrier \| Egg Carrier 2 \| Emerald Radar \| Freeze \| Life gauge \| Mission Mode \| Mystic Ruins \| Shrine of Knuckles's race \| Shuttle loop \| Sonic Adventure (LCD) \| Station Square \| Station Square Police Department \| Tails' Lab \| Tornado \| Tornado 2 \| Transporter Machine Exclusive to Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut* ^Exclusive to Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I