Compare and Review - Pinball Games for PC 2023

[@pinballwiz45b]

Pro for Pinball FX: Each week, you have a set of Events players can choose from. 2-3 of those options will be FREE with a 1 token marker. Most Events will have a limited number of plays attached. Con with the Visual Extras is easily rectified with a press of a button. Pop-up scores can also be disabled in the Gameplay settings. Con with the lack of WMS tables: We're getting 6 WMS tables in 2024, and as a TPA user...we still have all our tables. As far as Zaccaria's font sizes are concerned, I kind of disagree. You want to have text and icons readable by users; making the text smaller is a big no-no, especially concerning handheld users like Steam Deck and Switch. (Slight disclaimer, I have no VPX recreations on my channel.)

[@araglogameplay]

Hi @Pinballwiz45b so glad to have you comments on my video, love to watch your videos man! im kinda not really into the online features of the pinball FX, oh yeah thats a nice pros! add much more playability into the game, actually still learning how the online and tokens features works though till today haha Yeah, more WMS tables would be nice, like i said in the video, the original creations are nice, but the ones that based on the real thing is what im after Zaccaria should made couple of versions i think, for dekstop users, it should have nicer UI menu, sometimes all the menu and infos written in capslock and big fonts, i mean for touchscreen it makes a lot of sense, but for dekstop its a bit overkill in my opinion Would love to see your take on the VPX though!

[@pinballwiz45b]

@@araglogameplay While I do enjoy a bit of VPX, the physics and mechanics are flawed. Some tables cheat with how the scoops/saucers are treated; it's like there's no variation in how the ball is ejected back into play. Pinball FX treats scoops, troughs, and ejects as if you're playing a real machine. Pinball FX > VPX, any day of the week.

[@GisherJohn24]

@@araglogameplay the problem I have with the new FX is that the games do seem to cheat and they don’t seem to play like the old games I played on Pinball Arcade arc. When I played Arabian nights on Pinball Arcade I could get up to 30,000,000 to 40,000,000 on average every time I play when I play it on FX on the new one if I get 5 million.. I noticed the spinner and I can’t get the amount of bonuses for the genie when I get rolling on the old Pinball Arcade it seem like I could get them bonus for the genie to go over 1 million. Arcade version it seems like I can get it up to 2 million and I I just seem like I can just simply play better on Pinball Arcade. It seems like the ball is magnetized to the gutters.. yes it’s a lot prettier. Yes the graphics are better but man I really have a problem with the new FX and I could not believe we could not upgrade our tables to the new FX from FX3. So in order to get all the new tables on FX including games that you did have you have to spend $300.00. With the exception of the new tables on FX I don’t see an advantage of upgrading to FX three. And while I’m probably not the best reviewer, I’m here because I’m actually playing the PS five version I will say my fx app crashes constantly. it will crash usually after I complete a game and I just see the loading screen back to all the tables. I just wait and I wait and eventually I have to restart the FX app start the game over again.. It doesn’t happen all the time it seems to happen on specific tables. I’m very partial to Pinball Arcade. I love the old Williams and Bally tables and almost all of them are no longer available even after FX bought them. I want to see my beloved Terminator come back.

[@jdrukman]

If you bought the Bally/williams tables in Pinball Arcade back when it had the license, you can still play most of them. I just installed it on my ipad for the first time in years yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to see my collection largely intact.

[@araglogameplay]

Oh Thank God, so they just hide it from the game i presume, but the data is actually still in there for people who already paid for it

[@simonbellmont]

How?

[@ChristopherAndersonPirate]

@@araglogameplayI hate to say this for someone who paid money for those old tables, but if you download a “free” version of the game off the internet that “includes” those removed licensed tables, for Pinball Arcade on Steam/Pc, and you play them.. once you close the game and load the official game on Steam, you get credit for achievements and scores for those tables you can no longer buy. I only suggest this as an alternative if you want to play those removed tables since you can’t buy them anymore. So buy all the tables still in the game, then get the others unofficially, have the entire collection legit. I don’t think they’re ever bringing back those old tables since it has been many years, but at least there is still a way.

[@xpump876]

I still have all the tables in Pinball Arcade( i bought all) even though after the suite they no longer offer some

[@parker73724]

I'm not even a huge pinball fan but I wanted to have some fun with these games. This video really helped me find where to start. Thank you so much.

[@AngelDani7697]

Thanks for this video! I recently made the jump from FX3 to FX and I'm really enjoying it.

[@presidentsnow7315]

They are all fantastic! If I had to pick a personal favorite, I'd probably pick Zaccaria.

[@raydilly3142]

The way the TPA license works for the delisted Bally/Williams tables is only that they aren't allowed to sell them anymore, but anyone who bought them before the delist will still be able to download and play them. I bought all of everything for TPA long before the delist, I still have access to ALL the TPA tables on both my PS4/5 and PC. Still, the fact that they lost over half their library from the delist makes it a lot less valuable to new buyers.

[@araglogameplay]

That's very relieving to hear tho, unfortunately new players wont be able to get a taste of those sweet tables in pinball arcade

[@nagredmoonstriker252]

@@araglogameplay ... and if anything goes wrong with the machine, it'll never get fixed. I'm a longtime PArcade user, and my ST:TNG's side kickers don't work correctly anymore... and never will.

[@Mysda_]

The funniest thing is that VPX is maybe the least advanced rendering engine of the bunch. Fake it till you make it all the way. The guys at VPW do all the magic, because trust me, by default there is nothing to make VPX better than the other, just pure madness and years of work.

[@AndyWegner-n5q]

I have all the Williams and Bally tables on The Pinball Arcade. I purchased them before the licensing was lost. If you already owned them before they went to Pinball FX you keep them.

[@suulix4065]

Thanks for breaking down the differences!

[@ACALLFORREVENGE]

The discontinuation of Williams tables in Arcade Pinball due to Licensing was the reason I moved to VPX. I will always regret not buying all of them. The game let me keep the ones I bought before though. I became obsessed with the different versions on VPX for those tables and even bought/built my own virtual cab

[@hyperboreen4854]

The many VPX versions are vastly superior, so it's not a big loss.

[@janickpauwels3792]

EM stands for “ElectroMechanical”.

[@araglogameplay]

ah yes, my mistake, must have put electromagnetic instead.. smh

[@Color-Theory]

no worries, great vid anyways!

[@ClyptonimusPrime_n64]

great video man. Subbed! Cheers. :)

[@angellotomic]

I completely agree with everything you said in this video, word for word. Exactly right. As a big VPX fan, I have to admit that I now only play FX, which works perfectly. On the other hand, with VPX, I constantly had to update something for a pinball table to work, and then when I updated, I messed something up, and then even what used to work no longer did. Very frustrating. Then reinstall everything from scratch. Not to mention that I even activated an old monitor, so I had to learn how to get everything to work on two screens, to set up the color DMD, B2S, ROM, and others, about eight items... It's really only for enthusiasts. However, I miss some pinball tables that are not on FX, like Gunners, SpongeBob, Metallica, and a few others. But, FX also has great fun. Best regards...

[@araglogameplay]

absolutely, if only VPX are not pain in the butt to install and get everything working, it would be the best pinball simulator hands down

[@gibs2b]

I've tried all: Visual Pinball has the best physic ever so the best game play a real pinball player would expect. On top of that the lightning & the rendering of the ball in VPX 8 (RC5) sends all the other back to the time of the dinosaurs.

[@araglogameplay]

Absolutely Agree on that, the realism on VPX is unmatched!

[@gibs2b]

@@araglogameplay VPX Installation is not complacated at all, you just have to unzip a directory. I copy the same directory (containing tables and roms) from a computer to another without installing. Need separated roms, yes but at least you have the real behaviour from the original pinball. No UI menu , you have VPX Launcher (which also install the latest VPX version and support VR), oh yes and it's 64bit support GL and it's smooth as hell if you compare with the others, you can notice that in low end computer. VPX runs better. They even manage to make it runs on the Legends Pinball 4K original hardware. Just to say that.

[@michaelaeschbacher4648]

Video is absolutely spot-on when compared to my personal experience! I've mostly used pinball fx and vpx, but I have tried just a little bit of zaccaria and pinball arcade. Play a lot of pinball irl too. Here's my summary: Pinball FX: Best all-around / casual Visual Pinball: Best enthusiast / hardcore Zaccaria: Best niche / EM Pinball Arcade:

[@araglogameplay]

That's a Solid summary points! love that!

[@hyperboreen4854]

Pinball Arcade and Stern Pinball Arcade are full of severe never fixed bugs. The tables are supposed to be crossbuy: it doesn't work and the customer service team does not respond to you. Devs are a bunch of clowns - Avoid at all cost.

[@spiderh]

1.) Pinball FX3, 2.) Visual Pinball (but not have moving camera, I love this type camera), 3.) Future Pinball

[@Bitsadola]

Visual Pinball makes me happy man!! We live in an awesome era!

[@thomasneal9291]

Can you turn off the ball "tracers" in Pinball FX? that would be very distracting for me personally.

[@teixas777]

Pinball fx!!!!

[@nossy232323]

I personally hate Pinball FX for taking the Williams license and not doing enough with it. They rather do fake digital tables, animations, pop ups and other shit.

[@pinblendstudios]

Hey Araglo, we would like to send over a review copy for the upcoming Slot Shots Pinball Ultimate Edition but i dont see any way to get into contact with you.

[@araglogameplay]

Hi Pinblendstudios, you can email me to [e-mail] , would be thrilled to review it

[@ElJuloProduction]

Excellent vid ! I love pinballs since i was a kid. I've played some tables IRL like when they were avaible to play in some places like bowling... Miss this time. ! I started playing Pinball on PC with Balls Of Steels (still remains my favorite of all time !) and even if the physics was not he best, it was still coherent and i've learned many skills playing this game. Coolest theme and flow i've seen on pinball theme (try Firestorm and Darkside...) It works flawlessly on win11 btw (with bos loader and 1.3 patch). I've played many virtual games since then, visual pinball in 2013 (what an evolution since then...). PFX 2 was a blast on his time and way more superior than FX 3 imo. (Except for the Williams tables for sure). FX3 was good but the new Pinball FX is way superior in terms of physics and overall. Pinball M have an amazing DA and flow with very nice table like The Thing (highly recommended). Zaccaria is very fun too, i like the physics, (mostly in EM and SS tables) some remakes are a blast and Deluxes Zankor and Space Shuttle (the 2 last releases) feels outstanding. The only cons i have with Zaccaria is maybe too forgiving on some ways (on remakes tables mostly). And then i've decided to try VPX thanks to your video and vpinworkshop tables. Hard to install, but man, what a tables we have. Outstanding graphics, the Sound is terrific like you said, and my god the physics... I really feel the ball like on real table. Exceptionnal, what an evolution since 2013 when i've tried the 1st time. Can't imagine with a proper virtual cabinet ! Big thumbs up ! My final review is : x - Balls of Steel : Nostalgic, Best Themes ever. Games are crazy. (Videos modes, missions variety etc) 1 - Visual Pinball : Best Physics, sounds, feels like a real machine, mostly on the high quality tables like Vpinworkshop... What a blast to play; But pain to install etc. 2 - Pinball FX : Best UI, ranking system and overall themes. Custom tournaments etc. Highly recommended. There is something for everyone. 3 - Zaccaria : Graphics amazing, excellent with old tables, good physics overall. Very underrated game. I like it. I will love try VR ! 4 - The Pro Pinball series : You have to try Big Race USA and Timeshock. A blast for it's time and still remains an excellent choice. The tables have very large modes, the largest i've seen. Highly recommended. 5 - Pinball Aracde is outdated. I've played some tables back in the days. It was ok but not the best i've played (physics too light, graphics medium) That was a huge comment lol. Peace

[@piratefilmco]

Farsight will still delete your steam reviews though if you tell other people that you can download the tables for free elsewhere (if you catch my drift), and when you go back to playing the official game on Steam/PC, your achievements and scores will upload for the missing tables you don't own. I only do this for all of the removed tables and buy all the tables that are available, but them banning/removing someone from being able to post steam reviews on their page is something I had no idea was even possible, but they manage to get it done by saying it breaks their ToS or something, despite the fact that you can't buy most of the tables in their game anymore, so it has nothing to do with them now. So yeah, do this if you can't buy the tables for The Pinball Arcade anymore on Steam/PC and F Farsight for the censorship and for not updating their game or getting the licenses back after so many years.

[@AFSkull]

Name of the Gottlieb table at 17:40? 😁

[@araglogameplay]

its Black Hole

[@nagredmoonstriker252]

Another "Con" against Pinball Arcade - the "Standard" and "Wizard" goals. Some of the Wizard goals are ridiculously impossible, one for especially "Eight Ball Deluxe" requiring the player earn ten specials in one game. Don't tell me I'm not good enough - it just can't - be - done.

[@dustanglx50]

You forgot Senran Kagura Peach Ball

[@Comrade2k7]

VPX is great and all but I REALLY love how Zen has the fun things to chase such as quests and leaderboards.

[@pedroavelinogp9897]

what do I have to install to play this table fish table

[@araglogameplay]

did you mean Fish Tales? its in Pinball FX

[@sociallyresponsiblexenomor7608]

Ahhh this could have benefitted from time stamps something fierce

[@johndoe-yw7eb]

Once you get past the learning curve, VPX is by far the better experience. Superior physics and sound, and vastly larger library of tables. Your "con" about the options menu is actually a "pro" because you have unlimited flexibility when it comes to setting up the POV and lighting exactly as you want it. Your "con" about the UI is valid except that pinup popper is pretty much the de facto UI for VPX, but there's another huge learning curve when it comes to that. But it does allow for a UI with far more customization than the other products. Another pro of VPX is the availability of high quality original tables. Everyone's all hyped for Jaws right now, but VPX has had a really nice Jaws table for years now. And recent original tables such as Die Hard, an homage to 90's Data East tables, is as good as anything they actually put out back then. For me, nothing comes close to VPX.

[@araglogameplay]

i was back and forth between Pinball fx and VPX for a while, and yes the VPX is far superior than anything else, there's still a lot to learn with vpx, i still can't run spongebob dmds till today in vpx

[@hyperboreen4854]

These games are simply complementary (except for Pinball Arcade and Stern Pinball Arcade which are full of severe never fixed bugs). Yes VPX has so much awesome tables, but most of the Zen original tables are absolutely amazing too (and now Pinball M!).

[@Tamarocker88]

I'm with you. None of the other vPin games are in the same league as VPX by any metric, be it variety, quality, or accuracy. I've played them all, and the others just feel like an arcade racing game while VPX feels like gran turismo. Praise aside, there's absolutely a significant learning curve that many will neither be capable nor willing to overcome to set up VPX and have it running properly. And I get that. I understand that I'm an exception. I work in IT and it was still an investment to learn all the ins and outs, but every minute of troubleshooting was worth it because it has paid off in excess. I have a heavily modded AtGames Legends Pinball with a 3 screen setup, dayton exciters and subwoofer, RGB lighting, aftermarket sound system etc...etc... Over 200 tables all configured how I want them with PinupPopper completely customized with assets of my own choosing (or making). It has been incredibly satisfying to reach the point of a completely polished build that is clean and professional.

[@Tamarocker88]

@@araglogameplay If it was a regular DMD, it could be an issue with the version of the table you're using. Check the comments on the file to see if others reported issues. If it was a fancier DMD like UltraDMD, make sure the download included a "UltraDMD" folder, which would need to be placed within your Tables directory. Normally basic DMDs are a piece of cake, but the fancier UltraDMDs etc... can be a little finicky. As long as your VPX environment was built using the latest stable release of Pinup Popper Baller Installer, it would have included everything you needed for even Ultra DMD functionality, leaving you to simply weed out problems specific to a table.

[@Tamarocker88]

@@hyperboreen4854 The games are only complimentary for people who enjoy arcadey pinball games filled with 3d animations and score overlays like PinballFX or Zen. For most people who build out cabinets and take the time to dig deep into VPX, the arcade titles just don't compare. It's like a racing enthusiast who loves Gran Turismo, they're not likely to be interested in super floaty arcade racing games like Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed.

[@WindsEternal]

You forgot PinBuilder

[@CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

For me with Pinball FX every single table is exactly the same in terms of layout. The only thing that changes is the artwork. Big fail.

[@bababibi6604]

pinball fx3

[@marcelochagra3307]

1. Visual Pinball 2. Zaccaria Pinball 3. Pinball Arcade 4. Pinball FX (Between Pinball Arcade, which on some tables the ball is slower than on the machines, and Pinball FX, which is too fast, Pinball Arcade clearly takes third place, because most tables are well represented in the physics of the ball).

[@hyperboreen4854]

Pinball Arcade is a joke dude, even the menus are full of bugs.

[@pinballwiz45b]

Pinball Arcade has no ball spin, no variation, and doesn't allow for advanced flipper tricks. Nudging is also broken to the point where I can steer the ball using nudging and save STDM feeds with no warnings. Pinball FX > TPA.

[@marcelochagra3307]

@@hyperboreen4854 pinba fx is a JOKE!! The balls are in such a hurry that the real tables are amazed.

[@marcelochagra3307]

@@pinballwiz45b wrong. TPA > Pinball FX.

[@pinballwiz45b]

​@@marcelochagra3307 On what grounds? I gave my counters, you didn't acknowledge them. I can do this all day. Pinball Arcade's physics are severely dated, going as far back as 2004, with a simple rolling ball maze game called Mojo. That same engine is used for Pinball Arcade. The graphics, likewise, NEVER received a facelift. Audio, nope. After 2018, they promised more new tables, but we only got 2 of them and nothing more. Pinball FX's physics model is much newer, dating back to 2019 with the refined flipper movement model. Tap passing exists, something I can't do on TPA's version of Paragon. Cradle separations, live catching, drop catching; all of this, I can do without relying on TPA's hard-coded model. The best part? They're continuously iterating. VPX didn't start out as VPX. If you started out on any version prior to that, it's no different than comparing between TPA and FX. On that note: Zaccaria doesn't use code straight from the ROM on their recreations.

[@rober4]

Okay. I need the urge to say it now. FX pinball physics are nothing like the real world. The ball is absurdly fast and difficult to control. If that game only had their invented tables, that would be okay but as they added Bally and Williams, this issue becomes more apparent. I have some real life Williams Pinball table such as Hurricane and Funhouse. The ball doesnt roll that fast almost never. Also, in real life you can control the strength you give to the ball with the flippers, something you can't do in FX so almost in every push your ball always flies up with super strenght. That is NOT realistic at all. The recreation of these tables in pinball arcade are far more realistic. Some people on the internet call the ball *floaty*. Well, it is as floaty in the real versions sometimes, above all if you push the ball softly (something you cant do in pinball fx but you can in Pinball Arcade). So, as far as simulation of real tables is concerned, Pinball Arcade is the best option. If you want a super fast ball that seems to weigh like a feather, then try FX.

[@araglogameplay]

i'd stick with VPX, by far has no competition in physics

[@pinballwiz45b]

"in real life you can control the strength you give to the ball with the flippers" Tap passing, flick passing, and cradle separations all exist in Pinball FX. I can't do any of these in Pinball Arcade. Pinball FX is the better option by far.

[@rober4]

@@pinballwiz45b oh, I always watch videos of yours. My main concern is you can't control the strength of the ball in FX and I point out that their real tables recreations don't work as in real life at all (at least the two I mention) and although in Arcade you can do less tricks, the ball physics are more similar to real tables. For example, my family can't play Hurricane in FX but they can in the real table or in Arcade. "Ball too fast" or "I can't follow the game" is their main concern.

[@rober4]

@@araglogameplay I haven't played yet but according to videos, yeah 👍

[@pinballwiz45b]

@@rober4 Your Hurricane and FunHouse machines are likely not the same as the ones they worked on over in Budapest. You don't learn how to master one Attack From Mars; you learn how to master many different kinds of them. TPA, where I can exploit the nudging to my benefit by steering the ball. TPA, where there's absolutely 0 ball spin, becomes absolutely predictable. TPA is far from realistic at this rate.

[@DRMISSION2000]

VPX its the best

[@araglogameplay]

YES!

[@hipflipped]

If you... don't value your time in setting it up, don't care about having a good overall UI, and are fine with pirating stealing ROMS to use with licensed tables, VPX is for you!

[@S.J.C._Entertainment]

@@hipflippedYou say this like pirating 20-40 year old roms is problematic.

[@catsaretasty]

Pinball fx . Save urself 25 mins

[@araglogameplay]

That's just my opinion, the best rest in each players

[@jticklemaker1265]

Are you seriously saying that pinball FX have good physics ? Have you played a real table recently ? Their engine is junk and almost nothing you learn in FX applies in real life. Arcade/Stern engine is better and Zaccaria is probably the best

[@araglogameplay]

@@jticklemaker1265 real pinball tables are as close as impossible to find in indonesia. Would be great if i can get my hands on one. Would do a better comparison, but for me, the best Physics goes to VPX, i choose Pinball FX because its the only complete package out of the bunch.. like i said in the video, if VPX had better menu impleme tation, they whould have won the pinball simulation games

[@S.J.C._Entertainment]

Pinball arcade certainly doesn’t have better physics then Fx/Fx3 at all. Far too floaty and nudging is far too overpowered.

[@jticklemaker1265]

@@S.J.C._Entertainment Floatiness is a real phenomenon you see on real tables. But it doesn’t « feel » correct. Pinball FX can get away with removing it and making their ball out of lead cause most of their users don’t have access to real pinball machines

[@themaxx270]

Vpx

[@hipflipped]

Zaccaria has a lot of tables, all exceptionally bad/boring.

[@mikemoss6045]

10:23 this is the only reason why I can't stand pinball fx.. the extra animations take away from the pinball "experience" if you will. Especially with tables like addams family, i know where to launch the ball for the skill shot but that animation ruins it.

[@laliezcurra8693]

Pinball arcade not available for nvidiaaa

[@laliezcurra8693]

Its not working w10 and nvidia drivers