• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

What's the best Pinball spinoff?

Jonneh

Jonneh

Good Vibes Gaming
Verified
Oct 24, 2017
4,538
UK
Metroid Prime was good and all for reimagining Metroid in 3D but Metroid Prime Pinball reimagines that reimagining as a Pinball table.
Prime Pinball - 1
Prime - 0

Not only does the soundtrack kick all kinds of butt but the tables themselves capture the vibes of their source material extremely well. Heck, Samus as a ball just makes sense. The dual screen setup helps in assisting with the verticality of a pinball table and it's something I'd love to see done again on Switch in tate mode. Nudging the table with gyro would also be sweet.

This isn't about creating a sequel to Prime Pinball though (even though that would be mighty swell), it's simply about admiring the best portable Metroid Prime game.

So what's your favourite Pinball spinoff? There's quite a few out there but I don't think I've encountered anything that appeals to me quite in the same way as Prime Pinball.
latest

 
Amalthea

Amalthea

Member
Dec 22, 2017
5,685
Pinball of the Dead on GBA is not only a great House of the Dead pinball spin-off but also an insanely underappreciated game overall.
 
J-Spot

J-Spot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,321
I don't think Sonic Spinball is generally well regarded these days, but I really loved it as a kid.
 
Shig

Shig

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,241
Amalthea said:
Pinball of the Dead on GBA is not only a great House of the Dead pinball spin-off but also an insanely underappreciated game overall.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Very true! It's a pretty great spiritual successor to Alien/Devil/Jaki Crush.

Though I must confess, it's always distressed me that devs of Japanese pinball games have seemingly zero experience with modern (and I use the term very loosely, meaning anything past the mid-80's) pinball tables and their general flow or playstyle. Very few digital tables from these sources even have such standard elements as flyover rails.

Zen Pinball/ Pinball FX has a lot of cool game-themed tables. The Portal and Bethesda ones in particular are all solid.
 

Deleted member 25606

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
8,973
Something by Zen, my favorites probably being DOOM, Portal, and Alien:Isolation.

And as someone who has spent their life playing pinball, both the real thing and digital, from original digital to recreations of real tables, Sonic Spinball is shit, always has been shit and always will be shit.
 
MaitreWakou

MaitreWakou

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
May 15, 2018
13,180
Toulouse, France
I never played Metroid Pinball unfortunately.
When I was a kid I used to love Kirby's pinball on Gameboy. Great musics (I mean, it's Kirby), fun bosses.
 
AppleKid

AppleKid

Member
Feb 21, 2018
2,544
Does Yoku's Island Express count? If so, then that. If not, another mention for Pokémon Pinball, the only pinball game I ever played and kept. Completing the dex gave me an actual reason to come back again and again beyond getting a high score
 
Ge0force

Ge0force

Self-requested ban.
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,265
Belgium
Lots of the Pinball FX 3 tables are awesome. Imo they count as spin-offs as well, since many video game elements are added in most of the recent tables.
 

AndreGX

GameXplain
Verified
Oct 24, 2017
1,815
San Francisco
Kirby's Pinball Land is still the perfect blend of platforming and Pinball...which isn't something I even knew I wanted until then.
 
Last edited:
HyGogg

HyGogg

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,495
I like House of the Dead Pinball on GameBoy Advance. It was basically Devil's Crush with HotD.
 
eddiemunstr

eddiemunstr

Member
Jan 20, 2019
1,532
I just saw Devils tilt on steam the other day and was thinking about these types of games. I would definitely be interested if there were any more pinball games that add in elements you cant actually do on a real pinball table whether its a spinoff of something or not.
 
Last edited:
inner-G

inner-G

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
14,473
PNW
Definitely Sonic Spinball, but just for nostalgia though.

I cannot think of any spinoffs I'd legitimately want to play today over something like the Pinball Arcade.
 
Ferrs

Ferrs

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
18,829
Sonic Spinball isn't even the best Sonic Pinball game. Pinball Party is

 
StarPhlox

StarPhlox

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,394
Wisconsin
Metroid Prime Pinball is definitely the best portable Metroid Prime considering the competition is the bad Federation Force and the worse Hunters hahaha.

Gotta go with Pokemon Pinball though. The capture mechanic just felt so unique at the time and helped distinguish it.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,932
Sort of weird how Nintendo and Sega dominate this category, and almost entirely on handhelds too.

Nintendo
  • Kirby's Pinball Land (GB)
  • Pokémon Pinball (GBC)
  • Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire (GBA)
  • Mario Pinball Land (GBA)
  • Metroid Prime Pinball (DS)
Sega
  • Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (MD)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (GG/SMS)
  • The Pinball of the Dead (GBA)
  • Sonic Pinball Party (GBA)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.