When the good people at Zen Studios make their original pinball tables for Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC), they always pair realistic physics with unrealistic mechanics by, say, having the ball move like it would in real life, but on a table that has Mechagodzilla firing laser beam warning shots or K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider doing donuts.
But when it comes to their versions of classic pinball tables originally made by the iconic pinball company Williams, they have typically been faithful to the originals, both mechanically and aesthetically.
The operative word there being “typically.” That’s because for the three tables Zen have remade for Williams Pinball Volume 8— Banzai Run, Black Knight 2000, and Earthshaker! — they’ve added some unrealistic (but optional) mechanics to these classics…and not everyone will be happy with the results.
Banzai Run
Originally released in 1989, Banzai Run was the first pinball table made by the iconic pinball design duo of Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar, who went on to make 1992’s The Addams Family and, with Ted Estes, 1993’s Twilight Zone.
But instead of being inspired by a movie or TV show — like, say, 1984’s The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension — Banzai Run takes inspiration from motocross racing. Hence the handlebars that visually (and only visually) divide the bottom third of the table from the upper part.
As pinball tables go, Banzai Run is deceptively busy. While it has lots of flashing lights and a background that’s dense with images, the table itself is simple, largely empty in the middle, while the bottom is just the two usual flippers and some lanes. It’s only at the top where things get complicated by bumpers and a third flipper.
What it does have, though, is a way the ball can go up to the scoreboard part of the table, where there’s a second mini-pinball table, complete with two flippers.
Now,
the simplicity of Banzai Run can be fun, or it can feel rote; it really depends on how much pinball you play, and what tables. And, let’s be honest, the mood you’re in.
Though it also might depend on whether you played this table back in the day, and remember it fondly. Because, as I mentioned, the version of Banzai Run in Williams Pinball Volume 8 isn’t as faithful to the original as the ones in previous Williams Pinball collections for Pinball FX.
Unlike the real machine you might’ve played in the late ’80s, this version of Banzai Run has a guy on a dirt bike sitting along the right side, just above the plunger. And when you manage to shoot the ball from the regular table to the scoreboard, the biker drives along the outside of the table to accompany it.
Still, this is just an aesthetic addition, and has no impact on the fun if basic pinball gameplay.
Black Knight 2000
Also released in 1989, Black Knight 2000 was the sequel to 1980’s Black Knight, and was even featured in an episode of The X-Files.
It’s also very different from Banzai Run in that it’s rather complicated, and not just visually. The table has an upper deck with multiple bumpers and pathways, as does the area at the front of the upper deck. This structure is also rather large. While the area with the bumpers in Banzai Run took up maybe the top fifth of that table, this upper deck in Black Knight 2000 occupies a full third.
As a result, Black Knight 2000 is a frantic and unpredictable table in which the ball gains considerable speed, and you don’t always know from what direction the ball is going to come at you. And with just two flippers spaced far part…
Though, again,
while pinball lovers will have a lot of fun with this table, some fans of the original table will decry that the Williams Pinball Volume 8 version of Black Knight 2000 features a figure of said knight looking down from the left side, and occasionally throwing thunderbolts onto the table.
Which, sure, is more of a visual trick than one that impacts the game itself, but tell that to someone who bought Williams Pinball Volume 8 expecting to feel like they did when they played Black Knight 2000 at Fun N’ Games arcade at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, New Jersey.
Earthshaker!
Coming a year after Banzai Run and Black Knight 2000, the earthquake-themed Earthshaker! table has the distinction of being the first pinball table with a rumble feature.
Though don’t worry, this won’t make your controller vibrate all the time. Just at certain moments.
As for the table itself, it strikes a nice balance between the simplicity of Banzai Run and Black Knight 2000 by being complicated at the top — with tons of bumpers and pathways and a thing that grabs your ball momentarily — but by having it just be the top quarter of the table.
It also, like Banzai Run, has a third flipper just below this section, which means you can keep the ball bouncing around if your reflexes are sharp.
If not, no worries, the relatively clear lower area gives the player plenty of time to see the ball coming. Though it also gives it room to pick up speed.
All of which…
makes Earthshaker! less obvious than Banzai Run, but also less unpredictable than Black Knight 2000. Together, these make this table more engaging than the former, but also slightly more fun than the latter, since you’ll probably have longer runs with every ball.
Of course, as with the other tables in Williams Pinball Volume 8, Earthshaker! has some visual touches that make it less faithful to the original. More so than Banzai Run and Black Knight 2000, in fact.
Not only does it have a couple of teenagers sitting in a convertible right where you’d put your quarter if you wanted next game, but when the earthquake hits, and it will, one of the buildings on the table itself collapses.
Though again, these are merely cosmetic changes, not mechanical ones.
In the end,
the aesthetic additions to the three tables in Williams Pinball Volume 8 don’t make these tables less fun. And if you really don’t like them, you can switch back to the originals with a press of a button (and then back again) just like you could with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Diablo II Resurrected.
But if you’re not a purist, if you don’t have an emotional connection to these tables like some people might, and you’re just in it for the fun, Williams Pinball Volume 8 for Pinball FX more than abides.
SCORE: 8.0/10
