Pinball Arcade – Tales of the Arabian Nights™

Developer: FarSight Studios | Publisher: FarSight Studios |Release Date: 2013 | Genre: Pinball / Simulation / Free To Play | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

The original Tales of the Arabian Nights table was released in 1996 by Williams and features quite an eye catching theme. Based around the 1001 Arabian tales, it tasks you with freeing a captured princess from an evil Genie. Before taking on the Genie, you must first find seven gems, earned from completing missions based on the Arabian Nights tales.

FarSight Studios have faithfully recreated the TOTAN table and, while it might appear to be quite complex, it is actually very newcomer friendly. The most distinctive features of the table are the large blue genie with glowing eyes that dominates the top area and the spinning magical lamp. There are only two flippers and one ramp to worry about and most of the story goals can be completed rather quickly. The game even offers a shortcut by allowing you to gain gems from the bazaar instead of earning them from the story goals.

The seven tales include classics such as Ali Baba, The Forty Thieves and Tales of Shehrazade as well as the Flying Horse and Great Camel Race. The tales are activated by shooting the genie and then hitting the required ramps or spot targets. Only one tale can be active at a time, but most goals can be completed in a matter of seconds with a bit of practice. The dot matrix display shows scenes, such as flying carpet rides and the genie hurling fireballs, which is definitely a nice touch.  In order to make a skill shot from the plunger, you have to watch the dot matrix to see which basket a snake is hiding in and then shoot the ball into the correct basket on the playing field. Shooting the ramp directly afterwards also rewards you with a super skill shot bonus.

There are two multiball opportunities on this table, which offer you the chance to really rake in the points. The first is activated by shooting the genie five times and locking the balls and the second by using the left loop to spell “HAREM.” I actually found the harem multiball the hardest to pull off as it can be a bit tricky to shoot the ball up the left loop consistently.

If you hate outlane drains, you’ll love the “Shooting Stars” feature on TOTAN. By shooting the correct spot targets, you can cause spikes to pop up from the table and trap the ball for a few seconds. This not only looks very cool, but prevents the ball from going down the outlane. The spinning lamp and magnet on the board add some unpredictability to the ball movement, but the overall layout is very nice. After collecting the seven gems, you activate wizard mode and have to defeat the genie and his army of skeletons in a battle for the princess’s freedom.

The original design is by John Popadiuk who is also known for his work on Theatre of Magic and Circus Voltaire. FarSight Studios did a great job with the digital recreation of this table and it is a very generous choice for a free release. The ball physics feel spot on, to the extent that there is even a “call attendant” feature if the ball gets stuck, which is something that does happen in real life.The table has some very vibrant colors and great artwork, but sadly the low resolution textures are quite obvious in places. The background depicts a female Jinn emerging from a lamp as well as smaller graphics of a magic carpet ride, the trapped princess and the bazaar. Included with the table is some detailed instructions on how to play as well as a brief history rundown and the scans of the original flyers.

The table features some booming sound effects to go with the distinctive theme and there are plenty of great voice samples as well. You’ll hear challenges from the evil genie and encouragement from the helpful Jinn as you complete your goals. The tune that plays when you engage in a fireball battle with the genie can become rather repetitive, but the rest of the sounds are very good.

Tales of the Arabian Nights is an amazing table and a great showcase for the work that FarSight Studios is doing. It is available completely free of charge and trust me, you can easily spend hours playing this table.

*Review originally published February 2014.