I like pinball, and I play it every chance I get. I went to a pinball museum a few days ago, so I got to try many tables.
>Jungle Queen (pic related from IPDB)
I had never tried a table this old before. I like the unique double flipper arrangement, and the playfield art is great. The chimes are pleasant, too. Tables from the '70s like this tend to be inclined less than newer ones, so nudging is more effective and it's harder to get the ball trapped on a flipper. I like the simple rules. It's fun to clear the drop target banks.
>Big Guns
I had to play this one when I saw it, because it was noted as being designed by Mark Ritchie, whose work on Fish Tales I'm familiar with. More on that later, maybe. This table features 2 cannons that actually shoot the balls through the air and onto the habitrails. Also, there's a little game in the backglass that uses a smaller ball. I haven't seen either of those features anywhere else. It's an exciting table with top-notch presentation in both visuals and sound. Also, this thing is a beast. It's so heavy that I found it difficult to get any effect out of nudging.
>Riverboat Gambler
I had learned some of the rules for this table in advance, so I had fun going for the various objectives. There are 6 main ones, and while I got each one at some point, I couldn't manage to complete them all in one game. There's a spinning wheel in the backglass for the roulette minigame, and some extra buttons are used to place bets on it. There's also a gap at the top of the right outlane that allows the ball to go back into the plunger lane, not only saving it but also giving another chance at the skillshot. I like that feature.
I played some other tables too, but those three were the ones I played the most. I might write about others later, or maybe I'll go into detail about a few tables that are more local to me. What pinball tables have you played?
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EditThe peak gaming experience was Space Cadet pinball on Windows XP. My phone used to have a pinball game on it that was surprisingly decent. Looking at the OP picture I'm just now realizing its main level had the same layout as Jungle Queen, that's kind of neat. Guess it's a classic layout. I do love pinball but unfortunately haven't had many opportunities to play on physical cabinets, maybe 3 occasions in all my life. I should see if there's a pinball museum around here.
People say pinball is boring but I cannot imagine why, it's a box of flashing lights and sound effects and riveting play. Long live pinball.
>>2325
One of my favorite levels was the casino level in Sonic Adventure. The pinball part was something I would do for hours when I was younger.
>>2344
>he liked the pinball part of Sonic
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU
>>2346
I needed to farm rings for chaos, and the casino was a way to get rings in one stage.
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I had hoped to play some more pinball by now, but it's been a couple months since making this thread and I still haven't, so I'll just leave more thoughts. Pic is unrelated to the following; I just found it amusing.
There's a trilogy of pinball tables with amusement park themes: Comet (1985), Cyclone (1988), and Hurricane (1991). I played the first two of these when I was at the pinball museum. There's a Hurricane near me, but I haven't played it yet. I'll be sure to write again when I do.
Anyway, these tables were all released by Williams and had Python Anghelo's art. He was a strange, interesting artist, and he also worked on the aforementioned Big Guns.
Here are my thoughts on the two I tried:
>Comet
The most outstanding feature of this table is its lower playfield structure. On the left is a crossover outlane, meaning the outlane intersects the inlane such that a ball going down the outlane is returned to the flipper, and a ball going down the inlane heads for the drain in an inversion of convention. I like this setup, because a well-timed nudge can bank a drain-bound ball off the corner of the intersection and back into play. There's even a one-way gate to stop the ball from rolling up the flipper into danger, so it's very fair.
On the right, there is no inlane, only a slingshot and an outlane. This makes it hard to catch the ball on the right, providing a nice balance to the accommodating left side.
>Cyclone
This table uses a more traditional lower playfield, with the common double lane structure on both sides, but it keeps things interesting with some very fun shots. One of them sends the ball down a wobbly path, and one of them puts it on a mechanical Ferris wheel. On Hurricane, this was upgraded to 2 Ferris wheels in a row, which I'm eager to see in action.
Both tables have fun sound effects and moderately deep rules for the time, and I'm sure Hurricane is a worthy follow-up. If you find one, give it a try.
Finally, I played some more pinball. I didn't put up any big scores today, despite showing up in the autism uniform pictured at left, but I did see a few cool things.
>Fish Tales
As mentioned before, Mark Ritchie worked on this one. I like the simple rules and the funny theme. I had approached this table hoping for revenge, as the last time I played it, I couldn't start a multiball. This time, I couldn't even hit a single lock. The only shots I consistently found were the boat ramps. This table features Lightning Flippers, a contemporary Williams feature in which the flippers are 1/8" shorter than standard, which makes center drains a big threat. I kept losing the ball right after the ball saver expired. This even happened 3 times in one game. At least I got to hear the best voice line in the game (attached).
>Hurricane (upper playfield pictured)
It's the third in the trilogy of Comet and Cyclone, so now I've played them all. I got to watch the ball ride the double Ferris wheels, which was all I really wanted. Then, I did a soft plunge and accidentally got the ball stuck between the plunger habitrail and the sign over the right ramp. I could only free it by tilting, so I lost that ball. After that, I started Clown Time, but then drained immediately. Maybe a mere few seconds of Clown Time is all we get in life.
>Pin*Bot
This is an older table (1986) and the predecessor to Jack*Bot, which I've also played. It's another brainchild of Python Anghelo. There's a fun rule where you get 1 shot to hit a strobing light for a chance at multiball, but if you miss it, you have to build it up the hard way. I hit it on Jack*Bot, which has a similar rule, but I couldn't do it today. I did get to demonstrate an interesting mechanic: the 1-switch rule (conventionally replaced by a 3-switch rule on later tables). This rule ensures that if the ball drains before hitting any switch, it's returned to the plunger for free. This is necessary as a failsafe in case the ball kicker doesn't work, but on this table, it can be exploited by shooting the ball just hard enough to roll out of the pop bumper nest without hitting any bumpers. From there, it goes to the flippers, and you effectively get a risk-free shot. Because I wanted to see the rule in action, I drained on purpose, and I actually got it back. Then I shot again and lost it right away, so it all came out in the wash.
I wish I could have played for longer or at least done a bit better, but I still enjoyed playing pinball. All of the tables I played today are somewhat common, so maybe you've seen one before. I hope to cover Stern's Star Trek and Iron Man tables when I can. A nearby mall houses both, but it's in dire straits.
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I was at the same arcade again, so I played most of the same tables, but I also tried a new one.
>Bone Busters Inc.
I don't know the rules to this one, but I gather it has a skillshot similar to the one on Big Guns. This one requires you to engage an upper flipper acting as a diverter, which is done with an extra button on the right. It seems to lock a ball if you make it. Other than than, I shot for the drop targets, which is easy enough with the left side flipper. I like the theme and the art, and the angled inlane structure is fun. This one tilts with no warnings, so it takes some finesse to save a ball. Maybe next time I'll take a look at the rules printed on the front insert.
In other news, I finally got the multiball on Fish Tales. I hit Rock the Boat a few times in the same game, so I got a decent score of a bit over 50 million. If I want to beat the 300 million default high score, I'll have to score some jackpots.
I got the multiball on Pin*Bot too, and I made some fun saves off the center post. I still didn't hit the strobing shot, though.
>>3175
I played more Bone Busters. I had wanted to try World Cup Soccer, but it seemed to be out of order.
I couldn't make much sense of the diagram on the front, and the sound effects weren't working, so I went off the playfield lights to figure out what to do. As I thought, the skillshot locks balls. A ball can be sent the same way from a left ramp shot. The center shot starts multiball with any balls that have been locked. There may be some other condition necessary, or maybe I just shot it a lot with no locks. The ramp actually sends the ball over a gap and into a hoop, so it only counts for multiball if it has enough speed to make the jump.
There's also a captive ball on the top left. I think it collects a jackpot, but I'm not sure when it's eligible. The most reliable way to shoot it is up the left side, just over the side flipper.
The drop targets appear to collect some bonuses indicated by the lights next to them. The right inlane affects these lights, making new awards available.
The shots on the right look important, but I didn't make them enough to gather how they work.
Despite not knowing much about the table and not playing any better than usual, I was awarded with so many specials that I played free for at least half an hour and left it with more credits than it had when I started. I never figured out why it kept giving them out, but it was being very generous. There even seems to be a triple special available as a multiball award.
I hope to try World Cup Soccer next time. The playfield design looks fun. Several of the tables had their coin slots blocked, so maybe it was just time for maintenance.
Anybody remember the flash pinball game based on this Nike Total 90 commercial? Seems like it's lost media today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ZEMINhPFwio
I'm so shit at pinball, perhaps i dont understand the rules or gameplay. Also for whatever god damned reason the fucking pinball machines at my arcade have this fucking high pitch screech that'll bust an eardrum, all of them do this for some reason. I played three machines that i can remember, alien pinball, deadpool pinball and vemom pinball.
the alien pinball allows you to choose two story modes, alien one or two. had a hard fucking time playing this one. deadpool pinball was fun, kind of like an rpg with a story mode, you have to kill mystique, sabertooth and juggernaut by doing specific things and its timed because they are also are killing deadpool arcade videogame style. venom pinball is neat because you get to choose a host and it changes the way the pinball machine is used like certian things are changed, disabled and you get buffs like extra pinballs or whatever.