Capcom

Pinball Magic

Pinside Rating

This game received 189 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.969 _/10

7.969

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #91 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.206

Artwork: 7.726

Sounds/Music: 7.331

Other Aspects: 8.167

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 7 of us have rated this game.

7.472

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Found 82 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 82 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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9.480/10

32 days ago

MJK

MJK29504

Pinside+ Frequent

Hudson Oaks, TX

3y 23,500 11

One of my most favorite games and highly underrated since there aren’t many out there. I can play this game for hours on end. The endless tricks with this game I believe are better than Theatre of Magic.

8.520/10

45 days ago

ALA

aladinice

Pinside member

Menton

12y 47,650 2 71 71

a very underating pinball ....the fun to play it is very vrazy, beautifull playflied with great lighting if you put a color dmd it will ba a grat pinball ! available in every collection !

9.580/10

74 days ago

NAT

natgreystar

Pinside+ Frequent

1y 51,050 225 9 83 2

I knew I'd like this game but I didn't know how much I would love it. It can be a difficult one to understand because it follows a linear path of challenges. You have to do a trick as each magician to impress the crowd in the magic universe. Each magician has 3 tricks and each thing you're supposed to do is called out and indicated on the field. It's a game far before its time. It's more like modern games than it is like the other pins of the time.

The levitating ball and magnet wand are some of the greatest pinball toys I've seen. They literally are magic tricks. The lighting and effects make the machine feel alive and the warmth of the machine is really enjoyable while also not over burning the incandescent to cause a insert damage. Even the backbox has cool lighting effects.

The magic tricks are always cool and the shots look very easy but they are tough to hit. When you find the flow and patters the game really does flow perfectly and can get extremely fast. Sometimes you just feel crushed trying to hit one shot so it's one of those games that really has to click to get a good score and keep going. Luckily it has a continue option so you can keep going if you fail.

This has a really fun orbit that is really satisfying. The skill shot is always a fun challenge and the way it goes right from shooter to orbit is a really energizing way of getting it into play. There is a lot of back and forth flow without crisscrossing ramps. The gameplay is really unlike anything else I've tried so far. I'm glad I picked this one up because there are few locations to play this game and I love it. It's not going to be everyone's thing because it's not super deep and it has linear progression but if you like a pin that just plays different this is a great one.

My only negatives are the backglass feels a little empty and old and the playfield while really nice art design, is a little bit lacking. The game rules can be kind of a secret and often things are on a timer and the game doesn't give you a hurry up for it. Some things have a hurry and others don't but almost everything is on a timer or resets if you drain the ball. It's not easy to understand how to go about getting a high score or doing well.

That said, the game will tell you which shots to make and indicate it well. If you hold the ball it will remind you of where the shot goes. I really liked that feature. If you're unsure of what to do sometimes it tells you quite literally on the DMD. Also a color DMD is an amazing upgrade to this machine.

natgreystar currently owns this game.

7.972/10

1 year ago

DIA

mrossman5

Pinside+ Frequent

Warren, PA

6y 197K 3,175 7 253

Unique game that doesn't get enough love. Certainly, the best Capcom machine. Theme is neat and fits pinball well.

8.904/10

1 year ago

ZAK

Nintegageo

Pinside+ Frequent

Ottawa

1y 50,800 382 3 33

Great theme, toys, art and a sweet dmd. Who doesn't love Capcom? Wish they'd stayed in the pinball business as they were creative and own some super cool IPs.

Nintegageo edited previous rating on August 30, 2023.
Nintegageo has owned this game in the past.

7.286/10

1 year ago

TIZ

Tizza

Pinside member

Melbourne

4y 23,000 15 4 10

I love and hate the machine,(BEST CAPCOM MADE) BUT... i feel that it is a great machine to play 5 to 10 times but not amazing to own as much sadly. Lots of components of the pin that aren't good, the layout and rules i don't love as its too structured and doesn't allow for fun scoring as other games do, unfortunately it is repetitive if you dont know all the rules but man this is one of a kind when it comes to mechanisms. The fact that everyone in my family thought the fake ball in the stage was real shows how well it was done. An amazing pin to play and see all the really cool features but sadly not amazing to keep around for a long time due to repetition.

Tizza currently owns this game.

8.394/10

2 years ago

C P

Skatewake

Pinside+ Addict

2y 99,550 505 9 64 3

IGood game.

7.335/10

2 years ago

???

STARLORD91

Pinside apprentice

Unknown

2y 7,000 11

Flipper qui surprend au départ puis une fois la surprise passée la lassitude s'installe, beaucoup moins bon qu'un théatre. La qualité de fabrication est bonne et l'éclairage est super pour cette époque.

8.436/10

3 years ago

JAR

jasonaross

Pinside member

8y 35,250 13 26

Have about 20 games on this. The levitating ball trick, magic wand trick, and the trick shot are fantastic. I love the theme and game play.

7.949/10

3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

Pinside Moderator

Rockwall, TX

5y 266K 10,116 23 271

This is a pretty rare game, but worth seeing out. It has several neat gimmicks/toys (the levitating ball and the wand). The artwork is good and I like the theme a lot. This would look amazing in a lineup with ToM, Houdini, and abracadabra.

The shots aren't as smooth as I would hope and the fact that it was made in limited numbers by company that put out very few pins and has extremely limited available parts today makes this a tough buy for me. It is also in DIRE need of LEDs. It's like 2 different pins with and without leds.

I would only recommend it if you absolutely love the there and toys in it, or if you gave a 20+ pin collection.

Daditude edited previous rating on September 08, 2020.

8.816/10

4 years ago

PJT

ThisNotes4U

Inactive member

Ellicottville, NY

12y 58,550 334 3 6

Under-rated game of all time.

ThisNotes4U has this game on the wishlist.

8.315/10

4 years ago

???

Zoomtop

Inactive member

Liverpool

4y 8,250 2 20

Nice theme game just ashamed that William brought out theatre of magic otherwise they may have sold more pinball magic

7.973/10

5 years ago

DOC

TractorDoc

DPS

Ashland, OH

7y 245K 2,923 33 106

Beautiful game all around.
My only hesitation with owning is my limited knowledge of Capcom technology and limited aftermarket parts/support.
Definitely worth spending time playing especially if Magic is your thing.

8.056/10

5 years ago

???

GezTheHealer

Pinside member

Trowbridge

5y 17,250 3 20

Really nice surprising toys, fun little skill shot, getting it to drop on the loop is a bit annoying in two player waiting for someone trying to make it. Cool levitating ball, Cool Moving wand hand. I like theatre of magic, which, is more what you'd expect, and well polished with better artwork. But it doesn't have a levitating ball or magicians stage on the table. Tricky shot on the right to start multiball. Certainly recommend, a bit different.

5.684/10

5 years ago

DVD

dawasa

Pinside member

11y 62,400 456 46 7

Not a keeper. Limited shots. Didn't enjoy sequential shots and having to start all over. Game would have benefited by adding another ramp and some code updates.

dawasa has owned this game in the past.

8.820/10

5 years ago

LMS

Tranquilize

Pinside member

9y 84,550 3,778 35

This game is UNIQUE! No wonder Williams attempted to rip off the design to create ToM, which is, by far, the inferior machine.
I acquired this machine on a trade+ for a WW, and I am happy with my decision.

__________________________________________________
DESIGN & TOYS
__________________________________________________

— Capcom hit the pinball market running: they sought innovation!
— You want toys? Well this game has two firsts for pinball: the wand and levitating ball.
— The trunk lock is very cool.
— There are great ramp diversion choices with the wand guiding the ball
— The ball drop into the critics is EPIC FUN! I cannot stress this enough!
— Excellent sewer system and theatre kickout.
— Captive ball is great. It can be really tough and punishing, yet you can light xb, which can also be tough to hit.
— The single theatre bumper works well if switches are adjusted properly.

__________________________________________________
THEME/LIGHTING/SOUND
__________________________________________________

— Theme of "evil female magician (witch?) sending magicians after you is original and cool.
— I love the almost monotone, scripted callouts from the woman. They make me laugh. "Behold, real magic" lol.
— The insults from the woman and critics are funny. "Loop this, pal."
— The various voices and for the magicians are integrated well.
— Really good DMD work on this machine, particularly the closing animation after your game ends.
— Lighting is pretty good with an OCD card and LEDs. Bummer that you can't add LED flashers.
— Music is okay. I have played the game for long sessions and do not get annoyed. It doesn't stand out either.

__________________________________________________
GAMEPLAY
__________________________________________________

— I was very concerned about the linear style of the game, but it somehow works great.
— Scoring "levels" by defeating the magicians gets progressively more difficult, which is great.
— Having to silence the critics to end level one is a perfect amount of difficulty.
— Later modes that require drops etc. add tremendous danger and pressure.
— It's awesome that you can't use the captive ball to complete end-of-level modes.
— This game can be very fast with spurts of great flow.
— If flow was non-stop, it would be too much as it is sooo fast if well tuned and waxed.
— The potential to start a two ball via skill shot after lock is great for balancing difficulty.
— Three ball multiball adds clever scoring options.
— Completing the game is pretty difficult and EPIC when you get there.

__________________________________________________
CRITICISMS
__________________________________________________

— It is very linear, so it is better in larger collections I would think.
— Two ball multiball could be considered a little on the easy side to obtain.
— Hat shot from the left flipper rejects quite a bit. It likely needs some padding to prevent bounce-outs
— Flipper strength needs to be pretty high (I think I'm two points lower than default), which means the pf can take a beating.
— As others have mentioned, parts can be a bitch, but I've been able to find most without much trouble. This may change.
— The backglass could be a little better, but there is far worse.

In the end, Pinball Magic is an excellent game. It is leaps and bounds better than Theatre of Magic, the game that attempted to outperform it. The innovation, great ruleset, and great gameplay make this game a winner. The price has gone up, but I still see this game as priced below its actual value. Get out and play this game!

6 Pinsiders starred this!

8.656/10

5 years ago

CHU

Chooga

Pinside+ Frequent

Littleton, CO

6y 49,800 68 20 38

Just got this machine. Had a few good choices of games for the price I paid. I made the right decision. Great pin! Lots of fun.

Chooga edited previous rating on January 02, 2019.
Chooga has this game on the wishlist.

8.460/10

6 years ago

DEN

britrex1

Inactive member

13y 49,800 213 58

This is an amazing machine! It has an excellent ruleset even if they are linear. I see other people complaining about the rules but my advice to them is "Play better". This machine also has some of the best features with the floating ball and the magic wand not to mention the best skill shot in pinball! Just a very fun game!

britrex1 edited previous rating on July 04, 2018.
britrex1 has owned this game in the past.

6.578/10

6 years ago

YPS

cooldan

Inactive member

London

13y 54,800 129 5 53

I owned one of these briefly, so I feel obliged to write some kind of report on it...... trouble is I can't really remember too much about the game. which probably tells you all you need to know. it's a decent player and has some fun toys, but being a Capcom title there are practically ZERO spare parts available so good luck if anything breaks (when anything breaks, I mean).

Looks nice, sounds nice, plays ok.

cooldan has owned this game in the past.

8.100/10

6 years ago

RAW

Bomber19

Pinside member

Central Coast

6y 32,650 5 6 21

Pinball Magic has some cool toys that tie in nicely with the overall theme. I'd be back for more.

Bomber19 edited previous rating on December 29, 2021.

7.740/10

6 years ago

MJS

Matesamo

PinballRI

Warwick, RI

7y 117K 1,292 112 1

Thanks to Pintastic I got to finally play one of these and it was one of Capcoms best pinball machines. As soon as I plunged I fell in love with the game play and shots, nice gimmicks and great artwork. Its a shame Capcom left pinball as they were just hitting their stride.

8.004/10

6 years ago

JCZ

Meegis

Pinside member

9y 100K 2,740 242

Game is alright. Interesting layout and cool toys/gimmicks.

Wish Capcom lasted longer, they could have made some great pinball.

9.420/10

6 years ago

MAH

wamonkey

Pinside+ Frequent

Seattle, WA

8y 73,300 1,272 7 9

I always wanted a Capcom Game - obviously can't get a BBB - but I got the next best game. This game is excellent - great toys - great playfield game play. Hard not to love the animations and integration into the game, it is very fun. It is a rare game, you just don't see it much, that is why I think the game suffers from a lower score than it deserves. I rate this as a top game - so many great features to this game, so well built, nice hinges on the game, very serviceable. Buy the LED OCD board so you can upgrade the bulbs - makes a world of difference.

The game needs some playfield spot lights but you would have to wire them off the coin door to keep it lit - otherwise it can be a little dark. The playfield art is not that great but the plastics and ramps are so cool.

It is simply a fun game, the knock most people have is that it is linear. But, the game prompts you through what is next so it is triggers you to what you have to do. SO, some people don't like that it doesn't bother me.

It is a great game - if you get a chance to play it you will not be disappointed if you can buy one at a decent price $3800-4300 or less you are going to love the machine. It is a great game...

wamonkey has owned this game in the past.

8.259/10

7 years ago

SD

jokerpoker

Pinside+ Frequent

Nowra

11y 86,050 1,494 3 22

Bought a player quality game and was surprised how much fun this was. When tweaked just right a really good game. Sold and bought another one in better condition and enjoyed it more second time around. So many tricks in this game.

jokerpoker edited previous rating on April 12, 2021.
jokerpoker has owned this game in the past.

8.632/10

7 years ago

AWW

Triplecdad

Pinside member

Tucson, AZ

7y 48,100 262 9 12

First, let me say I own this game. It was the first pin I ever bought, and I did so without knowing much about pins. I have since owned numerous pins, and played most of the pins on the Top 100, and I will never, ever sell this game. It works for me, but I am one of those players who is bored by MM. I like this game because it is linear and challenges you to make shots in the right order. The artwork is not great, but fits the game. The play always brings me back. My family all love this game, and there are other pins I have that they do not even play. The voices are great. If you get a chance to play it, do so. The elevating ball in the stage is one of the best toys in pinball.

Triplecdad currently owns this game.

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