Pinball is cool, but Flipnic dares to ask the question: “what if it was even cooler?” The result is a surreal and stylish take on the game that’s unlike any pinball game I’ve ever played.
I honestly think the best way to understand what a session of Flipnic is like is to see it in action. Please watch this video that I captured:
Cool, huh?
However, it’s not all style and no substance here. There are multiple “tables” that can be played for score at different difficulty levels. The real depth comes from the table-specific challenges, which require a great deal of time and skill.
Traditionalists may scoff at the idea of Flipnic being considered a proper video pinball game, because the design is so unconventional. It’s just as much about the vibes as the mechanics. Maybe this is the reason that Sony opted not to publish it in North America, leaving it to Capcom (who were at their freakiest during the PS2 era).
Flipnic is maybe the coolest take on pinball ever, and a testament to the creativity of Japan Studio. It’s a shame that Sony of America had so little faith in it and that it never really found an audience. Thankfully it’s not too late to check it out (complete PS2 copies can be found for around ten bucks), but Sony could really make things right by making it available digitally on PS4/PS5. It’s a game that everyone should experience, no matter how you feel about pinball.
Screenshots and video captured by me from original hardware (PS2) via a Hyperkin HDTV Cable connected to an Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+.
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