First released in 1991 on the Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis if you are in America), Dino Land is a pinball game that was lost to time for over 30 years. Now back with an emulation port through Ratalaika Games, this is a curious and strange game that I’m delighted exists, whilst also being baffled by the level design.
Dino Land is set across three pinball tables, with a table representing each element of Earth, Water, and Air. Each table has multiple sets of flippers, and on the port, the left d-pad button and left symbol button on your controllers let you flick the left and right flippers. It’s the first of many unusual design decisions that are uncommon and slightly misguided, whilst not dramatically impacting gameplay on its own. You can reassign controls in the menus, as well as turn on infinite lives and the ability to switch between tables as a cheat, although I found that using this often would cause the game to bug out and behave strangely.
Dotted around each table are various dinosaur artefacts. Eggs may need to be broken, or nests ruffled, and these are small challenges that run alongside other pinball challenges like lane runs, hitting certain bumpers, and racking up combo scores by repeating tricks within time limits. If you are skilful enough (and that is a big “if” as Dino Land doesn’t give out extra lives easily), a boss dinosaur will be triggered for you to whack with your pinball and dispose of. The boss fights are cute and comedic as they’ll be on a separate, singular table screen, and if you’ve been able to work out your pinball’s special moves, you can use some gliding techniques to attack the boss quicker and get rid of it.
When things are clearly signalled and make sense, Dino Land is quite enjoyable. The biggest problem with Dino Land is working out what it is you need to do to get a sense of direction. This is because you’ll be diving back and forth between the three tables, clearing bits of a mission or trying to make sense of jackpot icons, king crowns, and picking up on patterns of cause and effect. None of it is clearly marked, and there’s no glossary or menu to help you keep track of anything. Lose a life, and it’s tricky to know where you’ll pick up from. A lot of the issues come down to the pixelated environments. The Air table has a noisy background that hurts my eyes during long plays, and working out what to do next is like finding a needle in a pixelated haystack.
With signalling an issue, Dino Land makes players feel like they are stuck in a loop for too long without any direction. All pinball games are difficult, and with this being a retro game from 1991, the physics lack a bit of nuance, and the frame rate and input lag add a layer of difficulty on top, too. If you want a purist experience, Dino Land will slap you silly for multiple hours. If, like me, you grew frustrated trying to work out what to do next, you’ll want to take advantage of the rewind and fast-forward features to save your pinball from disaster and death. I think this is where I noticed some of the physics are a bit inconsistent because after a rewind, it may look like you’ve performed the same move, but you’ll get a different trajectory and result. Remember to use the nudge feature. It is your friend, and is often required to reach some of the corners of a table.
Ratalaika Games’ port adds a few more features beyond fast-forward, rewind, turbo speed, and cheats. Save states (local and permanent) are available to help you restart from exact points. A jukebox lets you enjoy the soundtrack, which is suitably Genesis-centric, albeit not an instant classic. A gallery showcases some of the box art and promos of the original release. Lastly, screen filters and screen sizes can be modified to suit certain styles.
Dino Land’s rerelease is comprehensive, and whilst I like the mashup of ideas, which were unusual at the time, the lack of player direction and waypathing makes playing it a slog at times. Like many games of old, memorisation is key. Dino Land requires a lot of upfront investment, skill, and luck to survive and see the game’s end. I’m not sure many gamers in 2025 will have the patience required, but I’m pleased that rereleases like this are still happening. Dino Land has charm and character, and that goes a long way. Just expect to hit rewind or restart an awful lot. I resorted to a guide, and I’m not ashamed to admit it! It made the experience far more enjoyable and negated a few of my criticisms. I don’t usually advocate for guides, but this is an exception to the rule. Be kind to yourself if you pick this up. You can’t be psychic and battle dinosaurs!
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