I posted this awhile back on rgp and the consensus was FGY, but I figured I would ask here to see what pinside says.

Three pin lineup right now I have RBION, FGY, and JP. Looking to get rid of one for lotr. Money isn't the problem, space is. I am in no rush to sell anything. I will list them whatever machine I decide to let go when I am ready.

JP is staying. I want to play it a bit more before I sell it now that I have it working. From where I sit it has the most features of the three (shaker, topper, moving toy) and also has the shortest ball times. FGY and rbion can make for long games. LOTR is even longer. Having jp will help balance it out.

So, money aside which would you keep and why?

I'd stick with RBION and JP. Family Guy isn't a bad game (especially if you like the theme), but not in the same league as the other two in my (probably not so popular) opinion. Ripleys has so much to do and a quirky theme that I really enjoy. Jurassic Park is just plain fun and has one of the best toys ever.

FG has the mini-pinball, which is pretty cool, but I think it would also get old quick. The rest of the playfield just isn't all that terribly interesting to me.

Best of luck...decisions like these always suck to make.

dung said:

I posted this awhile back on rgp and the consensus was FGY, but I figured I would ask here to see what pinside says.
Three pin lineup right now I have RBION, FGY, and JP. Looking to get rid of one for lotr. Money isn't the problem, space is. I am in no rush to sell anything. I will list them whatever machine I decide to let go when I am ready.
JP is staying. I want to play it a bit more before I sell it now that I have it working. From where I sit it has the most features of the three (shaker, topper, moving toy) and also has the shortest ball times. FGY and rbion can make for long games. LOTR is even longer. Having jp will help balance it out.
So, money aside which would you keep and why?

If you are keeping JP, then it would have to be FG. RBION is a fantastic game that isn't ever leaving my collection. Very deep and challenging. You will get the most money for FG too out of those 3 games.

I'd be saying Bye Bye to Family Guy, thats just my personal opinion.

RBION is incredibly deep with long ball times, and JP is incredibly easy with short ball times. Both are polar opposites.. Family Guy seems to be a decent mix of rules and ball times. If you're looking to replace one with LOTR (incredibly deep with long ball times), then RBION should be the one to go IMO.

And I LOVE my RBION...

Same here. Of the three RBION is the only one I haven't owned. The few times I played it I really enjoyed it. I would get rid of the FGY.

I would get rid of FGY because for me the gameplay is the least fun out of the machines on your list.

pinball_customs said:

RBION is incredibly deep with long ball times, and JP is incredibly easy with short ball times.

I must not be very good, because I don't find jp easy. i do have a really weak upper flipper that is not right, but still not easy. Starting chaos is easy because of the smart missle, but ive only managed to feed the trex after chaos twice. I have not reached system failure, most modes I have managed is 7-8 in one game.

It looks like rbion may be the one to go though. I have a potential buyer for it wanting to possibly come this weekend. If he does buy it then that solves my problem. If not I will mull it over some more.

From where I am sitting in a three pin lineup with lotr and JP rbion makes less sense. FGY is more laid back. RBION is closer to lotr in ball times (at least for me) and difficulty. With fgy I feel I get a more varied lineup I guess although I do see why people pick rbion as the one to keep.

Family Guy. Don't really like it.
This would have been a good choice for a toll.

I'd keep LOTR and FGY.... dont have much time on RBION or JP, but they haven't grabbed my attention any time I've played them.

I would like to buy a RBION. Probably not a pin worth paying for a bunch of shipping, though.

gambit3113 said:

I would like to buy a RBION. Probably not a pin worth paying for a bunch of shipping, though.

It has gone up it seems, but short of nib or extremely rare no pin is worth it. 200-300 buys you a better pin.

SealClubber said:

This would have been a good choice for a toll.

Never been a fan of polls because I wanted real feedback. Polls just tell you someone cared enough to click a button and never why. They very well might have only played one, or maybe neither and are basing it off theme.

In your lineup, with LOtR coming, it only makes sense to move RBION. Otherwise you are going to have two deep, long ball time games in a 3 pin collection.

JP will get old. I had one and it's long gone. I would put some serious time on it before you make your decision. FG is a great game and there aren't alot out there. Might not be easy to find another. There are a ton of JPs. Easy game to replace.

Duane

JP followed by FG

Gambit however has a good point if you have friends or family play also.

If you play alone that will not matter.

I want a RBION and agree this is not a great game to have along with LOTR if space is an issue

Get rid of FGY.

Make Ripley's steeper. That will solve your long ball time problem. Those outlanes are brutal.

I'm not a fan of FGY, mostly because of the mini Stewie play field. It takes up quite a bit of space, and I don't care to play pinball in a miniature sized pinball machine.

RBION, on the other hand, it a pin that I plan to own at some point.

yfz450 said:

Make Ripley's steeper. That will solve your long ball time problem. Those outlanes are brutal.

I get a kick out of people who say RBION has long ball times and compare it to LOTR in that respect. RBION is brutal, LOTR is not. RBION comes factory set with NO ball saver. You can easily go for the skill shot, miss...end of ball. I would love to see some of these magical 20 minute plus ball times that people always throw around. Short of the Keith Elwin tutorial video, I have *NEVER* seen anyone kick anywhere close to that kind of ass on a RBION. I think people just hear things, accept them as fact and repeat them without a real knowledge of the game.

I'd say JP must go!

LesManley said:

RBION is brutal, LOTR is not. RBION comes factory set with NO ball saver. You can easily go for the skill shot, miss...end of ball. I would love to see some of these magical 20 minute plus ball times that people always throw around.

I haven't found it "brutal," but certain(t)ly LOTR has longer ball times. Maybe people are eluding to the fact there's a lot of stop in go in RBION.
As a lot of people would say with TZ, don;t go for the skill shot! Lawlor hates the ball saves eh?

I would let go of FGY myself. Get the most money for sure.

Jeff_PHX_AZ said:

I'd say JP must go!

The fact is I like it too much. It has too much going for it and themewise it is a favorite.

Right now it looks like rbion will go. FGY will stay, problem is I keep kicking around the idea of selling/trading fgy further down the road to fund a very nice sttng. I am lacking a widebody and always enjoy a good steve richie game.

TheLaw said:

LesManley said: RBION is brutal, LOTR is not. RBION comes factory set with NO ball saver. You can easily go for the skill shot, miss...end of ball. I would love to see some of these magical 20 minute plus ball times that people always throw around.

I haven't found it "brutal," but certain(t)ly LOTR has longer ball times. Maybe people are eluding to the fact there's a lot of stop in go in RBION.
As a lot of people would say with TZ, don;t go for the skill shot! Lawlor hates the ball saves eh?
I would let go of FGY myself. Get the most money for sure.

RBION can be brutal, but you have to know what your safe shots are. The skill shot on RBION is big. A million points, doubling after each successful skill shot are very big points for that game. It is big risk, big reward in this case. I suppose if someone turned on the ball saver, then that reduces things quite a bit. Also if they close up the right outlane, that would too. RBION on factory settings does not have astronomical ball times. It does have some stop and go with the mode start and the shrunken head, but not really anymore so than the majority of other games out there. I really think that people hear something and blindly repeat it. Someone exagerrates to begin with and many who don't know any better just take it as fact.

With TZ, it depends on the game and the setting if I want to go for the skill shot. If the game has a clean rocket shot to the bumpers, it is a safer shot. In tournaments though, I usually don't bother as it is more risk than reward.

dung said:

Right now it looks like rbion will go. FGY will stay

Guess you didn't need to ask for opinions since it appears that the majority here were recommending dumping FGY.

Awesome, how much for the RBION?

pinball_customs said:

RBION is incredibly deep with long ball times

How so? I had this for two weeks, went to Atlantis, and other than modes and 2-3 other things, there isn't much to do. It seems like it should be much deeper than it is, but it falls short.

I thought I struck it rich with this game, but after owning, I was let down, but I think more because I was thinking it had the depth of some of the other 2003/2004 sterns.

I do like that spelling Ripleys is done by winning modes. I wish the code for b/w games could be written so say in a mode based game, you only get the window/mode light lit if you complete the objectives.

Btw Brock, have you beat any of my scores on it yet?

Atomicboy said:

.
I do like that spelling Ripleys is done by winning modes. I wish the code for b/w games could be written so say in a mode based game, you only get the window/mode light lit if you complete the objectives.

MB. AFM is pretty close.

Oh man, surprising responses. There is no way I'd keep a JP over a FGY. If you like the theme, FGY is sweet.

I had JP for two weeks, I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. That doesn't mean it's a bad game, it wasn't for me, but I honestly believe FGY is a lot better.

dung said:

Jeff_PHX_AZ said:I'd say JP must go!
The fact is I like it too much. It has too much going for it and themewise it is a favorite.

System shutdown is one of the coolest modes ever made, IMO. The game acts like it's going haywire! Once you get there, you'll see. Fairly easy to do if you just cradle the ball and let the modes time out, or make stacking modes your main goal (which you should do anyways so you can use the smart missile for BIG points)

I've set a couple of scores on it I think.. and if you don't find RBION all that deep you should be playing in a league if you're that good

Biggest disappointment for me with RBION is that I can have a ball in play for what feels like forever and only nail like 7million points.. typical Lawlor!!

Atomicboy said:

pinball_customs said:RBION is incredibly deep with long ball times

How so? I had this for two weeks, went to Atlantis, and other than modes and 2-3 other things, there isn't much to do. It seems like it should be much deeper than it is, but it falls short.
I thought I struck it rich with this game, but after owning, I was let down, but I think more because I was thinking it had the depth of some of the other 2003/2004 sterns.
I do like that spelling Ripleys is done by winning modes. I wish the code for b/w games could be written so say in a mode based game, you only get the window/mode light lit if you complete the objectives.
Btw Brock, have you beat any of my scores on it yet?

pinball_customs said:

I've set a couple of scores on it I think.. and if you don't find RBION all that deep you should be playing in a league if you're that good

That has nothing to do with it though. There are the 7 modes, completing 7 modes or MBs 7 times gets you to Atlantis, there the regular MB, ripoff, completing the jackpots, head points/bigfoot, then what?

I think it's fun to play, but it doesn't have the depth that even I thought it had when I bought it. Also, three of the modes are MBs where you have to hit both ramps, then something else, out of only 7 modes... They could have come up with a little more variation there.

I like the look of it, and there are interesting shots, it has a very skilled skill shot, but it seems like there should be more depth given how much stuff there is on the PF. I will say the modes, as most are timed, are fun and challenging to win.

I guess I feel with more depth it could have been another deep and unique Stern, which would be up there with the best of any b/w.