Mario Pinball Land

Mario Pinball Land (known as Super Mario Ball in Japan and Europe, except Great Britain, where it was released as Mario Pinball Land) is a pinball video game that was developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance and released in 2004. It is based on the game Pinball.

General
The story takes place in an amusement park called The Fun Fair. Mario, some Toads and Princess Peach were waiting in line to try a ride called the Air Cannon. To ride it, the character had to be turned into a ball first via the Spherasizer. Then, they would get shot out of the cannon to the target. The Toad who first tried it had a blast. Then it was Peach's turn. Unfortunately, two Goombas came by and changed the cannon's direction. Peach was then shot out to Bowser's Castle. Mario then used the Spherasizer to turn into a ball himself, starting his next adventure.

He used the Air Cannon to shoot himself to the first area, called the Grassy Greens. Mario had to get enough Stars to open the Star Door to the area with the windmill. When Mario managed to enter the windmill, he had to battle a deformed version of Petey Piranha. Using his pinball skills, Mario bashed the creature into submission, earning the Star Key it had.

Another Air Cannon appeared at the start of the world, and Mario went back and used it to blast off to the next world, the Frosty Frontier. Mario bashed his way through Shy Guys, Penguins, and more to pass more Star Doors. In one area with Penguins, Mario bashed a Freezie onto a crack in the ice. It sank into a hole, which led Mario into a cold, underwater area. Here, Mario went into a sunken ship to confront Puffer-Cheep. After bashing it with Bob-ombs, the fish was deflated, giving up its Star Key.

Mario went back the start of the world, where another Air Cannon appeared. He used it to blast off to the Shifting Sands world. He encountered many desert-related foes, and unearthed a pyramid. Inside, he passed through the tricky puzzles and traps until he found his way to King Tut the Egyptian Koopa sorcerer. Mario used Tut's magic against him, earning him the next Star Key.

Mario used the Air Cannon that appeared at the start of the world to be shot back to The Fun Fair. This time, Mario went into the Haunted House to fight a few Boos, and take out the Big Boo. He was awarded the last Star Key.

He took the Air Cannon once more to shoot himself to Bowser's Castle. After gaining entrance from using the Star Keys, he confronted Bowser. Mario manages to defeat him, and gets Peach back to the fair, where they both ride on the roller coaster together at the end.

From the instruction booklet
Princess in Peril!? During the unveiling ceremony for the new “Sky Cannon” at the Fun Fair, Princess Peach was accidentally blasted off to Bowser’s castle! The Sky Cannon, an amazing new transportation device that launches people to new destinations, got off to a rocky start because of this shocking turn of events. According to eyewitnesses, the mishap occured when a pair of shady Goombas altered the cannon’s direction. Within moments, they had locked up the castle, with Princess Peach trapped inside! Mario to the rescue! Without a moment’s hesitation, Mario leapt into a cannon to rescue Princess Peach. If Mario collects four Star Keys, he’ll be able to get into Bowser’s Castle. To do that, he’ll need to confront many challenges and defeat the bosses who hold those keys! Will he be able to rescue Princess Peach? How does it work? Before you can ride the Sky Cannon, a special “Pinballer” squeezes you into ball, so that you can fit into the cannon’s barrel. The Pinballer also makes surprisingly rubbery, so that you bounce harmlessly when you land!

Abilities

 * Mini Mario - Mario can transform into a Mini Mario by using a Mini Mushroom. In this form he can enter bee hives and igloos.
 * Super Mario - Mario can transform into a Super Mario by using a Super Mushroom. He'll be bigger for a while.
 * Invincible Mario - If Mario gets a Star, he can be invincible for a while.

Characters

 * Mario
 * Peach
 * Toad
 * Bowser

Enemies

 * Goombas
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Pokeys
 * Shy Guys
 * Boos
 * Cheep-Cheep
 * Cobrat
 * Fly Guy
 * Penguin
 * Freezie
 * Mr. Blizzard
 * Bumbler
 * Lakitu
 * Spinies
 * Bullet Bill
 * Chain Chomp
 * Bob-omb
 * Monty Mole
 * Klepto
 * Thwomp
 * Koopatrol

Bosses

 * Petey Piranha
 * Puffer-Cheep
 * King Tut
 * Big Boo
 * Bowser

Locations

 * The Fun Fair
 * Grassy Greens
 * Frosty Frontier
 * Shifting Sands
 * Bowser's Castle
 * King Tut's pyramid
 * Haunted House
 * Sunken Ship

Items
The following items can be bought from Toad or Mario can find them in ? Blocks.
 * 1-Up Mushroom
 * Warp Pipe
 * Blue Pipe
 * Yoshi Egg
 * Super Mushroom
 * Star
 * Mini Mushroom
 * Thunderbolt

Reception
Mario Pinball Land received average reviews. The review collation site GameRankings gave a score of 65% with a large number of overall review scores lower than 72%. Most reviews praised the exellent graphics, but criticized the game for being pointlessly difficult and having overall poor gameplay. IGN's review in particular criticized the gameplay for having "bad table layouts with an overwhelming annoying playfield reset element. The review concluded that "the gameplay itself is far more flawed and annoying than it is fun to play" and rated it 5/10.

Trivia

 * Some sprites, like the lyrics, are identical to Super Mario 64.

Super Mario Ball