Pinball retrospective: Iwata takes charge | NES Works #003

Here we have the first NES release that wasn't based on a sport... yet it's hardly a bastion of creativity. By 1984, when Pinball debuted on Famicom, pinball had established itself as one of the most popular subjects for video games. Pinball stood apart, though, due to its remarkable quality... thanks in large part to a pinch-hit assist from future Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.

[RetroPowerUp]

Rest in peace Iwata, you will surely be missed by gamers everywhere!

[aman]

Damn YouTube! I've been watching The Gaming Historian for 2 years and it took you that long to suggest Good Nintentions?!?! This channel is legit!

[robertlauncher]

I played this for the first time last year and was amazed at how close to an actual pinball machine the physics feel, especially for the time

[SuperTrainStationH]

Vs Pinball's greatest improvement is the fact that the pop bumpers on the lower table are worth 300 pts. each instead of 100 pts. as in the NES version. Only the LOWER table poses the risk of the player losing a ball, so its only fair that the main targets on that part of the table award more points.

[MrLeo]

Great video. I never knew the history behind those NES arcade ports of Joust, Defender and Millipede by HAL - interesting stuff.

[michaelsegal]

It’s interesting that on the box art for Pinball is based off the bonus screen as opposed to one of the main screens

[TigerBoyRS]

Loved all the info, great video.
Pinball NES is simple and presents good ball-fisics. Classic vintage videogame.
In the early 90s, the Digital Illusion series: Pinball Dreams, Fantasies and Illusions, were the definitive Pins in video.

[lilwyvern]

For some reason, I adore NES Pinball, more than a lot of other, more exciting, even better games. I never had an NES growing up, didn't play it until Animal Crossing, but something about the flow of the table and the cute theming just clicks with me. Still don't know why the flippers turn invisible at 100, 000 points, though.

[Poever]

I can't make it through the opening Reggie speech. I get something in my eye~

[Hemrald]

I recently got this game, and I often jokingly say that it's the greatest game of all time, but I haven't played it yet.

[doloresdebeauvoir]

I played this game a lot when I was little. I suck at action games like Contra and Castlevania so I played a lot of puzzle games like Tetris and this one. I live in a country where there were very few pinball machines, but I always love playing pinball when I see one because of this game. RIP Iwata you are a genius~

[SamMcDonald]

Great video! They way you set Pinball in context is very interesting!

[MaxW-erhm]

Love this game, still wish it had a tilt button though. Another fun early pinball-like is the excellent Flipper Slipper on ColecoVision

[IndieGamerChick]

What you didn't mention is that it was one of the first games to use a "living ball." The ball is ALWAYS vibrating, and that's what adds the unpredictability. Otherwise, the game would be limited by the amount of angles the flippers (which are divided into segments) can do. You can view the living ball by doing a standard trap with a flipper, and EVERY classic pinball video game uses this technique. Hell, Pokemon Pinball Ruby/Sapphire still used it two decades later.

[Yungbeck]

I played this a lot this week on my GBA! Still good in 2021!

[ResetButtonFilms]

Big ups for mentioning Revenge of the Gator! That is probably the gameboy cart. of mine that has gotten the most playtime ever, and I still have it stashed away to this day. A real solid pinball experience, and a great time waster. Keep up the good work Retronauts!

[ryzo]

If you wanna see Iwatas hard work, play wii u games. That era of nintendo was rough but if you play the games and really immerse yourselves in the experience that console offered, you will realize how great he was

[smedlings]

Rewatching this for its recent re-release on NSO

[gabrieleriva]

Vs. Pinball is playable on the Everdrive N8 thanks to a patch. It's really a great improvement over the base game. Still, no high score saving.

[Levitz]

I had the e-reader version of this years ago! It was just about the only game I could get on the thing. Those e-reader cards were hard to find on my island.