Mario Pinball Land

Mario Pinball Land (known as Super Mario Ball in Japan and Europe) 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.

Story
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 new 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.

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 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
 * Blue Warp Pipe
 * Yoshi Egg
 * Mushroom
 * Star
 * Mini Mushroom
 * Thunderbolt

Reception
Critical reception of the Nintendo game was quite mediocre, mainly due to the fact that many thought the game was more "luck" than "skill". However, the Gameboy Advance game was praised for its excellent quality graphics.