I believe that when it comes to the physics of this game, the question of whether you'll enjoy them or not is more so a matter of what it is exactly that you're looking for, as opposed to just being, factually speaking, good or bad.
In other words, I believe its physics can be appreciated if observed under certain perspectives; but I guess that's just common Sonic debate at this point. I mean, it's gotta be like the millionth time I've seen people argue over the physics of a Sonic game.
But basically, when I see discourse on the topic of Spinball, all the opinions I find fall somewhere on the following spectrum. You've either:
had no experience playing pinball games, so you go into Sonic Spinball for the first time and realise that the control you have over Sonic is "mediocre" or "limited" at best (quite frankly), and you come out dissapointed of how different the physics are from the other sonic titles on the genesis, deciding you'll never play it again;
or, you had no prior experience with pinball titles but, since you were just a kid with a mastersystem/gamegear (or any little bootleg handheld with a bunch of old games) when playing spinball for the first time, you used to make do with what you had and you tried to become better at this frustratingly hard game, little by little. Eventually, as you grew older, you started to become better and you eventually beat the game, and in that moment you felt like you had enjoyed it and had fun throughout the whole experience, because you'd feel proud of finally overcomming the difficulty curve that the game had to offer. And upon repeat playthroughs, you (now in the present) remember what you learned, and, as a result, you conserve a biased opinion on how well-designed the game is when, in reality, you simply just have a warped memory of what it was like learning the ropes for the first time;
or, you HAVE had experience playing pinball games and, with that experience, you've developed a pretty decent understanding of what makes a pinball game fun and the way it should feel to play, and you quickly notice how rushed the game is despite some of its redeeming qualities, like its art-style, atmosphere or maybe even the soundtrack if synths are your kind of thing. And in this case, your judgement of spinball results in being more in-line with the way the it is from an objectice standpoint;
or, you're the fucking god of pinball, no one can lift up a candle to the amount of skill you have, and after all the time you've spent mastering this genre of videogames, you've become so addicted to the formula that you just crave for an actual challenge. You find out about this game, and it instantly becomes your new favourite (or something along those lines).
If you have a strong, non-neutral opinion on Sonic Spinball, I'm convinced that you'll fall close to one of these 4 categories in your experience with it. Maybe you're in between 2, but I'm positive you'll relate to at least one of them somewhat.
While writing this, I couldn't help but feel thankful for having learnt a valuable lesson when I was still young: that lesson being, the importance of knowing what not to care about. Cause if you care about too many things, you forget about what it is that you care about the most and why, and consequently you end up losing part of your personality, as it becomes lost during the obsessive pursuit of knowledge and novelty.
I can't entirely explain why I came to this thought right at that moment, and neither can I give a justification for adding this philosophical reflection to a thread about Sonic Spinball of all things; but I feel as though I should communicate it to people who visit rom sites frequently, in hopes that they can learn from it if they don't know it already. I feel like younger people are especially unfamiliar with the importance of this. Perhaps because of too much social media? Hard to pinpoint one exact cause.
But remember, kids: never fear missing out when it comes to online stuff! It's not worth the mental hassle.
