As you can probably gather, this is the first post of The Pinball Apprentice, which will mainly focus on reviews of video pinball. I might also weigh in on newsworthy pinball events and occurrences, as well as just about anything else that may cross my mind. Hopefully, I'll manage at least 1 review/month, probably text-based, and we'll see where it goes from there. Reviewed materials will cover the whole range of video pinball, from Pinball for the Milton Bradley Microvision to Zen's latest and greatest. I will also take requests, but bear in mind that there are limits to what I have access to, so depending on how esoteric your request is, I may not get around to it for a while. I think that about covers the introduction, so have this freshly baked FAQ:
Q: Why review video pinball?
A: Video pinball strikes me as a sort of "lost genre" to both video games and pinball, never feeling fully accepted in either and only rarely having breakout successes. Moreover, I think that Zen's efforts to square that particular circle played a part in the pinball renaissance we are all currently awash in, as Zen's video pinball franchises are collectively the biggest successes the genre has known since Devil's Crush and found the balance between fantasy and real pinball with a consistency few others can claim.
Q: What do you mean by "tall pins"?
A: By "tall pin", I simply mean a video pinball game structured like one of the Naxat Crush series of video pinball releases (several mini-tables of pinball stacked on top of one another). This was a very common format for Japanese video pinball in the '80s and '90s, though it started to give way to more realistic builds by 1995 or so. In my estimation, the inspiration for this format most likely came from pachinko, a pinball-like game that enjoys huge popularity in Japan and involves many balls falling down a sheer vertical playfield.
Q: How do you rate video pins?
A: The most important factor is always going to be depth–the best pins in both the analog and the digital realms always have plenty to do, both in terms of modes and in making shots all across the field. Presentation is also much more important here than in other video gaming genres, since you have to look at the same playfields and listen to the same few music tracks the entire time that you play. Themes that I intensely like or dislike can sway me, but I try to downplay that as much as I can.
Q: Do you plan to review either of FarSight's PHOF releases?
A: I probably will eventually, but they're not on the immediate agenda. Stay tuned, though, because you never know what might come up...
Q: What are your favorite video pins?
A: Right now, I've been playing the ever-loving bejeesus out of LittleWing's Fairy Tower, which I admire for its elegant ruleset, offbeat yet catchy soundtrack and excellent "build" to the main focus of the game, the Tower Multiballs. Time Cruise & Battle Pinball currently receive a lot of attention from me on the tall pin front, while Mad Daedalus is an excellent table that combines elegance similar to Fairy Tower's with fantastic flow. Finally, my three favorite Zen Pinball tables are Sorcerer's Lair, Fear Itself and Moon Knight.
Bye for now–hopefully, I'll be back soon with plenty of review-y goodness!
Next time on The Pinball Apprentice: Why Fairy Tower's greatness is no fairy tale
Q: Why review video pinball?
A: Video pinball strikes me as a sort of "lost genre" to both video games and pinball, never feeling fully accepted in either and only rarely having breakout successes. Moreover, I think that Zen's efforts to square that particular circle played a part in the pinball renaissance we are all currently awash in, as Zen's video pinball franchises are collectively the biggest successes the genre has known since Devil's Crush and found the balance between fantasy and real pinball with a consistency few others can claim.
Q: What do you mean by "tall pins"?
A: By "tall pin", I simply mean a video pinball game structured like one of the Naxat Crush series of video pinball releases (several mini-tables of pinball stacked on top of one another). This was a very common format for Japanese video pinball in the '80s and '90s, though it started to give way to more realistic builds by 1995 or so. In my estimation, the inspiration for this format most likely came from pachinko, a pinball-like game that enjoys huge popularity in Japan and involves many balls falling down a sheer vertical playfield.
Q: How do you rate video pins?
A: The most important factor is always going to be depth–the best pins in both the analog and the digital realms always have plenty to do, both in terms of modes and in making shots all across the field. Presentation is also much more important here than in other video gaming genres, since you have to look at the same playfields and listen to the same few music tracks the entire time that you play. Themes that I intensely like or dislike can sway me, but I try to downplay that as much as I can.
Q: Do you plan to review either of FarSight's PHOF releases?
A: I probably will eventually, but they're not on the immediate agenda. Stay tuned, though, because you never know what might come up...
Q: What are your favorite video pins?
A: Right now, I've been playing the ever-loving bejeesus out of LittleWing's Fairy Tower, which I admire for its elegant ruleset, offbeat yet catchy soundtrack and excellent "build" to the main focus of the game, the Tower Multiballs. Time Cruise & Battle Pinball currently receive a lot of attention from me on the tall pin front, while Mad Daedalus is an excellent table that combines elegance similar to Fairy Tower's with fantastic flow. Finally, my three favorite Zen Pinball tables are Sorcerer's Lair, Fear Itself and Moon Knight.
Bye for now–hopefully, I'll be back soon with plenty of review-y goodness!
Next time on The Pinball Apprentice: Why Fairy Tower's greatness is no fairy tale
