Pinball (game)

Pinball is a game released for the Family Computer in 1984 and the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. It is based on the arcade. A competitive multiplayer version of this game was released on the VS. System under the name VS. Pinball. Hudson Soft had planned to release ports of Pinball for home computers in Japan in 1985, but these ports were cancelled for unknown reasons. The Family Computer version was preceded by a Game & Watch version in December 1983. However, this version has no Mario elements.

The NES version of Pinball was re-released on the Family Computer Disk System, for the Game Boy Advance's e-Reader as part of Series One, on the Virtual Console for the Wii and Wii U, and on the Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online application for the Nintendo Switch. VS. Pinball was re-released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch as part of 's Arcade Archives series on August 30, 2019.

Gameplay
Pinball is a game where the player controls the paddles of a virtual pinball machine. The game has three scenes: Scene A, Scene B, and the Bonus Stage. The goal of the game is to achieve a high score.

Gameplay begins when the player launches a ball with the striker from the bottom of Scene A to the top of Scene B. Gameplay switches between Scene A and Scene B depending on where the ball moves. In Scene A and Scene B, the player controls the flippers on either side of the screen to deflect the ball. If the ball falls off the bottom of Scene B, the player loses the ball. If the ball falls through the hole in Scene B, it enters the Bonus Stage.

Bonus Stage
In the Bonus Stage, the player controls Mario carrying a platform. The objective of this mode is to rescue a lady by bouncing the ball off Mario's platform so it passes through bingo lamps. If all of the bingo lamps with a certain number become the same color, the floor above the lady decreases in size. If the gaps in the floor become too wide for the lady to jump over, she falls down. Mario must catch the lady using his platform and carry her to one of the exits on either side of the stage. If the lady reaches an exit, she reappears at the top of the screen. If Mario does not catch the lady or she falls off of Mario's platform, the player loses a ball. If the ball falls off the bottom of the screen, it exits the Bonus Stage and is ejected from the hole kicker in Scene A.

Controls

 * – activate striker; control left flipper
 * – control right flipper; control Mario in the Bonus Stage

VS. Pinball
VS. Pinball made several changes to the original game in graphics, music, and gameplay. If the player hatches three pink chicks and the ball falls off the bottom of Scene B, Bubbles from the game  appears and returns the ball.

References in later games

 * Family BASIC: This accessory to the Famicom features sprites of the lady and a penguin, which are very similar to the ones found in Pinball.
 * Super Smash Bros. series: Mario's outfit on the American boxart of Pinball is used as one of Luigi's alternate costumes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
 * NES Remix / NES Remix Pack: Several challenges in NES Remix are based on this game.

Staff

 * Hirokazu Tanaka - Music Programmer
 * Satoru Iwata - Programmer
 * Satoshi Matsuoka - Programmer
 * Yukio Kaneoka - Composer

Trivia

 * Pinball is the first released video game that Satoru Iwata programmed for Nintendo; his first Famicom project, a 1983 home conversion of the 1982 arcade game , remained unreleased for over four years until its eventual 1987 production by HAL Laboratory.
 * Pinball is a playable NES game in Doubutsu no Mori for Nintendo 64 and its GameCube port, Animal Crossing.