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SUPER ROBOT PINBALL (GBC)
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Publisher: Media Factory.
Developer: Banpresto. Released: February 2001 (JP). Genre: Pinball. Posted 3rd March 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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Sometimes, inspiration springs from unexpected sources, and Super Robot Pinball is a prime example. Deriving from Super Robot Wars (alternatively Super Robot Taisen), a video gaming lineage that provided a crossover for numerous mecha anime and manga, the series has featured dozens of games across a raft of systems, since its Game Boy debut in 1991. However, the series wouldn’t see its first English-language localisation for fifteen years. The 2001 release of Super Robot Pinball represented a significant departure from its more familiar tactical role-playing fare and was among a slew of SRW titles never to see the light of day outside of Japan. This is a crying shame because it’s one of the Game Boy Color’s best games.
SRP features mechs from more than a dozen animes, of which Mobile Suit Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Mazinger will be the most recognisable to Western audiences. Scramble lanes allow players to deploy a mech from a range of choices, before taking on a foe in a one vs. one table where you must whittle down their health bar through hits with the pinball. There’s more than a hint of Crush swagger here, with perilous music, multi-tiered tables, high-score chases and boss battles aplenty.
Sometimes, inspiration springs from unexpected sources, and Super Robot Pinball is a prime example. Deriving from Super Robot Wars (alternatively Super Robot Taisen), a video gaming lineage that provided a crossover for numerous mecha anime and manga, the series has featured dozens of games across a raft of systems, since its Game Boy debut in 1991. However, the series wouldn’t see its first English-language localisation for fifteen years. The 2001 release of Super Robot Pinball represented a significant departure from its more familiar tactical role-playing fare and was among a slew of SRW titles never to see the light of day outside of Japan. This is a crying shame because it’s one of the Game Boy Color’s best games.
SRP features mechs from more than a dozen animes, of which Mobile Suit Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Mazinger will be the most recognisable to Western audiences. Scramble lanes allow players to deploy a mech from a range of choices, before taking on a foe in a one vs. one table where you must whittle down their health bar through hits with the pinball. There’s more than a hint of Crush swagger here, with perilous music, multi-tiered tables, high-score chases and boss battles aplenty.
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Colourful, clean table designs mean there's never any trouble tracking the pinball
At its heart is a wonderfully playable pinball game. Razor-sharp controls combine with reliable physics to generate an immensely satisfying experience, as the pinball rockets around loops, pings off slingshots and delivers screen-shaking attacks when it connects with enemies. For a Game Boy Color title, changes to the pace and spin of the pinball feel surprisingly authentic. Make no mistake, the game isn’t aiming for realism. Nevertheless, it’s impressive there are so few erroneous bounces, or occasions when you feel cheated by suspect physics. SRP exhibits a relatively gentle difficulty level, with forgiving outlanes and no tilt function, meaning wilier gamers can nudge to their heart’s content, preventing the pinball from draining between the flippers. However, the bosses still offer a stern test.
SRP’s table design is really groovy, and it helps that the game carves out such a distinctive style. Its visuals have been likened to Neo Geo Pocket Color games and there’s no denying, Banpresto’s effort could easily pass for one. Sharp primary colours give clarity to table features against an incredibly pretty and effective whitewash backdrop. As well as looking the business, the game benefits from always providing a clear distinction between the pinball and the scenery, even at speed. The developers went the extra mile in giving all the mechs attack animations, and even special moves. These show impressive sprites delivering powerful attacks in suitably grand, cinematic cutaways.
SRP’s table design is really groovy, and it helps that the game carves out such a distinctive style. Its visuals have been likened to Neo Geo Pocket Color games and there’s no denying, Banpresto’s effort could easily pass for one. Sharp primary colours give clarity to table features against an incredibly pretty and effective whitewash backdrop. As well as looking the business, the game benefits from always providing a clear distinction between the pinball and the scenery, even at speed. The developers went the extra mile in giving all the mechs attack animations, and even special moves. These show impressive sprites delivering powerful attacks in suitably grand, cinematic cutaways.
PATCH WORK: TRANSLATION INFORMATION
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A tenuous grasp of the Japanese language will not significantly impact your enjoyment of Super Robot Pinball. Whilst modes and menu options display in Japanese, the scoreboards and nearly all the in-game prompts are written in English. A couple of areas that may cause a struggle include robot attribute bars, as well as the excellent and extensive mech Gallery, which presents a Japanese-language description of each robot’s abilities and weaponry.
marc_max’s patch, released in December 2021, helps lower some of these barriers. Here, menus read in English, whilst translated mech names and their statistics will help players make sense of their battle strengths. However, the patch isn’t comprehensive. Mech moves remain in Japanese, and rather than translating each Gallery write-up, it opts instead to display simpler information, such as a mech’s first anime outing. The biggest benefit of the patch is identifying the robots, but if you’re not too fussed by the specifics, you’ll likely get by fine with the original. [Patch available at ROMhacking.net]
marc_max’s patch, released in December 2021, helps lower some of these barriers. Here, menus read in English, whilst translated mech names and their statistics will help players make sense of their battle strengths. However, the patch isn’t comprehensive. Mech moves remain in Japanese, and rather than translating each Gallery write-up, it opts instead to display simpler information, such as a mech’s first anime outing. The biggest benefit of the patch is identifying the robots, but if you’re not too fussed by the specifics, you’ll likely get by fine with the original. [Patch available at ROMhacking.net]
Replay value is elevated enormously by the 60+ robots you can deploy to fight a further 60+ opponents. Each has different parameters, whilst deploying (or battling against) them adds an entry to the awesome Gallery. The aim is to beat a sequence of enemies before battling an area boss. These prove a tricky but enjoyable proposition, able as they are to freeze one of the table’s flippers at a time. Beating the boss unlocks a tougher, second table, as well as Endless mode, which allows gamers the choice of playing solely on one layout.
The mix of fun, immediate gameplay and a raft of unlockable extras form a potent combination: a game that’s majorly addictive, both in the short-term and over longer periods. You’ll grasp Super Robot Pinball in next to no time at all, but many will be pleasantly surprised at the frequency the game lures you back for more runs. The battles are moreish fun, whilst the various table features will please fans of the pursuit, with more than a dozen missions to try and clever aspects such as levelling up mechs and using loops to replenish health or charge special moves.
The mix of fun, immediate gameplay and a raft of unlockable extras form a potent combination: a game that’s majorly addictive, both in the short-term and over longer periods. You’ll grasp Super Robot Pinball in next to no time at all, but many will be pleasantly surprised at the frequency the game lures you back for more runs. The battles are moreish fun, whilst the various table features will please fans of the pursuit, with more than a dozen missions to try and clever aspects such as levelling up mechs and using loops to replenish health or charge special moves.
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Every aspect of Super Robot Pinball's presentation is strong and it's loads of fun to play too
There have been a great many pinball crossovers down the years that have either failed to take advantage of their source material, or flat out failed to gel. Super Robot Pinball is a reminder that quality programming, well-conceived ideas and a focus on enjoyment can make even the most disparate of ideas work well together. It’s a class apart on the Game Boy Color, outpacing its competitors in the major metrics of presentation, gameplay and longevity. Pinball fans will be in heaven, and even those unfamiliar with Super Robot Wars should investigate this excellent game.
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VERDICT"...a reminder that quality programming, well-conceived ideas and a focus on enjoyment can make even the most disparate of ideas work well together. A class apart on the Game Boy Color... pinball fans will be in heaven." OVERALL: 9/10 |
OTHER PINBALL GAMES WITH MULTI-TIER TABLES REVIEWED
Alien Crush (1989, PC Engine)
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Demon's Tilt (2019, PlayStation 4)
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