As someone who lives 15 minutes from one of the largest pinball arcades in the world, and regularly plays in tournaments, my standards for good pinball games are pretty high. I have access to over 170 pinball machines every time I go there. Pinball games on consoles and mobile devices have been a mixed bag to say the least. Pinball is largely a multi-sensory experience nowadays, with LED lights, subwoofers, video screens and internet connected machines. It’s come a long way since I was a kid. A lot is going on in every game, so translating that to a mobile device is challenging.
Zen Studios has pretty much set the standard for digital Pinball games on every major platform. Many others have tried, but the physics of gravity, ball, and flippers is difficult to get right. Zen got it dialed in a few years ago and has been cranking out fully licensed IP tables ever sense. They found their niche and nobody else can come close – and many have tried.
Playing pinball on mobile devices is a little closer to the real thing, with the vertical tables, touch screens and haptic feedback. My Steam desktop library is largely populated by Zen Pinball tables, and my iPhone has multiple pinball apps – most with Zen Studios as the backbone. Williams Pinball is by far the favorite in my household. So, when Zen Pinball World was announced we were all excited to be able to play some new tables while travelling.
Zen Pinball World arrives with 26 tables with a good mix of real, Zen created, and licensed IP. The rundown:
4 Zen digital originals
- A Samurai’s Vengeance
- Camp Blook Brook
- Sky Pirates treasures of the Clouds
- Verne’s Mysterious Island
7 Williams (digital recreations of real pinball machines)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Banzai Run
- Black Knight 2000
- Earthshaker!
- The Adams Family
- Twilight Zone
- World Cup Soccer
3 Game Night digital tables vol 1 (board game themed)
- Exploding Kittens
- Gloomhaven
- Terraforming Mars
2 South Park digital (TV show themed)
- South Park Pinball: The Butters Show
- South Park Pinball
3 Gearbox digital tables (video game themed)
- Borderlands Vault Hunter
- Brothers in Arms: Win the War
- Homeworld Journey to Hiigara
1 Peanuts digital table (licensed IP)
- Charlie Brown Christmas Pinball
3 Universal Studios digital tables (TV themed)
- Battlestar Galactica
- Knight Rider
- Xena Warrior Princess
3 Pinball Wild Cards digital tables (game & movie themed)
- Goat Simulator pinball
- The Princess Bride
- Crypt of the NecroDancer
Since I’m a bit of a pinball snob, I’ll have to limit myself to a few for this review since real tables are my frame of reference (with a few IP titles that I wish were real machines).
Zen keeps improving on their interface that works well for mobile. Zen Pinball World follows a similar path set by Zen’s Williams Pinball but is a bit more refined.
Now to be clear, yes, it’s another “watch to play” advertising game app. But, if you want to play for “free”, the price is your eyeballs and a minute of hassle every time you play. Tables are available without ads for a price ranging from $4.99 to $9.99 each table (less if you buy in bundles). After all, Zen has to make money to pay for all this great IP. If you want to play Star Trek, South Park, Battlestar Galactica or Princess Bride, well, that costs Zen some significant money to license the authentic music, voices, sound effects and graphics. There are some tradeoffs – not all the voices are authentic originals. There are some tables with other actors or AI voices used, but most are close enough to enjoy.
The real downside to this advertising model is when the game can’t reach the ad server, you can’t play. Which under normal circumstances, should be extremely rare. But while reviewing this app, it happened frequently. I tried on my home Wi-Fi and using 5GUC cellular. There were just random instances where the app couldn’t reach the server and would give me a error saying I was offline. Even though I wasn’t offline. All my other apps worked fine, including the data speed check. This is a new app and I’m sure Zen will figure it out but it’s frustrating.
Banzai Run
This table was of particular interest to me being that our local pinball arcade has one of the 17 known working editions of this game. It’s a particularly challenging game to adapt to digital since, like Circus Voltaire, the backbox has a playable section of the game. Banzai Run was originally released 1988 and when one comes up for sale it’s usually over $10,000 because it’s so rare. For most people, the digital edition is the closest you’ll ever get to playing the real version. But also, like Circus Voltaire, there were some compromises made to translate it to digital. It’s still a fun game, but the motorcycle animations and some other modernizations don’t seem to help the game out much or actually prove to be more of a distraction. The digital version stands on its own as a unique pinball game with interesting animations but doesn’t translate from the classic original as well as I’d hoped.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Another digital adaptation of an actual pinball machine, Williams’ 1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation features original sound and voices from the game, including visits from the Borg, Romulans, Cardassians, and Q. The music is even the same 1990’s synthesized arcade game versions of the TNG theme. There were over 11,000 of these produced in 1993 so they are not hard to find in an arcade. This of course is a must for any Trekkie and is only the second Star Trek table available on iOS, the other being Stern’s 2013 Star Trek (Kelvin timeline) available on the Stern PBA app on iOS. ST:TNG is a fun trip down memory lane for any pinball fan, but especially Trekkies.
Battlestar Galactica
I am a big Battlestar Galactica fan, so I was thrilled when they announced it was getting the Zen Pinball treatment. The preview showed the licensed images of the actors and artwork, so money flew out of my wallet quickly. This is an original digital creation, not a rework of a real table so the real-world physical restrictions are not there. That is good and bad news. The good news is the look of the table is spot-on BSG, complete with music from the series. The bad news is the voiceovers are not the original actors and unfortunately, in this case that is a huge letdown. The game is fun for a little while, and the mini-games are decent, but nothing quite lives up to what I had hoped. The BSG visual novelty wears off quickly and then it’s not much more than a mediocre pinball game. When there were so many others included in Zen Pinball World, I quickly moved on.
World Cup Soccer
Back in the daze of my youth, soccer was my sport of choice, and normally on Saturday mornings I’m watching the Premier League. I have Zen’s Liverpool table on Steam and have spent many hours playing. Bally introduced World Cup Soccer to arcades in 1994 just in time for the US hosting the World Cup. This is a fun game, and similar to the other pinball machines of that period, features orbit lanes down both sides that get the ball moving and creates some fast action. There are of course specific soccer goal actions and Zen really outdid themselves with this digital version. The announcer on the machine is none other than the voice of NBA Jam and NFL Blitz, Tim Kitzrow. World Cup Soccer is probably my favorite table in Zen Pinball World and I look forward to playing it again and again.
Black Knight 2000
Williams released Black Knight 2000 in 1989, and Zen has done a great job recreating this unique table design. This game was popular enough for Stern to revisit it in 2019 with Black Knight Sword of Rage, but it is a very different machine. BK2000 has an upper play area with mid table lanes and some lighting effects that were rare to see in that time period. The strength of this game is it’s different than others. While it isn’t a big-name movie or TV series, it is fun to play and figure out the table secrets to a high score. Zen did an outstanding job recreating this classic.
The Adams Family
Released by Bally in 1993, The Adams Family uses the movie IP and some original cast special recordings featuring Anjelica Huston and Raúl Juliá. While the music is similar to Star Trek: The Next Generation pinball of the same era, the synthesized Adams Family theme comes across as particularly arcade-like and will certainly bring back memories for any fans of that time period pinball machines. Zen’s recreation is as usual, done well with some enhancements to loosen up the real-world restrictions of a physical machine. This table is similar design to many others of that period, with flashing exit lights and other visuals. It’s an enjoyable machine to play and a worthy recreation by Zen.
The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride is another one of my family favorite films, so naturally everyone was excited to hear Zen was bringing out a pinball game. In another case of huge expectations being my downfall, The Princess Bride Pinball is a mixed bag of fun and missed opportunities. This game includes clips from the movie, with audio of the original actors such as Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Billy Crysal, Chris Sarandon, Robin Wright and Cary Elwes. In all that talent, it makes for great fun for a little while. Zen chose to design the table in a storybook graphics style keeping in step with the theme of the movie. At first, I wasn’t so sure about that choice, but it grew on me, and with the addition of actual movie clips it made for a fun mix. This is one of the few digital only titles that I’ve played more than a few times, and it can be a lot of fun – especially with the unique IP of The Princess Bride. The downside is the design of the table – or specifically the playability. The out lanes are far too easy to hit, which limits the enjoyment of this otherwise fun table. You’ll get used to it the more you play, but it takes some time.
South Park Pinball
The classic South Park table is complete with all the voices and many of the classic characters such as Timmy and Hanky, voiced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It’s great for any fan of the show, but as a pinball game on an iPhone, the table is way too busy with multiple vibrant colors to keep track of the ball. Overall, it’s a fun visit to South Park for any fan, but not a table I’ll be playing regularly. Perhaps it’s better on a larger screen iPad.
South Park: The Butters Show
Again, the South Park kids are back in all their glory, but this time Butters is the main focus. This is a digital only creation, so Zen had some freedom to explore and had fun doing so. All the original voice actors are present including Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It’s a fun table and a bit easier to follow on an iPhone than the original South Park game and is still a lot of laughs for any South Park fan.
Charlie Brown Christmas Pinball
This is just a fun visit to the classic animated special from 1965 complete with music and themes from the show. We watch this Peanuts classic every year (now residing on Apple TV). These are likely AI generated voices but they are good. It follows the overall theme of the show with tasks to complete. I wasn’t able to get very far in the story, but I hope they included the real meaning behind the show. It would be a shame if they chose to gloss it over just to not offend anyone. But if you are playing Charlie Brown Christmas you probably already know the theme.
Other pinball tables
There are a lot of other tables included, and every single one has some fun for any pinball fan. It’s great that Zen lets people play for free, and we have the choice to pay for the ad-free table.
One of the other nice features in Zen Pinball World is the inclusion of worldwide leader boards with various modes so you know just how good (or not) you really are at these tables. There are some scores that are insane – like I have to wonder if these players have jobs.
Conclusion
Zen Pinball World makes me long for the days of Bill Budge’s (EA) Pinball Construction Set. A game like that would be a huge hit these days. Revising a few of these tables would be a fun exercise, and creating my own would be even better.
The main reason we enjoy Zen Pinball games are mostly to play the digital versions of real tables. Classics like Fish Tales and Champion Pub help us know how to play the real tables when playing tournaments at our local pinball arcade. For this reason, Zen Pinball World is a welcome addition to our collection, and it should be in your game collection as well.
Zen Pinball World delivers many great table adaptations plus a few new ones that deliver close to the same fun of a real pinball arcade machine for a fraction of the cost.
