Did You Know Gaming has been successful in unearthing fresh information on the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Pinball project that was intended for the Nintendo DS but was ultimately scrapped.
As part of an internal Nintendo leak, we found out about the title for the first time in July of 2021. The production of this game was handled by Fuse, the same company that created Metroid Prime Pinball. Did You Know Gaming had a conversation with Matthew Nightingale, an artist who worked on the game, about his experiences.
Fuse made a Pokemon Pinball DS demo
After finishing up work on the Metroid Prime Pinball game, Fuse moved on to developing a demo for the upcoming Pokemon Pinball game. There were three tables there: one for travel (the countryside), one for the city or town, and one for the gym. The first table was designed to resemble the countryside of Sinnoh, and its bumpers were in the form of plants, shrubs, and trees to reflect this concept. In addition, the length of time spent playing there was symbolic of the amount of time it took to go from one city to the next.
As the players moved farther down the path, other Pokémon would appear on the table, such as Diglett bumpers and Pikachu perched on a tree. To capture a Pokemon, you would first need to stun it by striking it with the ball, and then use the touch screen to choose the Pokemon and tap on it. It is imperative that you act quickly in this situation; else, it will regain its composure and go away. There would be a timer that, once it reached zero, indicated that you had arrived at the subsequent city.
The city had a more conventional feel about it. It had ramps, loops, and bumpers in its design. After selecting the Pokemon you wish to use in the fight against the Gym Leader in the third table, you will then engage in combat with the Gym Leader.
Gym battle detailed
“The Gym was a table with two ends, and you had to keep your Pokemon between the two flippers. The more ramp shots you completed, the more your Pokemon’s abilities were charged up. Once you got the ball into the lock shot, your Pokemon’s powers would unleash a devastating attack on the gym owner’s Pokemon, who was trapped between his flippers at the top of the table.
Nightingale feels that rumbling support and an evolution system would have been included if the work done by Fuse had continued beyond the demo stage.
