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Pokémon Pinball

Pokemon Pinball couldn’t have come at a better time. Pokemon red and blue versions are at the top of the charts in the US, outselling any and all competition from the larger consoles. And yes, Pokemon Pinball is number one in Japan, also outselling all console games. The Pokemon series has virtually saved NoJ, and is likely in part responsible for such strong GBC sales. So how does this one live up to the name?

Graphics
All around, good but not great. The title screen looks good, with a Pokemon Pinball logo covering the whole thing. The menus are simple and get the job done, the pokedex is done very well. I love the Pokemon in the options screen, but I want to know what Pikachu is saying! In the game, the graphics work well enough – there are two tables, a red and a blue one, and they seem to follow their name very closely. Like a few other games, this title almost looks like a colorized game – it isn’t colorful enough. Not that it has to look bright and fruity, not that kind of colorful, it just needs more variety in it’s pallets. Overall, the graphics work well, but are the games’ weakest spot.

Sound
The sound is a Pokemon fan’s dream come true. The game is absolutely brimming with sound effects and music from the original games. Some are remixed, and there are some original pieces in there too. You can also listen to them all in the options menu. Top notch.

Gameplay
At heart, Pokemon Pinball is just a really good pinball machine created for the GBC. However, when I first heard about this game my fear was that Nintendo was just going to make a pinball game and put the Pokemon name on it, to see how far it could carry them. Understand that this is not the case. As I said above, there are Pokemon sounds are all over the place. So are the Pokemon – the cover the game’s two pinball tables in ways that actually make sense. To get a Pokemon, you shoot the ball into the mouth of a Bellsprout. Instead of ramps blocking your way to certain bonus holes, there is a Ditto there – that kind of thing. But even if all of this was tossed aside, the genius of including the pokedex would alone make the title exceptional. Here’s how it works – the entire pokedex of 151 monsters that we are getting to know so well is in the game. You get and evolve Pokemon through completing different tasks on the board, and getting all of them isn’t any easier a task than it was before. While the pinball side of the game is excellent, the inclusion of the pokedex is what gives the game such amazing replay value. Another big plus, at any time you can pause your game, and then either choose cancel to return to it or you can choose save. Once you save your game, you can turn the GBC off, and whenever you return, you will be given the option of starting a new game or continuing your old one. This makes it a great game to play for a couple minutes as a time killer – you can play right up until the time you have to leave for work, then save it for later.

Control
Left flipper, right flipper. That’s about it. The defaults are left on the D-pad and the A button, which works nicely. There are also three different tilt buttons, all but useless. All of the controls can be reconfigured in the options menu.

Rumble
Still a gray area in my mind, I do like the rumble here much better than in Top Gear Pocket. Then again, this is a much better game, so I might just be putting up with it. Although I usually play with it off anyways, I really don’t think it is that annoying, I just don’t enjoy it. Again, there is one instance where they used the fast, high pitched buzz – when your ball goes down the side and Pikachu saves it with an electric shock. You’ll know what I’m talking about as soon as you play the game once, and will quickly learn to dread this happening.

Replay
While fans will immediately set to the task of collecting every pokemon, the great thing about this game is that it is pinball at heart – anyone can pick it up and have a great time. It works for every age group and level of gamer. The battery backed save is another big plus that rounds off a game already close to perfection.

Overall Score: 9.5

(Review by d0wner)