Bally

The Shadow

Pinside Rating

This game received 637 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.319 _/10

8.319

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #49 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.799

Artwork: 7.511

Sounds/Music: 7.924

Other Aspects: 8.436

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 9 of us have rated this game.

8.711

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Found 345 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 345 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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9.460/10

5 years ago

RAW

Bomber19

Pinside member

Central Coast

6y 32,650 5 6 21

The Shadow is a fantastic game that keeps you wanting to come back for more. With great shots all over the playfield and more than enough modes to vary game play, it's definitely a keeper.

Bomber19 edited previous rating on September 30, 2023.
Bomber19 currently owns this game.

7.963/10

5 years ago

SKL

Scoot

Pinside member

Highgate, VT

5y 94,300 1,311 12 15

Well thought out and fun to play, but difficult to get a high score. The high level of difficulty and the flowing ramps and orbits makes you come back for more. The dual buttons, ramp diverters, and upper play field are terrific and are the best of its time. I will play this over Attack From Mars any day. The only major gripe is the play field is very dark and hard to see with incandescent lighting. Switch to cool white leds and a few stadium lights and the game is practically perfect.

Scoot edited previous rating on January 05, 2020.
Scoot has owned this game in the past.

8.501/10

5 years ago

MDB

Parzival

Pinside+ Frequent

Grand Forks, ND

7y 69,900 716 8 14 1

My rating is based on the alt art package from Aurich. With that art change, a great game, but I never was attached to it as some others. Modes seem a little misplaced to me, but I have never seen the movie. If the game was completely based on the comics and had the alt art package, would be top 10. Great shots, toys, and probably the best upper playfield in pinball!

Parzival has this game on the wishlist.

9.560/10

5 years ago

ZOD

Waxx

Pinside+ Frequent

10y 90,550 1,348 95

Very underrated and while I don't mind the original the Aurich translite is much nicer and removed the only negative a lot of people have with the title.

9.663/10

5 years ago

AND

androspl

Inactive member

6y 23,550 53 15

Very, VERY underrated game. TBH it is a bang for your buck. Tons of cool shots and modes. Shadow is blazingly fast and enjoyable. Don't try to play something slower like i.e IJ after that because IJ feels like playing chess, and Shadow is like car chase in Bullit. Beautifull cabinet artwork. Mediocre backglass but if you lit it well with leds - it is acceptable. Or exchange for Aurich's alt translite - that makes this pin really complete. And the diverters - GREAT feature.. I got used to them so much that after that i was looking for them in my other pins - but the buttons aren't there ;)
Sanctum magnet is one of the coolest features i have met on a pinball machine, Battlefield is fast and feels like a real battle!
Overall I don't get why it is priced so low as imho it has more replayability than many of the top ten. Once you get all the rules - you will get hooked like on crack ;) "YOU WILL PLAY THIS GAME AGAIN!!"

PS: I bought it only based on the ratings - i have never played if in the real time - only 3-4 time on the Virtual Pinball table. Risk taken - but I don't regret it.

Highly recomended.

androspl edited previous rating on June 18, 2018.

8.916/10

5 years ago

DAD

SeaLawyer

Pinside+ Frequent

Mclean, VA

9y 64,550 671 12 9

It’s a hard game, but LOADS of fun! Aurich’s translite is a must! My current rating of 8.916 is with Aurich’s translite and speaker panel. Otherwise it drops to 8.541.

Tranquilize’s review is SPOT ON, so I’m not going to repeat it. If you don’t like this game, it’s because you either haven’t played it enough, or you suck at pinball. Period. Top 5 pins from the 90’s.

SeaLawyer currently owns this game.

9.284/10

5 years ago

LMS

Tranquilize

Pinside member

9y 84,550 3,781 35

After playing this machine at an expo, I just had to find one to add to my collection, and it will be one of the last ones to leave. Out of all the pinball machines I’ve played, I would say that this pin is the most under-rated. It is in absolute bargain for what you get. All I can say is, “WOW” is this game ever challenging and fun!
__________________________________________________
DESIGN & TOYS
__________________________________________________

— You want toys? Well this was the era of toys. The ramp diverters are astounding and fun.
— The upper playfield is very challenging and very fun.
— The ball lock at the sanctuary is a first and was/is epic.
— The upper loop is super hard, which is good.
— The eject hole for Khan/modes is super hard, which is good.
— The drop target at the entrance to the upper playfield is good design.

__________________________________________________
THEME/LIGHTING/SOUND
__________________________________________________

— Love the call-outs: “You are boring me!”.
— “Coward, Chicken, Sissy. C’mon. Play again.”
— I don’t know the comics or the film, but theme appears to be good.
— Lighting is good for the era. Lots of flashers. Cool inserts in upper pf.

__________________________________________________
GAMEPLAY
__________________________________________________

— This game is a player’s pin, meaning it is difficult! It’s perfect for a collection of any size.
— This is one of the only pins that I didn’t have to toughen up the default rules.
— Skill shot is risky but with great value.
— It can have tremendous flow with the ramps and loops, but sudden death is common if you miss with velocity.
— There seems to be extra gravity on this pin. It wants to eat the balls!!!
— The lack of bumpers and scoop = fassssst gameplay, hence the short ball times.
— The mode shot is pretty tough, so finishing all the modes is a big challenge.
— Super jackpot during Kahn multiball is epic, epic, epic! Oh, man. Writing this makes me want to play the game!

__________________________________________________
CRITICISMS
__________________________________________________

— The left ramp is absolutely deadly if you miss it. It is very close to the flippers.
— It’s sometimes hard to get good flow because of how challenging the shots are.
— The backglass is gawd-awful. I rated based on the swap.
— You may need to adjust the switch for the left ramp.
— You must maintain the targets around the left ramp so that they face downward or it’s airball city.
— The game is too diffucult for newbs, hands down.
— Even for good players, it takes a bit to learn this machine as it has a feel all to its own.

In the end, The Shadow is pinball EXACTLY as I like it: hard, fast and dangerous. This game is endlessly rewarding due to its unique toys, flow and rule set. Honestly, this pin feels like no other. If you get a chance, session this game for as long as you can. It takes time, but once you “get” it, you’ll never get enough of it.

Tranquilize edited previous rating on July 05, 2019.

4 Pinsiders starred this!

7.299/10

5 years ago

???

Giel

Inactive member

8y 18,800 1 11

I have had the Shadow for several months. It is a nice game not a good game to my opinion.

Giel has owned this game in the past.

8.193/10

5 years ago

MAX

mbaumle

Pinside member

Gloucester Township, NJ

8y 119K 4,200 18 32

This is a true player's game. Tough, and mostly fair. Through ball saves, the game gives you just enough rope to hang yourself with.

Gameplay and layout is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Fast playfield loaded with TONS of great feeling shots, with selectable flow. Lots of modes, and the game allows the player to determine different approaches and strategies to score well and advance through the rules. The battlefield is a mechanical version of breakout, and it's absolutely terrific.

My biggest gripes:

-The backglass artwork. Honestly, this is just a given.
-Horrendous airballs off of the yellow mongol targets adjacent to the left ramp. Missing the ramp, and hitting the targets is a one-way ticket to DrainTown, USA.
-When a ball to the left ramp is diverted to the right side, the switch is poorly placed, and doesn't always register skill shots or rings.
-The game is relentless. Sometimes it feels like a gruel to get to the final battle.

Honestly, replace the backglass with Aurich's art package, make sure the battlefield is in top working shape, and you've got a damn fine game. The gripes are minimal when it comes down to gameplay and strategy.

mbaumle has owned this game in the past.

9.440/10

5 years ago

APO

Happy81724

Pinside+ Frequent

6y 132K 2,546 61

Fun fun fun....family friendly and great play. Bought this game we loved it so much and don’t regret this purchase

5.360/10

6 years ago

TJP

tjprice222

Pinside member

11y 58,650 452 18 1

For a long time, all I heard about was how amazing The Shadow was. I finally had the chance to pick one up and I was sad when I realized this wasn’t the game for me. I like games like BSD which are fast and brutal and the shadow does have that but the rest of the game just left me feeling like something was missing.

Vengeance, while a cool concept and makes use of the ramp diverters was “eh”. For me, it was like make these four shots. Great! Now make those same four shots again and again for super vengeance.

The modes were all unique and enjoyable enough to play but I just didn’t get excited playing them like I did on some other tables. Starting the modes was quite difficult as well and most games only resulted in a mode or two being played.

The battlefield was a great feature but it always took me at least three trips up there to beat it. Sometimes, my table showed a credit dot from the battlefield ramp exit not being activated in so long. lol.

Perhaps the stand out feature was the ball lock but beyond that I didn’t find much to come back for. Maybe my expectations were too high knowing this table was designed by the same guy who designed MM. whatsever the reason, I just didn’t see Shadow as a long term table and sold it after having it for a year.

9.463/10

6 years ago

CRS

Cserold

Pinside member

Dallas, TX

7y 80,550 1,487 17 6

Probably the most under valued 90s game IMO.

Cserold currently owns this game.

8.052/10

6 years ago

KGM

kmann

Pinside member

Evansville, IN

7y 40,150 53 7 6

Wasn’t crazy about the call outs, music, and art but love everything else about it. Great pin overall. Has some very cool features for sure: the ball lock, upper playfield, and diverters on the ramps controlled by alternate buttons are awesome. Multiple ways to play, so it doesn’t get old.

kmann has owned this game in the past.

8.400/10

6 years ago

BLK

anubisswift

Inactive member

Rohnert Park, CA

6y 15,900 2 1 8

big fan of the theme, playfield is a bit cluttered, but lots to do, maybe too fast for my liking...the mood needs to match more of the title, but i get it its a movie license, gotta pry the quarters out of the kids hands

7.605/10

6 years ago

JES

john32

Pinside member

Kensington, KS

10y 49,450 155 86 45

a fun b/w game. great use of the upper playfield.

john32 currently owns this game.

6.056/10

6 years ago

BJB

PinballBJB

Pinside+ Frequent

6y 72,300 208 30

A couple of nice features in this game are (1) the lower left ramp diverter that the player can control to select the skill shot award, (2) the ball lock mechanism, and (3) the diverter that changes the output of the shot from the upper right flipper under the "battlefield" upper playfield. These features give the game some decent entertainment value for occasional play, like at competition or on location.

For me personally, the rest of what the game has to offer isn't very appealing for long-term interest or ownership, unless part of a very large collection allowing this one to be a once-in-a-while player instead of a primary game.

6.426/10

6 years ago

SFS

sservas

Pinside member

Suwanee, GA

18y 41,250 8 8 10

Owned this machine for about a year. Was an ok machine but it didnt stay in the collection very long.

sservas has this game on the wishlist.

6.980/10

6 years ago

DMW

wildeboutpins

THE PINBALL DUDES

Jupiter, FL

10y 67,700 230 41 8 7

Have owned this several time and just cannot get into it...I am actually A huge fan of Baldwin but not one of this title...Boring and slow...

10.000/10

6 years ago

JTT

Tizz007

Pinside member

Charlotte, NC

6y 27,150 13 11 32

The upper Battlefield is an awesome Pong esque feel to it, which never gets old. Shots are fun and 3 flippers make it a great game to learn on. The extra buttons that swap the ramps, really make it more ramps than it seems. I love this game.

Tizz007 edited previous rating on October 31, 2017.
Tizz007 currently owns this game.

2 Pinsiders flagged this.

6.815/10

6 years ago

AJF

PinballTilt

Pinside member

Akron, OH

10y 84,550 1,131 5 11

I had this game and was hoping it would be a keeper because of the theme. I really liked the ball lock and theme. Unfortunately a few issues with this game caused me to rush to sell it because I came to very much dislike it. The upper playfield is very annoying and doesn't feel very skill based, the ramps are steep and difficult to hit - they don't feel satisfying, and the biggest issue was the mode start - it is very difficult to start a mode on this game which makes achieving the wizard mode even harder. The backglass is awful and had to go. This was just a game not suited for me.

PinballTilt has owned this game in the past.

8.980/10

6 years ago

CHR

Philadelphia

Inactive member

11y 19,500 20

I'm not a big fan of the movie, but i love the pinball machine for a couple of reasons: the battlefiels, the sanctum and the switchable ramps. These festures make this pinball machine unique in a way that a lot of my friends say it's their favorite of my collection. This pinball machine is highly underrated!

9.880/10

6 years ago

PET

dahlman

Pinside member

Degerfors

7y 49,050 113 26 33

Top notch game!

dahlman currently owns this game.

9.340/10

6 years ago

NAT

Nath1977

Pinside member

La Pocatière, QC

6y 20,000 41

full mods and with the new translite, this is my favorite pinball, great choice if you have just 1 pinball at home.
this machine have all you need in a pinball.

Nath1977 edited previous rating on November 10, 2018.

9.076/10

6 years ago

RC

Robhorror

Pinside member

Québec, QC

8y 50,650 3 15 53

WOW, very fun and dificult, awsome. sounds and lightshow are great.

Robhorror edited previous rating on October 07, 2020.
Robhorror has owned this game in the past.

8.701/10

6 years ago

QUY

FatPanda

Pinside member

7y 141K 7,178 32

A very good and challenging pin with a lot of shots and objectives to go for. The loop combos are so fun to hit and the call outs and music are well done. This is definitely a challenging game! Really surprised it's not ranked higher than it is, and I'm sure the original translite art has something to do with that, but the alternate translites really make that a non-issue. The battlefield is a unique upper playfield that makes this game truly stand out.

FatPanda edited previous rating on September 12, 2019.

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