ADDED POLL INFORMATION:
The following "Old School" SS Pins that have a standard flat playfield, no ramps, no toys, and no multi-ball have had at least 2 responses in this thread. They have been chosen as the top candidates as the Best "Old School" Solid State Pin of all time! Please vote for your favorite!
Blackout
Quoted from gabegabegabe:Really fast, goood flow, drop targets, 1st game w/lane change, 3 spinners! I don't think it has multiball.
Quoted from Gnatty:Blackout is a great game, 3 spinners, 2 sets of 3 bank drops, 5 standups, 3 pops, lane change, a shutdown sequence, great flow with the orbit loop and some great early 80' s sound effects and speech. Great artwork as well.
Quoted from alveolus:I'm really partial to Blackout due to cool space theme and art, awesome Defender era sounds, and unusual flow for the era. But the flowing shots really don't qualify as "old school" like EMs.
Quoted from zippydapinhead:Blackout - Love the flow, spinner shots art and classic Williams sounds
Eight Ball Deluxe
Quoted from DaveH:Eight Ball Deluxe. To me that was by far the best of the era. It just has "IT". It is simple to explain, simple to understand, and a total beast to tame. Look at the average sample, worn down to the wood. They got played and played back in the day.
But just being played a bunch doesn't answer the why. And the why is because of how hard it is, coupled with how lucrative. If you have a great game you can knock a bunch of free games out of it. But then it will chew through the ones it gave you and steal your lunch money. By then it is in your blood and you just want to feed the machine and hit the start button. Game after game will be so close to beating it, but you won't win. And if you do it will take it all back the next 10 games. And hope you never notice the backglass "DELUXE", because there are 3 free games waiting for you if you complete it, and 20 games later you will feel like a hero when you collect those 3 free ones. Knock knock... Who's there? EBD!
Quoted from GaryMartin:I will second Eight Ball Deluxe for the reasons mentioned here. This is the pin that got me hooked on Pinball in the first place.
Quoted from Grossie:I'll second Eight Ball Deluxe. Great game. Simple to understand the objectives. Keeps drawing you back because you are certain that you can do better the next time.
Quoted from nocreditdot:EBD- Classic game.. Set the bar for years to come. Knocking down the racks to build bonus which carries over is a rush. Actually, maxxing out the bonus and playfield multipliers for 840K is very difficult to do. I have yet to do it on my game.
Quoted from snyper2099:I would say EBD has held up the best along the lines of "timeless classic" and best early SS pinball. The reason is that it's easy to understand what you need to do. However, it is one of the most frustrating games every created from the player's perspective.
Quoted from PinKeeper:I chose Eight Ball Deluxe because of the pool ball drop targets and inline bonus multiplier drop targets. EBD had nasty sling shots that would drain the ball to the out lanes in a blink of an eye and made ball control very difficult. At least for me. I played them all in the late 70's/80's/90's and EBD always kept me coming back for more and I wasn't alone.
Quoted from SunKing:Eight Ball Deluxe - I have not played this since the early 80's, but I still remember enjoying it. That alone should tell you it's a good pin.
Quoted from JBK:Eight Ball Deluxe - Great sound, theme and layout. Lots of bonus and carryover
Seawitch
Quoted from gabegabegabe:it's just an all around fun game. Great sounds, artwork, lots of drop targets, interesting rules for bonus. It has 4 flippers each with it's own angles for each shot. My favorite shot is from the upper right flipper, sweeping the bank of 4 drops in the middle. The spinner shot is tough, but feels great when you nail it. I also like that the sounds of the spinner change, depending on how many of the inserts in front of it are lit.
Quoted from kennywawa:I played Seawitch a little over a year ago. Since that game made me change my opinion on "old" games, it gets my vote for the best SS game. I find it fairly challenging to get 7x multiplier and keep racking up bonus points. As far as "slow and boring", a game where the key shots you have to make put the ball out of control making you have to recover every shot, instead of getting a nice easy feed off a ramp, is anything but slow and boring.
Quoted from zippydapinhead:Sea Witch - Upper playfield with outer loops and inner pop nest with drops and stand ups is great.
Quoted from JBK:Seawitch - Fastest playing early SS pin. Great art package, GIRLS, great machine to practice all kinds of shots.
Paragon
Quoted from Piparoo:I'd also second Paragon-a beautiful machine.
Quoted from SunKing:Paragon - LOVED the artwork, but didn't play it much back in the day because it was so hard. Now that I own it, I appreciate the challange.
Quoted from trilogybeer:I'd say Paragon , interesting playfield layout that is challenging . Paragon also has the best artwork ever.
Quoted from JBK:Paragon - Great widebody, art is top notch, girls on backglass
Flash
Quoted from gabegabegabe:Flash has good flow, tough shots, and cool flashing effects. Great fun.
Quoted from SunKing:Flash - This is the pin that started the addiction for me. I still remember the first time I played it and was BLOWN AWAY by the lights and sounds. It's the 1st pin with background sound and first with flasher lights.
Gorgar
Quoted from JohnDelNJ:Gorgar, great artwork and heartbeat sounds.
Quoted from crassmage:Gorgar, has that great art package and is a hard one for sure.
Quoted from crassmage:Gorgar is just a sight to behold. Plays ok but keeps me coming back for more.
Quoted from GizzArd:Gorgar..... Great theme to play on, sound fits, love the magnet in upper corner.
Quoted from SunKing:Gorgar - another favorite from the arcade days. The heartbeat and other sounds were killer.
ORIGINAL POST:
We all know that with the advent of Solid State technology pinball was raised to another level. The early SS pins had the great "Old School" feel of their EM predecessors but could also take advantage of more in depth scoring schemes. But around 1985 things changed in that we saw a change in the playfield design with the addition of ramps and toys. We also saw multi-ball become part of almost every game. These things changed the way pinball was played and ushered in what I consider the "New School" era.
What I would like to discuss here are opinions on what SS Pins, most likely pre 1985, without toys, ramps, or multi-ball are considered the best. What would be considered the best of the "Old School" style flat playfield SS Pins that could be considered the crowning achievement of this style of Pinball Play?
Please be specific in your reasons why you chose a specific pin or pins. What makes its' layout and play the best representative of "Old School" Pin mastery? Does its' solid state technology bring it past others in the field while still maintaining the "Old School" charm? Does its' artwork stand way ahead of others? Or does it have an unsurpassed theme?
Remember we are looking to discuss SS Pins with a standard flat playfield, no ramps, no toys, and no multi-ball.
Which ones do you consider the best and why?!!!