Anyone remember Pinball Quest on the NES? Yeah, probably not. Well I do, because I’m weird. Anyway, it combined elements of RPG staples with pinball gameplay. Now Zen Studios is set to revisit that clever concept with Epic Quest, a new downloadable pinball table for Pinball FX2 on Xbox 360, and Zen Pinball for PS3 (360 version reviewed here).

Downloading Pinball FX 2 is free, but then you can pay for individual tables that you want. Epic Quest is the latest, which combines pinball play while using and spoofing RPG stereotypes and staples. Play as Max, an enthusiastic adventurer looking for rare treasures. Venture into monster infested dungeons and forests by going up certain ramps and hitting bumpers. Once you arrive, choose a monster to defeat on the dot matrix screen with the flippers. To battle a monster, just shoot the ball up the sword and shield ramps to attack and parry.

Defeated monsters will earn you gold, experience points, and even better armor to equip your hero with. You can always see what your hero is wearing on the left side of the screen. Other parts of the table let you buy items, get magic healing potions, save a spinning princess at the bottoms of the screen (she also locks your pinballs and gives bonuses depending on where it lands on her dress), and much more. The vibrant and colorful table makes it easy to see where you need to go, and best of all, the game saves your treasures, armor, and experience points even if you lose all your lives!

Epic Quest is one of the better additions to Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball. It’s one step closer to being like the games in my favorite pinball series: Pro Pinball (Big Race USA, Fantastic Journey, etc.). If you love pinball and RPGs, you’ll definitely want to try out Epic Quest.

Kid Factor:

All Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball tables are rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Comic Mischief. But hey, it’s pinball: non-violent, easy to figure out, and very family friendly. Reading skill is required a little more in Epic Quest, however, because you need to be able to know what items, armor, and monsters to select on the dot matrix screen.

Tags: Game Reviews