Williams
Black Knight 2000 Pinside Rating
This game received 362 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.896 /10
Black Knight 2000
Score breakdown
Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:
Game Design: 7.61
Artwork: 8.144
Sounds/Music: 7.979
Other Aspects: 7.832
Pinside staff rating
This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 5 of us have rated this game.
Found 178 ratings (with comment) on this game
There are 178 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 5 of 8.
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Kingman, AZ
Oshawa, ON
Kettering
7.989/10
10 years ago
If you can get past the horrific music and speech (I don't understand how some people enjoy this aspect of the game?) this game is really something special. Probably my favorite playfield layout from the pre-dmd era and that says a lot; this game is a ton of fun (just play without the music).
7.840/10
10 years ago
Villejuif
You cannot appreciate this pin without its sounds. Music is very addictive and fits the pin extremely well. I guess you might find it annoying after a while, but I did not reach that point ! I was fortunate to discover a very well maintained one in a private collection. That game has flow ! Magnasave is really nice. On the minus side, everything seems to be occuring from the right flipper.
10.000/10
10 years ago
Willams Pinball the Black Knight 2000.Is a pinball that you can remember from the arcades from the past.People who played it can't get enought of it.The music is one of the best ,you can't forget it .(you can do it you can do it)(beat the Black Knight).Its a distinctive tune from all pinballs.If you played it and got RANSOM and got the jackpot .Seems like you did defeated the Black Knight.Love the artwork one of the best out there.Thats why this pinball is one of the top 100 pinballs out there.
7.474/10
10 years ago
Steve Richie at it again. Still brutal and wanting to take all your quarters. The ramp on the upper playfield is tough to hit...you'll need to make a good shot, it's not a gimme. The upper playfiled is very large and does cover sections of the lower playfield that have turnarounds that shoot the ball back at you. Another solid design effort that I like slightly less than the original....But the backglass is killer.
You'll be getting more quarters out of your pocket trying to "beat that darn black knight."
You'll be getting more quarters out of your pocket trying to "beat that darn black knight."
9.621/10
10 years ago
I've read that Steve Ritchie rated this machine his favorite SRP designed machine, and I can agree with him on that. I've played the most amazing pins from the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, and this one clobbers them all as the best actual playing experience.
The play is fast, but at the same time, you have amazing control. A common complaint about the machine is that you can play it with one hand - yet nobody says the game is "easy." The thing is, the flippers are close together, so if you lose a ball down the middle it's your own fault. Likewise, on the left you have a kickback, and on the right you have a magna save. I have mine set to give you both of those at the start, and you can re-light by hitting the KNIGHT targets. Draining on this machine can't be blamed on any kind of lack of control, it simply tests your skills and reflexes.
The dual playfield is excellently laid out. On appearances, I first ignored this machine because it looked the same as the original BK. I find the original BK to have poor flow (on the playfield, the ball is slow, and on the ramps it's too fast), but this machine has speed and flow comparable to ACDC plus a better layout. The pop bumpers are surrounded by rubber bands so you can get some great rebounds back into the bumpers for a good run.
The skill shot is, in my opinion, nonexistant. I don't know if it is just my machine, but even if I manually put the ball at the top of the launch wireform and let it roll down from a dead stop, it still goes past the WIN lanes and goes straight to the flipper. I've gotten close to hitting the N in WIN from the launch by nudging, but I've never made it happen. The only benefit you get from not pulling the plunger all the way is the ball rolls to the flipper a little slower for better control.
The music is not for everyone, but I find it enjoyable. The main theme will be stuck in your head forever. But, my favorite has to be the Double Knights Challenge music. Many pinballs try to use MIDI to represent real music, and it flops for that reason, but this pinball has music made for MIDI, and it sounds awesome. The sound effects are also very catchy. The speech is just awesome - the Black Knight (voiced by SR) laughs at you when you miss the Magna Save and says No Way when you hit Multiball when it's not lit! In attract mode he randomly says "Give me your money."
My main complaint about the machine is its stock speakers have the fidelity of soup cans. There's a lot of distortion and, having played this pinball in a PinMAME before getting the real thing, I knew right away that upgrading the sound would be my first mod.
The lighting is great in this machine. The light show is very well coordinated, with things like the "lightning bolt" effect when a multiball starts. This is one of many pinballs that sequence the lights faster than incandescent bulbs can responds, so I expect when I LED upgrade mine it will take to it very nicely.
The alphanumeric display has excellent animation. I find it to be very well thought out and it impresses me more than some of the weaker DMD animations.
The mirrored backglass is amazing. I'm lucky to have a flawless backglass, and it is a work of art. The cabinet art on BK2K is just OK.
For anyone who was disappointed in BK and passed this machine up, you need to reconsider.
The play is fast, but at the same time, you have amazing control. A common complaint about the machine is that you can play it with one hand - yet nobody says the game is "easy." The thing is, the flippers are close together, so if you lose a ball down the middle it's your own fault. Likewise, on the left you have a kickback, and on the right you have a magna save. I have mine set to give you both of those at the start, and you can re-light by hitting the KNIGHT targets. Draining on this machine can't be blamed on any kind of lack of control, it simply tests your skills and reflexes.
The dual playfield is excellently laid out. On appearances, I first ignored this machine because it looked the same as the original BK. I find the original BK to have poor flow (on the playfield, the ball is slow, and on the ramps it's too fast), but this machine has speed and flow comparable to ACDC plus a better layout. The pop bumpers are surrounded by rubber bands so you can get some great rebounds back into the bumpers for a good run.
The skill shot is, in my opinion, nonexistant. I don't know if it is just my machine, but even if I manually put the ball at the top of the launch wireform and let it roll down from a dead stop, it still goes past the WIN lanes and goes straight to the flipper. I've gotten close to hitting the N in WIN from the launch by nudging, but I've never made it happen. The only benefit you get from not pulling the plunger all the way is the ball rolls to the flipper a little slower for better control.
The music is not for everyone, but I find it enjoyable. The main theme will be stuck in your head forever. But, my favorite has to be the Double Knights Challenge music. Many pinballs try to use MIDI to represent real music, and it flops for that reason, but this pinball has music made for MIDI, and it sounds awesome. The sound effects are also very catchy. The speech is just awesome - the Black Knight (voiced by SR) laughs at you when you miss the Magna Save and says No Way when you hit Multiball when it's not lit! In attract mode he randomly says "Give me your money."
My main complaint about the machine is its stock speakers have the fidelity of soup cans. There's a lot of distortion and, having played this pinball in a PinMAME before getting the real thing, I knew right away that upgrading the sound would be my first mod.
The lighting is great in this machine. The light show is very well coordinated, with things like the "lightning bolt" effect when a multiball starts. This is one of many pinballs that sequence the lights faster than incandescent bulbs can responds, so I expect when I LED upgrade mine it will take to it very nicely.
The alphanumeric display has excellent animation. I find it to be very well thought out and it impresses me more than some of the weaker DMD animations.
The mirrored backglass is amazing. I'm lucky to have a flawless backglass, and it is a work of art. The cabinet art on BK2K is just OK.
For anyone who was disappointed in BK and passed this machine up, you need to reconsider.
8.848/10
10 years ago
Great System 11 table from Williams, a fitting follow up to the original Black Knight from 1980.
Following in Black Knight's footsteps, it has the same multi-level playfield, the "Magna Save" feature, and of course, the Black Knight himself!
Great, fast paced table with many features and shots to keep you interested. The upper playfield is more difficult this time around as there is only one flipper instead of two, and the multiball is much harder to get into this time around.
Absolutely awesome sound, music, and speech in this game. The Black Knight this time around has a nice fluid sound in his voice, and the music is great.
Definately a player, play it if you can find it on location!
Following in Black Knight's footsteps, it has the same multi-level playfield, the "Magna Save" feature, and of course, the Black Knight himself!
Great, fast paced table with many features and shots to keep you interested. The upper playfield is more difficult this time around as there is only one flipper instead of two, and the multiball is much harder to get into this time around.
Absolutely awesome sound, music, and speech in this game. The Black Knight this time around has a nice fluid sound in his voice, and the music is great.
Definately a player, play it if you can find it on location!
8.291/10
10 years ago
I bought my BK2K from a retired couple who had purchased it new in 1989. The only problem, it had never been cleaned and had lived it's life in a room over a garage. As you can imagine the batteries had long since leaked doing a fair amount of board damage. Getting the machine out of it's location proved to be an adventure indeed especially down the homemade stairs. As is true with many of these machines the area around the Magna-Save was in deperate need of restoration. I pulled off the lower and upper mylar (a real treat to say the least after a month the feeling returned in my fingertips). Once remylared and the once the metal work was polished and reinstalled the machine looked good. Fortunately, the cabinet was in near perfect condition and the backglass (yes a real backglass) was also near perfect. After rebuilding the the pop bumper section of the driver board including bypassing some of the acid damaged traces the game came back to life.
I originally bought the machine as it was designed by the master of flow, Mr. Steve Ritchie. On that account, the machine does not disappoint. The loopback on the lower playfield gives new meaning to the words lightning fast. On the upper playfield, if you get the loop timing of the upper flipper right the ball litterally screams around the playfield and if you miss it with the upper flipper it will drain SDTL before you can blink. Three ball multiball and Two ball multiball are exciting and fast. It is no easy feat to knock down the barrier and then lock the ball in the castle three times.
The music is phenominal. It is blood pumping especially with updated speakers. The left ramp up to the upper playfield from the lower playfield is very steep and requires a strong set of flippers. RANSOM is a wild crazy mode with a fantastic light show. The backglass has an excellent set of flashers. The lightning wheel is a really cool lighting concept. Plus there are excellent flashers located throughout the the upper playfield.
I really loved this machine. Unfortunately, my friends and family never really warrmed up to it as it was in their opionion just too fast. The ball would be here and gone in a hurry. Consequently, it didn't get played other than by me and I ended up trading it for a W?D that my kids appreciate a whole lot more than BK2K. I still think between the music and the flow this was a fun machine although the speed and proximity of the targets on the lower playfield made it very unforgiving. Still, excellent work Mr. Ritchie although in my house STTNG is more highly regarded. Oh well, "Gimmie your money!"
I originally bought the machine as it was designed by the master of flow, Mr. Steve Ritchie. On that account, the machine does not disappoint. The loopback on the lower playfield gives new meaning to the words lightning fast. On the upper playfield, if you get the loop timing of the upper flipper right the ball litterally screams around the playfield and if you miss it with the upper flipper it will drain SDTL before you can blink. Three ball multiball and Two ball multiball are exciting and fast. It is no easy feat to knock down the barrier and then lock the ball in the castle three times.
The music is phenominal. It is blood pumping especially with updated speakers. The left ramp up to the upper playfield from the lower playfield is very steep and requires a strong set of flippers. RANSOM is a wild crazy mode with a fantastic light show. The backglass has an excellent set of flashers. The lightning wheel is a really cool lighting concept. Plus there are excellent flashers located throughout the the upper playfield.
I really loved this machine. Unfortunately, my friends and family never really warrmed up to it as it was in their opionion just too fast. The ball would be here and gone in a hurry. Consequently, it didn't get played other than by me and I ended up trading it for a W?D that my kids appreciate a whole lot more than BK2K. I still think between the music and the flow this was a fun machine although the speed and proximity of the targets on the lower playfield made it very unforgiving. Still, excellent work Mr. Ritchie although in my house STTNG is more highly regarded. Oh well, "Gimmie your money!"
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