History: Released 2 years ago, Pinball Fantasies is arguably the best pinball game on the market. 21st Century has produced six games counting this one including Pinball World, Pinball Dreams, Pinball Illusions, Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Fantasies Deluxe.

Game play: The real issue is to recreate the feel and touch of a real pinball machine. The responsiveness is not on this game when played on less powerful machines. With the right machine, with more RAM or chip speed (MHz) and maybe that feel and responsiveness will be there. There are several modes of game play including multiball where you can play up to 10 balls at once. Adjustable ball speed and VCR-like instant replay which make it easier to remember where you made your mistakes or witness them at slower speeds.

Tables: There are four tables that were first seen in Pinball Mania, another game from 21st Century: Jackpot, Jailbreak, Kick-Off and Tarantula.

Graphics: The new interface is three-dimensional (3D) but also supports the two dimensional (2D) scrolling and non-scrolling versions of the tables in four resolutions including 640x480 pixel resolution. When compared with Sierra’s 3D Ultra Pinball, the 21st Century graphics are almost as good.

Statistics: Track your progress in weaknesses and strengths to help you improve your game.

Voice actors:

Music score: Redbook audio for CD-quality

Sound effects: CD-quality Redbook audio sound effects and music was recorded on multiple tracks to allow many simultaneous sounds.

Conclusion: Pinball Fantasies is better

References:
Shane Mooney, PC Games, volume 3, number 1, September, 1996, pg. 90, C+, (78%).
Frank Snyder, Computer Game Review, June 1996, 84%.
Anil Chhabra, Coming Soon Magazine, www.21stcent.com/review.htm#Total Pinball 3D