From Soho down to Brighton…
Retro game publisher Hamster continue to reach out for titles from the NES VS. range for its weekly Arcade Archive releases, as this week’s offering sees the return of NES launch titlePinball, now available to download on Nintendo Switch.
Pinballreleased for the NES and the arcade VS. system in 1983 and is one of the earliest and most rudimentary examples of digital pinball. The playfield is represented by two screens, and players must score points and rack up bonuses whilst keeping the ball in play. Occasionally, the action transitions to aBreakout-style bonus stage, which also features cameos from Nintendo stars Mario and Pauline.
While I’m obviously not going to rail onPinballfor its simplicity – it was ’83, after all – I’m not sure about including the Nintendo VS. library as filler for the Arcade Archive range, not to mention charging the same eight bucks as it does for Neo Geo releases such asSamurai Shodown IIorMetal Slug 3, or arcade titles such asDouble DragonandThe Ninja Warriors.
It’s been a bit of a lean month for Hamster fans, with onlyWater Ski,PinballandVS. Gradiushitting the store, though we did also get the pretty radXMULTIPLY. Hopefully September will bring with it some more exciting titles.
