DiabloRush's ratings

The hype is real and justified. Godzilla is the best pin ever made, period. I've been in the hobby for about 45 years. Prior to GZ, MM and LOTR set the standard. JP was fantastic, but GZ raises the bar. In every area I can think of, its just a superior table and effort. Start with the theme. Magnificent! The perfect marriage of camp and nostalgia. Cut scenes from old movies, the monster battles, "stay tuned for a message from Bonus". Brilliant! Japanese mode ups the camp factor, and its glorious. The Godzilla theme is perfect for pinball, and this table knocks it out of the park.

As for play, this table flows like no other. The number of looping, endless shots are higher on this pin than any I can think of. Ramps, loops, spinners. The loop behind the upper flipper. The huge number of secret combos and skill shots. The use of the building (on the Prem/LE) to change the ramp flows. The rotating jump ramp to the magnetic Mechagodzilla. And the cylindrical Newton ball that captures then redirects/throws your ball! It's all brilliant and innovative.

Any one of the following (interactive!?!) toys/mechs would have made this title a standout: Rotating jump ramp w/spinner; Collapsing and interactive bridge; Mechagodzilla bash toy with magnetic hold; incredible cylindrical Newton ball with magnetic capture, and of course: the collapsing sky scraper with physical ball locks and the ability to change ball paths and throwouts depending on level. Taken together, this is a stunning array of new innovation and fun in a single pin. GZ is the most-packed pin from Stern, ever. It rivals TZ in the number of unique toys, and flows and plays better than the slow and deliberate Lawlor design in Twilight Zone.

Add all the amazing elements of the theme, art, music, flow, and toys together along with a deep code with a ruleset that keeps you coming back for more - beginner or expert - and you have the best pin made yet. It earns all the hype. Nothing plays as well or is as fun in my collection as GZ. Took forever to get from the backlog, but worth the wait. Absolutely a blast and unequivocally recommended. The only pin I've rated a perfect 10. Perfection.

There's no way I can objectively review this game. I'm the proto-nerd that's lived Rush since 2112 was released in 1976. Seen them in concert too-many times to count. Rush + Pinball pretty much completes my life. I've waited 40 years for these two loves to converge. For a Rush fan, this is heaven on earth in a cabinet. Game rules are deep. I'm about 40 games in, and am just now starting to understand the flow, rules, modes, combos, and objectives. Tons of stuff to do, and shots are varied and just the right amount of difficulty. Fortuantetly, I upgraded my Pro to allow headphones, a detail which has probably saved my marriage, or at least, a half-dozen painful joint counseling sessions. Ah, Rush Pinball, bearing a gift beyond price, almost free....

An incredible game, and an important milestone in Pinball history. LOTR showed that Stern was capable of a masterpiece as much as the glorious 90s WPC games. 1999 was a dark year for pinball, when Williams withdrew from the business. The only other volume manufacturer remaining was Stern. And frankly, Stern efforts at this time were lackluster. A couple of the Stern pins in the years that followed 1999 began to show some promise, especially the Lawlor titles (RCT and Monopoly). But these pins still lacked that something, the magic that was MM or MB.

And then in 2003, LOTR was released. It was obvious on play that this title and treatment was astoundingly good. There’s many reasons for this. Foremost, the pinball itself was an outstanding design with great flow, variety, and just the right amount of difficultly. The rule set was spectacularly deep, with Wizard modes that were satisfying. Music was absolutely stand out. I still gets chills when “There and Back Again” starts. Another amazing design choice in this pin was the dead-serious treatment of the subject matter. It was not only faithful to the movies in the extreme, but it had absolutely no humor - none - a risky design choice in this time frame that paid off with a deeply-moving experience to anyone who’s a fan of both Tolkien and pinball.

LOTR established Stern as the worthy successor to Williams. It showed they could produced deep, satisfying, classic pins that appealed to the collector and enthusiast markets. LOTR in many ways showed pinball had a future after the bleak post-Williams doldrums. The many manufacturers today owe a great debt to this title. It’s a piece of pinball history, one of the all-time greatest pins (I’d probably tie it with MM for best pinball ever), and worthy in any collection.

One of the “Big 4” classics from 90s Williams (along with MM, TZ, and ToM). Great game! What’s more to say? One of the must-play games in pinball.

One of the very-best of the 90s WPC games. Fantastic theme, and deep rule set. Toys are fantastic, including the levitating ball and the rotating trunk. Great modes, perfectly integrated with the Magic theme. Shots flow fantastically well. I'd include this along with MM, MB, and CV as the best of the WPC games from the 90s. Highly recommended. Let's hope Chicago Gaming chooses this as a title to remake; it's just as worthy as MB and MM.

I owned this game for about a year back in the late 90s. My particular game came from a celebrity owner, and it was personally signed over to me. That part was cool. Unfortunately, it was only 1 of 2 good things about this game. The other is the backglass art. I'm a sucker for a PG-13 sexy backglasses. Otherwise, this game was a clunker. Slow, little variety, thin rules.

You see, this game was an incredible bait-and-switch when it was released in 1990. How so? In 1986, Phantom of the Opera - the sensational Andrew Lloyd Weber musical - debuted. It was an instant hit, among the most beloved musicals of the decade. It remained a sold-out seat on Broadway all the way through the early 90s. Filled with memorable music, it was a genuine phenom. How better to enjoy this than a pinball! Data East jumped on the band wagon. Shamelessly. You see, this pin has NOTHING to do with the musical. None of the music, especially. Zilch. To Data East's everlasting shame, PotO was in the public domain. They figured, we can convince clueless bar patrons to drop a few quarters in this, hijacking the popularity of the musical. The game was rushed, with just-close-enough art to fool folks into thinking it was connected.

Really, there's nothing to recommend this when compared to contemporaneous games from Williams. A piece of art in a huge collection? Maybe. A pin to play and enjoy for hours? Nope. Data East deserves scorn for their shameless attempt to cash in on the musical's popularity.

Utterly unique. Owned this game for about 2 years back around 2005-2007. My (now defunct) distributor had one on the floor for years. I finally made a ridiculously lowball offer, and it was mine. Not a pinball at all, but a classic bowling game. Aiming shots and releasing the ball is what you do. Most fun against other players. Great party game. The plastic bubble over the lanes is a bit fragile and scratches easily. Not a lot of replay ability. Once you master the aiming, the game pretty much devolves into repetition. Designed more for location play than home use. Still, nothing like it has been made in the last 30 years. Has to be a rare game. I’ve never seen another anywhere than the one I bought.

As close to the perfect pinball as has ever been made. Never grows old. Dumbest thing I ever did was sell my original Williams version back in the early 00s.

Underrated game. Has a reputation for tight shots and drains. For home use, it can be tuned to avoid these types of issues. Deep ruleset, with fantastic lighting. Trunk catapult very cool. Tons of modes. A great pinball.