A playthrough of Jaleco's 1990 game for the NES, Pinball Quest.
Played through the RPG mode, followed by a quick game on each of the individual tables (beginning at 19:40).
Pinball Quest is quite unlike anything else I've ever played. There were games that came afterward that used the same basic idea of adding a story to pinball (Kirby, Mario, and Sonic all did it too), but Jaleco's early pinball title with RPG elements was nothing if not novel. At least, until the idea, gameplay, and even the name was copied blatantly by the developers of the Dos/Amiga game Ultimate Pinball Quest (seriously, they weren't even trying to hide it).
The RPG mode consists of several vertically stacked pinball tables. After clearing the requirements of an area (usually including beating a boss or knocking down some obstacle), a door will open and you'll move into a shop where you can buy extra bumpers and upgrades for your flippers and ball. It's an interesting approach, and one that works fairly well. It's not without its frustrations, however. It's easy to lose a ball if you aren't lightning fast with shifting the position of your flippers, and when you fall through the bottom, you usually don't die - you keep falling through earlier levels until you can get a handle on the ball. The bosses stay dead once you kill them, but if you fall a screen or two, you have to get through all the same obstacles again which can be beyond frustrating. I got really lucky on a number of occasions in this playthrough and managed to not do that too many times.
The physics, if you care to call them that, can be frustrating, but once you get a feel for how they react in different situations and can reliably line up shots, the game becomes a fair amount easier.
The story itself is neat and fits well within the game's context. Its very simple and straightforward, but then, I doubt anyone expected it to rival the likes of Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy. If they did, well, they were surely disappointed.
Pinball Quest overall is a neat game, but it's more a novelty than anything else. The graphics are alright but a bit mundane and use some pretty hideous color combinations, and the sound is usually more annoying than not, but it is a fully functional though not particularly awesome pinball game (seriously, High Speed, Pinbot, and Pinball all offer far better mechanics) that really is only still worth playing because of the RPG mode. That having been said, it is totally worth a shot as a good example of the pioneering attitude of NES developers, and it can still be a fair amount of fun if you don't get too frustrated at its shortcomings.
If you can get it cheap (and you certainly should be able to - decent condition boxed copies on eBay are going for under $20!) and have any interest in it whatsoever, I'd say why not? It'll never be held in the same regard as the best titles on the system, but it does make for an entertaining couple of hours.
One question: does anyone understand what the hell the ending means? I haven't the slightest idea where a giant magnet comes from. Anybody?
____
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (www.nintendocom...) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
Visit for the latest updates!
/ 540091756006560
/ nes_complete
Негізгі бет Pinball Quest (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
Пікірлер: 58