Customer Reviews

Mario Pinball Land

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Before I got this game, I thought that it was going to be like Pokemon Pinball with Mario-styled boards. When I bought it and started playing, I liked it. Then, it got annoying, and I started hating it. It didn't take long.

Gameplay: 1/10
It's hard to even get the ball where I want it to go, so imagine how hard it is to complete the timed missions, like hitting all four dancing Shy Guys before they go into a vase! This thing would have me so angry at it, except...

Music/Sound: 9/10
...the music is cool! Well, okay, it can get a little annoying, especially that accordion music, but if you ask me, this game would've been much better with a sound test.

Story: 1/10
Come on! They've managed to come up with okay storylines for all of the other Mario games, and now, this? Basically, the storyline is: There's a cannon thing at the funfair that squeezes people into a ball and launches them. When Princess Peach gets into the cannon, some Goombas bump it towards Bowser's castle, so Mario goes to save her. Well, it gets a point for semi-originality.

Graphics: 4/10

The graphics just seem too "Sonic 3D Blast"-y for me. Well, except for the ball and the castle. I think the ground is checkered, but it's been so long since I could bring myself to play this tedious and boring game for me to remember. At least the penguins look cute.

Overall: 3.75/10
I hope Nintendo learns how to make a better pinball game. If you want pinball, get Sonic Pinball Party unless you really, really like Mario games.

Mario shows up once again, this time in his own pinball game. I'm sure this one will sell a ton of copies. Truth be told, Mario Pinball Land is like some cheap bubble gum that loses flavor after a couple of minutes.

Sure, the graphics are detailed and colorful, and all the gang of characters is here. The pinball action is simple yet works pretty well. So what is the problem? Very repetitive. The screens vary with different locales (pyramids, caves, deserts, etc) but the action never changes. I found myself getting bored with it early on. This one is for the kids.

Seeing previews for this game, I thought it would be great. How can you go wrong with the fun action of pinball combined with the world and characters of Mario World?

I' tell you how you can go wrong. By creating a game that has terrible level design and a setup that makes it so easy to die that it is maddening. The physics of pinball do not apply. You can hit the ball (Mario) with the flipper the exact same way in the exact same spot 10 times and you can never predict where the ball is going to go. There is no skill involved in the game. One time playing it you can clear a level in a couple of minutes. The next time, you'll constantly have the ball go through your flippers quickly and GAME OVER. Also it is just very boring; the levels are small and repetitive. It's like its for toddlers, but there's no way they have the patience for it.

My biggest problem with this game was the fact that the SAVE option seldom worked. Many times after saving the game and turning it off, when I tried to play again it would not let me load a game. I would have to start over from scratch. This makes you very angry when you're already playing a game you do not like.
DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. Nintendo should be ashamed.

Before now we've been seeing Mario platformers and Mario adventure games, but now mario enters the world of pinball. But the interesting part is that it keeps true to the world of adventure. Instead of being bogged down by the boredom of 1 pinball table, you have access to a large amount. Each table is simple, but once you complete tasks such as destroying all the enemies you'll acquire stars. Each table has doors leading to more tables with more stars. All this leads up to a long journey of star collecting pinball fun.

As for the technical details, the graphics are top notch, and the controls are perfect. The ball responds perfectly, leaving you with good control over where it goes. The only downside to the game is that you may end up being frustrated by entering wrong doors before you get the hang on controlling where the ball goes. But overall this is one of the best games that the US has seen for Game Boy Advance.

I am not a video-game expert...I'm just a mom. My 6-year-old son was frustrated with a lot of the games we got for his GameBoy. This one he picked out without any knowledge of the game...he likes real pinball. Well, he just loves this game! Not once did I have to help him figure something out (which is wonderful since it's hard for me to figure these things out). THere is nothing violent or objectional with this game. it's just fun.

I can't be critical about the graphics or music or any of that stuff...none of that is important to us at this stage of our lives. It's just a fun game that is very easy for a young child to play. And it's a game that a mom can feel good about her kid playing.

First of all, Horace Doyal's review is completely untruthful. He said that he couldn't load his game if he just shut it off, and if you had half a brain, you'd read the instruction manual, which clearly states that you must save the game before you turn it off if you want to load that game again. Also, saying that Nintendo should be ashamed of this game is very ignorant and rude, because when Nintendo came out with the NES and the first game ever(Mario Bros.) it pretty much started the evolution of video games. Plus, it's a PINBALL GAME, so how could you say that the rules of pinball don't apply? Sure, the levels are short, but how fun can you make pinball? I think Nintendo has done a nice job with the game, making pinball as exciting as it's going to get. I think it was brilliant to take a twist from the usual Mario game to turn it into pinball. I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes pinball and likes Mario.

It does sometimes surprises me when there is a game that really seems to be exciting, but could use a little more when it it needed. For Nintendo, they truthfully have done it before with Mario, especially for the Game Boy. Nintendo really revised the success of Mario very, very well with the reissuings of classic games like Super Mario 3, the Super Nintendo classic Super Mario World, and the NES legendary original Super Mario Brothers being reissued just this year. Yet with all the success, there is always one Mario game that is good, but just could use a little improvement in its action.

Mario Pinball Land is a fast-paced wacky game where Mario is transformed into a ball, inorder to rescue Princess Toadstool from the vile Bowser, and his henchmen including Petey Piranha from Super Mario Sunshine, the classic villain the Big Boo, and a couple of others. The game features five outraeous stages, 30 boards and exciting games including three mini-games. The graphics really are displayed quite well within the game, and the feel of the pinball also handles quite well within the Mario theme. Yet, with all the upsides, there are a few downsides to the game. The controls can be a bit frustrating at times, especially against the bosses and in some boards of the game. The music itself also stands very well, with the classic themes for each course, especially the Egyptian stage, and deep under the ice in the snow level.

The game is a lot tougher, from a earlier Game Boy classic, Kirby's Pinball Land from 1993. While many people may seem interested in this exciting game, there are some pinball fanatics that just might not feel interested in this game. There are some Mario fans that just might want to skip this one. All in all, I suggest you try this out, and see for yourself.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B-

Control: C+

Fun & Enjoyment: B-

Overall: B-

Overall Mario Pinball Land is a boring game that lacks depth. The graphics and the whole idea of making a pinball game with mario in in are the only two postive features. The gameplay gets boring after the first coupple of minutes because all you have to do is hit mario in the into alll the bad guys that are walking around the feild.
Pros
*Graphics are box art are pretty good
*The sound is what you would expect from apinball game
*Items make the gameplay a little intresting

Cons
*Boring plot
*Gameplay lacks depth
*Not worth more than $10

Overall
The game is not worth your money unlees you spend $10 or less on it. After about 5 plays of the game you will find you will not play it much more.

Only comment I have about the game is saving your scores. That sucks when you reach over 1,000,000 points and you die and you can't save your progress. The graphics are really cute.

Here are the pros and cons.


PRO:
garaphics are strong but not as strong as most DS games.
Bosses are desinged well, but bowser is the best one.
Music is good.
save point is included.


CON:
It can deleat on it's own sometimes.
Enimies are annoying.
Some missions are annoying.
No soundtest.
heard that it's not as good as the kirby pinball game.
The garaphics have some blocky edges.
contrulls can get annoying.

I hope that metroid prime pinball turns out to be better then this game.