Developed by: Nintendo R&D 1, Published by: Nintendo
Introduction & Bias:
Ahh, pinball. Whenever I visit a classic arcade I always make an effort to see if they have any pinball tables. Arcades with a lot of older cabinets with classic games seem to have a higher chance of having a table compared to modern arcades. Modern arcades make a lot of their money by offering quick games that pay out a ticket reward. Pinball machines have not primarily been known for having any sort of ticket dispensing system so they are often excluded from arcade lineups.
That's too bad because up here in central New York I don't really know of any retro arcades. The ones I loved going to the most are all situated at seaside attraction towns like Seaside Heights in New Jersey. I always get a little misty eyed remembering the combination of the smell of salt water and the excitement of all of their attractions like carousels, mini golf, and, yes, huge arcades.
Nostalgia notwithstanding I got to play the first Pinball title for the NES, simply titled Pinball. This game certainly has pinball in it. Let's dive in.
First Impressions & Presentation:
The title screen this time is nothing really to look at. There is a black screen with the words Pin and Ball on it. Instead of the double layered fake 3-D text, the player simply gets a little highlight on each letter to make them appear round. Maybe they are bubblegum letters or something. Not sure. Other than that, the player just has a choice of game mode to make. The tip here is that there is not much difference between the two modes. They both take place on the same pinball table. The six second theme music is pleasant enough, though.
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| Pictured: Pinballoon maybe? |
The game does have a demonstration to allow the player to preview the table before selecting their game mode. The silent demo does not offer anything amazing other than that preview. Pinball by its nature is pretty easy to understand so there are not a lot of rules to learn. There are two sets of flippers on the table in this game and the object is to keep the ball from falling past the bottom set. The demonstration player quickly loses their ball and it gets reset back to the title screen. Easy enough.
I got the chance to launch the ball once I started the game proper and I did get some ability to finesse how much strength I got to use during the launch. The problem is, practically any strength other than full would not shoot the ball far enough to put it into play so I wonder why the option to have a variable launch strength exists.
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| Pictured: FULL POWER! |
The graphics were inoffensive enough but I was confused as to what the theme of the table actually was. The top half of the pinball table allows the player to interact with trained seals and a set of penguins. The bottom half of the table gives the player a chance to complete a royal flush with playing cards and hatch baby chicks out of eggs.
Don't confuse the term "inoffensive" graphics with "good" graphics, however. Honestly, the whole thing looks pretty dull. Most of the screen is black except for the parts that can be interacted with. On top of that there is no music that plays during the game except for one little victory jingle that sounds if the player completes one of the table's objectives. The sounds are pretty dull as well with a lot of clunks and thuds representing the ball hitting different targets. Overall, the game does not benefit from its style or art direction.
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| Pictured: Cute penguins and a total lack of character besides |
A real pinball table does not tend to have a lot of moving art on the actual playing area so perhaps entertaining gameplay will pull this NES title out of mediocrity. Prepare for disappointment.
Experience & Conveyance:
I have played a fair amount of pinball over the years. The tables I got to experience tended to be products of their times so I started out with tables that only had number displays like old alarm clocks and their associated bells and whistles. Later on, licensed pinball tables would be a pretty big deal with pretty elaborate dot matrix displays, lots of music, and voice samples from their respective medium.
It's unfair to expect an NES game to recreate anything from a modern pinball table. The game is copyrighted in 1983 so it's not like pinball tables of that era had a lot of tricks up their sleeves. To check this I spent about 20 minutes watching YouTube videos of pinball tables and I did manage to find a table that was released the same year as this game: Farfalla.
I have no idea what this game is based on, if anything. I'll look into that more for the trivia section. Based on my research the NES Pinball title represents about as much as one could get out of a pinball table at the time so this game gets a pass in that regard. That said, it really is not a terribly engaging experience. I think the main problem is that playing pinball in real life is the sum total of all of the surrounding experiences. A player rarely gets to put quarters into a pinball machine that is sitting in an empty room. There are other games or at least a pizza parlor next to it to provide other feedback. There is a certain joy of pushing the buttons on a pinball machine or using the plunger to launch the ball. All of that is missing from the NES title.
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| Not Pictured: An arcade. Or pizza |
It's too bad, too, because Nintendo did at least try to do one or two things that would make playing a game of Pinball on the NES familiar and unique. First, the controls are really simple. The left flipper is activated by pressing left on the controller and the right flipper is triggered with the A button. This simulates the usage of the pinball flipper buttons by forcing the player to use the right and leftmost buttons on the NES controller.
The second item is a bonus game that is hidden in one of the bonus activators on the table. Shooting the ball up into that activation hole will bring the player to a different screen with a bonus game. The object of this game is to bounce the pinball up, Breakout style, to keep the ball above a certain line on the playing field. The Breakout platform is being held by Mario who carries the platform back and forth over his head to keep the pinball in play. The ball is used to light up different rows and columns of numbers. Doing that enough will slowly destroy pieces of floor that are holding Mario's first girlfriend, Pauline, captive. Once the floor breaks she begins to fall so Mario must catch her so she can escape. Completing this bonus game nets the player a lot of points which, at the end of the day, is the only thing a player can do in a game of pinball.
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| Pictured: Mario and Pauline are just in it for the paycheck |
And that's it. Keep the ball in play, attempt to complete objectives to activate safety bumpers, and score lots of points. The only use of points other than getting the high score is to get an extra ball. An extra ball is awarded at 50,000 points, but like so much of the rest of the game it happens with no ceremony.
Verdict & Score:
Playing this game was a bore. Writing this article got me more nostalgic for a part of my childhood that I thought I had let go so I am grateful for at least that much. Feeling whimsical does not make me feel any softer or more kind toward this NES game, however. If nothing else I do not want to give this title any more credit than it is worth because I know what pinball is capable of.
After mixing my feelings together and spitting them out I will give Pinball a 4(3)/10. The game is disappointing to be sure but I don't think it makes me feel strongly enough to call it a bad title.
Factoids & Trivia:
No, I did not find out anything more about Farfalla or what the voice on that table actually says. The whole thing looks pretty psychedelic. Winners don't do drugs.
While there are a couple of pinball titles on the NES I was curious if Nintendo produced any pinball tables themselves. I did learn that Nintendo partnered with venerable pinball machine producer Gottlieb for at least two pinball tables based on the Mario Brothers series. I remember seeing the second of the two at Seaside Heights though I missed my chance to play it. I am linking a video here to a company that restored the first of the two tables to better-than-factory condition.
To wrap things up I can mention one pinball table that I am oddly proud that I got to play. It is reportedly the largest pinball table ever produced and appropriately it is named after Hercules. This table is massive. I think I got to play this when I was about 7 or 8 years old and I could barely get my arms around the thing. The table does not use a pinball to operate. Instead it uses a cue ball. You know, one that you play pool with? This table is that big. You can watch a video of it here. Now excuse me while I stop crying and get myself back to the present.
Sniff. Ah, OK. I'll be back by the end of the month. I am really excited to get the review after this posted. After this next review I will have played and posted about all 17 US launch titles and I will consider this whole insane project officially off the ground! Join me next time as I knock down some buildings in Wrecking Crew! See you then.
Sources:
NES box art:
Pinball Machine Game Listing
Super Mario Brothers Pinball
Super Mario Brothers Mushroom World Pinball
NES Pinball on Wikipedia
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