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Power Rangers Zeo: Full Tilt Battle Pinball
  PS1PinballUC  
  opened by paleface at 20:23:01 08/31/03  
  last modified by paleface at 12:27:18 03/05/24  
  paleface [sys=PS1; cat=Pinball; reg=NA]
           
Given my unusual enthusiasm for both Power Rangers and video pinball games, I have no choice but to consider this one of the best games of all time. Even those of you who aren't freaks like me will probably get good fun out of it. While the physics can feel a little "funny" every once in a while, and the low resolution graphics aren't nearly as sharp as the Pro Pinball series, oh and you can't configure the tables at all, the sheer quantity of tables (over ten, I think), their smooth design and of course the intermittent FMVs of the Power Rangers make this one hot pinball title.
 
In the normal course of events (as opposed to the "Stage Attack" or whatever where you just pick one stage) you play through the tables in each of the five areas, having to activate the exit in each stage by a certain combination of points or ramps or something, then you shoot the ball into the exit and zoom on to the next stage. Each area ends with a boss fight table where you batter a 3D boss character with the ball until he explodes. Woo! In some stages you can get a combination of certain powerups that activates one of your "Zord" robot things who comes along and blows away part of the stage, revealing an exit or something else useful.
 
The stages just take up a single screen, and some don't have much going on, but many of them pack in a surprising number of ramps. None of them have a huge variety of modes or anything but the multiball is fun, and the flippers have a pretty nice feel to them. And just so you won't forget this is a weird pinball game, each one (except the boss stages) has three or four little alien goons hopping around in the middle of the table. These guys can block access to the ramps so it's fortunate that one ball hit will take them out, but they also respawn pretty quickly.
 
In-between areas the short FMVs show the rangers and that annoying robot with the pie-tin head freaking out and telling them they have to go somewhere. The rangers in these scenes are the later "Zeo" crew, unfortunately--Amy Jo Johnson would have put this game over the freakin' TOP. Maybe I should've got the Japanese version so I wouldn't have to look at Rocky and Tommy (ie Mr. Sucky). But thankfully that crazy sentai ass-rock plays throughout and doesn't let a few stupid American actors' mugs spoil a darn fun game.
 
Note: I've since learned that this game is from KAZe, the same developer as the godly Saturn pinball games "Last Gladiators" and "Necronomicon" (haven't played that one). It's certainly got the strong ball physics and brilliantly clear, non-scrolling view of the tables that I saw in Last Gladiator, but it doesn't quite have the same intense feel--like they kind toned it down a bit for a kiddy release. For instance the music, though still largely metal guitar, isn't as hard-hitting as Last Gladiators, and multiball is just three balls simultaneously rather than six or seven. Oh and the game is low resolution, whereas the those Saturn titles were high res.
    
references:
· Mario Pinball Land (GBA)
· Punch the Monkey! Game Edition (PS1)

 
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