Pokémon Pinball received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 32 out of 40. GamesRadar listed Pokémon Pinball as one of the titles they want in the 3DS Virtual Console. The New York Times editor Joe Hutsko called the rumble mechanic as innovative, stating that it will likely lead to more games that use rumble from other developers. However, they criticized the "gratuitous Pikachu appearances" and the "incorrect physics" as detracting somewhat from the pinball experience. CNET called it "more than a shameless cash-in on the Pokémon phenomenon", calling it one of the best pinball games for the Game Boy Color. Los Angeles Times editor Aaron Curtiss called it a "great game". San Jose Mercury News praised its rumble, however, noting that it "won them over". They additionally criticized the built-in rumble feature, calling it "a waste of an AAA battery" and a "nice novelty". However, they also criticized the game, lamenting the lack of other pinball-related elements and the game's poor physics. GameSpot gave it a score of 8.7, citing its use of the Game Boy Color's display and presentation. Pokémon Pinball received generally positive reviews, holding an aggregate score of 81.73% at GameRankings. Sinking the ball in the hole successfully evolves the Pokémon. Once the player has collected 3 items, the hole in the center of the board opens up. If the player hits a target with an item, the item appears on the playfield and must be collected with the ball. There are up to 7 targets on the red board, 6 on the blue board, but only 3 of them have items in them needed to evolve a Pokémon, with the others creating a time-wasting sequence before the player can hit targets again. Once you select a Pokémon, the player must hit targets on the playfield. This is the only way to add the evolved form to the player's Pokédex. "Evolution Mode," when activated, starts a 2-minute window of opportunity in which the player selects a captured Pokémon (from the current game in progress only) and attempts to evolve it into another form. Once the image is complete, the Pokémon appears on the table, where it must be hit 4 times with the ball to be captured. Each hit unlocks 1/6 of an image of the Pokémon currently available for capture. Once you activate "catch mode," the player must hit the pop bumpers 6 times. "Catch Mode," when activated, starts a 2-minute window of opportunity where the player can attempt to capture a Pokémon. After that, each table has its own mechanism for advancing to the next location, including the locations not available at the start of the game.
A subset of available locations are displayed slot-machine style in the beginning of a game, and pressing A will select a starting location and launch the first ball into play. Each table has its own details and gameplay elements.Įach table has different playable "locations", which determine which Pokémon are available for capture. There are two tables in the game: Red and Blue.