Year released: 1985 (NES)

Number of Players: 1-2 taking turns

The epic life of a pinball forever stuck in a pinball machine. It even helps Mario save Toadstool.

Graphics: The creepy black background returns, but you can't say it doesn't fit--it's a pinball game. Everything else is either white or bluish, except for a few features. There are distinguishable playing cards, seals, and even Mario and Toadstool. Nothing much, but it's not bad.

Play control: + Control pad to flip the left flipper, A button to control the right flipper, and B button to pull back the... uhhh... whatever you call that thing that hits the pinball to make it move onto the course. The pinball physics are wonderful in their realism.

Sound: You get a pleasant little theme at the title screen (think Excitebike with a different theme, if you can), but after that, it's all quirky sound effects. None of which need to be heard.

Challenge: All pinball is basically luck (well, there's a certain amount of strategy, but after that, it's anyone's game), so Pinball is a challenge to see how lucky you are. You lose a "ball" when your pinball reaches the bottom of the screen, and you're forced to use a new one (or let the other player play if you're playing in two-player mode). Three balls are given to you and that's what you're stuck with.
The only part where you have to work towards a solid goal is inside the bonus room.

Gameplay: Same pinball stuff as any other pinball machine. You can crack open eggs to stuff holes which you might let your pinball fall off the screen. You can also flip over random playing cards, or hit notches on the side of the screen to open up a passage back to the thing that the B button controls. Ooh, and there's a moving platform that's just randomly there, and you can even get a roulette starting on a gambling machine-type setup on the upper half of the course. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil any possible fun in discovery.
The bonus room is kinda cool for variety. Once you get your pinball into the hole at the top of the bottom half of the pinball machine, your ball will be taken to a bonus room. You play as Mario with a paddle over his head and control him with the + control pad left and right. As you do this, the pinball is bouncing all over the place. Mario's job is to place the platform where the pinball will hit it. If he fails to, chances are that the pinball's going to fall through one of the alleys to Mario's left or right. Mario is trying to hit random circles that change size after they get hit, but I have never figured out the way to save Toadstool. I have saved her, though, and all that happens is that the pinball is dropped onto the course.

Bottom line: It's great pinball machine gameplay, but pinball machine gameplay can only go so far. Don't expect an epic, but this game could probably steal some pretty boring afternoons from you.

Submissions and rebuttals should be e-mailed to nintendofanssite@yahoo.com. Proper credit will be given, and please tell me if you don't want your e-mail revealed on the site.