BlahCade 232: Xmas 2021 A Pinball Bust

About this time last year, we predicted what we would see released about now (December 2021). Naturally, things didn’t go exactly to plan, but some predictions aren’t too wild.

We also talk about Zen’s new release Funko Pinball Party Arena available through Zen Pinball Party on Apple Arcade.

Thrown in for good measure is a segment on our addiction with various rhythm action games, which we talk about with great passion. Some games we talk about are free (as in open-source), and some are freemium (as in "gross", but tolerable).

Watch and listen

Don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel to never miss an episode.

We’re also on the following platforms:

Don’t forget to leave us a review or comment wherever you watch or listen: we appreciate you doing it!

Show notes

04:15 - Zen Studios release Funko Pinball Party Arena

Zen keeps on updating the Zen Pinball Party app, and this time they released an addition that lives up to the app’s title.

Funko Pinball Party brings a four-player battle royale to the app. What you’re seeing here is most likely the first experiment for the Pinball FX multi-player experience, coming in the first quarter of 2022.

The app lets you attack other players by completing shots in the game. The more combos and upper playfield shots you make, the better your odds at taking out the match.

It is quite a bit of fun to play against other players with the feeling of playing in real-time, even though you can’t see balls flying around the playfield from other players. But be warned: the game can also be very frustrating when under pressure and bricking shots. I frequently scream at the screen when the ball dribbles up a loop ramp only to roll back down again. Grrrrr!

15:45 - Beatstar and DTXMania for all your rhythm action needs

Chris is properly hooked on Beatstar on iOS. He’s totally maxed out the levels and has resigned himself to how the freemium model works. Add shutyertrap1 to your game friends so you can share his addiction at https://beatstar.com/.

I’ve discovered a long-lost pastime of Konami’s DrumMania through the incredibly professional but free (and open-source) eDrum simulator DTX Mania (NX). You can download a pile of free simfile packs from ApproveDTX blog. These sources cover most of the arcade releases from the first Drummania right up to the brand new Gitadora releases in Japanese arcades. The game will even emulate Guitar Freaks tablature. You can play drums and guitars with your mates (and a supported guitar controller).

31:30 - Pinball preditions from 2020

About this time last year, we recorded BlahCade Ep 212 with some predictions about what we’d be seeing about this time of year.

The categories were:

Take it to the bank
Nice to have, but yeah nah
Wild speculation.

We go through the "bankable" and "nice ones, but…" in this section. Overall we didn’t do too badly with our predictions. But there are some predictions that we were almost certain of that never came to light.

What will our predictions be this year with 20/20 hindsight? They center around Spooky doing digital releases, JJP getting into the digital pinball arena.

But what do you think? What do you think will be "bankable" predictions for digital pinball for 2022. How about your "nice ones, but…"?

1:00:00 - New shows on Netflix

Chris smashed the entire first season backlog of the new live-action Cowboy Bebop and feels it is a worthy retelling of the Anime canon thus far. The first season leaves the second season open to new stories and canon away from the original Anime.

I’m hanging out for Stranger Things Season 4, which I’ve heard lukewarm reactions to. Clearly, Covid caused delays in getting the season produced. I thought S03 was the last we’d hear about "teenagers fighting demons".

Thanks for listening

Thanks for watching or listening to this episode: we hope you enjoyed it.

If you liked the episode, please consider leaving a review about the show on Apple Podcasts. Reviews matter, and we appreciate the time you invest in writing them.

Say thanks: If you want to say thanks for this episode, click the link to learn about more ways you can help the show.
Cabinet backbox art: If you want to make your digital pinball cabinet look amazing, why not use some of our free backglass images in your build.