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Forums - Nintendo - Zen Pinball 2 is finally in NA eShop for Wii U. FREE full demo

BuckStud on 21 March 2013
forest-spirit said:
What, it wasn't available in the NA? It's a must have for pinball fans. There are quite a few boards to choose from and you're able to try before you buy which is great. Only have Zombies vs Plants so far but it's enough to keep me busy.
The game also supports the wonderful off-tv option.


I'm a big PVZ fan and picked Zen 2 up along with that table.  Great game.



Stop hating and start playing.

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Kenology on 22 March 2013

I have no interest in pinball games but because it was free, how could I not download.



famousringo on 22 March 2013
sethnintendo said:
famousringo said:
I'll pass. Tablet is the superior platform for pinball. Having buttons for flippers is nice, but you can't beat portrait screen orientation for a game like this. It just doesn't feel right holding the tablet controller like that, plus you'd lose the buttons.

Played Pinball Arcade by Farsight Studios barely (like a table or two) and I didn't like it at all on my smartphone.  Not being able to hit a button is a big deal for me in a pinball game.  Also, the flippers and ball movement behaved like shit (not "realistic feeling" at all) compared to Zen Pinball.

What are you talking about losing buttons controls on Wii U?  You use the L + R triggers for the flippers.

I might be misreading your post. Were you talking about tablets at the end or Wii U? You mentioned controller so I assumed you were talking about the Wii U gamepad


I'm talking about actual tablets, not just streaming controllers. Ones you can rotate for a vertical display so you can see the table as it was meant to be seen, rather than as if you were a four foot tall munchkin peering over the playfield. You could do that with the Wii U controller, but the grip would suck, the button placement would be unusable, and the Wii U touchscreen couldn't be a substitute for buttons because it can only handle one touch at a time.

Not sure what to say about your comments on Pinball Arcade's physics. They aren't perfect, but they get better if your device has a better CPU, and unlike Zen's, they're modeled after actual pinball tables they can, and do, test against. Perhaps Zen's physics feel more natural because they aren't burdened by trying to simulate a complicated reality?



"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event."  — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.

sethnintendo on 22 March 2013
famousringo said:
sethnintendo said:
famousringo said:
I'll pass. Tablet is the superior platform for pinball. Having buttons for flippers is nice, but you can't beat portrait screen orientation for a game like this. It just doesn't feel right holding the tablet controller like that, plus you'd lose the buttons.

Played Pinball Arcade by Farsight Studios barely (like a table or two) and I didn't like it at all on my smartphone.  Not being able to hit a button is a big deal for me in a pinball game.  Also, the flippers and ball movement behaved like shit (not "realistic feeling" at all) compared to Zen Pinball.

What are you talking about losing buttons controls on Wii U?  You use the L + R triggers for the flippers.

I might be misreading your post. Were you talking about tablets at the end or Wii U? You mentioned controller so I assumed you were talking about the Wii U gamepad


I'm talking about actual tablets, not just streaming controllers. Ones you can rotate for a vertical display so you can see the table as it was meant to be seen, rather than as if you were a four foot tall munchkin peering over the playfield. You could do that with the Wii U controller, but the grip would suck, the button placement would be unusable, and the Wii U touchscreen couldn't be a substitute for buttons because it can only handle one touch at a time.

Not sure what to say about your comments on Pinball Arcade's physics. They aren't perfect, but they get better if your device has a better CPU, and unlike Zen's, they're modeled after actual pinball tables they can, and do, test against. Perhaps Zen's physics feel more natural because they aren't burdened by trying to simulate a complicated reality?

Thanks for explaining your post more.  I wasn't quite sure where you were going at first.  You are right that it is probably due to my phone considering I was given a handme down galaxy 1 from my mom.  So it is probably the old phone which makes the game run not so smoothly.

You ever play the Zen Pinball games on the 3DS?  They actually did a good job on those 2 and the 3D effects are pretty good.



kitler53 on 22 March 2013

you should put "freemium" in the title not free as that is the business model this game has on every platform.

anywho, got the free levels on vita and frankly didn't enjoy it much. even in portrait mode,.. pinball on a console just didn't feel right/fun.



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famousringo on 22 March 2013
sethnintendo said:
famousringo said:

I'm talking about actual tablets, not just streaming controllers. Ones you can rotate for a vertical display so you can see the table as it was meant to be seen, rather than as if you were a four foot tall munchkin peering over the playfield. You could do that with the Wii U controller, but the grip would suck, the button placement would be unusable, and the Wii U touchscreen couldn't be a substitute for buttons because it can only handle one touch at a time.

Not sure what to say about your comments on Pinball Arcade's physics. They aren't perfect, but they get better if your device has a better CPU, and unlike Zen's, they're modeled after actual pinball tables they can, and do, test against. Perhaps Zen's physics feel more natural because they aren't burdened by trying to simulate a complicated reality?

Thanks for explaining your post more.  I wasn't quite sure where you were going at first.  You are right that it is probably due to my phone considering I was given a handme down galaxy 1 from my mom.  So it is probably the old phone which makes the game run not so smoothly.

You ever play the Zen Pinball games on the 3DS?  They actually did a good job on those 2 and the 3D effects are pretty good.


I played it on iOS. I imagine it would be decent on 3DS, but pinball is one of the few games I really feel benefits from a higher-resolution display. Getting rid of the gap between DS screens ain't bad, neither.

Zen does solid pinball, about as good as "video pinball" gets, though some of their tables have better designs than others. I found their Marvel tables pretty mediocre, while their own IPs (Excalibur and The Wizard's Tower, or whatever it was called) were pretty good. I just don't think their table design can compete with classics like Genie and Twilight Zone.

Pinball Arcade will be coming to Wii U sooner or later, so people who enjoy midget-cam pinball can decide which offering is better. ;-P



"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event."  — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.