Metroid Prime Pinball is a pinball video game developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is a spin-off of the Metroid series, using the graphical style and various story elements from Metroid Prime. It was released in North America and Australia in 2005, in Japan in 2006, and in Europe in 2007. Metroid Prime Pinball uses the basic mechanics of pinball, along with typical pinball items. New mechanics are introduced, such as wall jumping and the ability to fire weapons. The Nintendo DS's touchscreen can be nudged with a finger to alter the pinball's trajectory while in motion.
The initial idea for a video game that presented the Metroid series in a pinball setting came to Kensuke Tanabe after he learned that Fuse Games had previously worked on Mario Pinball Land, another pinball video game. Recalling that the series' protagonist, Samus Aran, can morph into a ball, Tanabe was convinced that the Metroid universe could be adapted to a pinball setting. The game was sold with a Rumble Pak accessory for the Nintendo DS, marking the first time the accessory was available for the Nintendo DS.
Metroid Prime Pinball received generally positive reviews. Critics praised the game's transposition of the Metroid series into a pinball video game, but criticized its lack of variety. Metroid Prime Pinball sold 6,228 copies during its debut month of October 2005 in the United States, and over 15,000 units in Japan as of May 2008.
Gameplay
thumb|left|The Tallon Overworld table is one of the first two tables that the player can access. In the lower screen, the score is seen at the top while the flippers are seen at the bottom.|alt=Two screens, one above the other. A pinball machine is split between the two; a scoreboard is in the bottom screen.
Metroid Prime Pinball uses the basic mechanics of pinball, complete with an assortment of typical pinball items including flippers, spinners, bumpers, and ramps. In addition, new mechanics are introduced, such as enemies that wander around the table, wall jumping, and the ability to fire weapons. The Nintendo DS's touchscreen can be used to nudge the pinball table and alter the ball's trajectory. The game consists of six pinball tables, each inspired by a different area of Metroid Prime. Each table is shown across both screens of the Nintendo DS. Only two tables are initially available for play: Pirate Frigate and Tallon Overworld. After playing either of the first two tables, the player unlocks two more tables: Phendrana Drifts and Phazon Mines. In either table, the player must battle a boss to complete it.
During the course of the game, the player must acquire twelve Artifacts, which are prizes that are awarded after completing objectives such as winning minigames or beating bosses. Once having acquired twelve Artifacts, the player is granted access to a table called the Artifact Temple, which places six balls on the table at the same time. The Pirate Frigate and Tallon Overworld boards challenge players to earn a high point score, as in real pinball; on the other tables players are ranked by the time taken to complete a mission. In addition to the single-player mode, the game features a multiplayer mode, which requires only one copy of the game and allows up to eight players to compete in a race to reach a target score. The mode uses a seventh table, Magmoor Caverns, that does not appear in the single-player mode.
Development
thumb|right|160px|[[Kensuke Tanabe, seen here at E3 2013, was the producer for Metroid Prime Pinball. He also produced all three titles in the Metroid Prime series.|alt=A portrait of Kensuke Tanabe.]]
While making Metroid Prime Hunters, a Metroid first-person shooter video game for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe came up with the idea to make a pinball game based on the Metroid series as Fuse Games finished Mario Pinball Land, another pinball simulator based on a Nintendo property. Tanabe felt like the Metroid universe fit into such a setting due to series protagonist Samus Aran being able to morph into a ball, and Fuse agreed that the license was "a great fit for pinball", accepting to work on the game. Fuse Games then received some assets from Metroid Prime developers Retro Studios,
Named Project Code: Metroid Pinball while in development, the first gameplay footage from the game was released in May 2005, at the E3 convention. Nintendo of America revealed in August that the game, by then titled Metroid Prime Pinball, would be sold with the Rumble Pak accessory, which can be plugged into the Game Boy Advance slot of the Nintendo DS. When the Rumble Pak is installed, the Nintendo DS shakes whenever the pinball in the game hits an object. This was the first time that the Nintendo DS version of the Rumble Pak was introduced. It was first sold exclusively with Metroid Prime Pinball before becoming available as a standalone product from Nintendo.
Nintendo DS games that use the device's top and bottom screens as one continuous screen are harder to control because of a gap in the middle, The game offers players the ability to nudge the table, a technique used in pinball games to influence the ball's movement. This is achieved by touching the Nintendo DS's bottom touchscreen with a finger and pushing it in the direction that the player wants to nudge the tabletop. The game's soundtrack was composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Masaru Tajima, with audio effects from the Metroid Prime series are borrowed by the game to provide a "CD-like" music experience.
Reception
Metroid Prime Pinball was released by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in North America on October 24, 2005, in Australia on December 1, in Japan on January 19, 2006, and in Europe on June 22, 2007. 6,228 copies were sold during its debut month of October 2005 in the United States, and over 15,000 units were sold in Japan as of May 2008.
It was given "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.