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Undervalued or Misunderstood Games - Nominate Yours

DRD

DRD

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I am sure we all like the odd game that is considered off piste by others. I thought a thread might open minds to some under-loved titles, where you state the case for your nominee.

I nominate fish tales. It was a huge seller back in the day at about 15,000. It is up there with the top 5 or so selling wpc games of all time - TAF, TZ, T2 etc

I overlooked it in the arcades back in the early 90s as it was out simultaneously with TAF, and quite franky TAF is better. But is it right that an average TAF is 5k, and an average FT is 1.6k ?

For me, the key issues are that:
  1. Fish Tales may look trivially simple, but it is actually a very hard game
  2. You can play FT for ages and get virtually no points if you do not understand the rules
  3. It has some real sucker shots
  4. The jackpots are exponential, so if you get into the Supers your score goes turbo
It came out before the Pat Lawlor concepts of modes plus wizard mode were copied by other designers. TAF is a much friendlier game for the casual player. With FT many of the big points require a sequence of timed shots, that would baffle a first time player ...

The two pairs of standups, unless they are flashing can hit be hit as often as you like and it will not achieve anything

Video mode ... hit the right orbit when it is lit to activate the captive ball. Hit the captive ball to light the video mode. Hit the saucer to start the video mode

Jackpot during multiball ... get the ball into the casters club. You then have 15 seconds to make the left orbit and hit the saucer to score the jackpot. It is like Zen pinball. Get the multiball. Lose two balls during ball save, shoot the casters club when you have an empty playfield, wait for the saved balls, shoot the left loop to score the jackpot. Then when you get into the Supers, the game goes nuts.

The boat looks enticing. But again, you need sequences for the three boat shots to score anything. You can hit the captive ball as much as you like, but unless you have primed it by hitting the lit right orbit, it won't do much. Similarly the left and right shots - unless they are lit they are meaningless

The captive ball is a sucker shot - so you take if out during ball save.

FT offers real flow. Fantastic ball speed. The lightening flippers will improve your pinball skills. The complex multiball will improve your 2 and 3 ball skills

Stood next to its nemesis ...
20180228_100917.jpg

One of the best animated toppers of all time

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Great cab and translite art, if you like kiddie cartoon style games

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One of the most iconic pinball launch buttons 20180228_101011.jpg

Fantastic mini playfield integration
20180228_100942.jpg

The dots/ sounds also offer two pinball greats.
  1. The replay with a fish playing a drum kit and hitting the cymbal when the knocker fires
  2. The feed frenzy mode with crazy violin music
Until I owned one, I thought this game was pretty crap. I bought mine with a view to selling it on after a couple of months. But I then bought a manny cab machine and merged the two games to make one really nice one. I played fish tales more than any of my stable last year
 

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Yeah the music is a bit crap .it is obviously trying to take the p1ss out of red neck/ fishermen/ deliverance types/ guys with dodgy eyes but some fast banjo skills .

 
FT is one of my favourite games ever.

As far as I know very few have ever 'completed it' as the super jackpot shot goes all the way to 600m. Only then can you say you have completed the game;)

Monster fish goes up to 50 million.

Video mode is probably my favourite in pinball.

'Look out water skiers'....:D
 
Mine is arriving today - looking forward to setting it up and having a few games but it might be a couple of weeks...
 
Shh about FT - you are going to put the price up before I get chance to add one to my collection (I would like FT, SST and GB)...

IF we are playing the put the value up game though... No Fear.... How it can be called No Fun it beyond me, lightening speed, some good modes, rewarding flow and whilst only one toy - the skull, for me it is a great game and a different theme. Plug plug plug.
 
Fish Tales is brilliant!
I vote for WhoDunnit - doesn't get a lot of love, but I like the theme.... I do see that the roulette thing makes scoring weird though.
In reverse a thread could be done for games that are generally seen as amazing but you find a bit underwhelming - for me Tron... Never seen the attraction of it.:hmm:
However, that's the beauty of it - everyone enjoys different games!
 
Johnny Mnemonic. Seems just as good, if not better than many other Williams games of the era but I guess people pass over it either because of the theme or the artwork.
 
Lethal weapon, my first dmd love the music everybody dance now , when I got so called better titles couldn’t understand the lack of love for lethal
 
Owned a few including fish tales, not sure that game should come under this category...

Stargate
WWF
JD
Avatar
SMB
WCS (Gott)
Godzilla
Avengers
 
CFTBL

I know it already has a good reputation but I personally would put it ahead of MM, AFM, CV, MB etc

Not that long ago you could pick one up for £1500
 
Eight Ball Deluxe has my attention due to the fact that Lyman says it is his favourite game ever.
 
jonathan said:
CFTBL

I know it already has a good reputation but I personally would put it ahead of MM, AFM, CV, MB etc

Not that long ago you could pick one up for £1500
Click to expand...
I’ll second that for Creech. You don’t often hear folks raving about it. Love the ramps and the fact the middle swirl ramp is only accessible during multiball. 2ball multiball maybe puts some off? But it’s tough to score the super jackpot. Beautiful looking pin though.
 
Transformers.

Panned on Pinside when it came out because it didn’t have the promised transforming toy on the playfield and some of the voices weren’t by the original actors.
In reality it is a great game with some unusual shots, lots of modes, a unique way to start the game and killer sound.

When starting the game you have to choose which side you will be, Decepticons or Autobots. This choice not only affects which modes you will play but also how the main multiball will pan out and also how the multipliers will be lit.

Shoot any four of the flashing lights will start a mode.

Lock four balls in Megatron to start a four ball multiball that has a great start. When the multiball starts the four balls are fired out at you in less than a second.

The top lanes and in-lanes are also a little different to the norm. There are in essence eight inserts each controlled by a flipper button. Four on the left, four on the right. You have to light four inserts to light the multiplier but only in the colour of the side you chose at the start of the game (purple for Decepticons, red for Autobots). So for example if you chose to be Decepticons, when you light all four purple inserts (two on the left side top lane and two down at the bottom on the left outlane and inlane you will light the playfield multipliers. You can only cycle these purple lights with the left flipper button (you can only cycle the red Autobots lights with the right flipper button).

There is also a jump ramp that raises and lowers. You use this ramp to hit the Optimus Prime figure who will rock backwards with a successful shot (a bit like the Well Walker in TWD).

The sound is superb with lots of great callouts and fantastic spot effects.

The game really needs LEDs and mirror blades fitting to bring it alive as it is quite a dark game.

Most people who play my games for the first time comment on how much they like Transformers.

Try it, I think you will be surprised.

0636226D-E087-449B-9539-132058EDF175.jpeg C92D5E87-400A-4B65-84FB-7B03EFA5B9AB.jpeg E2422800-98F1-44E5-9A69-A953ABC6B0FA.jpeg 17C5D629-3E7B-438D-ADA7-A915D93123E4.jpeg
 
IMHO

Avatar is hugely underrated. Maybe because of only 1 ramp, simple (ish) rules. Whatever the reason It's so much better than the general perception. One of only 2 games I've had twice.

WPT as well. So many different way to attack the game, and a wizard mode that is by FAR the most difficult to reach. I've got to Valinor, SDMEWM, SuperHero, Encore, Sperm Attack but not really come close to Keefer Invitational.
 
I'd like to throw in a second too for Godzilla, a game I didn't think I'd like as much as I did (I will admit I have just sold it, but only because I keep a small collection anyhow.)

A game that completely rewards shot accuracy, and punishes you badly for misses/flails. It's also probably the only machine I've ever come across with 4 magnets under the playfield (2 in the middle TAF style that throw the balls around during multiball, one to hold balls for the final "lock" to start most of the multiballs and one that the top to stop the ball and divert it down into the pop bumpers).

Very addictive, like BSD on steroids trying to stack all 5 multiballs at once which I only managed twice in a year of owning it. The massive Godzilla head on the playfield is also very cool and probably one of the most amazing looking playfield toys bar the castle in MM.

If I had give it one flaw it is that the code after the multiballs are played is fairly flat. There is not much else to do bar shoot the spinner for the awards. You spend the entire game going for the various multiballs as there is nothing else worth as much value. Then playing save New York the game just starts over.
 
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