Reviewed by CL on 12/10/2005
When I first heard of this game, I was cautiously optimistic. I've heard of many other famous game series which were converted to pinball games with varying degrees of success. Fortunately, this is one of the best ones that I've seen and turn out to be a lot of fun to play.
This is pretty much standard pinball with various Metroid-themed tables. These tables are broken up into two different types, general tables and boss tables. On the general tables, you try to activate challenges and collect items like extra balls and artifacts. On the boss tables, you usually are tasked with defeating a boss from the Metroid world (the Omega Space Pirate, Ridley, etc.). To help you, you can use weapons that you're probably familiar with including power bombs and missiles. The game turns out to be a nice mix of challenge and fun. It’s a great game that you can just pick up and play for a few minutes if you want but if you're trying to actually trying to beat the game, you'll find that you'll need to dedicate about 30 minutes to the task. The pinball physics feels great and makes the game truly fun to play. The game comes packaged with a DS Rumble Pak as well. This looks exactly like a GBA cartridge and plugs into the GBA slot. When the ball hits a bumper or you activate the flipper, the cartridge rumbles a little, which adds a nice effect of realism to the game.
Overall, this is one of the best pinball games that I've ever played. It’s a lot more fun, portable, and cheaper than going to the arcade to play pinball. Recommended.
