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What's the best Data East game?

As with a lot of these things "best" is subjective and does not always mean "favourite" so maybe these kind of threads should be asking "Which is your favourite?" and Neil's thread is 5 years old now so another one added here would be good :cool:
We also would have had to have played on all of the machines to give a true rating so maybe what we ought to be asking is "Which *insert company here* (that you have played on) is your favourite?".

I like these kind of polls for reference because I am sad like that so I may make another one :)

It would be great if there was a place on the site where reference polls could be given there own section and left open to vote on such as the Articles section which is never used.
It would also be very useful for newcomers to the hobby I think.
 
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Tommy is probably my favourite
Chads code polish has really improved it too - more interesting mode rules , score balancing and much better use of the awesome blinders ….. still one of the best toys / wows in pinball 😎

Chad has improved all the DE / Sega games he has worked on . I’d say his code is a must now on these.

I’ve always enjoyed DE games - they are like the brasher, louder, punkier cousin to Williams polished smooth 90s titles. Wild beats crazy music and sounds, eye melting GI flashing all part of the charm 😁
 
I wish I found out about this code update before selling my Batman Forever. It sounds great!
 
JP for me, but DESW is a close second. Tommy and GnR also up there. Oh and I have a soft spot for LAH with alt backglass. Superb. LW3 is fun too although never owned it. @DanLewell won't sell! Baywatch is also great. Robocop turned up loud is unreal. Hook has a great jackpot.

And Brian Schmidt elevated the majority of all their 90s releases ten-fold.. i mean cmon..


Here's the life hack with DE pins... play with friends, drink beer, don't take it too seriously.

You'll have a better time than with most modern games waiting for someone to grind out that 5th sim card...
 
The wrestling one is a good game, but an awful theme/ art.

Perhaps Robocop. It's pure. Captures the essence of the film. Stereo sound. Lovely period piece.
 
Just watched DE Simpsons end on ebay and seen a few people saying they liked it - not personally a fan and glad Stern did TSPP as thats more like what the cartoon deserved
Sometimes it's just progression, considering Gary Stern was head of Data East Pinball until such time that he bought it from Sega and formed Stern Pinball.

I have copied this from Google:
Data East Pinball gave us licensed pinball machines (Guns ‘N Roses, Back to the Future, Star Wars Turtles Ninjas…), the use of DMD (screens with large, often orange dots), and electronic flippers control.

Screenshot_23-2-2025_22858_www.ebay.com.webp
 
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Modern players probably find DE games especially the early ones shallow one trick ponies , but for many , like system 11 games , there lies the appeal

Brilliant pumping soundtracks elevate games like Batman and Hook

The slim display then lets them down. And all because Gazza wanted to save $10 per machine BOM

I've owned every mass produced DE game including more SW than any other machine.

Lucky to have played many rare birds at Expo including King Kong , Aaron Spelling , Ritchie Rich and Kabuki

Nice that my Super 8 footage contains the best images that exist for Total Recall


I don't see ROBOCOP as rare as once had 3 of them we had to offload as projects when moving premesis back in 2019. I'm glad its a regular at events when you can here the multiball start tune above everything else!

Best should be TOMMY . IF it was based on the WHO or the movie it would be an easy winner

GnR was never that popular in UK. When operators started to clear them in the early 2000s I had 8 that all went overseas (to US , Germany but mostly Australia). Personally I find it a clunker

Worst are Monday Night Football , Playboy and Maverick

Only one I own now is Torpedo Alley which will grace PINFEST again with it dodgy artwork and stupendous soundtrack.

Best to play on reflection is TFTC especially with update soundtrack.

Guity pleasure is WWF:RR . Just loaded sillyness

Most overated is BTTF. Hidden gems include Secret Service and Time Machine

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i love that Total Recall, that looks like a lot of fun. Was it flippable ever?

"more SW than any other machine" - i'm sure i read you post previously that your most-owned game was the early Iron Maiden, or am i imagining that?
 
I did have a classic Maiden. I think even Todd Tuckey would struggle to have gone through over 60 of those!
 
GnR is a firm favourite in my line up. One of the kids favourite and far better than the JJ re hash.
Also got R&BW as any Moose should and it’s a great fun game.
Also got TFTC which has a lot going on. Deffo deserves saving @Jason Catrine
 
I really love “ Hook “
Also Batman but both probably more for nostalgia, although enjoying Hook quite a lot at the moment until I sell it which is looming 😂
 
From what I’ve read over the years … no. And still a rumour it exists somewhere.

Absolutely wild design and still baffling to figure out how it plays 🤷‍♂️ Solo , player vs player , team play ???
sort of like linked NBAs i think, two players each trying to score points. Drained balls go to the opponent, disappear after draining at both ends. Probably more than one ball in play at all times. Take turns launching perhaps? That's how i always imagined it anyway.

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I really like the look of Last Action Hero and it's amazing what a Pinsound card does for it! I'm seriously considering putting a wanted thread out for one. Question is what sort of price would one in decent condition sell for?
 
Tftc for me, game has everything, great theme, great shots, playfield is packed and great code with the latest update.
 
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