The LEAST popular table you want to come to The Pinball Arcade

[Kolchak357]

I played Genesis at a pinball show this year. It's a pretty tough pin and those ramps are not easy shots to make. The one I played had an alternate translite that had a Metropolis robot look to it (very nice). I think the original backglass kind of keeps that pin from being taken seriously.

 

[Espy]

I played Genesis at a pinball show this year. It's a pretty tough pin and those ramps are not easy shots to make. The one I played had an alternate translite that had a Metropolis robot look to it (very nice). I think the original backglass kind of keeps that pin from being taken seriously.

Are the ramps fully uphill or something?

 

[SpiffyRob]

Kolchak, I suspect you and I played the same Genesis (it was at the Pinball Gallery last year in its old location.)

Really enjoyed playing it and hope to have a chance to again. Incredibly underrated game.

Espy, the ramps aren't especially steep, but they're long and the entries are somewhat tight:

 

[Kolchak357]

You might be right Spiffy. That is the backglass I was speaking of. I played it at the York show this year. Could be the same one.
As you said, you need a pretty clean shot for those ramps. I found one more difficult than the other (sorry but I can't remember which one).

 

[Krooze L-Roy]

I will absolutely never happen, and few but me would appreciate it, but I'd like to see Star Explorer (IPDB) on TPA.

It's an undersized table built for home use, and it has an identical playfield layout as all the other tables from the company. It's incredibly basic, and frankly pretty unfair. There are no inlanes, scoring opportunities are limited, and both clunky flippers move simultaneously when you push a button (on the bright side, this allows for one-handed play).

Still, this is the table that made me a pinball enthusiast. It's been in my family since before I was born, and I have hundreds of fond memories tied into it. The artwork is wonderfully 70s-tastic, and the thing is built like a tank; everything still works, even most of the 35+ year old light bulbs. I don't even know how that's possible!

 

[Fungi]

I will absolutely never happen, and few but me would appreciate it, but I'd like to see Star Explorer (IPDB) on TPA.

Maaaan. That was one of those toys you only saw rich kids get on x-mas. That and air-hockey tables and those battery powered cars you could sit inside and drive.

 

[Krooze L-Roy]

Maaaan. That was one of those toys you only saw rich kids get on x-mas. That and air-hockey tables and those battery powered cars you could sit inside and drive.

It was a hand-me-down from our cousins, and yeah, that side of the family was pretty well-to-do. They also had Destruction Derby (IPDB), which was kind of pointless, since it's identical other than the (also very cool) artwork, but you know how kids are about sharing. Wouldn't mind DD on TPA either, as I've got a separate strain of memories attached to it. Maybe a "Wonder Wizard 4 pack." A man can dream, right?

 

[Kolchak357]

I would have totally loved one of those when I was a kid!

 

[lettuce]

Batman (Data East)

 

[Espy]

It was a hand-me-down from our cousins, and yeah, that side of the family was pretty well-to-do. They also had Destruction Derby (IPDB), which was kind of pointless, since it's identical other than the (also very cool) artwork, but you know how kids are about sharing. Wouldn't mind DD on TPA either, as I've got a separate strain of memories attached to it. Maybe a "Wonder Wizard 4 pack." A man can dream, right?

I remember eyeing up the pinball machine in the Argos catalogue when I was young. It was around... £300? Would have loved it as a kid, but thinking about it now it was probably really cheap.

I had this amazing tabletop pinball machine as a kid. Still have it, but as far as I know it's unknown - can't find any information about it at all. But for a toy mini pinball machine it was great - had two sets of flippers, a ramp and an upper playfield (albeit flipperless) with five points of exit, one being a zig-zag path. Hitting that as a kid felt as satisfying as insanity falls does today. The upper playfield was clear, so you can see the ball underneath it too. The only way to score was hitting the bumpers (there were rollover lanes but without any rollovers!), but for a kid's toy it was amazing. I believe it was called Dirt Rider. Anyone heard of it? I'll take photos of it if not. It still works, aside from the plunger - I think the spring is broken, but you can still "slam" the ball into play pretty easily.

Given the horrible uninventiveness that goes into toy pinball machines these days (four bumpers, four flippers, latest action movie splattered over the top, done), I have really fond memories of that machine.

Dirt Rider for TPA!

 

[mystman12]

We should have a pack for Dirt Rider and Astro Shooter!

 

[Rudy Yagov]

I already posted a couple of old Williams games, but I'm gonna add Kingpin to my list.

The final Capcom game, and the final Mark Ritchie design. Sound by Chris Granner. They only made 9 of these, which makes it even rarer than Big Bang Bar's original run.

I don't get why this one never got the same kind of recognition that BBB did. I've actually played both, and Kingpin is a better game from my experience.

 

[MAMEiac]

Right there with the love for Rollergames. Cheesy though it may have been I freaking loved the way multi-ball would kick off with the lights going out and the arena crowd chanting and all. Then who can deny "Sudden Death... GO FOR THE WAAAALLLLL!" Or the music when you'd get the jackpot with "Kick Butt". Just loved that machine.

 

[Robert Hunt]

No question: Popeye Saves the Earth

 

[drdrey]

No question: Popeye Saves the Earth

+1

 

[tizzomr]

Monte Carlo.

 

[tizzomr]

Or Gator.

 

[HOW]

I'd go with:

'Kings of Steel' - Bally (Great mid-80s SS)

and I'd second:

'South Park' - Sega (I like it :$)

 

[Jutter]

Riverboat Gambler

 

[NYJ]

TruckStop! Oh, and Laser War.

I second the Laser War nomination. Also, "Time Machine" (another Data East).