POKEMON PINBALL SERIES

Couple the addictive gameplay in with catchy 8-bit Pokémon tunes (including a nice chiptune rendition of the Japanese anime intro) and you have have Pokémon Pinball.

POKEMON PINBALL SERIES

Players could also evolve their monsters through “Evolution Mode” or even enter a series of special stages featuring the likes of Gengar and Meowth, which would have to be completed numerous times before having the ability to catch the real rarities, the elusive legendaries Mew and Mewtwo, an achievement I still can’t claim to have done. Moving to a new location to catch new Pokémon is achieved by once again meeting certain goals that enable “Map Move Mode”. For example, if you started on the Red board you could begin in Pallet and have the opportunity to catch Pokémon usually found there like the starters Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. Now, I always preferred and was more skilled on the red board, but mastering the blue board was something I would have to do in order to catch all of it’s unique Pokémon and fill out my Dex. Both have different layouts, making the game less repetitive, but like the board’s namesakes, Blue and Red have unique Pokémon available, meaning that completing your Dex will mean excelling in both stages. Starting the game, you are presented with the choice of the red board or the blue board. Having a Ball: Pokémon Pinball’s Red Board And catching ’em all is no easy achievement!

And this is where the real appeal of Pokémon Pinball lies your Dex has spaces for all 151 Generation One Pokemon. Once they are successfully concealed in their Pokéball, they will be added to your PokéDex which is accessible from the start menu. Just like the main series of games and the catchy nineties song that accompanied the Anime, the goal of Pokémon Pinball is to “catch ’em all” So, every once in a while, when a certain criteria is met, the opportunity to catch one of the little critters arises, and by flipping your Pokéball Pinball, your goal is to hit the Pokémon a certain number of times, therefore “catching” the Monster. Not a feat that many spin off titles can claim to have achieved with me.įor a pinball game, you play as you usually would, racking up a high score and trying to hold on to your balls…by which I mean not losing one of your pinballs. However, the depth and ingenuity in the game has kept me playing for years. Yes, it relied on its ties to the Pokemon franchise to shift copies.

But such a view would be a terrible misconception, and anyone who has played either game from the Pinball series will know that far more thought and attention went into it than one may first consider. But my purpose with this article is to propose a sequel to another criminally overlooked game that is crying out for an evolution Pokémon Pinball.Īnyone not familiar with the spin-off may simply assume that Nintendo took a Pinball game, slapped the Pokémon brand on it and sold it to the legions of Pokémon fans desperate to throw their money at the nearest Pikachu branded item they see. I’ve gone on record in the past expressing my desire for one of my favourite Pokémon spin-offs, Pokémon Snap, to receive a new entry in the series.

Pokemon pinball