Best TPA tables up until now

[Craig Grannell]

It'd also be interesting to know in this thread whether people are pinball aficionados or if they're relative newcomers. I've always enjoyed pinball videogames—I dream one day that someone will remake Night Mission Pinball for iOS—but I'm generally a bit crap at pinball and have only played on real tables a handful of times. Perhaps this affects which tables I'm most drawn to. In this collection, I've very much enjoyed Black Lagoon, Bride of Pinbot, Funhouse, Harley-Davidson, Monster Bash, Gofers and Ripley's. That said, the only table I don't yet own is the Star Trek one, and that's solely because when I was noodling about with the free-play version and it said "hey, now buy me", the entire app locked up.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

I played a fair amount of real-world pinball back in the 1990s (and play it today when I get the chance), though I never got very good at it.

My affection for Star Trek: TNG and Twilight Zone is based on affection for the real tables, both of which are also among the best TPA ports (though relative difficulty isn't quite right: they nailed the difficulty of Star Trek: TNG, but even with the bumper barrier gone, TZ still feels somewhat easier than the real one. Still, it's tremendous fun even on TPA.)

The majority of the rest, I encountered for the first time either through TPA, or through Pinball Hall of Fame on the Wii. I did occasionally play Pin*Bot, Bride of Pin*Bot, and Funhouse back in the day, but never got greatly familiar with them until encountering them in simulated form.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

I didn't mention Funhouse or Cirqus Voltaire above, but CV is one of my favorites to play on the 360 (which I rarely play these days) just because it's so pretty there, with the crazy neon effects. The Android version doesn't do it visual justice.

And I guess I did get pretty familiar with Funhouse, since the other day I got what was (for me) a freakishly high score on the Android version, putting me somewhere in the hundreds on the leaderboard rankings. Usually I'm not remotely able to compete with the rest of you maniacs to that degree.

 

[Carl Spiby]

I can dead catch on the newest tables, so for me, those are the best ones up to now (physics wise).

 

[Nik Barbour]

I can dead catch on the newest tables, so for me, those are the best ones up to now (physics wise).

I managed quite a few consecutive cradle separations playing FH (Android) in the tournament the other day.
I didn't think it was possible in TPA and was taken aback when it worked. Has that always worked, or is that an update? Not tried on other tables
Not had time to play since.

 

[Carl Spiby]

I managed quite a few consecutive cradle separations playing FH (Android) in the tournament the other day.
I didn't think it was possible in TPA and was taken aback when it worked. Has that always worked, or is that an update? Not tried on other tables
Not had time to play since.

Only works on ones with the tweaked physics, for example FH is just the same as it ever was (Can't dead catch, too bouncy), also doesn't appear to work on TZ.

 

[fenderbendr]

Only works on ones with the tweaked physics, for example FH is just the same as it ever was (Can't dead catch, too bouncy), also doesn't appear to work on TZ.

With the latest update, the physics on Taxi seem to have been improved, so it might work on there.

 

[pinbot]

my favorites at the moment are AFM, TOM, MB, TZ, Gorgar, TOTAN

 

[kimkom]

1) Gorgar - First table I ever played as a kid. Once you get into it, it's like Defender compared to Space Invaders. Fast, trippy and totally unforgiving. Awesome. Great re-creation by Farsight.
2) Funhouse - Always come back to this on a regular basis.

 

[ravager]

In general, I was not a huge fan of the later tables. My most played table was Firepower, because it is the first one I remember that had multiball. It was all over Chanute AFB in 1982, along with Black Knight. I'm looking forward to seeing the TPA version of FP. I didn't really visit the arcades in the late 80s and 90s, except to play an occasional Addams Family. So PHOF and TPA have been a revelation, of sorts.

Every new release is like Christmas day. My favorites:

1) Funhouse - Time after time I return to this table, and it was my most played in PHOF
2) Circus Voltaire (PS3) - Love the Neon Multiball. Love that the game generally does not suffer the iOS bugs.
3) Big Shot - EM Nirvana. So much better than Jive Time
4) TZ
5) RBION
6) MB
7) Taxi - especially now with the updated physics
8) BH (PS3) - Having the lower table dark, with only the lights visible, is very cool.

Least Favorite(s)
1. HD - What a bore fest
2. SS (iOS) - "ah the deadhead family album"..ad nauseum. That bug is awful.
3. BoP - One shot = no challenge

 

[iamoneagain]

My favorites are:

1) Attack from Mars - Like the flow of it. Bug in right lanes needs to be fixed though. Lose ball sometimes that way. Also wish Strobe worked. Not sure how it's really supposed to look.
2) Twilight Zone - lots to do and actually got pretty good at.
3) Theater of Magic - really enjoy playing and want to find real table since never played before.
4) Funhouse - and old favorite of mine from real pinball days. recaptures the general feel it.
5) Taxi - also an old favorite - not sure it would rate as high if didn't have nostalgia attached. but enjoy the overall goals.
6) Creature from Black Lagoon - also has nice flow but still haven't done that great in it so keeps me interested.

Least favorite

1) Harley Davidson - feels generic
2) Black Knight - doesn't seem as good as Wii version and nothing like real one.
3) Elvira - never liked the real version too much. think it replaced Highspeed at quick shop I used to play at. That was much better. Hope to see that again here.

Looking forward to

1) Whirlwind - one of my favorites from real pinball. Really like the Wii version

Hope they release

1) Earthshaker - probably played as much as Whirlwind. think this is what replaced it at deli shop I used to play at

 

[Clawhammer]

AFM and ST:TNG are probably my favorites thus far. HD is my least favorite, and unfortunately, I also have to say Taxi. I do so begrudgingly because I love the game in real life, but TPA's version is combo-ramps-to-million all day long.

Looking forward to:
Centaur, and any other early 80s Bally.

 

[Jay]

For me:

1. Funhouse. It's the most visually realistic of all the TPA tables and I enjoy the gameplay.

2. Twilight Zone. Even though TPA's implementation looks a bit cartoonish, it's generally well done with good camera movement.

3. Big Shot. I love the old EM machines. I find myself playing this table more than any other.

 

[heddhunter]

My affection for the digital pinball tables is pretty much correlated with my affection for the real-world counterpart. Bugs/glitches/whatever don't bother me. I've rarely found any of them to be game-breaking but I'm not that demanding either. So, my list isn't based on how good a job FarSight did converting it, but how good the original table designers did making the original games.

Great: AFM, Black Hole, Bride Of Pinbot, CV, Funhouse, Gorgar, MM, MB, SS, ST:TNG, TOTAN, Taxi, ToM, TZ

Good: Big Shot, Black Knight, CFTBL, RBION

Meh: Elvira, Genie, HD, NGG

 

[Sumez]

Wow, you need to play some more NGG!

The theme and sort of weird layout of the table had me turned off at first, but it's really an excellent table.

 

[Tuomas Hämäläinen]

I feel the best tables released are the latest, because I notice a huge difference in physics in favour of the latest ones compared to the first. Although I love the fact that the physics are improving all the time, it makes it that much more difficult to revisit earlier releases because they feel much less realistic than what we are used to with newer ones. That's why I hope Farsight will take time to improve and upgrade the older tables as well, because they deserve the great physics as much as any.

 

[MadScience2006]

I like all the tables (that I own, which are not all) in their own way. HD, I really dislike so I did not buy it. I also don't care for any of the Elvira tables since she annoys me...just like she did in that show that was on TV for quite awhile; Macabre something or other.