One of my favorite traditions as winter begins to fade away is to check out the latest Zen Studios virtual pinball machines for a little Spring renewal of hostilities between friends. Pinball FX is the pinnacle of the virtual pinball experience and nothing feels as good as playing in Tate Mode on a Nintendo Switch. Let me rephrase that, nothing feels as good as breaking a friend’s score in Tate Mode on the Nintendo Switch. As the snow melts, the competitive juices start flowing and the Indiana Jones themed pinball table provides the perfect amount of nostalgia and score breaking opportunities to challenge your closest friends and bitterest rivals.
Pinball FX is a free pinball experience from Zen Studios that anyone can download to their Nintendo Switch. The application comes with a handful of free tables available to use right away, but for anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s, a number of tables that you may have played in an arcade or at your local restaurant as a kid are available for purchase. One of the latest options is Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure, a Williams designed table from 1993.
The table has a number of fun targets to keep your interest piqued, including two ramps and a rope bridge where you’ll attempt to cross the ball by balancing the bridge with the bumpers. The table looks exactly how I remember it, right down to the same original music, sounds and rules. The table includes two modes, an arcade mode that includes some fun 3D animations with Indiana Jones using his rope to cross to different areas on the table, and an original mode that provides a realistic pinball experience.
The table ranks high on my list of favorite pinball tables, right there with the Terminator 2 machine from around the same time period. The multiball mode kicks in with Indiana turning the idol from the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and things just turn into chaos from there. As fun as the pinball experience is, the inclusion of a leaderboard with your friends list adds a layer of intrigue that on multiple occasions has caused me to lose hours of time in a heartbeat. The anxiety of getting close to the highest score, and the jubilation of finally achieving victory is just one of the many joys of Pinball FX.
Whether a pinball veteran or someone who has never played the game before, you can’t go wrong with the Indiana Jones table. Playing in Tate mode with a full table in view is a ton of fun, and even more so if you happen to own a Flip Grip. If you haven’t tried to play Pinball on Switch before, the free tables are certainly worth, and once you get hooked, Indy will be waiting with whip in hand.
Score: 8
Pros
- Lots of ramps and targets to hit
- Fun 3D animations
- Looks just like the original table
Cons
- It’s pinball on Switch, what’s not to love?
