![]() No doubt the voice of Yoda saying "Extra Ball" was never recorded for the films, but it is so convincing that it does not break the feeling of being in the Star Wars universe, playing pinball. This encompasses every single element like the use of the fantastic licensed soundtrack, or even voice clips that are either taken straight from the films, or simply so close sounding to the voices of the real actors that it's hard to tell the difference. It's not evenly split in that regard but, then again, the futuristic universe of Star Wars demands the flashiness and unrealism, so it's hard to fault.Ī great strength of this release is indeed the faithfulness to the Star Wars universe, and how every themed table distils the atmosphere of the subject it is based on. ![]() Others still are the complete opposite, of course, and while this release does include some tables that come closer to real world tables in design and functionality, this caters more to one audience than the other. Some fans of pinball do not like that sort of thing, and are more likely to prefer something not so far-fetched. The only weakness in general with Zen Studios' releases, is that the focus is mainly on flashy tables that couldn't be done in the real world, with lasers shooting, and holograms appearing on the table, or the characters themselves moving around and fighting with lightsabers, or even pieces of C3-PO flying all over the place that have to be collected. Some are very small and packed and force the ball to come back down hard and quick for extra difficulty, while others are way more open and easy on newcomers. Some table are tough to score big on, while others set the score meter flying from the outset. These tables all come in different flavours too, some including phases of gameplay that move completely away from pinball like shoot 'em up sequences in a Tie Fighter, to tables that are more mechanical in design, and conserve some restrain in the use of flashy elements that couldn't be done on a real pinball machine. Suffice to say that there is literally more than a bit of everything then, from tables encompassing a single character's whole life in the series like Darth Vader or Boba Fett, to individual film adaptations, to whole animated series derived from it in The Clone Wars and Rebels, to broader themes like Starfighter Assault, Droids, Might of the First Order or Masters of the Force. The list itself is likely to set some heads spinning. and to round it all up, film adaptations with episodes IV to VIII: A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. For the sake of thoroughness, however, let it be known that this release includes every table released up to this point: Rogue One and Solo (based on the individual films), Han Solo (not to be confused with the former), Calrissian Chronicles, Battle of Mimban, Ach-To Island, Star Wars Rebels, The Clone Wars, Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Starfighter Assault, Masters of the Force, Might of the First Order, Droids. This release packs together no less than 19 pinball tables, and covering each in detail is beyond the scope of this review - besides most if not all of them already received individual reviews when they released on other platforms in the past. At last Zen Studios has pulled through and the long awaited game is finally here, even receiving a full blown physical release this time around which will still no doubt get updated down the line with more tables as paid DLC, not the least of which when Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker comes out in just a few months. ![]() Since the company has bought the rights to everything Star Wars, it has infamously started to revise its licensing policies and this has made releasing Star Wars Pinball on a new platform, a very tough affair indeed. Where has Star Wars Pinball been all along then? Well, something happened between the Wii U and 3DS era and the Switch: Disney. A new console has been on the market since 2017 though, the Nintendo Switch. Star Wars Pinball appeared also on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, Xbox One and PS4, and even Android and iOS devices, whether as a stand-alone release or as downloadable content for the various incarnations of Zen Pinball and Pinball FX. On 3DS it already impressed with its auto-stereoscopic visuals back in 2013, then later on Wii U as well, where it received several DLC add-ons, though not all of them, due to the Wii U not proving popular enough to warrant decent support. Zen Studios' Star Wars Pinball has been doing the rounds on multiple platforms over the past few years.
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