So I tried Zen pinball HD on android...

[DrainoBraino]

The problem I had with Zen Pinball is that it seems far too easy. I mean, I play and play and play and then just get bored of the table I'm playing and shut it down because it just never seems to end. I could play through every table in TPA in the time I spend playing just one Zen table. Even if the table initially seemed fun, I'm sick of it after playing one game for what seems like forever.

Indeed there are a few tables that are way too easy, but several that are not. Blade, Excalibur, Earth Defense are very challenging.

I also don't like the "theming" of Zen's tables. Instead of having anything to do with advancing a plot (ie. The Addams Family, The Shadow) you're just spelling stuff on the playfield to start multiballs. I can deal with that in moderation but in Zen it just gets way out of control.

Also Nightmare Mansion... who would make a primary multi ball activate by hitting 20 slingshots? No ball locks?

Hmm...which tables are you talking about? Most of them do involve advancing a "plot" and completing modes to achieve the final wizard mode just like modern pinball. Again I must mention Blade and Excalibur as my favorite tables, both of which have a plot.

 

[shutyertrap]

If you come at Zen pinball with a pinball purist mentality, then you're going to hate way too many things about it. Common complaints wind up being about the physics of the ball being too heavy, flippers being too close, ball saves being too easy to re-light, and the 'impossible in real life' moments of play.

I always counter with this...enjoy the story. Quit trying to just keep the ball in play, and actually try and complete all the wizard modes. I've yet to actually complete one, thought I've come exceedingly close with Iron Man, Blade, and Moon Knight. Play the Empire Strikes Back table or Return of the Jedi, and try and complete all the movie scenes in one game. Go ahead, lemme know when you're finished.

I won't lie, I do prefer TPA to Zen for numerous reasons. But I also enjoy Zen a lot. There are some truly wonderful ideas they put into play, like how selecting different balls in Avengers changes how you score, or with Fear Itself having each bad guy demand a completely different set of combo shots. There are plenty of tables I don't get, Infinity Gauntlet being one, but that same table does incredibly wacky stuff like flipping the table upside down which I found to be a true mental challenge for some odd reason.

It also doesn't hurt that after having purchased over half the tables on PS3 at full price, I was able to pick up the entire collection on Steam and Humble Bundle for a combined price of $16! I'll throw all sorts of love and appreciation at a bargain like that.

 

[Espy]

I also don't like the "theming" of Zen's tables. Instead of having anything to do with advancing a plot (ie. The Addams Family, The Shadow) you're just spelling stuff on the playfield to start multiballs. I can deal with that in moderation but in Zen it just gets way out of control.

Um... you clearly haven't played any table Zen has put out in the last two years. Either that or you're not "getting" them. They practically define storytelling in pinball. Playing Civil War actually inspired me to go out and buy the graphic novel it was based on because the plot seemed so interesting.

I think if Zen were able to make a real table, it would be the most unique table on the market. They invent all kinds of unusual rules that make their tables very refreshing to play. Even some of the (more feasible in real life) table layout ideas are really cool, like having flippers in the outlanes of Super Leage Football instead of kickbacks. Have that in a real table (maybe not active all the time but needs to be earned like a kickback) and that would be a neat feature. There is way more innovation in Zen than there has been in Stern for ages, and they should get more credit for that.

 

[Baron Rubik]

I also don't like the "theming" of Zen's tables. Instead of having anything to do with advancing a plot (ie. The Addams Family, The Shadow) you're just spelling stuff on the playfield to start multiballs. I can deal with that in moderation but in Zen it just gets way out of control.

Maybe you aren't understanding the tables from the brief in game instructions.
More detailed instructions can be found here in pdf format...
https://forum.zenstudios.com/showthread.php?p=34897

Official ZP2, PFX2 & Marvel Pinball Table Guides

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

I never had the impression that Zen Studios's tables were easy, but perhaps that's just because I'm always trying to advance to its wizard modes. I currently have Iron Man, Captain America, Fantastic Four, and Blade on my 3DS and Sorcerer's Lair, Plants vs. Zombies, and Mars on the Wii U. Of those, I have only reached the wizard mode in Sorcerer's Lair and Captain America. I have finished every mission on Blade but have never been able to do so in one game. (I have played the 60-second trials on most of the Marvel tables and the classic ones though.)

Bear in mind that Zen is a sponsor of IFPA, which leads me to believe Zen is interested in making a real, non-virtual machine. It would be interesting to see how people react to it, as Zen's rule design has a number of eccentricities most have in common. Of course, it'd also be interesting to see Hungary join the countries of pinball makers.

While I do enjoy some Zen Pinball every now and then, there are a couple of things that bug me. Long ball times is not one of them though. (I'm not even sure how to re-activate the ball saver in most of these tables, let alone do it consistently except for Sorcerer's Lair.) What really bugs me are how the tables lock you out of everything else when any mission or multiball mode is active and how very ramp-centric most of the playfields are. The purpose of a multiball, at least that's how I use them in non-Zen tables, are to help me rapidly advance things, reach high-scoring targets, or finish modes I would otherwise have a difficult time with. In every Zen table I've tried, the multiball sets everything else to its minimum point value and halts all advancement of everything but its multiball. Every Zen table I've played, with a couple of exceptions, are also almost entirely about ramps. While it's fun to see the ball hurtling up and down ramps every which way, it does get old after some time, especially when everything becomes either "Shoot this ramp X times" or "Shoot these ramps once." While well-liked tables like Monster Bash and Star Trek (Stern) are also very ramp-oriented, they have plenty of scoops and targets too, and you can usually find another table (or go to Pinball Arcade) that's not focused around ramps and loops like most of John Borg's tables or any EM machines.

That may be why Captain America was the first Zen table where I finished its wizard mode after Sorcerer's Lair: It's the least rampy of the Zen tables I've played.

 

[PoSTedUP]

Sorcers* lair, epic quest(fun n addicting, rank up your characters armor and weapons etc.), excalibur, super street fighter (old school feel, kinda simple). not into marvel so i havent tried anything ouside of the demos.