I Got 3 Balls to Catch ‘em All! Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire Version

By: PoisonRamune, the Apathetic Lizardman

Once in a great while I’ll stumble upon a game that I swear was literally made for me. This time around I found such a game in Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire. It would be pretty obvious to most who know me as to why I would really love this game. The Pokemon series is my favorite video game series and most of the RwN staff (including myself) is pretty damn legendary at pinball.

"I love this game... It often saves my balls."

The main thing that sets this game apart from being just another video pinball simulator with a cute theme is getting the highest score is not your sole objective. The true object of this game is to catch all 202 pokemon in the Hoenn Pokedex. There are 3 ways to obtain pokemon in the game. The first is sending your pokeball (the in-game version of the actual pinball) up the Catch Ramp, thus activating “Catch ‘em Mode.” Catch ‘em Mode is reminiscent of a classic pinball machine’s bonus round/target shot mode, in that you have about 2 minutes to hit the top bumpers 6 times and then focus on hitting the pokemon sitting in the middle of the playfield 3 times in order to catch it. Just like in the main Pokemon games common pokemon will be available more often than rare pokemon, this can make the game a little tedious/frustration as you’ll be forced to go through the motions and catch your 50th machop just to keep the game going.

"While scores are important, it's mostly about catching pokemon."

After you’ve accumulated a small troop of near worthless duskulls, you’ll be thanking the pokemon gods for including EVO Mode. Again, taking a cue from the main games you’re given a chance to evolve your pokemon into their upgraded species; this time you’re to hit 3 randomly placed targets (in the form of E-V-O) and sink your ball into a target hole to get your pokemon to evolve.

"An overview of the ramps."

The final way to acquire pokemon is through Hatch Mode, this mode is somewhat like a mix between Catch ‘em Mode and EVO Mode. After hitting the pokemon egg at the tip of the hatch ramp, a baby pokemon will begin to scamper around the playfield. While the little guy runs all about the board, it’s up to you to peg it with your pokeball 2 times. This is sometimes very difficult as sometimes the pokemon will behave much like their main game types (ie: minun, a small electric pokemon will often just zip away from your ball as it approaches and some ghost pokemon seemingly “phase” in and out at the most inconvenient times.

"More of the play field."

The catching aspect makes the game really fun and addicting, almost to the point where I seldom will ever care about my point total at the end of a credit (since I’m honestly more interested in how many and what new types of pokemon I’ve caught). This brings me to another great thing about the game, while you essentially play the game from credit to credit, your pokedex actually continues with each play. Therefore, you never need to worry about doing the near impossible feat of collecting all 202 pokemon with only 3 lives/balls.

"As you can see there are 2 boards... Each has their own pokemon and are layed out just a bit different from one another. I personally prefer the Ruby board."

Seeing as the graphics were meant for a handheld system that is now considered a retro console, I won’t judge them from a technical stand point. However, I will note that the game has a very good design and artistic style. Everything is bright, fun and cute, but never does the myriad of bright colors burn my retinas like other bright/vivid GBA games (I’m looking at you, Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga). In fact, this game is a trip to play in a dark room while sitting under a black light. Unfortunately, I always seem to play this game while watching DVDs or my Lucky Star streams, so I rarely ever get to hear the audio. Though, from what I’ve heard the sounds are kinda just existential and the music reminds me of Kirby’s Dream Course (which coincidently is another really fun Nintendo “hybrid genre” game).

I highly recommend this game to any fan of Pokemon or any fan of video pinball. I’d probably also recommend this to my friends with ADD that have a DS/GBA, since this is one of those games that can make you happy just playing one credit or for hours (at least that was the case for me). It’s also one of those fun games to play if you need a game with very low pressure due to being tired or faded. As I mentioned before, this game really feels like it was made specifically for me, I love it!

9/10 Ultra Balls

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