In this episode of Retro Flashback, I take a look at Pin*Bot for the NES. This is a really interesting combination, being a UK developed, Japanese published adaptation of an American designed pinball table. It actually does a reasonably decent job of recreating the best elements of the arcade original, while throwing in some neat mechanical differences of their own, even if it does come with a weird colour scheme and a kind of annoying sound scape. This isn't the best way to play Pin*Bot any more but shows what a company like Rare was able to make the NES do and it's a unique example of a licensed video pinball game, something very uncommon in its day.
The best way to play the original Pin*Bot is to get it as part of FarSight Studios' The Pinball Arcade collection which you can find for a wide variety of different platforms at http://pinballarcade.com. This is an incredibly detailed and accurate reproduction of the original table.
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