One of the Most Iconic Pokémon Spin-Offs Was Nearly a Metroid Game

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The Pokémon franchise is thriving, particularly with its spin-off games. Titles like Pokémon Pokopia have been incredibly popular, Pokémon Champions is changing how people compete, and many other games are available on phones and Switch. This focus on side games isn’t new—the original Pokémon games also featured a lot of these kinds of adventures.

Pinpointing the very first Pokémon spin-off is tricky, depending on how you define one. While Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64 isn’t a Pokémon game itself, it includes Pokémon characters. Similarly, Game Boy Camera featured Pokémon images and was even released in the US before the original Pokémon Red and Blue. However, the title of the first true Pokémon spin-off game most likely belongs to Pokémon Pinball.

Pokémon Pinball Almost Starred Samus Instead

The game was created jointly by HAL Laboratory, famous for the Kirby and Mother series, and Jupiter, a company closely linked with Nintendo and known for its Picross puzzles. Makoto Nakayama, who founded Jupiter, often spoke about his positive relationship with Nintendo, particularly their willingness to let his team try new things. In a 2025 interview, he explained that seeing the vibration feature of the Nintendo 64’s Rumble Pak sparked the idea of bringing similar technology to a Game Boy game.

After creating a working test cartridge, Nakayama wanted to make a pinball game using the new technology. Jupiter considered using either Metroid or Pokémon as the game’s theme. They thought the pinball could be modeled after a Morph Ball or a Poké Ball, both of which seemed like good options. While Metroid had already found some success in the US on Nintendo’s consoles, they ultimately chose Pokémon because it was already incredibly popular in Japan.

While the initial pinball project moved away from the core Metroid formula, the idea of combining Samus with pinball wasn’t abandoned. Kensuke Tanabe, the producer of Metroid Prime (2002), became interested in a Metroid pinball game after seeing Mario Pinball Land on the Game Boy Advance. This led to the release of Metroid Prime Pinball for the Nintendo DS in 2005. The game strongly reflected the atmosphere of Metroid Prime, and it even used the Rumble Pak accessory to provide vibrations, enhancing the gameplay experience.

The Final Game Is an Awesome Blend of Pokémon Adventuring and Pinball Gameplay

At first glance, Pokémon Pinball seems like a standard pinball game with a Pokémon theme – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are two tables to choose from, one red and one blue. The game feels good to play, with satisfying ball physics, and the way the screen shifts to show the full table isn’t disruptive, considering the limitations of the Game Boy Color’s screen.

But the game offers much more than just traditional pinball. It also lets you catch Pokémon, and this feature is well-designed and fun. Certain actions on the pinball table activate a catching mode. Players then collect items that appear on the table, and these items will summon the Pokémon.

Once you encounter a Pokémon, you can try to catch it by hitting it with a ball repeatedly. This mode is made challenging by a time limit, which creates a lot of excitement. A major part of the game involves evolving the Pokémon you catch, and completing the entire Pokédex is a significant undertaking – it takes more than 32 hours to finish Pokémon Pinball.

As you play, you’ll unlock bonus stages that use completely different game boards. For example, the Diglett stage challenges you to hit all the Diglett and Dugtrio within a time limit, while the Meowth stage is similar, but features a single Meowth moving around the board. These stages offer a break from the main game, preventing things from becoming repetitive.

As the game goes on, the main game board changes in subtle ways. Players unlock different Pokémon as they progress. Similar to the original Pokémon games, certain Pokémon only appear on either the red or blue board, encouraging players to try both and fully experience the game.

The Poké Ball mechanic is well-designed. Players start with a regular Poké Ball, but can earn temporary upgrades – like Great Balls, Ultra Balls, and Master Balls – by lighting up three lights at the same time. These aren’t just visual changes; upgraded balls also increase the player’s score multiplier.

Pokémon Pinball Was a Hit, but Sadly Doesn’t Have Much of a Legacy

Pokémon Pinball launched in Japan on April 14, 1999, and quickly came to the US on June 28th. It was incredibly popular, almost becoming the best-selling Pokémon spin-off game ever. While it sold an impressive 5.46 million copies, it narrowly trails another title with 5.31 million. When it first came out, it broke sales records, becoming the fastest-selling Game Boy game at the time with 262,000 copies sold in its first 20 days – beating the previous record held by Pokémon Red and Blue. By the end of 1999, Pokémon Pinball ranked as the fifth best-selling game of the year, following Red, Blue, Yellow, and Donkey Kong 64.

In 2003, Nintendo continued the Pokémon pinball series on the Game Boy Advance with Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire. While it built upon the original game, this version featured improved graphics, sound, and gameplay, and included Pokémon from the first three generations. Although it wasn’t as wildly popular as the first game, it still sold around 1.3 million copies – the same number as the original Japanese release of Pokémon Stadium.

As of 2026, the Pokémon Pinball series hasn’t had any new video game releases. However, Stern Pinball recently created a real-life *Pokémonthemed pinball machine, which could be considered a very loose sequel. The machine is officially licensed and features bright, thematic designs and obstacles. Players can even “catch” Pokémon while playing, and a video screen adds to the experience. The Stern Pinball app allows players to track their Pokémon collection, too. It’s a well-made and enjoyable product.

Old-fashioned video games can be hard to find and costly, but Stern’s Pokémon pinball machines are in a class of their own when it comes to price. These aren’t meant for typical home buyers – the Pro version costs $6,999, the Premium is $9,699, and the Limited Edition model reaches $12,999. Stern is hoping fans will get to experience these machines at arcades or other public gaming locations instead of purchasing them for home use.

Though Pokémon Pinball was very popular when it first came out, it quickly faded and is now largely forgotten as part of early Pokémon history. You can’t find the original game or its sequel on modern platforms like the Nintendo Switch’s classic games library. Unless you still have the original game cartridge and a way to play it, or are willing to use emulation software, Pokémon Pinball, despite being a fun and different Pokémon experience, is difficult to play today.

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2026-05-10 01:48