Zen Pinball- Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Table Review

During the past two years, pinball has made a remarkable resurgence on consoles and portable systems. From capable compilations like Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection to SCEA’s anthology of tables inspired by prominent PS3 titles, players have been inundated with ball and flipper-based diversions. Each of these titles are measuring by two benchmarks: the capacity to faithfully recreate world-world physics, and the ability to offer tables with a gratifying selection of tantalizing targets.  

While Zen Pinball’s modeling of matter and motion doesn’t quite reach the pinnacle set by the Williams Collection, it is generally competent. The silver sphere bounds off objects with satisfying authenticity, and darts across tables with an exceptional sensation of speed. The recent release of the Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 table for Zen Pinball hopes to satisfy pinheads with its proficient fusion of rapidity along with the incorporation of celebrated characters from Tecmo’s action title.

Unmistakably, an impressive amount of time when into the creation of the Sigma 2 table; every part of the playfield is crammed with elements extracted from the celebrated game series. Flanking the plunger is a distinctive recreation of a sheathed dragon sword, while animated statutes of Ryu Hayabusa and Genshin stand in resolute opposition to each other. Each slingshot is adorned with the Falcon’s Talons, while diminutive video screens on the left side of the table show brief cinematics. Each scoring opportunity rewards players with music or sound effects from the action franchise, adding to the table’s sense of authenticity.

Like other members in the Zen Pinball lineup, the Sigma 2 table takes advantage of its medium. A distinctive light trail follows the ball as it careens around the playfield, and subtle sparks can be observed when the sphere makes contact with table elements. Instead of monitoring the scoring panel for lucrative targets, collisions with playfield objects display point accumulations, inoffensively. Both Hayabusa and Genshin animate in a manner more like their video game iterations, and surpass the simplicity of actual pinball toys.