What makes a good pinball machine, and what would you say is the best, most desirable one out there...
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What makes a good pinball machine...
- Thread starter Frosty
- Start date
One that when you play it, nothing else around you matters. The giddy excitement that follows is all down to your personal tastes, needs and desires.
Fast and brutal, or slow and floaty? Stop and start gameplay, or non stop ball action? You really need to play the crap out of some machines to find out what you like.
The best most desirable pin is the one you can never imagine leaving your possession.
Fast and brutal, or slow and floaty? Stop and start gameplay, or non stop ball action? You really need to play the crap out of some machines to find out what you like.
The best most desirable pin is the one you can never imagine leaving your possession.
A good pinball designer?
Emotion. Adrenaline. Focus. Fun. Theme. Gameplay...........there is a very long list which is specific to each player. For me, modern, deep ruled hard games so a desire to get to the wizard mode in normal essential for me.
Emotion. Adrenaline. Focus. Fun. Theme. Gameplay...........there is a very long list which is specific to each player. For me, modern, deep ruled hard games so a desire to get to the wizard mode in normal essential for me.
R
RobZombie
Theme, artwork, sound, flow of the game, angles of shots, tactile feedback, difficulty, long term playability, nudgability, reliability. I don't think many people will argue against Addams Family as the most desirable of all pins generally speaking.
Not too easy to complete. Not too hard to complete.
Flowing shots and ramps (eg: I love the right hand ramp on SM because of the smoothness of it).
Scenes to complete. Different objectives (= Not a repetition of the same shots over and over).
Plenty happening on display (video modes and callout).
Multiballs.
Nice to look at.
Taf: sorry, never really understood the fascination with it. It has good original features but I don't think it looks nice. Too many areas of the playfield without drawings/decals or anything.
Mm: perfect in so many ways.
Flowing shots and ramps (eg: I love the right hand ramp on SM because of the smoothness of it).
Scenes to complete. Different objectives (= Not a repetition of the same shots over and over).
Plenty happening on display (video modes and callout).
Multiballs.
Nice to look at.
Taf: sorry, never really understood the fascination with it. It has good original features but I don't think it looks nice. Too many areas of the playfield without drawings/decals or anything.
Mm: perfect in so many ways.
Flow, fun, and if both of those the theme you like....
That said it's very subjective - I love a load of the usual contenders for the desirable games - AFM, MM, MB, TAF, TWD, MET
I don't 'get' Tron at all and I've always been on the fence with AC/DC which are titles that everyone seems to want.
You need to pick one for your budget though - and there are some classics that while not as 'good' as the top tier and top priced games are still a blast - FT, RS,
I also have a special place in my heart for WhoDunnit - Always liked the theme and it's just fun, but I'm pretty much on my own there I think
Which has probably gone no way at all to answering the question
That said it's very subjective - I love a load of the usual contenders for the desirable games - AFM, MM, MB, TAF, TWD, MET
I don't 'get' Tron at all and I've always been on the fence with AC/DC which are titles that everyone seems to want.
You need to pick one for your budget though - and there are some classics that while not as 'good' as the top tier and top priced games are still a blast - FT, RS,
I also have a special place in my heart for WhoDunnit - Always liked the theme and it's just fun, but I'm pretty much on my own there I think
Which has probably gone no way at all to answering the question
Balls of steel.
Another reason why I like Iron Man so much.
Another reason why I like Iron Man so much.
R
RobZombie
I'm not a massive fan either (even though I own one), but looking at it objectively TAF is the undisputed king of pinball. Its the one everyone knows. Not just pinheads and collectors but the general public. It's the biggest coin taker. It's an icon....the only iconic pinball machine.
D
Deleted member 2463
One that lives in the no man's land between frustration and elation!
Truly great games are strong in every area.
Art
Gameplay
Sounds
The best may not be the most desirable.
Best to me is the game I most want to play. It varies. You get bored with one. Leave it a few months and may go back to it.
Right now I would say Whirlwind. When I go to a show like nlp, with 100 plus games, I would probably play this the most. But virtually noone would agree with me.
Addams sold more than any other and in the early 90s wiped the floor with other games. Trying to be objective, this is probably the best Pinball of all time. To this day it remains a big earner on site. Whenever I talk to non-pinball owners about the hobby, Taf is overwhelmingly the game most likely to be remembered by them.
TAF has the side benefit of being fantastically reliable too.
TZ is more complex than TAF but it is far less accessible to the casual player. It goes wrong all the time too. But there is a strong case for this to be considered the best game of all time.
Desirable implies expensive - so this puts you into very rare titles. Prototypes. Etc.
Art
Gameplay
Sounds
The best may not be the most desirable.
Best to me is the game I most want to play. It varies. You get bored with one. Leave it a few months and may go back to it.
Right now I would say Whirlwind. When I go to a show like nlp, with 100 plus games, I would probably play this the most. But virtually noone would agree with me.
Addams sold more than any other and in the early 90s wiped the floor with other games. Trying to be objective, this is probably the best Pinball of all time. To this day it remains a big earner on site. Whenever I talk to non-pinball owners about the hobby, Taf is overwhelmingly the game most likely to be remembered by them.
TAF has the side benefit of being fantastically reliable too.
TZ is more complex than TAF but it is far less accessible to the casual player. It goes wrong all the time too. But there is a strong case for this to be considered the best game of all time.
Desirable implies expensive - so this puts you into very rare titles. Prototypes. Etc.
Great replies. Thanks all.
I like to be enticed by a theme I recognise like a movie or band, gripped by the lights and sound and playability and flow, and finally smashed in the tits by the longevity and depth and that one more game factor.
I would have to agree with all the comments about TAF as it is (currently) the only pin I have, the first pin I bought and I even bought a pub/restaurant to put it in and named it after it.
I would have to say, people (non pinheads of an age) always recognize it when they come in an feel compelled to give it a play. We have regulars who come specifically to play it, people that travel to play it and have even had Richard Herring (stand up comedian, pod caster etc etc) even visit with a film crew to do an interview based on it. Not many machine would have that kind of pull. Iconic indeed.
The best part for me is all the new kids that come and play it. I regularly have to point out how you start it, what the flippers are and how to plunge the ball. Only last night, while her parents were dining their a little girl (aged about 6) wouldn't get off it. She loved it. When the 'Thing' hand comes out for the first time they think it is magic. Pretty much how I felt back in the day. None of the kids can beat my daughters high scores mind you which makes me a proud (Pin)father.
I would have to say, people (non pinheads of an age) always recognize it when they come in an feel compelled to give it a play. We have regulars who come specifically to play it, people that travel to play it and have even had Richard Herring (stand up comedian, pod caster etc etc) even visit with a film crew to do an interview based on it. Not many machine would have that kind of pull. Iconic indeed.
The best part for me is all the new kids that come and play it. I regularly have to point out how you start it, what the flippers are and how to plunge the ball. Only last night, while her parents were dining their a little girl (aged about 6) wouldn't get off it. She loved it. When the 'Thing' hand comes out for the first time they think it is magic. Pretty much how I felt back in the day. None of the kids can beat my daughters high scores mind you which makes me a proud (Pin)father.
For me, it's a machine that makes you lift your briefly turn away from it and feeling:
- elated
- annoyed (at yourself)
- nervous that you are going to make a ******** of the next shot/mode
- like a god of pinball
- like you need another game
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- elated
- annoyed (at yourself)
- nervous that you are going to make a ******** of the next shot/mode
- like a god of pinball
- like you need another game
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
