There are a lot of things that don’t seem like they would work well, but end up defying expectations. Like Cate Blanchette playing a comic book villain in Thor Ragnarok. Or the rock band Phish getting their own ice cream flavor. Or a video game in which you’re a complete jerk…and a goat.
And now you can add to that inexplicable list The Princess Bride Pinball, the latest movie-inspired virtual pinball table for the video game Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).
By paying homage to that classic fantasy comedy in a way that makes it feel like it’s as old as the movie itself, this video game pinball machine works so well that it ranks as one of the best movie-inspired tables for Zen Studio’s pinball system.
For those who’ve never seen The Princess Bride…
seriously? It’s a classic. Go watch it and come back; I’ll wait.
Pretty cool, right. But now you’re probably wondering how a cozy, comedic fairy tale movie could work as a pinball table.
Heck, even Once Upon A Deadpool — the alternate version of Deadpool 2 that co-opts The Princess Bride‘s storytelling conceit, complete with Fred Savage — would make more sense.
Well, we’ll get to that in a moment. But first, it helps to also understand Pinball FX.
Made by the good people of Zen Studios, Pinball FX is a virtual arcade in which you can buy and play different virtual pinball tables, some of which are wholly original, some are recreations of real pinball machines, and some are original but inspired by different movies, TV shows, and other video games.
At their core,
most Pinball FX tables share some common tenets. First, they include numerous options when it comes to playing the game. Most notably, you have a variety of camera viewpoints, including ones that follow the ball around, and others that show you what the table would look like if you were playing it for real and were really short. Or really tall. Or numerous heights in between.
More importantly, the Pinball FX tables always have realistic physics and sound effects. The ball not only moves like a real pinball would, but it sounds like a real pinball as well.
That said, what the ball rolls over and into isn’t always realistic. Most of Zen Studio’s original Pinball FX tables have mechanics that you’d never find in a real pinball machine, because they’re physically or fiscally impossible. Or both. Their Star Wars tables have featured TIE Fighters flying overhead, while their Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pinball table has a working chainsaw spilling tons of blood, much to the delight of Leatherface.
But what makes Princess Bride Pinball different is that it plays more like what a real Princess Bride pinball machine would’ve been like had it come out in 1987.
How?
Largely because, like the movie, The Princess Bride Pinball table is rather simple.
Unlike some of Zen’s recent tables — such as the just-released Goat Simulator Pinball — the top half of The Princess Bride Pinball table is relatively uncluttered. Sure, it has ramps and pathways, but only a handful, and nothing you couldn’t build in a real pinball machine.
It also differentiates itself from some of Zen’s movie-inspired pinball tables by having the real dialog from the film, while boasting actually footage from it as well, something you’d see in a real Princess Bride pinball machine.
Though my favorite part…
is how the plunger — i.e., the thing used to shoot the ball onto the table — looks like Fezzik’s fist. Sure, because of the position, it looks more like Fezzik is fist bumping the ball than, say, bopping it on the head like he does to someone in the film, but it still made me happy. Especially after playing the Goat Simulator Pinball table, and being disappointed that its plunger wasn’t a goat headbutting the ball.
Plus — and say it with me — Fezzik’s fist being the plunger is something you could do in a real pinball table.
But the best thing about The Princess Bride Pinball is not how it honors the film by being an effortless fun pinball machine. One of the better movie-based ones Zen Studios have made, and they’ve made a lot of them. The ball gets some good speed, while the lack of complexity doesn’t stop it from being unpredictable as it escapes the castle and heads for the flippers.
So yeah,
while the idea of making a pinball table based on a classic, cozy, and comedic fairy tale movie may be “inconceivable!” (sorry), that’s exactly what you get from The Princess Bride Pinball.
SCORE: 8.5/10
