All the slot machines have their odds randomly generated each play. As such, there is no single slot machine that is good for every player all the time. Generation 3: Generation 3 includes two sets of games: ruby/sapphire/emerald and fire red/leaf green. For Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, the slots.

Pokémon Pinball^[a] is a pinball-based Pokémon spin-off video game for the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on April 14, 1999, and in North America on June 28, 1999. In it, the ball is a Poké Ball, and most of the objects on the table are Pokémon-related.

Like any pinball game, the main objective is to get points, using the different modes of advances to score them at a higher rate. Pokémon Pinball has a secondary objective hinted at by the tagline 'Gotta Catch 'em All,' which is to collect all 151 Pokémon to fill your Pokédex. The Pokédex is saved between individual games, so it can be built up over time.

Gameplay[edit]

There are two tables in the game: Red and Blue. Each table has its own details and gameplay elements.

Each table has different playable 'locations', which determine which Pokémon are available for capture. A subset of available locations are displayed slot-machine style in the beginning of a game, and pressing A will select a starting location and launch the first ball into play. After that, each table has its own mechanism for advancing to the next location, including the locations not available at the start of the game.

'Catch Mode,' when activated, starts a 2-minute window of opportunity where the player can attempt to capture a Pokémon. Once you activate 'catch mode,' the player must hit the pop bumpers 6 times. Each hit unlocks 1/6 of an image of the Pokémon currently available for capture. Once the image is complete, the Pokémon appears on the table, where it must be hit 4 times with the ball to be captured.

'Evolution Mode,' when activated, starts a 2-minute window of opportunity in which the player selects a captured Pokémon (from the current game in progress only) and attempts to evolve it into another form. This is the only way to add the evolved form to the player's Pokédex. Once you select a Pokémon, the player must hit targets on the playfield. There are up to 7 targets on the red board, 6 on the blue board, but only 3 of them have items in them needed to evolve a Pokémon, with the others creating a time-wasting sequence before the player can hit targets again. If the player hits a target with an item, the item appears on the playfield and must be collected with the ball. Once the player has collected 3 items, the hole in the center of the board opens up. Sinking the ball in the hole successfully evolves the Pokémon.

Reception[edit]

Pokémon Pinball received generally positive reviews, holding an aggregate score of 81.73% at GameRankings.^[1]GameSpot gave it a score of 8.7, citing its use of the Game Boy Color's display and presentation. However, they also criticized the game, lamenting the lack of other pinball-related elements and the game's poor physics. They additionally criticized the built-in rumble feature, calling it 'a waste [...] of an AAA battery' and a 'nice novelty'.^[2]San Jose Mercury News praised its rumble, however, noting that it 'won them over'.^[3]Los Angeles Times editor Aaron Curtiss called it a 'great game'.^[4]CNET called it 'more than a shameless cash-in on the Pokémon phenomenon', calling it one of the best pinball games for the Game Boy Color. However, they criticized the 'gratuitous Pikachu appearances' and the 'incorrect physics' as detracting somewhat from the pinball experience.^[5] The New York Times editor Joe Hutsko called the rumble mechanic as innovative, stating that it will likely lead to more games that use rumble from other developers.^[6]GamesRadar listed Pokémon Pinball as one of the titles they want in the 3DSVirtual Console.^[7]

In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 32 out of 40.^[8]

Pokémon Pinball received a 'Gold' sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),^[9] indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.^[10]

Sequel[edit]

Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire is a pinball game based on Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and is the sequel to Pokémon Pinball for the third generation of Pokémon games. It was developed by Jupiter and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It was first revealed at E3 in 2003, and was released in the same year – on August 1, August 25, and November 14 in Japan, North America, and PAL regions respectively. The North American release was done to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the North American release of Pokémon Red and Blue. In some ways, it plays like a traditional pinball game, where the objective is to get a high score by keeping the ball going as long as possible and completing objectives. It features Pokémon collection, where while the players play pinball, they must also capture Pokémon.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Pokémon Pinball review'. Game Rankings. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016.
2. ^Davis, Cameron (2000-01-28). 'Pokemon Pinball Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
3. ^'Pokémon Pinball review'. Mercury News. July 18, 1999. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
4. ^Curtiss, Aaron (August 20, 1999). 'Even non-fans will like Pokemon games'. Los Angeles Times.
5. ^'Pokemon Pinball (Game Boy Color) Specs'. CNET.
6. ^Hutsko, Joe (July 1, 1999). 'NEWS WATCH; Miniature Pinball With Buzz, And a Bunch of Apes on the Run'. The New York Times.
7. ^'12 classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games we want on 3DS'. GamesRadar. Jan 19, 2010. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
8. ^ゲームボーイ - ポケモンピンボール. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.108. 30 June 2006.
9. ^'ELSPA Sales Awards: Gold'. Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on March 19, 2009.
10. ^Caoili, Eric (November 26, 2008). 'ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK'. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017.

External links[edit]

Pokémon may not feel like a game where you would expect to see slot machines. Still, the Game Corner has been a part of the Pokémon universe since the first GameBoy versions of the franchise were released back in the mid-90s.

How the Game Corner Works

The Games Corner generally comes later in the game, in one of the large cities and is a place where players can bet ‘coins’ as an alternative unit of in-game currency that can be swapped for the main unit of in-game currency in the Game Corner itself. Once players have these coins, they can bet them on various in-game slot machines and other typical casino games.

The Games in Pokémon

Like real-world online casinos, the majority of gaming action in the Game Corner took place on slot machines. There were generally dozens of these in each Game Corner, and all of them featured the same basic game. In order to start playing on one of them, the player had to find a vacant machine. Some machines were occupied by non-playable characters who the player could talk to. In later games, Nintendo began to include some warnings about the problems that gambling could cause in the games by triggering the non-playable characters to explain that they had lost significant amounts of money while playing on the slot machines.

The slot machine game is a typical one-armed bandit with three spinning wheels. Instead of the traditional lemon, bar, and other fruit symbols that are commonplace on real-world slot machines, the icons are replaced with Pokémon, Poké Balls, and other related items. A little like the lemon item, which generally delivers a low pay-out or no pay-out at all on real-world slot machines, a Magikarp figure featured in some of the early versions of the game which did not trigger a pay-out.

The other game which featured in some editions of the game was card flip. This essentially worked like roulette, and 24 cards featuring Pokémon would be placed face down on the table. Players were then able to bet on which Pokémon would be revealed when they were turned face up. Like roulette, players could bet on the individual card that would be revealed or on a column, which gave them more chance of winning but a lower overall prize.

The Chances of Winning

Like in a real-world casino, players using the Game Corner had the opportunity to win very significant prizes (some of which were not obtainable in any other part of the game). However, a player doing averagely well would lose more money to the Game Corner than they put in. The Game Corner is, overall, a relatively realistic portrayal of gambling from this point of view. Obviously, no real money is at stake when players are using the facility, and losing money in the Game Corner does have the potential to make it significantly more difficult for players to progress further in the game.

Pokemon Sapphire Slot Machine Jackpots

Prizes in the Game Corner

Pokemon Center Slot Machine

Coins can be exchanged for Pokémon, which are otherwise tricky to catch in the game. Players who want the prizes but do not want to participate in the games run by the Game Corner have the option of simply buying the coins required to obtain the reward they are interested in. While this option defeats the playing aspect of the Game Corner, it is probably the easiest way to unlock some of the items contained within.

Pokemon Sapphire Slot Machines

Some Game Corners also contain vending machines that sell items that give extra health to Pokémon. These are purchased by using real money and are not directly related to the gambling aspect of the Game Corner.

The End of the Game Corner

Video game rating agencies around the world started to crack down on in-game gambling towards the end of the 2000s as part of a more generalized push against adult content being presented to children. While the Game Corner had been a key part of most Pokémon games up to this point, Nintendo and Game Freak, the companies behind the game, decided that the loss of Pokémon’s child-friendly status was not a hit that was worth taking in order to keep the popular Game Corner in the game. For this reason, from the fourth generation of Pokémon Games (Diamond and Pearl), the Game Corner no longer featured. The facility has also been removed from remakes of earlier games such as Ruby and Sapphire. This has marked the end of an era in Pokémon history.