Pinball - I think this is the closest place to relevant to post this.

[Rebel Wilson]

Swords of Fury really feels like one of those machines that was made popular by virtual pinball. I remember my grandfather had it in his place as a kid (he ran a pool hall and barber shop with his brother) and I hated it. It drained like a monster and it felt like there were only 1 or 2 good shots and the rest was bouncing the ball around in the upper left playfield. Which was disappointing because it was a sword and sorcery pinball machine, which I should have loved.

Its a nice looking machine with a funny call out but having played it in real life I wouldn't recommend buying it without spending a lot of time playing it. Fish Tales is another example of a machine like that but the opposite, way more fun in real life than the drain monster it is on virtual pinball.

Bad Cats has the same problem as SOF where its basically 1 ramp shot repeated forever but it carries nostalgic value for me. Which is why I want to get it if the price is right, but I won't overpay. My other WMS is Diner and is pending sale which will open a spot in my house for either Bad Cats, Fish Tales (there is an old beat up one at a community rink here in town I might throw an offer at), or another temporary pin.

So many machines came in and out of that place when I was growing up I would love to see again but have probably vanished aside from the hall of fame in vegas, like Alien Star. @Gorgar is another one of those machines I hate in real life but absolutely love on virtual pinball.

 

[Dr. Dude]

Swords of Fury really feels like one of those machines that was made popular by virtual pinball. I remember my grandfather had it in his place as a kid (he ran a pool hall and barber shop with his brother) and I hated it. It drained like a monster and it felt like there were only 1 or 2 good shots and the rest was bouncing the ball around in the upper left playfield. Which was disappointing because it was a sword and sorcery pinball machine, which I should have loved.

Its a nice looking machine with a funny call out but having played it in real life I wouldn't recommend buying it without spending a lot of time playing it. Fish Tales is another example of a machine like that but the opposite, way more fun in real life than the drain monster it is on virtual pinball.

Bad Cats has the same problem as SOF where its basically 1 ramp shot repeated forever but it carries nostalgic value for me. Which is why I want to get it if the price is right, but I won't overpay. My other WMS is Diner and is pending sale which will open a spot in my house for either Bad Cats, Fish Tales (there is an old beat up one at a community rink here in town I might throw an offer at), or another temporary pin.

So many machines came in and out of that place when I was growing up I would love to see again but have probably vanished aside from the hall of fame in vegas, like Alien Star. @Gorgar is another one of those machines I hate in real life but absolutely love on virtual pinball.

Ooooof, I would keep the Diner over Bad Cats every day, but to each his own, right? SOF is fun to pop a quarter in at an arcade but I suspect it lacks staying power in a home collection. Dope music though.

What Fish Tales have you been playing? Every FT I've ever touched has been a complete drain fest... I've actually lost tournaments and league titles because of that game. My local league has (err, had - hasn't played in over a year because of covid) a player in the top 500 IFPA rankings, and he put it best - you have to know your shots on that game, or it'll kick you in the dick.

 

[Pope Negro Joe the XIIIth]

There's literally only one Pinball machine I would spend ridiculous amounts on.

Buy Guns N' Roses Pinball Machine by Data East Online at $9999

Buy Guns N' Roses Pinball Machine by Data East online for $9999 from The Pinball Company, visit our website for more information.

www.thepinballcompany.com

Look at this work of art:

Dat Plunger, ooh lordy.

And fuck that goddamn LE Remake, what a joke.

 

[Dr. Dude]

There's literally only one Pinball machine I would spend ridiculous amounts on.

Buy Guns N' Roses Pinball Machine by Data East Online at $9999

Buy Guns N' Roses Pinball Machine by Data East online for $9999 from The Pinball Company, visit our website for more information.

www.thepinballcompany.com

Look at this work of art:
View attachment 1974927
Dat Plunger, ooh lordy.

And fuck that goddamn LE Remake, what a joke.

Fun game! 5-6 grand on average... hope that fits your definition of ridiculous.

And the LE isn't a remake, its the top-end trim of an all-new game from Jersey Jack and it's actually pretty fucking sweet. Actually got to play the lower-end standard edition again today after playing it before and am seriously considering splurging the 6700 for it. Slash is a huge pinball guy and actually received design credits on it (as well as the Data East game!)

 

[Next Task]

I have never played an Apollo 13 but given that I thought I was going to have a heart attack with Star Trek's 6

It's essentially a fluke to get it - the machine tracks every time a specific thing is done (I couldn't tell you what it was, but I think it's an uncommon achievement in itself) and if you're the player who does it the xth time, you get a chance to activate the 13-ball mode.

I flail enough with a regular multiball often enough that 13 was just a ridiculous free-for-all. It was certainly an experience I've never had again. I know it's not the only machine that has secret rollovers like that, but I couldn't make any of the other ones that do.

 

[Dr. Dude]

It's essentially a fluke to get it - the machine tracks every time a specific thing is done (I couldn't tell you what it was, but I think it's an uncommon achievement in itself) and if you're the player who does it the xth time, you get a chance to activate the 13-ball mode.

I flail enough with a regular multiball often enough that 13 was just a ridiculous free-for-all. It was certainly an experience I've never had again. I know it's not the only machine that has secret rollovers like that, but I couldn't make any of the other ones that do.

Per http://www.pinball.org/rules/apollo13.html :

Kinda nuts how complicated rulesets started to get in the 90s.

 

[Cantercoin]

A personal favorite pinball machine I've played was Medival Madness that I tried out two years ago at my local pinball arcade. I almost went mad that night trying to get the high score but never even got close. I have been wanting to try out the Star Trek: TNG cabinet but I haven't been able to find one anywhere

 

[Wormy]

The 1980 Black Knight was my gateway drug, but what really ate my money was this creature...

https://youtu.be/O89P8CAPkPQ

 

[Rebel Wilson]

Fun game! 5-6 grand on average... hope that fits your definition of ridiculous.

And the LE isn't a remake, its the top-end trim of an all-new game from Jersey Jack and it's actually pretty fucking sweet. Actually got to play the lower-end standard edition again today after playing it before and am seriously considering splurging the 6700 for it. Slash is a huge pinball guy and actually received design credits on it (as well as the Data East game!)

Honestly I'm tired of Diner I've had it for a very long time and I've played it to death. It doesn't hold any sentimental value and I got a good offer on it.

I'm at the point that I don't want to cycle machines in or out of my house anymore. Pinbot and Bad Cats were the two machines I played the most as a kid so them and my monster bash completes my collection.

As far as Fish Tales I know the lightning flippers cause problems for a lot of people, never found the same for myself. It's why I always recommend a new player play a game they love playing virtually at least a few times in person before committing to a purchase.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

Fun game! 5-6 grand on average... hope that fits your definition of ridiculous.

And the LE isn't a remake, its the top-end trim of an all-new game from Jersey Jack and it's actually pretty fucking sweet. Actually got to play the lower-end standard edition again today after playing it before and am seriously considering splurging the 6700 for it. Slash is a huge pinball guy and actually received design credits on it (as well as the Data East game!)

Slash Solo!

GNR Data East is one game that was in a pub near me a number of years back. It was fun but I think it was poorly maintained because the flippers seemed a bit limp; they'd not always get it all the way up the ramps even on an absolutely on point shot.

Speaking of games with double plungers, Red & Ted's Road Show is one that I really like. Despite having the same face mechanism as Funhouse, it actually failed to freak me the fuck out like Funhouse did. Even Cyclone with the creepy clown staring up at you from between the flippers, isn't as freaky as Funhouse (though I do like Cyclone's playfield art being a top down rendition of an amusement park.

 

[Jeff Boomhauer]

I haven't played pinball in years. I wish there were more machines out in the open where I live.

Some machines I have memories of playing are two Simpsons machines, a golf one called Tee'd Off (which I thought was Caddyshack at first), a TMNT one, and one based off of Super Mario World. I also put a lot of hours into the two Pokemon Pinball games.

There's also this thing, which I remember seeing at several family-friendly locations, like my local Pizza Hut.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

I haven't played pinball in years. I wish there were more machines out in the open where I live.

Some machines I have memories of playing are two Simpsons machines, a golf one called Tee'd Off (which I thought was Caddyshack at first), a TMNT one, and one based off of Super Mario World. I also put a lot of hours into the two Pokemon Pinball games.

There's also this thing, which I remember seeing at several family-friendly locations, like my local Pizza Hut.
View attachment 1979469

Just wait till you see the playfield and how the loops are her boobies and the extra ball light is a rocket heading for her mecha-muff.

"I CAN SPEAK"

"Oh No."

I believe The Machine is the only pinball ever to have been cancelled for being problematic. In 1992 an American university had it removed from their location for being sexist. It's times like that I want the late Python Angelo to have actually finished and had completed Zingy Bingy before Capcom shut their pinball division.

 

[sasazuka]

, a golf one called Tee'd Off (which I thought was Caddyshack at first),

Tee'd Off is pretty obviously a "we wanted to make a Caddyshack pinball game but couldn't get the license" table. Thanks to the lack of an external movie license, it was one of the tables included in Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection on the Playstation 2 (and PSP, Wii, XBox, and Gamecube).

 

[Radical Cadre]

Whenever someone I know asks me if i want to go to the "arcade", I ask them if the arcade has pinball.

They never do. Pinball is the best.

 

[Dr. Dude]

Speaking of games with double plungers, Red & Ted's Road Show is one that I really like. Despite having the same face mechanism as Funhouse, it actually failed to freak me the fuck out like Funhouse did. Even Cyclone with the creepy clown staring up at you from between the flippers, isn't as freaky as Funhouse (though I do like Cyclone's playfield art being a top down rendition of an amusement park.

I find the heads in both games kinda creepy, but it definitely works in FunHouse's case.

I believe The Machine is the only pinball ever to have been cancelled for being problematic. In 1992 an American university had it removed from their location for being sexist. It's times like that I want the late Python Angelo to have actually finished and had completed Zingy Bingy before Capcom shut their pinball division.

I've heard this story a couple times in the time I've been in the hobby, but have never seen a source. There was definitely a stink about American Pinball's Oktoberfest having a backglass featuring a monkey with his hand up a skirt a while back.

I also heard someone got thrown out of a tourney for making a joke about the boobs on Earthshaker:

 

[Ginger Piglet]

I find the heads in both games kinda creepy, but it definitely works in FunHouse's case.


I've heard this story a couple times in the time I've been in the hobby, but have never seen a source. There was definitely a stink about American Pinball's Oktoberfest having a backglass featuring a monkey with his hand up a skirt a while back.

View attachment 1980623

I also heard someone got thrown out of a tourney for making a joke about the boobs on Earthshaker:

View attachment 1980610

Sauce for the cancellation of The Machine.

Anyhow, anyone got a Whoa, Nellie! Big Juicy Melons? Started life as a one-off reskin of an old electromechanical era game, then got retrofitted with Stern's SPIKE platform and some extra music and voices added.

You're welcome.

 

[Road Work Ahead]

Sauce for the cancellation of The Machine.

Anyhow, anyone got a Whoa, Nellie! Big Juicy Melons? Started life as a one-off reskin of an old electromechanical era game, then got retrofitted with Stern's SPIKE platform and some extra music and voices added.

You're welcome

Wasn't quite a one off, or a reskin. The original run was 4 games. One was a Continental Cafe with the parts moved around and the other 3 had custom electronics.

 

[Dick Justice]

Friendly reminder that 3D Pinball Space Cadet is a thing you can just download on abandonware sites or the Internet Archive and that it works perfectly out of the box in wine.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Per http://www.pinball.org/rules/apollo13.html :

View attachment 1975320

Kinda nuts how complicated rulesets started to get in the 90s.

Could there have been a setting that made 13 multiball easier? I remember it not being uncommon at the places we played. At first it's awesome but it soon feels like a garbage gimmick.

A personal favorite pinball machine I've played was Medival Madness that I tried out two years ago at my local pinball arcade. I almost went mad that night trying to get the high score but never even got close. I have been wanting to try out the Star Trek: TNG cabinet but I haven't been able to find one anywhere

If you like Medieval Madness you should check out Attack From Mars, the predecessor. They're very much alike and I think Mars is the better one(because I played that one first).

Just wait till you see the playfield and how the loops are her boobies and the extra ball light is a rocket heading for her mecha-muff.

"I CAN SPEAK"

"Oh No."

I believe The Machine is the only pinball ever to have been cancelled for being problematic. In 1992 an American university had it removed from their location for being sexist. It's times like that I want the late Python Angelo to have actually finished and had completed Zingy Bingy before Capcom shut their pinball division.

Anyway, Theater of Magic is awesome, a really solid table. It will probably kick you in the dick at first until you get the hang of it. It felt cramped at first but that's probably just because it's fast. Haven't played it in a long time so that's just how I remember it.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

Could there have been a setting that made 13 multiball easier? I remember it not being uncommon at the places we played. At first it's awesome but it soon feels like a garbage gimmick.

If you like Medieval Madness you should check out Attack From Mars, the predecessor. They're very much alike and I think Mars is the better one(because I played that one first).

View attachment 1982589

Anyway, Theater of Magic is awesome, a really solid table. It will probably kick you in the dick at first until you get the hang of it. It felt cramped at first but that's probably just because it's fast. Haven't played it in a long time so that's just how I remember it.

I love Theatre of Magic. "YOU MUST CONCENTRATE!" Gah, fuck you, I'm trying to shoot for the captive ball but all of a sudden my sense of timing has died. But in a good way.

Last time I played one IRL the eject on the basement hatch for when multiball starts was slightly wonked and it would fire all the balls straight down the middle. And the saver was turned off. Yay.

Sigh. I can't wait for us to be off lockdown. Last time I played IRL pinball was 2019 (I don't have space in my flat to put one, more's the pity). There was a place in [town] near me where they had a Ghostbusters Pro, a Star Wars Trilogy (actually a good game but the recent trend for HD screens where the DMD used to be is distracting and Yoda lecturing me when I outlane gets very annoying; at least on Trek you can slap both flippers during such a lecture for an easter egg of 10M. "THANK YOU MR DATA!"), an AC/DC Luci Premium (excellent game that, I remember there was a time it even managed to break the WMS circlejerk on IPDB's top ten) and a Gorgar. The only pinball cool enough to have a heavy metal song written about it: