bigguybbr's ratings

This game is just pure fun. The shots are varied and satisfying. There aren't a bunch of layered ramps all over like most modern pins, making this layout feel really unique. The 180 degree ramp is lightning fast. The only other ramp is the katana lock shot which feels amazing when you nail it. The physical lock in the katana handle is really cool and makes for one of the most eye catching playfield toys out there. The multitude of multiballs (ninja, lil DP, disco, mechsuite, Sauron) and ability to stack them with modes and other hurry ups means that there is just always something going on that keeps the game fresh and fun.

The artwork is amazing, save for the art blades. They are my least favorite that stern offers as the comic strip background is too washed out and they just look reddish. The playfield artwork is superb, as is the backlass and cabinet art. It uses a lot of red, and I found myself replacing the red GI leds with sunlight white ones to help bring out the art a little more and helps the issue where this game's GI is on the darker side of things. It can be tough in a dark room to see the playfield well. During disco multiball, it becomes a real challenge to see what is going on. The lighting is really my only big issue with the game. I don't like the flasher bulb added under the insert for the center spinner. I thought I had a bad RGB led under the playfield, until I lifted it and found the flasher. The white turns on with the color LED making it look like something is broken.

The animation style, while not everyone's cup of tea, are well done and work well in the game. I admit it didn't do it for me it at first glance, but it really grew on me.

The call outs are hilarious. The music on this pin is AMAZING. There are a ton of unique music tracks that are fantastic. I actually use the DJ mode from time to time to blast the tunes on here, they are that good.

This is a great value model, as the features missing from the pro found on the premium and LE don't make a significant difference where you feel like you are really missing out. I think the deadpool drops in the prem/le slow the game down too much and the orbit diverter and disco ball doesn't sufficiently justify the cost difference.

There are a few make or break set up issues that make a big difference in how the game plays. Flaring out slightly the trailing end of the guides leading to the katana ramps stops the rattling making the shot rejects go away. The game really needs to be pitched to 7 degrees to play right.

Yes, this is a home pin, but it is sooooooo much fun to shoot. The rules are simple and easy to grasp, and offer 2 different multiballs, multiple wizard modes to keep things interesting. Game play is fast and just plain fun. 3 skills shots. 2 ramps (including a jump!), 2 spinners, 3 drops, and a functioning T-Rex head (unlike the pro cornerstone).

Don't hate it before you try it because it has a particle board cabinet, or because it has an MDF playfield, or that the LCD screen is small. This pin is a favorite in my line up when guests visit. It's somehow fast and challenging, while not unfriendly. Drains don't feel cheep, and shots are flowy with almost no clunkiness. An awesome first design by Jack Danger. Looking forward to his future pins. The call outs are great and even has a cameo with Jack Danger for the dead flip skill shot after the update. The LCD screens graphics are perfectly formatted for the size making it plenty easy to read. The cabinet is slightly shorter than a cornerstone, but looks great in a line up and is the same height as a classic early 80's Bally/Stern.

There are a few things that aren't perfect but can be overcome relatively inexpensively. The GI is dark to the point I needed to add a couple of spot lights to the lower playfield to be able to play in a dim room. The sound from the speaker is tinny and there are some loud mechanicals. The good news is, for $20, you can fix all that is wrong with the sound of the machine. There is a cut out with studs for an 8" speaker in the cabinet, that when it is shipped is open. This is what makes the mechanicals sound noisy. Adding an 8" speaker here dampens that sounds from the mechanicals. The speaker also fixes the game's sound issue's that stem from the single little 4" speaker by filling out the lower range. The cabinet channel was originally disabled in the first ROM, but the latest update enabled the cabinet speaker output allowing for fade, EQ, and frequency cut off settings making it sound great. There is some great music and dino sounds that the little speaker couldn't handle on its own.

A pretty simple game, but wild 80s fun with its over the top art package that definitely gets more appreciation today than it probably did when released.

Game features an auto launcher into a loop which is unique offering a timed skill shot. Depending on the game Rom, the game will either start every ball with a multiball or it will start with a single ball.

Three lower flippers, a single sling shot, and no right outlane makes for some fun action on the lower playfield to try to hit the 1-2-3 stand up targets for multiball and the drops to build your vacation bonus. You can also shoot for the 100,000 point loop shot on the right to build your score easily, and it is a little imbalanced with that shot. A shot straight up the middle fired the ball around and through the 3 upper lanes with lane switching used to increase your playfield multiplier and drops into the 3 Spudz McKenzie adorned pop bumpers. A shot up the left ramp drops the ball into a mini upper playfield with a single flipper and a 3 drop target bank. You can increase their value by knocking them down in order 3 times. If the ball drains past the single flipper, a launcher fires it up into the upper roll over lanes.

The music is very catchy and their are wave and dog bark sounds from targets to help tie in the beach theme.

This is a really fun layout that any casual player friends love right off the bat. There is only a single out lane on the right with Sterns play more post making it feel like 2, and no outlane on the left. There is a single 5 bank of controlled drop targets set up in a way to make it a fun and slightly challenging shot. There are 2 spinners that are amazing to rip when set up properly. There are also 2 pop bumpers and 4 slings that throw the ball around like crazy and help the player to hit the line of stand up targets. After I clear coated the playfield it plays fast with a lot of action.

Adding the BSOS Arduino controller code for new rules and call outs really let’s the game shine. It’s a fantastic classic game that is just a ton of fun.

4 drop target banks, 3 flippers, and a spinner that you can rip all day.

Before I restored one with all new cpr parts, the game was fun to get a single meteor drop left standing and keep ripping the spinner till you rolled the score counter. The sound could get on your nerves after a bit.

After I restored it, the game is lightning fast, and the new code adds far greater depth than the original game could handle. Tons of fun and no more annoying droning square wave tones.

My rating is based on playing with the 1.6 Cleland code which has more of the music and film assets, which greatly improves this game. The base game would probably score a point lower without it.

The playfield is a typical Borg design and is often referred to as a copy of Metallica. Super hungry left out lane, but fun and flowing cross over shots if you are on your game.

I love the 2 physical ball locks with Groot head being an awesome bash toy and the orb drop targets lock. It’s too bad the spinners were left off the pro as the orbit shots are great to shoot, but it’s still feature packed without them.

The playfield really needs to be kept clean for the playfield magnet to work properly, so it will catch the ball and toss it after an orb ball release, and also to deflect balls from the Groot eject so they don’t go SDTM. A recently waxed playfield really makes this game brutally difficult especially with the Rocket and Star Lord shots throwing the ball at the drain.

One of the best value Pro models out there next to Dead Pool. The pro offers great features without feeling like it is missing out on some of the toys from the Premium/LE models. It's also great to look at. There is so much going on in the artwork and playfield layout with ramps, toys and wire forms that it feels like it is worth every penny when compared to some other more recent Sterns like Led Zeppelin.

For a title based on a children's cartoon, it can be a tough game. When your aim is on, the flow is great, and chaining ramp shots feels really gratifying. When hit perfectly, the Krang combo, 1-2-3 foot combo, or chaining left ramp to right ramp to ninja pizza to start a mode is lightning fast and feels amazing. That being said, if your aim is off, shots like the lair, ninja pizza, and the tight right orbit can feel clunky and add to frustration. Not that you need more frustration, since the gaping left outlane provides more than enough frustration for most players. The spinning pizza disc adds chaos to the playfield and forces the player to stay on their toes as it imparts spin or throws the ball towards outlanes and drains. If the game has too much pitch, some shots can no longer be backhanded (left ramp). The right ramp seems to always be accessible by backhand, and feels good doing so.

Since the 1.41 code update adding final battle and half shell challenges accessible from the start, and some tuning, it has really helped the game. Half shell is a blast, and is great to start up for the younger or more beginning players as it will keep relaunching the ball until they make the shots giving a more forgiving experience. The Co-op feature is also great to get younger players into the game, or just to have fun with friends with the ability to have 1v3, 1v2 and 2v2 battles.

Some tuning still needs to be done. Multiball modes have some blinding lighting effects that make you lose sight of the ball, which seems a bit unfair. The 1-2-3 Foot combo needs to be reworked since it seems to constantly trigger, and has what feels like a meager payout for the effort. Scoring in general is low, and some of the Turtles could use some rebalancing as Raphael is really the only character to choose if you are chasing a high score. Donatello is almost handicapped since it all but forces you into turtle power multiball before you can start a mode and really build up your score. The lair ball save timer is a must to set, and really should be the default. Stern should also add a launch ball save timer option as it can be frustrating to lock a ball, and then the launch sends it for a center drain.

All in all, it's a hugely addicting game that challenges the player with a lot if fun shots to explore. While it can be frustrating at times when not on your game, I find myself coming back to it again and again.

*Edit* I updated my ratings after I owned it for a year or so. Scores dropped on lastability (I played it a lot but ultimately let it go), lighting (those flashers blind you), and layout (there are some clunky shots that required too often)

Fun but challenging table. The first thing that jumps out at you is the crazy amount of wire forms, three levels stacked on one another accessible by the right ramp, the left ramp, and the 2 center scoops. The playfield also has a jet fighter as part of the top of the wire form stack and a control tower to the left as the only real toys on the playfield. The gameplay is linear in that you always start out having to buzz the tower, then knock down the drop targets to spell air, etc. to progress through each set of air show stunts while competing against a timer. While this linear approach bothers some, I think it works that you have some familiarity of what comes next since the drop target shots are hard, and the center scoops are pretty narrow, so knowing what comes next helps you complete stunts on time.

This game has my favorite skill shot, where you use the flipper buttons to activate a rear bumper called the injector that helps you guide the ball down a particular lane for either 1 million, 4 million, or a ball lock in the jet fighter at the top of the wire forms. Using this it is possible to lock 2 balls and start the game with 2 ball multiball. There is also a 3 ball multiball mode with locks in the lower left out lane and the upper right of the playfield.

The DMD animations on this game are very well done. One of the best parts of the game is being given the choice to keep or eject your copilot, with the eject animation being pretty funny. This will be even better if and when a ROM comes out for ColorDMD. The individually controlled lights do a good job in attract mode, and a pretty good job in game to help call out the shots you need to make, with DMD animations helping to direct you to your next target.

Game plays pretty fast for its age. The selector wheel that changes point target values adds a fun element in competition play especially in lining up the 500 point shot. It's a nice alternative to building a bonus that gives the player incentive to try to change the wheel position to get it into one of the all color modes to increate the score values.

The upper ball gate and the 2 switches required to activate it seem unnecessary. Unlike the lower gate which saves a drain on the out lane, the upper gate makes you wish a better gimmick was added in its place. You don't score points for going through the upper gate besides the 10 points per target, and doesn't provide any advantage to activate and use it other than a chance to use the shooter again.