I love all the tables you mentioned, too.
I understand the feeling that Medieval Madness might be too cluttered, but I think AFM dials it down a little too much -- everything outside of attacking the center UFO is forgettable to me, and I have to strain my feeble memory to remember the other sub-goals in the game. Compare that to Medieval Madness and Monster Bash, two games with similar design structures, yet their tasks are more varied and more memorable (at least to me). I guess if I'm going to be pounding on a table for more than five minutes then I need to have something to keep me engaged, whether it's a wider variety of activities or a more action-oriented layout.
I place AFM above all of the tables you listed without batting an eye.
It's a perfect pinball table.
Actually. You've got a lot of suspect nominations. Even just among Brian Eddy tables I think you'd have a hard time finding someone who thinks Monster Bash is better than Attack From Mars.
Oh, nm then.
Do you have the reimagined Farfalla table? I play on that, saw your score I think on there. I need to buy the original. I freaked out when I saw it at PAPA HQ a few weeks ago, before they closed their doors. Probably the first Zacarria I've played in person, or at least knew that I was playing, haha, at the time!
It definitely takes time to learn, and those shots are difficult to approach at first. Pretty awesome friend to have! Do they have more tables for you to check out?
Yeah, they're all good. I even like that The Pinball Arcade gave exposure to the older EM pins to a generation that might have never seen one otherwise; some of my favorite pre-eighties tables include Centaur, Genie, and Centigrade 37.I think there's a difference between saying a game is an undeniable all time great, and the best ever. Hopefully everyone would give a different answer to that, thus variety! For me, I kinda prefer the holy trinity of Popadiuk, though World Cup Soccer, speaking of Kitzrow is nice too, just not as fantasy/fantastic based as Theater/Arabian and Cirqus. Those tables just exude so many incredible design levels that I don't feel exist on other tables, quite in the same way. Medieval and AFM seem more zany, over the top, and cartoonsish for me, to be considered "the best". There's something so classical and standard about TOTAN, like it's a template of that era, in so many ways.
But again, best ever? Nah. Not fore anyway. There is no such thing. Just so many lovely games to enjoy, thankfully!
Just to butt in here a little bit, but I've only played the original Farfalla (digitally), and not the remake. It's rather brutal if you're used to more modern tables, but I chalk that up to being a product of its time.So you don't own the original Farfalla table in Zaccaria? Then you probably got your 15 million points in the remake version.
Damn straight! EXCITE!Slam Tilt You know we're buds til the end. EXCITE!! and now "Quit tawkin' and start chawkin'!"
Just to butt in here a little bit, but I've only played the original Farfalla (digitally), and not the remake. It's rather brutal if you're used to more modern tables, but I chalk that up to being a product of its time.
And for some reason I get a big doofy grin whenever I think of Zaccaria's Robot. The pop-up "robot invasion" reminds me of a bad '50s late-nite sci-fi movie every time I see it.
As I've mentioned before, I only recently became a pinball lover thanks to the digital pinball platforms on Switch, so I have next to zero experience with real pinball machines.
Of course I'm now super interested in playing real machines, but it's hard to find them here in Rio de Janeiro. Pinside only references Barra Shopping, so I went there yesterday with my wife and kid. They have the following tables, all from Stern:
- Avatar (Pro)
- The Rolling Stones
- Spiderman
- Transformers (Pro)
- Tron: Legacy (Pro)
Sadly, Spiderman (apparently the best one) and Tron: Legacy were shutdown for some reason, probably defective. I hope they fix them.
Avatar was a waste of money for us, as it drained balls pretty quickly. As soon as we finished, a guy came up with a few friends and they gave it a try. They also failed miserably and looked very angry ^_^
It's no wonder the replay score is so low for the Avatar table...
I've heard it's a great machine once you get the hang of it. Any of you played it?
Transformers isn't exactly great, but it's fun to play and way, way easier than Avatar, so I had some fun with it.
Our favorite was The Rolling Stones. Even though I like the band, It's fun to shoot balls at Mick ^_^
My wife playing The Rolling Stones
You activate some specials by shooting the ramps multiple times. The machines at Barra Shopping are a bit expensive to play, but they have a low replay score (7.900.000 for The Rolling Stones), so we both managed to get replays at this table. We played it a few times and we want to go back to it in the near future, it was great fun!
I haven't played any American games yet, but my mate Marto from the Head 2 Head Pinball podcast has streamed Houdini a bunch of times and even appears in it as an Australian prison guard or something. They look very well built and I'm keen to see how they "feel". Hopefully a bit more solid than I'm used to with Stern, they look like there's no expense spared!
With any luck it will make an appearance at FlipOut 2018, which I'll be going to at least for one of the two days. Jersey Jack will be there (he's flown to AU several times over the last few years) and there's supposed to be another special guest as well...
PS. Don't stress about owning a new machine and not having the knowledge about keeping one. Having a new machine should basically look after itself (apart from said cleaning and maybe an adjustment or two). I'd recommend getting an older 80s Williams game, they're great for seeing how machines are put together because of how relatively simple they are. I cut my teeth on High Speed and it was perfect for learning maintenance/upgrading etc.
Yeah, don't get a fixer-upper as a first machine. Learning maintenance is okay on an older machine if it works when you get it, but I don't think it's a good idea to get something you'd need to get working as a starter. Especially something as intense as any playfield repairs.I considered getting a really dirty Firepower II, but even with repairs, I'd have shelled out a cool grand in the process, and well....had a Firepower II afterwards. The playfield would have needed a decal, and man that would be a helluva first time project.
I've been into pinball for 5 or maybe 6 years now, ever since I accidentally qualified for a Metallica pinball tournament at a PAX event here in AU. Since then I caught this bug, went to Texas Pinball Festival and entered a bunch of competitions here in Melbourne. This is what my current lineup looks like, though this photo is from the last place I lived:So have you been delving into this long? Are you over on Pinside as well as here? Flipoit sounds like a pretty awesome event!
Lookout man, someone is sneaking up on your Farfalla score! (By the way, I like the remake quote a bit more. Those drop targets in the original give some mean deflections when hit.)
This is a fairly simple game. Hit targets, score points, advance
toward a jackpot payoff (Multi Special), and start again. The key to a
high score is keeping the ball in play, and collecting Extra Balls.
Keep the Outlanes lit for "React" at all times, as the ball goes in
there a lot, and it is quite possible to shoot from one Outlane
directly into the other. The Yellow targets are lucrative, but after
21 drop targets have been hit, the Special Bonus is lit and must be
collected before the Ramp can be lowered again.
Bethesda pack and more DLC added to the Pinball FX 3 sale on Switch.
Eight Ball Deluxe is a timeless classic. I would put that in my top ten all-time for pinball.
Okay, I admit I'm tempted by Bethesda there...Bethesda pack and more DLC added to the Pinball FX 3 sale on Switch.
Agreed. I've still got Pinball Arcade on my iPhone, but I have to admit I respect PBFX for their work so far (censorship aside) and love their use of HD Rumble on the Switch.Not too excited by pack #2. Pack #1 had Getaway (another old favorite) and Medieval Madness (which I hadn't played until TPA but love (and have since played IRL)), but this one has nothing I'm excited for.
wish the bethesda pack was on the webstore - would like to have it downloaded when I get home.Bethesda and Universal pack for me with the sale - glad I held off for them!
what's the consensus on the portal table?
universal tables seem to get shit on here
So now I own both the Aliens and the Jurassic Park pack for Pinball FX 3. What about the other tables that are not movie related and that are currently on sale? Iron & Steel Pack, Sci-Fi Pack and Zen Originals Season 2 Bundle? Are they good?
Got obsessed with Pinball FX3 the past couple days - once you learn all the terminology and how the tables actually work it's really addicting! Been playing mostly PC but also downloaded it on Switch so I can play in bed lol. Only been playing the free tables so far but I bought Iron & Steel and The Force Awakens packs on PC, so I'm excited to dig into those tables. This also really makes me want to play IRL pinball more. I know of a few places in the DC area that have tables but I've only really played casually before without knowing what I was doing at all.
I cant make threads :(
https://www.jambase.com/article/primus-pinball-machine-limited-edition-customPrimus teamed with Stern Pinball to create a custom pinball machine being sold in a limited edition of 100. Primus members Les Claypool, Tim "Herb" Alexander and Larry "Ler" LaLonde will sign each of the band's classic style pinball machines.
Featuring original artwork by Zombie Yeti and Zoltron, the Primus pinball machines will also showcase custom voice-overs recorded by Claypool. The machines will also come with a 13-song Primus tracklist and an upgraded Kenwood sound system. Head here to purchase a Primus custom pinball machine while supplies last.
The new schedule:
Dec 4 – Xbox One, Windows 10, Steam, PS4 Sony Europe, Mac
Dec 5 – PS4 Sony North America
Dec 18 – Nintendo Switch in North American and Europe
Grumble, grumble. Hopefully my FlipGrip arrives by then. That would take the sting out a little.
Mine's still in LA. Needs to get to Ireland.Got mine last night, it only makes the delay worse. I want AFM on the switch with the flip grip so badly now.
Blergh!
Eh, for the sort of people who it's targeted towards (the people who say "oh, they still make pinball machines?"), it's fine. Hell, I'm actually stoked they're going for a classic layout, Stern is just a fan layout factory these days so anything that's different I'm happy with.That Beatles table is incredibly expensive and the playfield is way too dull for a pinball machine in 2018.