First things first the art and colors are simply beautiful.
The ring master to me is always fun to bash.
There are alot of multiball modes. (also stackable)
There is progression.
There is a deep Wizard mode.

And it is a fairly small run and very unique compaired to anything else.

Of course all above is my opinion I have owned my for almost two years and it is still not going anywhere. Probably the reason for the price going up. People want it but those who own usually are not selling. Everyone has a price though usually.

It's not worth it. Sold mine while back. Beautiful game and ringmaster rocks but I enjoy the iphone version more than the real one over time.

And it is a crowd pleaser, not too hard to play, but hard to finish, stacking adds a huge dimension in CV. A bit Bizarre, humorous, great dots, only DMD on the play field made, awesome flow, great use of magnets, 2 awesome true ball locks, neon tube, ringmaster bash toy, pop up jet, 2 video modes, I think it has a kitchen sink somewhere..

The cons: Backbox cannon is very cool but really does nothing, Simon video mode is kind of a pain and stops the show too long, the right inlane is blocked by the neon(you get used to working with it).

Fantastic game, glad I got one. Jpop Rocks!

Many good reasons, but in my opinion what makes it great is it is super accessible. Kids can play it and think it's great to "get the monster to pop up!". Players can play it by stacking multiballs, etc. A beautiful pin.

I sold mine in 2003 I bought it in 1998 for 1,795. I needed the money at the time . Of all the games I have sold that Pinball I miss the most. The problem is that Jpop game after all these year have past TOTAN,TOM, CV. The inserts are showing ghosting. That is when the top layer of the insert starts to delaminate.You really do not notice it with the lights on but you can really see it whith the lights off.At some point the insert could chip away. Look for this when viewing game in person or Photos.Bottom line is . It is one of the best pinballs ever.Get home Rom will even make it more fun.Ghosting problems or not Buy It.Wright my name down and message me if you get it and it has delamination issues I will tell you what to do to preserve the inserts BUY!BUY!BUY

RD, hope you get the CV, great game...had a chance to buy one a long time ago and still regret passing on it.

The home rom is a MUST! It allows you to cancel all of the long animations that some people complain about. It also adds the copy cat video mode and the extra wizard modes. If you get good at stacking, it is fairly easy to get to join the cirqus, but that is just where the fun begins! Getting to join the cirqus again to see the new modes makes it just as challenging to beat as a game like MM. In my opinion it has the greatest wizard mode ever (or should I say modes). To reiterate, amazing art, unique theme, unique layout, great toys, and accessible but also challenging. It will never be leaving my collection. I bought mine when prices were lower, but I wouldn't even consider selling mine for what they go for now.

It's definitely on my list as well.
I was actually thinking of pulling the trigger on one soon, but decided to get XM LE instead. I figured I could always trade it for CV if I didn't like it.

I've seen a big spread on pricing on this game. Can anyone give a current evaluation on what a "fair" price for a good quality and clean CV might be?

That makes no sense at all.

5k give or take a few hundred.

+1

Ramps, flow, magnets, smartass bash toy, great multiballs, excellent wizard mode, cool art = fantastic game. Non-pinheads are always blown away first time they see ringmaster rise up with ball on his head. It's just fun!

It was my first purchase when I started collecting in 2007. For me, never gets old. They're pricey but you'll always get your money back out of it if it turns out it's not for you. Good luck.

It's good for skipping stuff, the but the skill shot has to be disabled, otherwise it's way too easy to make it to the cirqus each time.

Why is this game great? Because it is a super stacker. Don't play this machine like a mode machine, it's not that. You have to be stacking at least one other MB with each Ringmaster. It is also has complexity in doing this, as you can stack Arc, Highwire and a RM together, but you have to make sure that you hit the ramp twice without any locks, as the highwire locks count toward arc as well. All this has to be done while you have RM 2-4 up as as well, and a few hits on the head, to make sure you have time to lift him up and start a RM MB, with the other two already stacked.

Then, stacking the other RMs with either juggler, or another HW, arc, or both. The 5th RM, battle is a different thing too, having to strike him with two seconds each shot, or you lose a hit counter.

The final is probably the best final in pinball, with four stages to win it, the 4th being the party round where everything is lit, counting jackpots, and the RM is moving up and down. This is also a different sequence of stages if you can get there again in the same game.

It's a good mode mix machine. There are not a lot of shots, which I thought would bug me, but I like the machine. I'm not a huge fan of WPC95s, but I do like AFM and CV. Again, then both break up the mode based machines of the early to mid 90s.

Most I see are between $6500-$9000+ !!!
I'm obviously looking in the wrong places

Buy it and if you tire of it, you'll easily get your money back. Fun, unique game. Easily better than JPop's other "A" games ToM and ToTAN.

As for gameplay, you can set up the game to be rather simple or very, very difficult (open the outlanes wide, disable spotting marvels, etc). Gradually toughen it up as you get better.

The Home ROM is a must. The wizard mode(s) are epic. The only major flaw in this game, and it IS a major flaw imo, is the ringmaster battle (4th ringmaster) that a good player can play forever....someone please tweak the code to change this!!! This is only an issue if playing competitvely though.

Great Pin!!!

Someone please tell me what "dots" are or stands for? Thanks!

Basically the images on the DMD.

DMD = dot matrix display. Thus the term "dots".

Thank you sir!

Dots is slang for the Dot matrix animations, the DMD graphics

How?

Good luck finding a CV for $5k, especially in Ontario.

The "hidden" ringmaster battle (once you defeat him for the 4th time) gives you a permanent ball save and the battle doesn't end until you win or he does (you weaken him by hitting him, and he strengthens over time). If played right, you keep his "strnegth" in the middle so neither side "wins" and keep collecting points by bashing him every so often with no risk because of the ball save. Basically, the other players need to endure this for as long as the player has the patience to keep this up, or they need to forfeit the game. Without the foresight to have an agreed-upon solution (let the ringmaster win while you hold a ball on the flipper) this is a possibilty any game. This is countered by setting up the game brutally tough for competitions (remove outlane posts). Again, this is only an issue when playing competitively. Hmmm...maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it!

It is by far the easiest way to get the big scores.

I sold one for sub 5k last week, guess someone got lucky.

No SH!T.
The best deal I've seen recently was $6400.

I know of a few very nice examples near me, one with a Bill Davis pf, but none of the owners are currently selling. Anyway, XM will max me out at 10 pins. I'll have to see which one I like more after XM comes out (I suspect CV will win) but it should not be too hard to strike a deal on a trade if push comes to shove.

Just bought a sample CQ Cirqus Voltaire a few months ago for 7k (pinside) and I feel I got a great deal. Agree w/ what others have said about it so no need to repeat. Sample boards cost more don't forget. I love it and it will be in my collection for years to come.

RDR:

Many good reasons given above by others.

I had one and sold it. Bought a second LOTR to trade for my current one. Designated a keeper now.

Unique in art, colors and playfield layout. Love the sneaky lock, which was preceding by that in CFTBL. Great with the home rom.

Enough of a challenge to be fun but not a labor of love to play.

Check to the shell of the backbox to see if it is cracked where the solenoid mounts.

Check the playfield at the RM and the Boom Baloon for misadjustments and playfield wear. Check the eddy switch under the five RM diamonds to make sure it connects properly.

Replace the highwire switches with roller arm switches. Getting this in line was my greatest challenge.

Get a set of protector plastics for the skill shot, juggler saucers, etc. It will enhance gameplay. Something like http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=150

It will be a daily play for a while and then as your collection grows, it will prove a solid member.

Dan

Not a reason not to get it, but i think it's the worst video mode ever. It's one where you lose on purpose just to get back into the flow of the game.
If the price is right, you've got nothing to lose. And it sounds like it's not bad.

I think Tommy's video mode would rate just as poorly, if not worse

Worse than the hurdling Roo?

Dan

I think i remember reading the programers of Tommy Video Mode were against doing a video mode and therefore made it garbage out of rebellion. They made it so you can just fly the airplane at the bottom of the DMD w/out crashing and wait for it to end.

I don't mind copy cat, since it gives an extra ball if you get 10 or 12, whatever it is. Are you referring to Roonie? THAT is the worst thing in pinball.

Ahh you said the 4th RM the first time, but battle, that is what confused me. He is technically the 5th, but you can turn off the first I believe in home roms? I didn't. I was aware of that, but never thought of using it that way. For a low scoring game, how many points could you possibly rack up while doing that, with nothing else lit? I get the idea that if you did it for a long time, it is an issue, but point wise, can that even amount to anything significant?

Oh god yeah. CV has a TON of stuff about it that I really like, while I cannot stand ToM or TotAN *at all*. It's not my favorite JPop game - I'd give that to WCS94 - but it is really, really close to it.

The music is the best part of it. The soundtrack that was made for that game is absolutely incredible, and it is one of the few pins that I find myself humming randomly when I'm thinking about pinball machines, even though it isn't one I own nor expect to own any time soon.

The game is insanely stackable which gives you a lot of strategy that you can use for it. The Boom Balloon is awesome - I owned Sea Wolf for a while (also had a raising pop bumper) and every time it would raise up I would think, "The Boom Balloon!" Such fun.

The video mode on it is the only thing that brings it down, and it is a pretty lame one. Not Tommy lame mind you, but one that I would rather not be in there. Beyond that, the entire package is absolutely great - Not something you'll get me to say on the majority of the A list pins.

Supposedly it was just never finished. Even if you fly up and down, the scoring seems to be completely random, and I've been told that it, in fact, is. I pretty much hate all video modes in pinball (mild exceptions to the DE games that start with a mini-video mode, like JP and JD for the pursuit 'combo' mode), and Tommy's is so bad whenever I get to it, I want to sell the darn machine.

Play CV some more before u buy it, if u are a good player it may get really old quick. I had to have one and it lasted 2 weeks. LAME

Actually I only started liking the game with the home roms in it. The regular game was OK, but not a keeper in my collection.

Haha, I don't want to sell my Tommy, but the video mode is very strange...been trying to figure it out, makes no sense. I used to get 12-13 million, but now seem to be getting 9. would be nice if the plane shot bullets and you could see them hitting the planes and buildings.

I was told by someone in the know that the graphics do not match the score in any way whatsoever, so it really doesn't matter what you do. I use it as my time to look at the other games around it, get a drink, make a sandwich and play a round of JP before the stupid thing is over.

It seriously drives me nuts. I really hate most video modes, but Tommy's is a crime against humanity.

Oh, and as for the comment about CV being too easy if you're a good player, you can set up CV really nasty, and if you do so I find it to be a drain monster. I have no trouble draining the ball, and I tend to be a slightly-above-average player.

You can set the Ringmaster battle to low scoring on the home rom so you can't take advantage of it or get rewarded for sub par play.

I would agree that this is about the current range for CV. Not many people want to give them up once they get them. Good luck in your search if you decide to pull the trigger. You won't be disappointed.

Another nice touch is the list of people who have joined the Cirqus, with date and time. Better than a high score list, because it keeps everyone (as long as backup is OK). It's fun to see a scrolling list of friends who've made it there, and when....

Also, I think you can prevent the Simon Says mode in the settings.

Not a big fan of CV. As much as I want to like it WCS is Popadiuk's best game of them all, in my opinion.

bottom line, buy it at market price and you'll probably be able to sell it with little or no loss, maybe even make it a bit, if you want to get rid of it. I love the light show on my purple restore, and particularly enjoy it comparing it to TOM

I'm pretty sure you can't, but if I'm wrong, I'd love to know how! You can turn off Roonie, which is ridiculous since that's the one that actually matches the theme. I actually turned Roonie ON on mine to keep Copycat from coming up quite as often. Copycat isn't terrible compared to some, but it has absolutely no bearing on the theme, and it kills the pace of the game because it takes so freaking long. At least it's an easy extra ball, but it is the only thing in the entire game that isn't perfectly integrated into the theme. There should be an option to turn off either or both. It's the only blemish on an otherwise perfect package.

Well...that and the fact that Neon multiball almost never comes up on the home ROMs. Seriously, I've had mine 4 years and only saw it once...and someone else was playing at the time...I'm not even exaggerating.

I'd happily drop $100+ on a new 2.1 ROM that fixes these two things. Then the game would be completely perfect.

_{Post edited by Jediturtle}

I tried to turn off Copycat, but couldn't find a way in the Home ROM. It would be cool if I overlooked it, but I swear I looked real hard.

I love Neon Multiball. Probably saw it 8 times in the 2 years I've had it, and won an extra ball on it once. Funny story: I had a newbie friend over who played it last week. I was showing him the shots and objectives, he shoots up into Side Show and gets rewarded... Neon Multiball! I was flabbergasted. I actually had to resist the urge to push him out of the way and start playing it, LOL.

haha I know what you mean, I've maybe seen it 4-5 times. I wish you could up that setting.... maybe you can, I'm too lazy to look. I love Strobe in AFM, but Neon is much cooler (taken from strobe though).

At least I can usually get Strobe though

And in the dream world of CV you can actually stack NEON with the other 4 multiballs for a 5 multiball stack.

Unfortunately, you cannot force the 5 multiball stack. You have to luck into it. The best you can set up is a 4 multiball stack: Juggler, HW, RM, Arc.

With the price the way it is, I'd say try to find one to put more plays on. I found the sound bites to be really annoying really quickly. "HAHAHA IM THE RINGMASTER" Yes. You said last time, kindly shut up.

LMAO, that is great!! Should pushed him outta the way!!

If anyone knows a secret way to turn off the simon game, please let us know!

We see neon MB here maybe once every month or two of play. I think I read their is a combination to get it more....like do not start the sideshow till *something* else is done...anyone know??

I heard that if you don't hit Side Show until after your first multiball, you have a greater chance of seeing Neon Multiball, but I don't know if that's true as I've tried it several times with mixed results. First off, it's hard to do, as the Side Show shot is just to the left of the High Wire ramp entrance. I'd love some verification on this from someone familiar with the game code.