A pinball game built around the Pokédex
Pokémon Pinball is a pinball game developed by Jupiter Corporation with HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo on the Game Boy Color. It came out in Japan on April 14, 1999, in North America on June 28, 1999, and then in Europe, including France, on October 6, 2000. Its premise fits in one sentence: the ball is a Poké Ball, the obstacles are Pokémon, and every Pokémon caught is recorded in the game’s Pokédex.
There is no story and no Trainer to control. The goal is twofold: set the highest score possible and complete the collection of the 151 first-generation Pokémon. This collection is the real driving force of the game, and it is what sets it apart from a classic pinball game: to make progress, it is not enough to keep the ball alive; you have to trigger specific modes by aiming at specific targets.
Two tables, drawn from Red and Blue
When you start a game, the game offers two boards, the Red Field and the Blue Field, which refer to the Red and Blue versions of the main games. Each table spans two screens, an upper and a lower one, and the display switches between them depending on the ball’s position. The Pokémon you can catch depend on the table chosen: 27 Pokémon can only be obtained on the Red Field, 33 only on the Blue Field, and 91 on both, evolutions included.
The two tables share the same logic, but not the same fixtures. On the Red Field, three Voltorb serve as bumpers, a Bellsprout swallows the ball to start the capture, a Ditto guards the entrance to Evolution Mode and two Diglett control Travel. On the Blue Field, three Shellder serve as bumpers, Slowpoke opens Evolution Mode and Cloyster opens Catch ‘Em mode, while Poliwag and Psyduck control Travel. Our dedicated page for each table details every element, from the left loop to the last light.
Catching and evolving: the heart of the game
To catch a Pokémon, you have to light at least two of the three GET arrows by sending the ball into the right loop, then get it into the target that starts Catch ‘Em mode. A silhouette appears, which you reveal by hitting the bumpers six times. The Pokémon then shows up, and four hits are enough to catch it, all within a two-minute window. The Pokémon you get depends on the location, and the number of lit arrows changes the list of appearances: with three arrows, rare Pokémon enter the draw.
Only first-stage Pokémon can be caught. Evolved forms, 72 out of 151, are obtained in Evolution Mode. It is triggered by lighting three EVO arrows and then going through the table’s dedicated entrance. You choose a Pokémon already caught in the current game, then look, among several targets, for the three that release an evolution item: experience, a stone or a Link Cable depending on the species. This hunt-and-spot system forces you to read the table and gives the mode a very different rhythm from capturing.
Five bonus stages with varied rules
Catching a Pokémon lights one Poké Ball beneath the central panel, and evolving one lights two. Three lit Poké Balls open access to a bonus stage. Each table has its own sequence: Diglett then Gengar on the Red Field, Meowth then Seel on the Blue Field, and Mewtwo concluding both sequences. The rules change each time: a single ball to send 31 Diglett underground, a graveyard to clear before Gengar appears, a Meowth coin hunt, and Seel to hit as they stick their heads out of the water.
The Mewtwo stage deserves a special mention. Each hit on Mewtwo is worth 50,000,000 points, which makes it far more rewarding than anything else in the game. It is also the stage that determines the appearance of Mew, who can only be encountered after clearing this stage twice.
Polished presentation for 1999
On the Game Boy Color, the game relies on colorful, readable tables that scroll vertically to follow the ball. The Pokémon sprites are recognizable at a glance, and the central panel shows the current location, the silhouette to catch, or the Slot Machine reward. The music is composed by Gō Ichinose, with sound direction by Junichi Masuda. It happily recycles moods from the series: the Red Field theme shares its melody with that of several Kanto towns, while the Blue Field theme foreshadows the Goldenrod City and Olivine City themes from Pokémon Gold and Silver, released in Japan seven months later. Our music and sounds page goes into more detail.
The detail that made the game’s reputation is its cartridge. It contains a rumble motor, powered by an AAA battery supplied with the game, which shakes the console on every notable impact: a simple way to make a pocket pinball game feel more physical. The story of this technical choice is told in our article on the rumble feature.
What holds it back
The game has flaws, which the press of the time already pointed out. GameSpot praised the presentation but found the ball physics questionable and the pinball-specific elements few in number, while calling the rumble feature a nice novelty but one that drains AAA batteries. This is a complaint that holds up in practice: the ball sometimes reacts abruptly, and having only two tables limits variety.
Progression is also heavily governed by chance. The starting location, the list of Pokémon offered, the Slot Machine reward and the evolution item hidden behind each target all depend on the draw, which makes some games more generous than others. Finally, Mew is a special case: the game’s routine requires 1,024 hits to catch it, which puts it practically out of reach, even though its Pokédex entry is registered as soon as it appears.
Lastly, note that scores quickly climb into the billions. An impressive score therefore only makes sense when compared with other games on the same table. For players chasing performance, the scoring strategies page details what really pays off.
Reception and sales
Critics of the day received the game rather well. The Japanese magazine Famitsu gave it 9, 8, 8 and 7 out of 10 in its cross-review, for 32 out of 40. GameSpot gave it 8.7 out of 10. On the sales side, Nintendo announced in July 1999 that Pokémon Pinball had become the fastest-selling Game Boy game, with 262,000 copies sold in twenty days. The 2021 CESA white paper, cited by Wikipedia, puts it at around 5.31 million copies worldwide. Our history and development page gathers these figures and the names of the team.
Playing it today
The original game has never been rereleased digitally. Contrary to a common belief, there is no 3DS Virtual Console version of Pokémon Pinball: only its Game Boy Advance sequel, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, went through the Virtual Console, on Wii U, in December 2014. To our knowledge, neither game is in the Nintendo Classics catalog either. You therefore have to track down the original cartridge and install it in a Game Boy Color, remembering the AAA battery for the rumble feature; our rumble and cartridge page details what to check.
Verdict
Pokémon Pinball pulls off a rare design feat: turning a genre with no apparent link to Pokémon into a collecting machine. Its limits, only two tables and imperfect physics, do not stop the catch, evolution and bonus stage loop from working, especially over the course of a Pokédex quest. It is a game to pick up in short sessions, which suits it well.
Our verdict
A likable pinball game, very well designed around collecting Pokémon. It lacks tables and precision, but its gameplay loop stays effective over the long run.
What we like
- Two distinct tables inspired by Red and Blue
- Capture and evolution built into the pinball gameplay
- Five bonus stages with different rules
- Pokédex and records saved
- Rumble feature built into the cartridge
What we like less
- Questionable ball physics
- Only two tables
- Mew practically impossible to catch
- No digital rerelease of the original game
