Mario Pinball Land

"Can't win 'em all"

I rushed out of class the morning of October 5, 2004 to pick this game up. It hadn't arrived at anyplace but my job, Best Buy. So I picked it up, and went home to play it. Man am I disappointed. Now don't get me wrong, the concept is really cool and there are some original aspects thrown into the game, but there's a lot that holds this game back from truly being a fun game.

Graphics
The graphics are, I believe, the strongest point in the game. The game obviously models Mario and characters after the current generation of appearances and voices. The ball physics (Mario and Yoshi egg) are great, and the other characters move along screen nicely, without slowdown. Some of the special areas, including boss fights, truly show off the power that the GameBoy Advance does have and can harness. If all aspects of this game were as good or even 3/4 as good as this category, the game would be addictive and nothing short of amazing.

Sound
The sound is hit or miss depending on who you are. You won't recognize all of the tunes in this game, which I believe to be a bad thing since they're short, and repetitive. One tune carries you through a level no matter which area you're at. A little more variety would have been nice. The voices are annoying, and will make you wish Toad had been designed without a mouth or vocal chords. Seriously. It's that annoying.

Presentation
There are two modes in the game, a time mode and an adventure. Players will focus all of their efforts on Adventure mode. The level design is pretty cool, however, you do run into many times where an object is just in the way. If you want to progress in a level you must unlock the doors above by collecting enough stars (a la SM64), striking the door, and then hitting through the door again. The annoying thing is rooms with more than one door. If you hit the other door, you've got to hit your door to reset them both and then try again. It gets really frustrating, really quick.

Another completely annoying aspect is Toad's shop. Now, I realize there are times when you need items, but the way this has been presented is just terrible. Usually on the first screen of a level, Toad will be in one spot on the board. If you hit him, you go into his shop, no matter what. So if you're in the middle of collecting a star, or trying to move onwards, and you strike toad, you're out of luck. You must go in the shop, cancel and then try to progress. C'mon Nintendo, you guys claim to be innovators, you couldn't think of something more clever?

Replay Value
You might pick up this game a bit when you first get it, but even I after playing it for several hours, have no incentive to go pick it up and try to collect more stars. It, unfortunately, falls short of Pokemon Pinball Ruby/Sapphire,.

Overall 5/10
While yes, the game does bring new ideas to the pinball table, most of them are executed poorly. Nintendo should not have let a game with potential like this slip away. Let it be a lesson to whomever develops the next big Mario title. I'm willing to bet the majority of those who pick this game up looking for a good time will be sadly disappointed. I know I was. My honest opinion for rent/buy? Neither. The game just doesn't have enough going for it.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/04