Topic: Pinball Hall of Fame 3D

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection for the 3DS is now available in NA. Once I purchase it I'll give my impressions with the game soon and hope to read yours as well.

So what I heard about this version is that it contains 7 pinball games; Black Knight, Funhouse, Gorgar, PinBot, Space Shuttle, Taxi, and Whirlwind.The game also has unlockables like mirror mode and be able to hold the 3DS upside-down and yes the 3D does work when holding it upside-down (I tested on Xevious).

What? How does the game benefit in holding the system upside down?

So that the 3DS will act just like a pinball machine with the action on the bottom half of the machine (3D screen) and the scoring on the top (touch screen).

This is one game that im really looking forward to hearing more about. Honestly i almost bought this game at GS this weekend, but the only thing that held me back was Nintendo Power giving it a 7/10 rating. As i dont get NP im not sure why it got that score, but im thinking it has something to do with no online leaderboards. Im already planning on insant downloading Zen Pinball when it makes it to the E-shop, so im not sure if I really need two pinball games for my 3DS right now unless TWC brings a wow factor to the the table.

I got it today, sickened me having to go into a Gamestop but I'm wondering if they have an exclusive on it, or at least temporarily.

Anyway, you're right, there are 7 tables and you did list them. The 3D in the game seems to make a pretty stark difference over being flat, as the angle the game sits at gives it a more natural feel. You can use the thumb stick, or rock the system to jam the table like real life. If you do flip the system over, it will auto-detect that and up side down the system will layout like a natural pinball table (default way has the back glass on the touch panel below.) In the twisted mode, the d-pad and a face button will work for flippers instead of L/R buttons.

Like the console versions the game has you gain credits to 100pts to then buy a pay table, or if you get all 5 challenges that does it too (I nailed Gorgar on a good run, unlocked Space Shuttle, a favorite of mine.) Space Shuttle, Whirlwind, Black Knight, and Taxi I think are the 4 that were locked when I started. Aside from the normal mode, there's also the console games Challenge mode, but also they added a Tournament mode where you can swap between people locally and rank for the best score.

I have not hit any glitches, graphics are sharp, somewhere between the Wii and the HD systems as the detailing is totally there and not grainy other than the back glass image that scrolls at a diagonal on a transition which is what Wii had. Music and SFX are there, sound as nice as the home systems too, so I don't detect a loss at all. In the end though depending how good you are at pinball or willingness to go back to it will dictate replay value. If you aren't that good, the challenge mode will keep you going a long time, if you are that good, if you got friends try the tourney, or just keep pounding at it to beat your best scores.

I didn't know this came out....I think I'll take a trip to GameStop tomorrow and pick me up a copy

I was thinking about picking this one up, but the Gamestop I was in had a copy of Bit.Trip Saga, so I went with that instead.

Just got this a couple hours ago. It was my Gamestop's last copy! I have to say that I'm pretty pleased so far. As of right now, I've only actually played "Fun House" but I've played the majority of the others on the Wii game so I pretty much know what to expect. As far as 3DS specific things go, obviously portability is a big plus for something like this. It's very easy to just pick up and play. Also, the graphics from the console games has carried over very nicely. It actually looks a bit closer to the HD version than the Wii version. The game also has many different camera angles on offer from smart cameras to over-view cameras to low cameras to make the 3D more obvious. Speaking of the 3D, its quite good in this game. This collection was already very authentic for how well it re-created these tables but now its literally like having the table right there in your hand. They look....like real life right down to the fact that they are now 3D as they would be in real life. Everything elase including physics and sound has also carried over nicely and are just as great as they ever were. I also really love the ability to turn the 3DS upside down and have the game switch the screens automatically. This is actually my preferred way to play the game and the 3D works just as great when upside down. Overall this is a fantastic release that any pinball fan should make a priority to track down.

Glad to see some agreement here with my earlier post. I have a feeling it will end up an underground great game for the system much like BitTrip because almost no one is carrying the games and they're some of the best pick up and play things the 3DS has right now.

@8: What's the control scheme, and does it still control well upside down?

With the 3DS flipped in the normal orientation, the flippers are mapped to the L and R buttons. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, there is no option to use face buttons with the 3DS right side up. Flipped upside down, you can still control the flippers with the L/R buttons with your thumbs but I find it horribly uncomfortable that way. Fortunately, in upside down mode, you can use "Right" on the D-Pad and "A" to control the flippers. This, IMO, is the most comfortable configuration and also looks the best since the score is on top. As far as how well it controls, it controls just fine either way. There isn't any lag or anything like that. Its actually quite smooth. When you flip the 3DS, the game changes orientation instantly without missing a beat. Very smooth, polished experience. I absolutely love "Fun House" (And I just scored 17,000,000,000!!!).

@Tanookisuit: I know what you mean. This really feels like a very under the radar, destined to sell very poorly kind of release. I can't even rate it on the eShop because it doesn't even have a page there :/ Its quite unfortunate since this game really deserves to be more widespread.

What would have been your eShop rating for the game.

Might check it out when it gets a price drop.

If I were to eShop rate it, it would be a toughie as it should be almost 5 worthy, but it's a 4. It's not perfect, but it's not really imperfect either. The only thing that is lacking is that they stupidly pulled a tables you can find on the PS3 version and even the Wii one. PS3 has 13, the Wii has 10 and this game unless you can unlock hidden tables is 7 which is a damn cop out because even the smallest 3DS card could take them all.

If I could rate this on the eShop I would probably give it 5 stars. Sure it doesn't have all the content of the console versions but what's here is still an extremely compelling package. Plus the physics are done so well that I would really feel bad giving it any less than 5. Too bad I can't rate this...it feels like this one is destined to fail with almost no exposure...

I think I'll just get this from the eshop.
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I just order my copy from Amazon.com

I can't wait. I'm a huge fine of portable pinball games like Pokemon Pinball (hoping for Nintendo eShop release) and Metroid Prime Pinball.

@supernin10do: Yep, I'll also be getting that from the eShop. I still think PHoF has a place though. Its tables are more realistic looking IMO and Its got 7 different tables on it. Along with Zen, that will give me 11 different pinball tables on my 3DS and that'll be mighty sweet!

i lovvvveeee pinball so im very much looking forward to this.

I finally got my copy.

This is my first experience with Pinball Hall of Fame series and I'm loving it. My "enormous" hands don't get cramp when playing it because I'm only using the shoulder buttons or only using a d-pad and a face buttons when holding the 3DS upside-down. This is the most comfortable 3DS game I played so far.

Ranking from best to "not exactly" best

FunHouse
WHIRLWIND
TAXI
Pin Bot
GORGAR
SPACE SHUTTLE
Black Knight