Found 10 ratings (with comment) on this game

The upside down flipper thing is interesting but the overall game has nothing compelling for me.

Only with it had a multi ball

The inverse upper flippers to shoot the ramps are really unique and a lot of fun. Other than that, I didn't find much to enjoy about shooting Black Belt.

Black Belt is definitely a one of a kind game. If you see one, definitely drop a few quarters in it. What makes it special? Well, it is the only game I've seen with a backward flipper that flips down the playfield (and up a ramp) to another upper flipper that lets you bat it back up a second ramp (sort of, it is actually the same ramp with two entrances) back to the backward flipper. From there, you can hit it back to the other upper flipper. Back and forth, back and forth. Pretty cool if you get the timing down.

It also has the only explicit "hit the guy in the crotch" pinball shot I've seen. I'm not talking about something lame like the Optimus Prime shot in Transformers, I'm talking about a dead in the center playfield shot to a guy with his legs spread. It is unique and stupid fun for the first few shots. Then you start to feel a bit sorry for the guy. For a game from 1986, I just wonder how many shots to the crotch has that poor guy taken.

Rules: they aren't great, but they really aren't too bad. Complete all five shots to the body (including the crotch shot) to advance a belt. Each belt advancement is a playfield multiplier so you work those shots to get high scores. 6 drops to advance bonus multiplier. And. . . that is about it.

Layout: It is definitely unique. Again, not bad, but not great. Lots of things you'll never see on another game. Fun to figure out, but nothing really great that makes you want to play again and again. Except the back and forth upper flippers on the crazy ramp that has two entrances in opposite directions, but is really just one ramp. It is hard to describe because this is the only game with a ramp like it. And only 600 Black Belts were made.

Music: Fits the game, not bad, but also not great.

Skill shot: This is simply awesome. You try to get the plunge ball speed just right to hit a mushroom target while lights for score/extra ball light up.

Take home: Play this game if you see one. With 600 made, they hopefully show up at pinball festivals. I bought one and have had it in a collection with 10-12 other games. It is fun, but definitely not a game that you return to time and time again. I'm holding onto mine long enough to take it to the local festival so others can give it a play, but I can't imaging this staying in my collection for too long.

I spent a decent amount of time on Black Belt at Clay Harrell’s VFW and in a friend’s private collection. Not a horrible 6803 by any stretch of the imagination, but nothing game changing either. The flipper that shoots backwards (karate chops?) up the spiral ramp is a neat touch, and fits the theme. A decent set of rules advances you through the belt colours, but why bother learning the rules, when you can just shoot the center saucer over and over and over and over again, repeatedly kicking your “opponent” in the nads. It’s a neat little matrix of intertwined shots that simulate sparring with an opponent, but the game really lacks the staying power of the Williams games of the same era. Gentle touch scores much.

Wild layout! There is a kinda backwards flipper shot in the upper right, a side ramp on the left...and a really cool target area in the middle. Game is easy to pick up on the rules which I liked. Still not too easy.

Art is a bit lacking but the layout of the table fits the theme perfectly. Would like to have one in the collection some day!

Black Belt is one of those rare games that is rare for a reason.

The Pros:
A crazy upper playfield with an inverted flipper that shoots a ball up a ramp and down the PF at the same time. Drop targets with standups behind them are always a good thing in my book. Hitting the upper left to upper right ramps shots repeatedly is incredibly satisfying. The mid- playfield lanes that drop to the outlanes remind me of some classic Krynski designs. This deck features the first pinball "Kick you in the nuts" (say it like Cartman!) shot in the history of the world. The Target of Tranquility is a true skill shot.

The Cons:
This game sounds weird. Oooooh, Uuuuugh, Ohhhh... What is this? This game could easily be re-themed into a pornographic pinball game. The art package must have been rushed, because I know that Greg Freres can draw up a storm. The middle of the PF is a gameplay trap that is a bore. Best of luck finding plastics for this game if they get cracked. Once the ramp novelty wears off, this game falls flat. Proof positive that game design is a balance and a true craft. Dan Langlois's ONLY table worth playing is Radical!, and that's with the updated tourney roms.

The Takeaway:
A truly novel layout that really doesn't have much else going for it.

I picked this up a while back..It's a very rare game,only 600 made.It's actually pretty fun.I will be keeping it just because its so rare.

I like the inverted flipper for the ramp shot. The machine plays pretty well and the flipper makes it different.

Black Belt was a limited run for Bally/Midway. It's cabinet has generic side art and is made of the crappy composite board Bally/Midway used at that time.

I quite enjoy the theme and objective behind Black Belt. The objective is to advance your belt color from green belt all the way to Black Belt. Each belt progression increases your playfield multiplier. To complete a belt, you must attack 5 body parts of your opponent. Right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, and body. The leg shots are each a series of 3 standup targets on either side of a saucer in the middle of the playfield. the saucer is the body shot. The left and right arms are 2 different shots on a self-feeding ramp. This ramp is the most unique part of the pin. The top right flipper is inverted, so you need to shoot DOWN the playfield at the ramp. If you hit the shot, it loops around and feeds to the top left flipper, where you can take a shot at that side of the ramp. With correct timing, you can essentially pass the ball back and forth via the ramp, scoring bg points, extra ball, and hold bonus. After each ball launch, you've got a shot at the inverted flipper shot.

There are also 2 sets of 3 drop targets a little lower on the playfield. Completing all 6 advances your bonus multiplier.

Unfortunately, that's about all there is to this game. There are certainly games from this era with many more shots.

This game is worth a few plays if you see it somewhere, just for the ramp shots. It's fairly fun, can probably be had for cheap (if you can find it), but doesn't provide real lasting appeal.

The gameplay is fairly linear.

I enjoy this game. If I had a larger collection, I would have kept it, but in a smaller collection it doesn't quite provide the wow factor.