What Should You Buy? Switch Pinball: Pinball FX3 vs Stern Pinball Arcade 

Fun house is on fx3 now

We have High Speed II also. Still waiting on Pinbot and Bride of Pinbot.

you can in the new pinball fx4 but that’s only on epic game store and you have to rebuy ALL your tables, it’s highway robbery to pinball fans. Just wait til it comes to steam in less than a year

@@casedistorted No. It's temporarily on Epic because it's in Early Access. You don't have to participate in it now if you don't want to, but you are provided with the ability if you want to. Plus, you already own those tables in FX3 and you can still play them there for several years to come. No one is forcing you to repurchase them in FX. I love pinball but people like you have made it into such a toxic culture. You have a fatalist mindset and there's no way to please you. If Zen hadn't remade the majority FX3 tables for the new FX then you would be complaining about that too.

@@Z-42 I don't own any of the tables in Pinball FX3 on Steam, but I feel for the people who bought all their tables there and won't be able to transfer them over to Pinball Fx4 when it inevitably comes over to Steam and loses its Epic exclusivity. I know it's a temporary thing, but I'm not going to fanboy for a company that is clearly doing what's not in the best interest for the consumer. TotalBiscuit would be rolling over in his grave. Zen knows that the Pinball community is already quite niche so they also know they can drain them for every dollar their worth. I'm not even a huge pinball fan and I don't own any of the tables on Steam or PC, but I am not a fan of game dev companies having shoddy morals to make as much money as they can instead of being fair to their community that keeps them alive. Just my two cents though, obviously you do not agree. It is not on Epic because it's in Early Access, every game that goes to Epic first has a year of exclusivity because Epic pays these game companies a good chunk of change to stay over there first for a year to try and pry PC gamers over to their inferior platform that they are taking forever to update and make even half as good as Steam is. Granted Steam/Valve are not perfect and take way too much of a cut imo, but don't kid yourself that Epic is doing any of this "for the gamers", they're doing it for the money too and don't care about the game dev companies or the gaming community. If they did they wouldn't steal so many game ideas and dances and throw them into Fortnite on their e-shop. I'm also a gamer who does not buy any Nintendo products either because I don't agree with how they treat their fan and mod communities, nor video game preservation or emulation. But I found this intersting. At first I thought you were responding to me as the creator of this video but then I realized you're just another random youtube comment so not as big of a deal.

This should be better I think! Never tried yet.

It is the incorrect viewing angle for most things like the Flipgrip however.

DuckRotation You’re right, unfortunately Stern only has 2 viewing angles by pressing the minus button while FX has 3 viewing angles by selecting the view angle toggle icon. I actually have the Flip Grip myself so that sucks that Stern limits you in that regard.

How can I invert the screen in Stern Pinball Arcade? I found nothing in the options or in the launcher utility. Can I also use a Backglass like in FX 3?

@@pavlosskiadas9279 Press the "-" minus button. And Stern Pinball Arcade works just fine with the Flip Grip. The downside being is that when you inverted the head phone jack becomes blocked by the Flip Grip, and it doesn't completely lock into place. But it still locks in better than the Joy-Cons do on the Switch itself. Flipping the Flip Grip isn't really an issue at all.

Cybershroom Has this been confirmed by devs? I tweeted them about this but got no reply

The source is their official twitter profile. However I wont believe it until its here, because the devs said in the same post that they didnt experience this framerate drop and that only a few people did. That sounds odd.

Linus Magnell I have to admit a few times it seemed to me it was running at 60 fps even undocked, bust most of the times I played it was definitely 30 fps

The patch is out and it does as promised, 60fps in handheld, and 1080p 60fps. However, the shadows and lighting has been paired back to get it. On the flip side, the reflections are back. So it’s ultimately a trade off. That said, since I primarily play it vertically in handheld mode it totally works for me.

Nothing offers more replay value than a pinball machine (real, or virtual). I have played some these when they first came out. And 30 years later people are still playing them and I still drop quarters in when I see them in real life.

@@thinkhector I think you missed my point. I love pinball, myself, preferably real. I understand how much it costs to maintain real, physical pinball machines in brick and mortar arcades, so I don't mind spending my hard earned quarters on them.

No. Pinball Arcade is a simulator of real tables. That doesn't need originality. It's fine, how it is.

I mean I just tried fx after being a longtime arcade fan, it was intersting but I hated the voice and the way it felt less real and more like a video game. turned a bunch of stuff off and it was a little better but by god the physics felt fucking awful. with pinball its all about the feel. uninstalled fx almost immediately.

Jaytee1o4 Both games have their pros and cons and both provide a unique gaming experience.

the originality of the zen boards are unmatched.... all fun.... i use to like stern because it was based off of real life tab;es... but you realize quickly that real just means real,it doesnt mean good... they recreated alot of the bad real shit tables for whatever reason......also if you play zen first and THEN go to stern,the stern physics are gonna feel floaty/sluggish like its on a cloud or under water.... its a huge adjustment

Totally agree

With these games' predecessors on the Wii U, I initially liked the Zen games more. But as time went by, I ended up liking the Farsight (who makes Stern) better. Some of the Zen tables, I can play until I get bored. For example, I like the Mars table, but one game can drag out forever. They also overuse voice samples to the point of being annoying. Of the few I bought so far for the Switch, the designs are bloated and not as fun as those on the Wii U. I'm finding myself increasingly appreciating the realistic Farsight/Stern pinball.

Get visual pinball

It’s such a strange feeling… Like playing with a lead ball that’s sometimes bouncy, sometimes not, and brakes when it reaches the end of the flipper. very odd. I guess for people that don’t play real pinball it makes the game somewhat easier, maybe.

Jonathan Hersey Absolute nonsense pinball fx is awesome and stern pinball is an absolute bore fest boring yawn 😦 😦 😦

Take a look at the difference in table rules between an fx table and a stern table; there is considerably more to a real life/stern table. For most that's a detriment but for a pinball enthusiast like me, learning how to master a table is a long and rewarding journey. Pinball fx just doesn't have enough going on nor are its physics good enough to rope me in

Jonathan Hersey Absolute nonsense pinball fx has hidden tables to discover within the table itself and different challenges. Stern pinball is the same thing over and over again no progression what so ever and no online leader boards. There's nothing to achieve in stern pinball other than getting a high score there's not anything to discover within the tables it's OK but gets a bit boring.What you see if what you get and nothing more sadly which is understandable for a simulation pinball game.

Yay for internet arguments

Farsight and Pinball Arcade suck so fucking bad it's beyond understanding.

KB Originals I may as well play it on my tablet again in that case.

portrait mode as well.

100% agree

I bought it in suck's shit

sarethums I totally agree both provide a unique gaming experience.

You might notice, There is no Marvel Content on Switch.

It's vertical too.

Theo Guedes Stern pinball is awful the graphics suck and I don't like realistic pinball games they're so boring. Pinball fx doesn't take itself too seriously and is way more fun.I don't know why you're complaining about 30fps as I think it plays perfectly fine. Most ps4 games run at 30fps but nobody complains about that.

I have no problem with 30fps, in general, but when I played Pinball FX, it was difficult to react quickly because of the frame-rate. PFX is really gorgeous, but I would prefer it to be less beautiful but more fluid. (fluid like my english is not, haha.)

Theo Guedes You're english is quite good in my opinion. It's a valid criticism that you prefer 60fps as it's obviously way more smooth overall and more responsive.I'm used to playing zen pinball games on the 3ds which ran at 30fps. So playing pinball fx on the switch well lets say I was used to the framerate and it felt fine to me it was playable and didn't really get in the way of my enjoyment. Maybe they should of put a performance mode in the game like in fire emblem warriors where you can choose between 60fps and 30fps.

Yes! I would love a performance mode in this game.

Theo Guedes Well that would please everyone they should give you that option.I think the developer went with 30fps so they could get the best quality graphics. Rocket league on switch runs at 60fps but people complained about the loss of detail in the graphics oh well you can't please everyone.

Yep, that's what I had been hoping: A Nintendo system exclusive digitization of Super Mario Bros., and perhaps Mushroom World as well. From what I've seen regarding the non-American releases on the Switch though, it wasn't happening. It's a real shame, because if they showed it off, they could REALLY boost the number of people playing Pinball Arcade on the Switch. Most people don't know there was an actual physical Mario pinball machine, let alone two of them. I've played them both too. They're both pretty fun, but they ARE rather divisive among pinball fans.

cheesewheel Stern pinball is boring it takes itself too seriously nothing much happens on the tables it bores me to death. Pinball fx is more creative in design and has a lot more depth to the gameplay and is just way more fun to play overall.Also pinball fx has online play and leader boards and tournaments which adds more replay value.

Paul Barnes I get where you're coming from. I don't think there's anything wrong with fx3, but the reason I liked stern was because it takes itself seriously. It's supposed to be a simulator, that's kind of the point

cheesewheel My main complaint with Stern is the lack of online leaderboards. Being that Farsight has a horrible track record of updating their games on home consoles, it will probably always be local leaderboards

Good news: Stern will be updating with a portrait mode soon.

pinballwiz45b what! When did they announce this?

Good luck getting a hold of real pinball tables at home for around 5 quid...

Paul Barnes The voices and music on the licensed tables are appalling. If that was better I'd be a fan of Zen too. I do prefer Stern anyway though for the real pinball feel.

Richard M I prefer zen pinball because there's more to discover like hidden tables within the table and various different challenges to uncover. The music and voices in pinball fx doesn't really bother me as I'm more interested in the gameplay. There's nothing to discover in stern pinball you try for the highest score and that's it no hidden tables, extras or challenges to discover and no online leader boards.

Agreed on all points

You don't seem to understand the whole point of Pinball Arcade and Stern Pinball Arcade. They exist to preserve pinball tables in digital form, as pinball machines are decaying with age and arcades are dying out thanks to the luxury and revolution of home media and preservation. Simply playing a real pinball table instead isn't always an option. Besides, I would rather pay 5 dollars for a digital pinball table, than over a thousand dollars for a real table that takes up a lot of space and requires a fair bit of maintenance work!

No one has answered your question. Until now. No.

Yes

Michael Dust I don't count every frame, but Docked works great, maybe 50/60 frames, when you change from docked to portable you feel the diferencie. Games like rocket-league un portable works atte the same speed with lower resolution, this is the way, pinball at 30fps sucks.

It is 60fps when docked and a update has been confirmed to change the framerate to 60fps handheld.

Cybershroom great! I buy more tables for celebrate when zenstudios make that! XP

For the record, it's Farsight Studios porting the machines into Stern Pinball Arcade. Stern is the manufacturer of the actual machines that Stern Pinball Arcade's games are based on.

The update for 60fps is out now, so you can play it more comfortable

Did you bought a physical copy?

there both free. try both. Also, for the first week zen comes with 3 tables instead of two so you should download that.

go with physical copy of Stern and take the free tables Fx gives you.

indeed!

Not until they fix the portable performance. 60fps always wins over 30fps content in terms of feel.

FX3 = Casual. TPA/Stern = Simulation. Both are fun.

Maxitsu24 I had read a lot of bad reviews for stern on steam as well..... This was after I played it on switch. I didn't understand the criticisms myself, because after playing it on switch I thought it was a really solid experience.

Hey if you like it go for it and enjoy it, keep playing & having fun. That matters. Its just "my" opinion or my view on that game. So in my opinion i don't like the graphics, gameplay and sound. Stern is listed as "real machines" and "real physics" I don't agree after playing it. apart from that i had some issue and bugs (on PC) Dev contacted me for help which is good. But since i didn't like the game i was not intrested to invest more time into it. From what i hear it runs on the switch at 60fp unlike FX3 at 30

Maxitsu24 I'm definitely not trying to say you're wrong at all. I just haven't really come across any major issues so far, so i just have trouble understanding where people's criticisms are coming from when they say it's "buggy" and whatnot. Also, real physics are hard to replicate so I go into these kinds of games not expecting it to be completely identical to the real deal, but I think that stern feels pretty legit for the most part. I really like the analogue nudge controls. Can't say much about physics on FX3 since I only played it a bit before going to stern. However, I did really notice the framerate difference between the two. I'm not a huge framerate elitist or anything, but the 60fps sure is better to have for something like a pinball game

"Real physics" I'm not too sure about, but "real machines" is the truth. Every table on Stern Pinball Arcade is a digital re-creation of an existing physical pinball machine, which ranges from Phantom of the Opera in 1980 to Ghostbusters from 2016. That's actually the reason for a lot of that "awful sound": Most of these machines, with the exceptions of Mustang, High Roller Casino, and Ghostbusters, were made during the 80's and 90's, when sound technology for games was still incredibly low-quality. When it comes to stuff like Last Action Hero or Starship Troopers, there really aren't any other options short of taking the sound clips from the source material itself (which will get a lot of complaints from the purists that Stern Pinball Arcade is aimed at). Regular Pinball Arcade has been released for the Switch in Australia, Europe, and...somewhere else I've forgotten. That has a much wider collection of machines, nearly all of them classics from the 60's to the late 90's (though YMMV for some of the more maligned ones, like Victory and Fish Tales).

Looks good on my 55 inch TV.

luciobarbarino I disagree.

I agree! Fx3 is fake bs.

SaveTheHedgehog Fx3 is fun stern pinball is boring yawn 😦 😦 💤 💤 💤

TPA/Stern tables for pinball simulation and pros (yes, being a pinball pro is a real thing). FX3 is for more casual. I started out playing only FX3. I've taken a liking for The Pinball Arcade as the tables and modes are much deeper and more challenging. Both are fun though.

Why would anyone want something that resembles a video game on a Nintendo gaming console?

@Tony A. What do you play?