3D Pinball Space Cadet was a blast of nostalgia for me when I was in High School.
The internet during the late 90s was a rough, but exciting period. During the late 90s, the only time I can connect to the internet is during the weekend while visiting my uncles house. My bridge to Anime midis, free games, and all other multimedia depends on your dial-up modem and the service. There are weekends where the connection just won’t go through for hours .
With no VCD drive or TV to entertain myself as I wait for a connection, there was Space Cadet. One of the Windows games that came with Windows 95 Plus. It was a better option than Solitaire or Mine Sweeper, the default game of Win 95.
3D Pinball for Windows
3D pinball should be a familiar name for anyone who grew up with a Windows XP computer. It is a free game that came with the beloved OS. The game also came with Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Windows 95 Plus.
The 3D features of Space Cadet is the angled view of the table. It creates the illusion that you are playing on an actual table with the plunger and flipper buttons on your keyboard. Granted that it is not like 3DS kind of 3D.
While I was hoping there were still hours left in my Quick Web card for even just 20 minutes, I killed time with Space Cadet. Attempting to break each of my high-scores while mindlessly hitting the targets and bumpers let me stayed awake long enough to grab as much Anipike midis and jpegs during the weekend.
Gameplay
Despite how compact the table seems from a windows perspective, this is a full pinball game jampacked with features.
Three bumpers at the top, with a fourth one accessible via the left ramp, dishes out points. Completing the three re-entry lane lights above them will increase the bumper point value. There are three additional bumpers in the hyperspace section you can enter by hitting the launch ramp. These bumpers also have their own light that increases their value. Pro players can keep sending the ball back to the hyperspace section when it drops to the left flipper.
Space Cadet even has missions that challenges you to hit specific targets or go through certain lanes across the table. Completing missions grant you higher scores.
Finally, there is the pinball physics. Realistic ball movement during this time was hard to find in other games. Epic Pinball’s balls feel simulated and slow when you compare it to 3D Pinball. Space Cadet’s ball movement is nearly the real thing. Pinball Arcade or the Pinball Hall of Fame were the best examples of realistic pinball physics I can compare it too.
Design
For a game that came from 1995, the design holds up. The table art and colors looks pleasing to the eye. With that said, there are Windows 95 pinball games with better tables.
Subjectively, Cue Ball Wizard is one of the better looking pinball for Win 95.and Win 98. While the tables are based on actual live machines from Gottlieb, the designs are eye popping and are able to deliver that 3D graphics.
Even the full version off 3D Pinball, Full Tilt Pinball, has Skulduggery. It has a better looking table than Space Cadet. Even the score board of a pirate standing over a treasure chest looks awesome than an art of a ship or a cartoon space cadet.
3D Pinball and the 90s Internet.
While there are better art, Space Cadet’s design is still beloved by many. The likes of Skulduggery and even the newer Cue Ball Wizard stayed in the 90s. Meanwhile, 3D Pinball went beyond in the early 2000s across Windows XP computers.
Space Cadet was compact and minimal. You can open it anytime you need something fun to do in a short time, even on a Win 95 computer. Believe me, you want something to kill time since the internet was slow.
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