Best Handheld Pinball Games

[Cirrus]

Since this could have it's hands in both Classic and Modern, I decided to post this here. Plus, pinball itself is a classic form of gaming. :)

I recently picked up Pinball of the Dead, and I'm having a blast. Also, Sniderman gave me Pokemon Pinball for the Secret Santa event last year, and it's fun too.

What else is out there? Specifically (for me, anyway) stuff on the PSP (homebrew?), GBA, or the DS.

Thanks!

[biscuitdough]

it's not classic at all, but metroid pinball for the ds is so much fun. cant think of too many other pinball games that didn't get boring after playing the same 2 tables over and over again.

[jcalder8]

My favorite pinball game for any system is Revenge of the Gators for the GB. I know its not on the systems you listed but its so much fun I thought that I should add it to the list, and after all this is the classic board and its a classic game at least in my books it is.

[Hammy]

don't laugh, but pokemon pinball is very playable (but not realistic at all)

try pinball dreams on the gp32, it's a perfect port of the amiga classic!

[Iron Draggon]

For GBA:

Hardcore Pinball
Mario Pinball Land
Muppet Pinball
Pac Man Pinball
Pinball of the Dead
Pinball Tycoon
Pokemon Pinball
Sonic Pinball Party

I don't have Muppet Pinball or Pokemon Pinball yet, but I have all the others. The only one that I don't really care for very much is Pinball Tycoon, and that's mostly because you can't change the default control settings. It uses the L & R buttons for the flippers, which works well for the GBA, but it doesn't work very well for the GBA SP. Also, the graphics look more like a 16BIT game than a 32BIT game. Otherwise it's alright, but the rest of the GBA pinballs are way better.

[InsaneDavid]

I recently picked up Pinball of the Dead, and I'm having a blast.

You're not going to do much better than that. Many cite that as the best video pinball game since Alien Crush and Devil's Crush on the TurboGrafx-16. (although I think Time Cruise belongs with them as well)

You'd think by now some publisher would buy up the rights and port all the old Epic Pinball tables over to the GBA. :/

[Julio III]

All i have is Sonic Pinball Party but I enjoyed that immensely, putting far too many hours into it. I've heard like InsaneDavid said, that Pinball of the Dead is meant to be the best. Many rate that new Metroid Pinball on the DS also

[Cirrus]

I recently picked up Pinball of the Dead, and I'm having a blast.

You're not going to do much better than that. Many cite that as the best video pinball game since Alien Crush and Devil's Crush on the TurboGrafx-16. (although I think Time Cruise belongs with them as well)

You'd think by now some publisher would buy up the rights and port all the old Epic Pinball tables over to the GBA. :/

I would love that! :)

Yeah, Pinball of the Dead is super. I'll have to check out some of the other suggestions. Thanks to all who replied!

[mario2butts]

Get a TurboExpress and Play Alien/Devil's Crush to your heart's content. I have Alien Crush and it's one of my favorite games ever, really, it's that good. Devil's Crush is pretty high up there on my wish list. Hey, a TurboExpress can be pricey, sure (I don't have one, I play HuCards on my Duo) but is likely the ultimate handheld pinball experience. Just saying if you want the best of the best...

[exit]

I remember playing Kirby's Pinball Land as a kid and I found it quite enjoyable. I'm not sure how well it aged tho.

[Masco73]

most pinball games leave me dissapointed. I love real pinball, so it is tough to be satisfied with handheld. I will have to check some of the suggestions in this thread.

[tom]

Widfire

[Raedon]

Pinball Fantasy and dreams were the best land based.

Funny, but I don't have any portable pinball games and I like the genre.

[Nebagram]

Sonic Pinball Party was cool. Of course, for ultimate handheld pinball, you'll need a Nomad and a copy of Psycho Pinball. The related costs are a little prohibitive though. :o)

[InsaneDavid]

most pinball games leave me dissapointed.

Have you tried Visual Pinball / VPinMAME on the PC? It's basically to pinball what MAME is to arcade games except the tables are meticuously recreated by extremely talented and devoted fans.

[NE146]

Personally I think Pokemon Pinball blows the shit out of Devils Crush & Alien Crush. I bought both those games at release at full price and I never really dug either of them. Pokemon Pinball on the other hand is still very much playable :)

[xredmenacex]

I still break out Revenge of the Gator every once in a while. I've been wanting to get Pinball of the Dead, I'm glad to hear that it's good.

It's not handheld, but has anyone played Flipnic on the PS2? Just wondering if it's any good. Visual Pinball sounds interesting too.

[MrRoboto19XX]

Metroid Prime Pinball was great, but Kirby's Pinball Land is amazing to this day. It's got to be in my top 5 Gameboy games of all time, and it tops the list of videogame pinballing.

I ain't seen nothing like it in any amusment hall.

[Steven]

Surprised at the little votes given to KIRBY'S PINBALL LAND. A friend sold me that yesterday for $5 :D

And you can Super Game Boy it too, making it freaking awesome.

My ex was a major Pokemon Pinball nut. Game was good...

[InsaneDavid]

I ain't seen nothing like it in any amusment hall.

With the exception of The Who's Tommy recreated under Visual Pinball / VPinMAME...

http://www.pinballsim.com/images/screenshot_tommy.jpg

And some of my favorites...

Capt. Fantastic (http://www.pinballsim.com/images/screenshot_captainfantastic.jpg)
Back to the Future (http://www.pinballsim.com/images/screenshot_backttf.jpg)
Indiana Jones Pinball Adventure (http://www.pinballsim.com/images/screenshot_indianajones.jpg)
Playboy (1978 version) (http://www.pinballsim.com/images/screenshot_playboy.jpg)
Funhouse (http://www.pinballsim.com/images/screenshot_funhouse.jpg)
Cyclone (http://www.pinballsim.com/images/screenshot_cyclone.jpg)

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

For Real Handheld Pinball

Pinball Hall of Fame (PSP)

[Slimedog]

I tend to prefer "video pinball" style over pin sims. For the GBA, my favorites were:

Pokemon Pinball
Pinball of the Dead
Sonic Pinball Party

But my all time fav, portable or otherwise, is...

Mile High Pinball for the NGage

[jcalder8]

Have you tried Visual Pinball / VPinMAME on the PC? It's basically to pinball what MAME is to arcade games except the tables are meticuously recreated by extremely talented and devoted fans.

Just wanted to thank InsaneDavid for saying this, I downloaded it last night and I love it. I wonder why no one has actually produced something like this for a system. Its amazing, by far the best pinball I've ever played on a system.

[ClubNinja]

As an avid pinball fan, I've played many video pinball games and have only enjoyed two of them. That said, they're both far from realistic, semi-obscure, and one's a handheld (so it fits this topic!) The first is Atari Video Pinball - the stand alone console version, not the 2600 cart. The second, which is handheld, is Tiger Pinball. You know, the old Tiger LCD handhelds? Back when it was current, I logged as many hours with Tiger Pinball as I have with some of my standard pins. So simple, so delightful.

If you're looking through Tiger games for it, it stands out with the a bright blue shell. Go for it. It'll probably cost 50 cents at you next flea market.

[jboypacman]

pinball of the dead for the gba and revenge of the gator for the gameboy are my two picks.my friend marc swears by metroid prime pinball for the ds and his roommate on the pokemon pinball for the gameboy color.

[InsaneDavid]

Have you tried Visual Pinball / VPinMAME on the PC? It's basically to pinball what MAME is to arcade games except the tables are meticuously recreated by extremely talented and devoted fans.

Just wanted to thank InsaneDavid for saying this, I downloaded it last night and I love it. I wonder why no one has actually produced something like this for a system. Its amazing, by far the best pinball I've ever played on a system.

No problem, if it wasn't for the folks at PinballSim.com I probably would have never figured out how to use the combination of Visual Pinball and VPinMAME together, Visual Pinball Launcher (VPL) ties them together nicely. Also now PinballSim.com has a TON of tables bundled with their necessary files and designed for seamless integration into their executable package, the database is also searchable. (wasn't always like that) You used to have to get most of the tables from IR Pinball which is a site that's gone downhill over the past couple years. For a source of people so talented at recreating pinball machines you'd think at least one of them could make a decent webpage. :/ I'm not trying to knock anyone that develops tables at IR Pinball, the tables are amazing but come on, their site is a mess.

It's very impressive that people take the time to recreate the look, feel, and functionality of the tables - and more are added / updated all the time. Especially considering they do it as a hobby.

[dbiersdorf]

- Pokemon Pinball (GBC)
- Pokemon Pinball R/S (GBA)
- Kirby's Pinball Land (GB)
- Mile High Pinball (N-Gage)

Don't EVER buy Mario Pinball Land. Worst game ever.