Bally

Popeye Saves the Earth

Pinside Rating

This game received 156 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.083 _/10

7.083

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #249 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 6.87

Artwork: 7.623

Sounds/Music: 7.134

Other Aspects: 6.855

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 1 of us has rated this game.

6.856

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Found 99 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 99 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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7.904/10

5 years ago

TBA

Adams_Tales

Pinside member

Tranbjerg

5y 33,650 33 13 6

First of all, I must say I agree with the many Pinsiders who state this is a very underrated game. It is not at top 10 machine in my opinion, but it well deserves a spot on top 100. A bang for the buck machine.

That said, my lowest rates are for the game design (not low, but other aspect score higher IMO). There are some small flaws, such as:
* Drop targets hidden under upper playfield is not only skillshots, but has a bit of a luck-factor as well
* Hitting the elevation ramp to upper playfield is not entirely skillbased
* Finding Sweetpea in videomode is really hard to get
* Multiball is fairly easy to get as well as multiple jackpots - a bit unbalanced
* Eject of balls from Blutos mouth, sometimes can go straight down the middle between flippers
* Not as many clean and dopamine rewarding shots compared to top 40 pins

But the different modes are fun to play and the general 'feel' of Popeye is great. The rules are easy to understand and easy played.

As I have seen in ratings of many different machines, Popeyes artwork and sound also divides people a bit. I am pro Popeyes artwork. I love the colours and the cartoonlike design. Great humor and spot on theming.

Music, sounds and speech are great and I love the callouts - great humor.

All in all a really good pinball machine. When I got it, I didn't expect it to be in my collection for he longest time, but now I am not so sure it will leave soon

Adams_Tales edited previous rating on May 12, 2019.
Adams_Tales has owned this game in the past.

9.260/10

5 years ago

ZZZ

sevenrites

Pinballer

9y 129K 2,200 97

Great theme that has a bit of a twist to it with having to save the earth but I think it fits in very well. It’s fast and fun, it keeps me coming back for more. Some people complained they can’t see shots underneath the upper playfield, I think it’s fine, if you know how to play then you don’t need to see the ball every square inch it travels over. This is a great game, but I can see how a novice would be turned away because it is challenging and has a nice deep ruleset and the outlanes aren’t very forgiving. The DCS sounds phenomenal with a subwoofer, art work is crazy and while the animals don’t really match the Popeye style of art I think it blends well anyway.

10.000/10

5 years ago

BAZ

Balazs

Pinside member

London

5y 26,900 6 30 7

I like this better than Indiana Jones . Not that bad how others think.

Balazs edited previous rating on November 14, 2020.
Balazs currently owns this game.

8.244/10

5 years ago

RSK

RSKrouse

Pinside member

Des Moines, WA

9y 31,900 34 5 17

This is one of those games that needs to be well maintained to be appreciated. There is a lot that can go wrong, but if everything is working properly, this is a fun and challenging game with a very deep rule set. There are a lot of different ways to try to play this game. Theme is a little weird. Popeye never struck me as a tree hugger, but it does add to the humor of this game. Callouts are funny ("A little toxic waste never hurt anybody"-Bluto) and game is family friendly, although the Bluto chaining up Olive Oyl image on the DMD is a little risky. Way underrated. Not saying this is a top 100 game or anything. But should be a lot higher than it is.

RSKrouse has owned this game in the past.

9.904/10

5 years ago

PAS

sebess

Pinside member

Nocatee, FL

10y 30,150 35 16

Great game very underrated, wich is good cause you can find it for a good price! All people who said the pinball is bad, Im sure they never played the pinball or never owned one. The animations, the light, sounds, etc.. all of it is just great! For me its better than an Adams o Indiana Jones, White water, funhouse (owned them all). It should be rated in the top 30 best pinballs.

If you have the chance to own one, Im sure you are not going to be dissapointed at all.

sebess edited previous rating on July 23, 2018.
sebess has owned this game in the past.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

7.280/10

5 years ago

???

didouc

Inactive member

Albi

14y 21,250 2 14

Popeye is a good game, this is for me a underrated game !

didouc currently owns this game.

3 Pinsiders starred this!

7.005/10

5 years ago

TED

the4horse

Pinside member

Coolangatta

11y 56,550 787 6 62

I wasn't expecting much when I saw Popeye for sale in a bar up the Sunshine Coast. The owner was sick of giving patrons their money back as it had a fault where it would reset the game when you touched the left flipper. I was amazed that it was in near perfect condition cosmetically and when i got it home the issue had magically fixed itself! I've owned it for a month now and am loving it. My family and I relate to the eco friendly theme as it's probably the only pinball that has this. I like the fast play, the side animal ramp and the swee pea mini playfield which is tricky but fun and up to 6 ball multiball. I enjoy the Bluto challenges as well and rescuing the animals by getting he loop shot. Once you work out all the rules it's not that hard to rack up high scores and I guess my only negative would be that occasionally the ball will fly off wildly when playing the top mini field and occasionally when the ball is spat out from the middle trough it will go straight down the guts(but maybe that's just my machine needing an adjustment). The music at the start of a ball gets a little repetitive and 'I'm gunna level ya' at the end...I wish they'd done a few different variations but it's no biggie. They could've done more interactive stuff with the DMD as well. I replaced the 2d with the original 3d Bluto head and a full led kit and it all looks awesome. I'm just glad that so many people whinge about this game so that I was able to get it for a bargain price compared to other Bally Williams 'superpins'. It would've been a lot better with more shout outs to tell people what to shoot for.

the4horse edited previous rating on August 13, 2019.
the4horse has owned this game in the past.

4 Pinsiders starred this!

8.364/10

6 years ago

CCC

megaladon

Pinside member

Lynnwood, WA

18y 69,800 433 2 11 4

This is my second Popeye. very underrated game still have not made it to the end. Pick this one up as undocumented Huo comes with most of the original decals for replacements on plastics which are incredibly rare.

megaladon has owned this game in the past.

5.108/10

6 years ago

MOO

Herk

Pinside member

Johnstown, PA

7y 45,900 128 3 18

I recently got to try it out at a show. I didn't care for it.

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

7.340/10

6 years ago

DIA

mrossman5

Pinside+ Frequent

Warren, PA

6y 197K 3,186 7 253

If you can find one for a good value, I'd pick it up. Don't be surprised though when it turns out to justify it's value though. PLayfield art is beautiful, cab is very nice, and everything else is average. Some aspects of the layout really annoy me. I perosnally hate the ball launch as you can expolit the awards (draining wiht ball save), and the fact that the ball can just roll down the right outlane. Saying the callouts are okay is a bit of a stretch, but if you are a fan of the show, you'd probably like them. If you like the theme, pick one up. If you don't, don't.

mrossman5 edited previous rating on September 15, 2020.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

6.190/10

6 years ago

GIL

Imagineerie

Inactive member

10y 44,550 7 190

This game was very sluggish and, frankly. bland to play. There is no action during gameplay to keep the player engaged. This one is pretty forgettable.

5 Pinsiders flagged this.

8.764/10

6 years ago

SFS

sservas

Pinside member

Suwanee, GA

18y 41,250 8 8 10

Popeye certainly plays very fast and has quite challenging shots towards the top of the play field. There is a lot going on on this wide body and it is fun and looks great with LED's. Great fun game with all the old music which I remember as a kid. A keeper in my book and brings a smile to the face when the machine is setup correctly.

This machine plays great when the 6 ball led's are all working well. Had multiple ball feeds occurring just before the multiball, once fixed it plays great. Once all the switches and ball feeds work 100% its a fun and challenging game.

sservas edited previous rating on October 23, 2018.
sservas has owned this game in the past.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

4.036/10

6 years ago

PSN

Paul1478

Pinside member

Peachtree City, GA

9y 51,050 86 3 39

This is another game I was very much looking forward to playing. When I found it in a lineup in Houston I was excited. I went directly to it first. I will say the game had some issues and the room was very dark. I played 5 games thinking, no, it just me. I need to get use to it. I no longer have any desire to play this game again.

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

6.407/10

6 years ago

APO

Happy81724

Pinside+ Frequent

6y 132K 2,546 61

Had for only a couple weeks. It wasn't a lot of fun and pretty hard to be honest. The flippers up top are too small and it doesn't have great over game play. It seem pretty choppy, we couldn't get into the flow. It also didn't help Brutus would spit the ball straight down the middle randomly. I wouldn't recommend, even for a famuly

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

9.420/10

6 years ago

JWO

JeremyON

Pinside+ Frequent

7y 49,150 62 39

"Well, blow me down!" "Oh my gosh'k" this game is good. I took a risk on this one and bought a well worn re-import needing some work because it was half the price of my STTNG and I wanted another family friendly widebody superpin with 6 ball multiball. I quickly got buyer's remorse just like when I bought my first Italian car. Like that car, this game surprised me. I got all the kinks worked out in a couple of hours, kicked the back up to a steep angle, and started playing the game like it was intended to be played. Popeye Saves the Earth is easily the most underrated game in pinball, currently sitting at #250. I agree with an earlier rating on the Colordmd, it's a must along with a complete LED set. The sound is exceptional, the loop is probably the fastest in a superpin, the upper playfield with pinball controlled video mode is extremely challenging. As a matter of fact, it was way too challenging with the factory set up. This is easy to fix by replacing the rubbers on the "save swee-pea" ramp with 1" snips off a large diameter drinking straw. Do it, this cheap mod cures the whole problem of ramp shot "bounce back" and costs nothing.
"Hidden" shots? That's a "Wimpy" complaint.
The "Save the Earth" theme doesn't make sense? What else would we expect Popeye to do if Bluto is
polluting the Earth?
The game software is incredibly deep, much more so than most games in the top 100. Full of toys, up to 6 ball multiball, a video mode that is unsurpassed in challenge and unique in all of pinball, what more could you possibly ask for a pin to do? I challenge you to spend some time with this title, but make sure it's been shopped recently, because if it isn't working right, playability suffers quickly. A machine that's been on location for years without maintenance doesn't deserve a review here. I love Steve Ritchie games and I own four of his designs. However, something had to follow STTNG in production at Williams and this game might not quite clear the bar that games set in 1993, but that doesn't mean that it didn't compete at all. I respectfully think that Mr. Ritchie's rant against this game was unfair to the designers. This game should most definitely have a place in the top 100. Give it a good day's play on a well-maintained machine and see if you agree.

JeremyON edited previous rating on January 16, 2018.

6 Pinsiders starred this!

7.740/10

6 years ago

NAT

Nath1977

Pinside member

La Pocatière, QC

6y 20,000 41

fun and deep.

Nath1977 edited previous rating on November 10, 2018.

7.888/10

6 years ago

RC

Robhorror

Pinside member

Québec, QC

8y 50,650 3 15 53

Very underrated, i don't understand why Popeye is not in the top 100. Very unique and fun, deep rules, i think is important to have it at home to realy appreciate. Beautiful machine.

Robhorror edited previous rating on November 10, 2018.
Robhorror has owned this game in the past.

4.147/10

7 years ago

CLN

Clnilsen

Pinside member

Windermere, FL

9y 61,650 790 3 6

The whole boat thing is a mystery to me. I found this game frustrating and not in a good way.

5 Pinsiders flagged this. 2 Pinsiders starred this!

6.835/10

7 years ago

FAK

Krank

Inactive member

Praha

7y 20,250 13 1 28

It has weird playfield layout but with awesome playfield art. The bigest fail of design is that most of shots are blind and you are trying to hit something under upper playfield.

Im not fan of Popeye, but I like arcade themes, so its ok. Deep ruleset could be interesting for home playing, but afterall its for sure weakest table from Widebody/Superpin series.

Krank edited previous rating on March 02, 2017.

5.216/10

7 years ago

AGB

Ramtuathal

Pinside member

Louisville, KY

8y 63,650 123 1 148

Popeye Saves the Earth suffers from trying too hard to make the theme playable. While the nautical theme is implemented with impressing results, the shots are wild, odd, and momentum is nearly impossible to maintain. The toys and design are fun, but Popeye is so easy to walk away from it won't ever make my wishlist.

2 Pinsiders flagged this.

8.152/10

7 years ago

PET

dahlman

Pinside member

Degerfors

7y 49,050 113 26 33

Learn the rules! It's a Fun game!

dahlman edited previous rating on March 18, 2018.
dahlman has owned this game in the past.

6.561/10

7 years ago

DMZ

Miouze

Inactive member

Paris

7y 15,750 19

Well, it's difficult to rate this machine, as it is quite "unique"... In addition, the game I play is in a bar, and it's in poor condition.

At first, it make me think of a 90's machine that played and looked like a 60's or 70's pin. Some kind of "neo-retro" stuff. It's huge, slow-paced, the slingshots are weirdly placed (no post pass possible here), but it has a certain... charm about it. The cartoon theme is nice, the sound and DMD animations are very funny... Plus, I'm having good times competing with the bar's owner for the Grand Champion title. But if I had to buy it, it definitely wouldn't be on my wish list.

PS: I had a great read about this machine's history on the forum: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/popeye-owners-why-do-you-like-the-game. Very interesting topic !

Miouze edited previous rating on October 12, 2016.

7.988/10

7 years ago

???

PinballAlley

Pinball Alley

Rochester, NY

7y 46,900 316 5 15

We just did a full restore on a Popeye. We added electric blue legs with black cabinet protectors and the game just shines. The back glass is way ahead of it's time, almost as if it had been waiting for LED's. The theme of saving the earth speaks to todays culture. It is a family friendly pinball with a green message. The play has lots going on. The biggest issue for me is that the upper playfield obscures too much. The pinball lends itself to restoration as well as any pinball. It has it share of unique features and is durable. A good family pinball at a reasonable price point.

8.108/10

8 years ago

JAR

jasonaross

Pinside member

8y 35,250 13 26

This was my wife's choice and our first pin. I'm six foot tall and can see the bottom floor of the upper play field without a problem. She cannot. I find the idea of popeye saving the earth weird but the designers did a good job with the theme implementation. The game will look much better with colored LEDs (haven't done yet). Popeye has 3, 4, and 6 ball multi-ball. 6 ball multi-ball is difficult to get where as you can get 3 ball multi-ball like every time. The rule set is what makes this game a delight. You can save the animals, go for the round house loops, skill wheel, escalator award, pop and eye targets, find Swea' Pea, sea hag multi-ball, bluto multi-ball, six ball multi-ball, fight the bluto cartel, stampede mode, super jackpot, and more.

I found Olive annoying in the popeye cartoon so there is not a natural fan love for the machine. My wife loves it. I do not know the full rule sets of Jurassic Park and Terminator 3 but played at the Pizza West in KC. The popeye game play is better than Jurassic Park and not as good as Terminator 3.

jasonaross edited previous rating on April 08, 2017.

7.172/10

8 years ago

ZAR

pinbender

Pinside member

Colorado Springs, CO

8y 19,300 1 9

Popeye is a wide body pin with a solid family theme. I owned one when my kids were young and we played the game a lot. Theme is better than many games ranked ahead of it...although serious tournament players may never admit it. A good game for a family game room, maybe next to a foosball table.

pinbender has owned this game in the past.

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