OK the easiest way to get it up that ramp is the upper left flipper. You hit the ball just before it falls off the flipper and it will go up that ramp almost every time. You can also hit it over to that hole from the right flipper prettt easy by hitting the ball just before it falls off the end as well. You can do this with the lower right flipper by the same method but its a lot harder to get it up the ramp that way. I would say I do it only about 20% of the time that way. I can get it over there with the upper left flipper about 80% of the time now.

Demonic, the shot is easiest to make with the top-most left flipper. Shoot the ball into the Joust hole just above that flipper and when it is released, wait for the very last moment, then shoot it up the ramp.

Oops! X-post with Tech101

I finally downloaded this game, all excited to see pinball in 3D...

...and I kind of hate it. Pinball Pulse on DSiWare was 10 times better, and it only had 1 table! The problem for me is an utter lack of charm or design. The physics and graphics are fine, but the tables seem to have been dreamed up by an eight year old.

I understand the corniness of the genre, but Pinball Pulse just pulled it off better, giving you a board that felt wonderfully real and authentic to the way classic machines were built; it seemed like a labor of love from devs who probably know something about the entire process that goes into making a real table. This game feels more like a cash-in focused on impressing you with graphics but not with the fundamentals of what would make a real pinball game stand out amongst the competition.

If I encountered these boards in person, i wouldn't play them, because they're ugly and don't seem to contain any of the charm and craziness of a great machine. Different tastes, I suppose.

Wario Woods, perhaps you should try the Williams Pinball Hall of Fame. All-time classic tables. Great game too.

The Williams collection isn't to bad. Two of those boards are excellent. Another two are OK and the rest well I can do without!

As for your comparison between pinball pulse and Zen I believe its just a matter of taste. If you hadn't noticed Excalibur is a lot like pinball pulse. They even share similar quests. I like pinball pulse but its no where near as good as Zen tables for me. The physics are slightly floaty but the rest is solid. Now if your complaint was more about the fact that it plays only on the top screen I would understand more but the Zen tables blow away anything I've played pinball wise!

Well, I tend to overstate my disputes when I dislike something, but yes, it is mostly a matter of taste.

One huge problem for me with Zen is the sound design. Truly awful. The music is atrocious and the voices are no comparison to the work in Pinball Pulse. The drawings give me a similarly cheap vibe, and the menus have annoying load times. Lastly, the 3D graphics (I mean, rendered and polygonal) come off looking stale and fake to me. I can't suspend my disbelief and regard it as a real table.

LOL. We are totally on the opposite ends on this one. I think the 3ds graphics are in the top 5 of any 3ds game I've seen to date. Retail or download! One thing we could agree on is if there was a demo you wouldn't wasted your money. If you feel that strongly about it make sure you rate it on the eshop!

As a video game, I agree that the 3D graphics look sharp. As for replicating the feel of a real table, however, Pinball Pulse's graphics paradoxically do a far better job just with 2D art. The way the lights on the board flash, the shine of things, etc... it looks more like a pinball table looks.

Ill agree with that. Zen has been more on the arcadey side. Some pinball purests don't like it for that reason. I love pinball no matter what form its in. Some real tables are amazing and some are not. I just want a good game and I feel Zen has captured that for me!

I agree with this (ehem except for Shaman). I love pinball in any form. Some of the minigames added I think make a nice touch, though would not be realistic on a real table. That said there are some problems with old school pinball tables as well. Some were clearly designed as quarter gobblers and unfairly slanted so that you could barely hit the ball anywhere. I think there is good and bad in both cases, but I love all pinball. I used to have a friend whos dad fixed up old pinball machines (some very very oldschool). Pissed my friend off though because everyone always wanted to hang out at his house.

I just popped in to say The Pinball Arcade is awesome. I have the PS3 version.

warioswoods, you're like me. I am more in favour of games that try to replicate or recreate real life pinball tables than arcadey pinball. Zen is good but I prefer Williams Collection and The Pinball Arcade, where all the tables are real tables. I too am happy that Pinball Pulse actually looks like it could be a real table. I suggest you look up the Pro Pinball series on GoG.com. They are old PC games now, but all their tables look fantastic and the layout looks much like what you'd find in a real table.

Zen Pinball 3D is epic.
BUT I CAN'T DO THE SHAMAN TABLE!
I leik Eurf Defensz. itz mah fahvourihte.

I really enjoy Zen Pinball 3D, but I think it's about time for that DLC they promised. I love Exalibur and Earth Defense, but I'm finally getting a little tired of them. El Dorado was also fun, just didn't like it as much as those two, and never cared for Shaman.

They can't put up any DLC until Nintendo updates the 3DS to allow it. Japan already has this service but we don't have it yet. It should be sometime in the summer before we start seeing any DLC.