• Tag Archives Pinball

  • Sonic Pinball Party (Game Boy Advance, 2003)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/702382877867917312/sonichedgeblog-casino-paradise-table-sonic

    Sonic Pinball Party was a sequel of sorts to Sonic Spinball on the Genesis. It wasn’t really so much a sequel as a follow-up with the same theme. That is, a pinball game featuring Sonic. Whereas Sonic Spinball had been released on the Genesis in 1993, Sonic Pinball Party was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

    As a pinball game, Sonic Pinball Party was more like a traditional pinball game than was Sonic Spinball. To me, this kind of game is also a good match with a portable system. The game play is pretty straightforward. In arcade mode, play is pretty much like any other pinball game it’s just that this one has a Sonic theme with many references to past Sonic games and the goal is simply to score as many points as possible.

    There is also a story mode which adds goals beyond just scoring points. The story takes place in Station Square (also central to Sonic Adventure) and involves Doctor Eggman turning gamblers into robots and also brainwashing Tails and Amy Rose. Sonic must rescue them (and everybody else) by winning a pinball tournament.

    As far as pinball games go, this one is pretty decent and any video pinball fan should give it a try but especially if you are also a Sonic fan. Interestingly, when this game was first released it was released as an exclusive to Target. However, a couple of years later in 2005 it was also released as part of a compilation pack including Sonic Advance, Sonic Battle and Columns Crown and also in “twin packs” with Sonic Battle and Sonic Advance so there were other ways to get it.

    Having said that, this game has not been re-released on other platforms that I am aware of. While a bunch of Sonic games have shown up on, for example, the Nitnendo 3DS virtual console, Sonic Pinball Party was not one of them. So if you do want to play it, you will either have to track down an original cartridge or resort to emulation.


    📂This entry was posted in Game Boy Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Pokemon Pinball (Game Boy Color)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/687882876442804224

    Most pinball fans probably have trouble finding room in their house (and the money) for a real pinball machine. Fortunately, there have been alternatives for a long time in the form of video pinball. Sure, it’s not quite the same as the real thing but it can be a surprisingly good facsimile.

    The earliest video pinball game I can remember playing was Night Mission Pinball on my Commodore 64. As I recall, there was only one table and it was in black and white. But the movement and physics were pretty solid. Later on I would play lots of other video pinball games including Pinball Adventure (NES), Alien Crush (TurboGrafx-16), Epic Pinball (DOS), and others. It turns out, there was also a pinball game for Pokemon fans.

    Pokemon Pinball was released for the Game Boy Color in 1999. It got pretty solid reviews overall but pinball fans might have mixed opinions. While it did a great job integrating Pokemon into the game, the actual physics and other pinball aspects were kind of an afterthought. Having said that, it is still fun to play.

    There are two basic tables that you can choose from, the red table and the blue table. As with many video pinball games and unlike physical pinball games, these tables are a lot bigger than you might expect. There was also a lot more to do that just keeping the ball in play and accumulating points. Each table allows advancement into different areas based on certain accomplishments. In addition, you must also “catch” pokemon…151 of them if you want to be complete. Fortunately, you don’t have to catch them all in one sitting.

    To catch pokemon, you have to enter “catch mode” which lasts for two minutes. In that time period, you have to hit certain things multiple times in order to reveal the picture of the pokemon. After that, you have to also manage to hit the pokemon a certain number of times in order to finally catch it. There is also an “evolution mode” that works in a similar manner. Some pokemon can only be collected through evolution but you can only evolve pokemon that you caught in the current session.

    While not necessarily the best pure pinball simulation, it is still fun to play if you like pinball and there is lots to do. There was also a sequel called Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire for the Game Boy Advance. Both of these are worth checking out if you are pinball fan and especially if you are a Pokemon fan. Unfortunately, I don’t think these have been released outside of the Game Boy originals so you will have to track down original cartridges or resort to emulation if you do want to give them a try.


    📂This entry was posted in Game Boy Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • X-Men Pinball

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    X-Men Pinball – Stern Pinball

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/188659011610/techturd-x-men-pinball-stern-pinball

    Released in 2012, The X-Men Pinball Machine isn’t really all that retro except that I consider pinball to be retro in general. It hasn’t changed all that much over the years, certainly not in recent years. There are not huge numbers of pinball machines made, probably in part because they are so expensive. A refurbished X-Men will set you back about $7000. Used ones go for $3k to $4k on average. I’d love to have a pinball machine but I’m not willing to drop that much cash on one.

    There are three versions of this game. There is the “PRO” version which is just the normal version and then there are two “LE” versions (for Limited Edition). For the limited editions there was a Magneto version and a Wolverine version. As far as I can tell, they were all basically the same but the limited editions had unique artwork, some unique lighting and other features not found in the “PRO” version. There were only about 500 of the limited edition versions made.

    If you are a fan of pinball game then you will probably like this one and if you are a fan of The X-Men AND pinball then you’ve probably found nearly the perfect game. This one generally gets ranked pretty well among pinball games. X-Men is made by Stern and while there are still a few pinball manufacturers around, Stern is probably the best and most well known. They are still making new machines but new releases are not frequent.


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games 📎and tagged