Nintendo
Register
Advertisement

Mario Pinball Land is a game for the Game Boy Advance. In the game, Mario gets transformed into Pinball Mario, in this shape, he can go into worlds, and act as if he was a pinball to ram into enemies and bosses such as Bowser and Petey Piranha. The game is made by Fuse Games, who also made Metroid Prime Pinball for the Nintendo DS one year later.

Plot[]

The plot takes place at a new amusement park ride opening up. When Peach decides to give it a try, she gets transformed into a Pinball so she can try out the ride, when suddenly a couple of Goomba's from Bowser's Castle come around and shoot Peach out of the cannon and into Bowser's Castle. Once this happens, Mario gets ready to save her again and transformes into a pinball.

Gameplay[]

The game features five different Mushroom Kingdom themed areas that Mario, in pinball form, must explore. The areas, as one could guess, consist of a grassy world, an ice world, a desert area, Bowser's castle, and, a non-expecting fun fair or amusement park. As in Super Mario 64, Mario must collect a certain amount of stars to progress through the game. Some doors or areas require a certain amount of stars to get past it. Each world also has a boss and plenty of enemies to defeat. Some enemies will take skill to beat, such as the vultures that glide in the air, making you jump off the pyramid and then hit it it to kill the enemy.

Items[]

The game also includes special items, ranging from power-ups to coins to extra balls. Most pinball games just include the latter, though this time around there are a total of eight different items that you're able to use, and they include (and are limited to) Coins, Stars, Mini Mushrooms, Mega Mushrooms, Invincibility Star, Pipe, Lightning, and a Yoshi Egg. The following will explain what each of these items do.

Coins will appear frequently during the game, and you'll be able to use them to buy some of the items that are mentioned above, excluding stars. Coins are collected by defeating enemies, and can only be used at Toad's shop.

Stars are what you must collect in order to progress through the game and ultimately beat it. In order to get to Bowser, you must collect 15 of them, though if you wish to complete all of the other stages, you'll need to find many more.

Two types of mushrooms appear in the game including Mini Mushrooms and Mega Mushrooms, each one contradicting the other. Mini Mushrooms will, as its name implies, shrink you down, which in turn will allow you to access small holes. The Mega Mushroom will enlarge Mario, and will help him take out enemies, and will also make it easier to stay on the board.

The Invincibility Star is a common item in Mario video games. In Mario Pinball Land, it'll do the same thing that it's always done - which is turn Mario invincible, allowing him to defeat enemies quickly by touching them. Note, however, that'll only last for a few moments.

A Pipe is a helpful item that will block the gap between the two flippers. Lightning will shoot blasts of electricity towards all of your enemies, and finally the Yoshi Egg will act as a second ball, though once it goes down the hole it's gone forever (that is, until you come in possession of another).

Bosses[]

Character Information
Petey Piranha Boss of the grassy stage. He will appear in a windmill, similar to his first boss fight in Super Mario Sunshine.
Big Boo Boss of the amusement park. You'll find this enemy in the haunted mansion.
Tutankoopa Boss of the desert stage. This boss first appeared in Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64.
Cheep-Cheep Pufferfish The boss of the ice stage. You'll find him under water.
Bowser The king of the Koopas, and the final boss of the game.

Trivia[]

  • The song in the first levels were also used in a stage in Mario Kart 64.

External links[]

Advertisement