Bally

Xenon

Pinside Rating

This game received 231 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.668 _/10

7.668

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #151 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.322

Artwork: 8.716

Sounds/Music: 7.13

Other Aspects: 7.61

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 6 of us have rated this game.

7.284

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Found 129 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 129 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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9.196/10

7 months ago

PBJ

PBandJelly

Pinside member

<1y 34,050 45 21

I’ve been a huge fan of Suzanne Ciani for years, and when I learned she created the sounds for a pinball game I had to try it. It’s intriguing to think about the pinball game as an album or publication, a concept I’d like to see more.

The soundscape of Xenon is so unique. The gasping and “ow” start the moment you drop in your first coin and continue as the ball proceeds to hit things. It feels like you are operating on a living organism. That’s why I like it so much: the experience felt more like playing an instrument than a regular pinball game. It feels like playing with a sentient creature and getting to know its personality, rather than immersing oneself in a narrative, storylined world.

The game itself was challenging - it’s strict and precise, so getting the multiball felt especially rewarding.

If I were to buy a pinball game, Xenon would be my choice. It’s a proper work of art.

PBandJelly has this game on the wishlist.

8.008/10

8 months ago

ABF

Sheev_Palpatine

Pinside+ Frequent

4y 104K 651 69

This is a really cool game! Love the artwork!

7.682/10

9 months ago

MSL

SantaEatsCheese

Pinside+ Pro!

Crofton, MD

5y 209K 9,626 6 85 1

Xenon is such a cool an quirky game. It is a solid "looker" pin with a great mirrored backglass and playfield artwork. A top 10 all time art package in pinball. Paul Faris also did the Paragon art. The sound on this one is really neat too. I like the tube shot, the drop targets, the spinner, there is alot of fun on here. I do wish it had "Jackpots" or "Playfield Multipliers" during the multiball. They did A LOT Programming wise for a game from 1980 but the game is easily exploitable. You can hit the ramp shot from either flipper and doing so repeatedly blows up the score to 999999 with mediocre risk. You can either shoot the spinner to the left of the ramp to the right if you don't want dangereous left to right back and forth action. Overall, I like it and think this a great early B/W game with gameplay ALMOST as good as the Bally class of 81 games with similar or better art but at a severely discounted price.

SantaEatsCheese has owned this game in the past.

7.976/10

11 months ago

???

oldmanpinball19

Pinside+ Frequent

5y 33,000 5 7 8

Very nice 1980's era Bally pinball and if you collect early electronic Solid State pinballs this is a must. I bought my Bally Xenon in 1982 for $500 and my best friend still owns it and would never give it up.

oldmanpinball19 has owned this game in the past.

7.615/10

11 months ago

DIA

mrossman5

Pinside+ Frequent

Warren, PA

6y 197K 3,175 7 253

I love the look and sound of this game, but the actual gameplay never clicked for me. Neat music and callouts from Suzanne Ciani though.

9.011/10

1 year ago

BRB

MysticPinball

Pinside member

Badjeros, ON

9y 48,900 37 35

I was 13 in 1980, and I remember being in absolute awe of this game. Bally really put a lot into this title, and their work with Suzanne was intended to bring player and machine together, humanizing the game and bringing the player in on an intimate level. Still a visually stunning game. I love the organic vocals and music that Ms. Cianni developed, especially considering her limited experience with pinball on any level, at the time. Definitely a Bally classic.

5.773/10

1 year ago

JJO

Joshjowen

Pinside member

Bend, OR

2y 39,550 118 9 13

Beautiful game, but a boring game.

8.164/10

1 year ago

EZE

ezed123

Pinside+ Frequent

North Myrtle Beach, SC

3y 44,300 197 7

This is a great game from the 80’s. Super cool speech and sounds. Hard to get multi ball and harder to keep both balls in play once it starts. The light show is spectacular. Getting the tube shot and whacking the spinner are very satisfying shots to make in this Bally classic

9.289/10

2 years ago

???

GottPinball

Pinside member

Huntington Beach, CA

3y 37,000 1 14 31

Xenon was a big hit when it came out 40 plus years ago, and still today, it remains a classic and amazing pin to play... The Tube shot is a never ending fun shot to hit, and having multi-ball is the icing on the cake. Also, have a the female voice of Suzanne Ciani sets this pin apart hands down! With four popbumpers, kickout hole, spinner and nicely placed drop targets, Xenon has it all! My only complaint is the playfield of Xenon is rather dark and could of used a few more playfield lights.. The easy fix is upgrading to a LED Lamp Driver Board and installing LED's to the playfield.. I highly recommend this pin!

GottPinball currently owns this game.

8.741/10

2 years ago

BRI

BriannaWu

Pinside+ Frequent

Dedham, MA

2y 53,800 324 10 40

Xenon is my guilty pinball pleasure. It’s a historically important game, one of the first with voice acting and the sound design is too notch. The artwork is breathtaking, everything I love about 70s sci-fi.

But it’s not a good game.

The path is so straightforward to win. Sink the ball in the cup three times. Do tube shot. Repeat. Multiball. That’s it. And yet, that simplicity makes gameplay flow. I love the game, though it’s not a defensible opinion.

7.040/10

2 years ago

RSS

Mutilatedlips

Inactive member

Orlando, FL

3y 23,900 7 2 17

Audio and visuals are hard to forget. It is like a pin right out of Heavy Metal magazine. I always give it a quarter whenever I see it and locally there are two of them nearby. Both play very differently because each location has the pitch of the playfield set differently.
It is one that I would like to own because it looks gorgeous, but unfortunately would not pay much for because the gameplay isn't terribly exciting and tends to get old really quick, even on the machine with the faster pitch.

9.860/10

2 years ago

RMG

Flash71

Pinside+ Frequent

Lewiston, NY

5y 95,300 1,368 19 26 4

After wanting xenon for awhile I finally added one to my collection. What a fun game to shoot. The voice technology is pretty awesome for the year it was released. Multiball is a blast to achieve. The sounds buildup keeps you’re blood pumping as they increase to a frenzy. Backglass and Playfield art are truly one of a kind. It’s almost like you’re having “relations” with the machine. Lmao!! Go get one and see what Xenon is all about. “Try tube shot”

Flash71 has owned this game in the past.

7.841/10

3 years ago

DOC

TractorDoc

DPS

Ashland, OH

7y 245K 2,923 33 106

Another Bally Solid State from the 80s that is a real looker!

The artwork and even the pieces as they are laid out on the playfield have a real sci-fi vibe that just works. The early 80s playfields always have so much detail -- it seems like there is always something new to see hidden.

This game focuses on the ramp/tube shot, the spinner, landing the top kickout, and maybe the drops if you want more variety. Sometimes less is more -- I find when there are more options to shoot for I can get distracted and instead of focusing on one goal random flippiness kicks in followed not long after by a drain. To each their own though.

If I was more of a sci-fi type of person I'd probably have one of these in my collection.

TractorDoc has owned this game in the past.

8.744/10

3 years ago

STK

funkycoucou

Pinside member

Panex

9y 20,650 10 5 6

first pinball machine with a female voice ... revolutionary at the time ...

funkycoucou has owned this game in the past.

8.960/10

3 years ago

SYL

Pinside member

Kalamazoo, MI

5y 68,550 515 6 31

I want to like Xenon. I really, really do.
This pin has one of the all time great back glasses in all of pinball. No real contest. It is among the greatest.
It probably has the sexiest female sci-fi voice in all of pinball--I can't even think of another one.

The game play is...not good. Slow.
Maybe it was the copy of the game I've played on location a few times...
but it is tough to care about this pin.
I think I'd rather play almost anything else.

6.460/10

3 years ago

CP

BRONX

Pinside member

Hamilton, ON

4y 42,300 695 36

It's just not my style. If you want to rack up the real point you have to really keep aiming for the ramp, that's it!!! Gets stupid after a while. It has drop targets and stuff but there's no point because the points are all in the ramp....graphics and artwork is amazing, talking robot voice was state of the art in 1980 and still a classic in 2020. I find this pin boring because of the point scoring system being to one sided

8.470/10

3 years ago

DRL

QuietEarp

Pinside member

Stroudsburg, PA

11y 87,300 708 9 26

Beautiful Machine. Sounds were great for its time. I found it fun to play for a bit but I feel that I did tire of it.

QuietEarp has owned this game in the past.

8.411/10

3 years ago

SMC

ScottMc

Inactive member

Hamilton, ON

4y 7,500 2 1 6

This game is all about the sounds, backglass, artwork and tube shot. Allure of tube shot is cool, but grows tired over time.

All-in-all, this game is outstanding for its time.

8.794/10

4 years ago

FVG

pyrotech

Pinside+ Addict

Athens, GA

4y 66,050 711 5 7

Fun game to play, everybody who comes over loves to play her. Love the female voice "try to the tube shoot"

pyrotech currently owns this game.

9.276/10

4 years ago

RMF

MasterReese

Pinside apprentice

4y 37,150 2 3 66 1

Great game! Simple rule set. The callouts are great. This game keeps you coming back for more. This game is staying in my collection.

MasterReese edited previous rating on July 23, 2020.
MasterReese currently owns this game.

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