Marvel Pinball 3D Review

The Final Grade

B+
Excellent
grade/score info

1-Up Mushroom for...
High production values; fantastic visuals and 3D depth; good ball physics and movement; inclusion of Marvel superheroes and unique tables; and online leaderboards

Poison Mushroom for...
Visually crowded tables on small screen; Iron Man table pales in comparison to others; and Tony Stark voice acting irritates

I don’t play pinball games that often– rarely, in fact. Metroid Prime Pinball was my last pinball fix, and before that, I dabbled as a kid in Revenge of the Gator. That’s why I know Marvel Pinball 3D delivers something special, because it completely enraptured me.

Developer Zen Studios captures your attention from the start with high production values and attractive menus and layouts, especially for an eShop title. The 3D implementation showcases fantastic detail, providing helpful depth to the pinball tables. However, the pinball visuals may actually be a bit too dense: the tables display so many different moving parts, it’s difficult at first to follow on the handheld’s small screen. Aside from that knock though, the package sparkles, especially with the Marvel superheroes– Blade, Captain America, Iron Man and Fantastic Four– serving as the stars.

Under the artful wrapping sits an addictive and entertaining pinball experience with four different tables. Each one offers a unique layout, as well as variety of missions. While the physics and ball movement play well throughout, one level fails to meet the high standards of its peers– the Iron Man table. Tony Stark’s realm contains less creativity and annoying voice acting, which makes it the black sheep of Marvel Pinball 3D. Thankfully, the other three tables provide grin-inducing experiences, particularly the day-night duality of Blade’s table. The bad VO from Iron Man’s table isn’t contagious, as the game in general contains an entertaining cast.

Online leaderboards rope you in even further. Friends’ scores pop up on the bottom screen as you rack up points, tempting you to play just one more game. There’s also local lists and pass-it-around multiplayer, turning the title into a social experience and rounding out the package.

Marvel Pinball 3D contains a couple bumps, but other than that it acts as a fantastic pinball fix for on-the-go gaming. A few minutes of play quickly becomes an hour with this eShop title, fully highlighting the “I can beat that score if I play one more game” hook.

Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard criteria.