The truth is finally upon us (maybe)...

I’m predicting that five years from now AFM and MM will still be in final four facing off against two other competitors.

kind of a tough vote....

my actual ranking would be 2-3-1-4

Out of curiosity what has been everyone's most difficult vote?

Mine.. I will repeat ... EHOH vs BM66

True, but lots of Godzilla honeymooners active. Great game ( again) , but still...

Brian & Keith should high-five at work today.

#3 & #4 are in my three pin collection, so my votes are obvious. I think Godzilla may win due to recency bias, but honestly there are things about that game that grate on my nerves (i.e. the sound package with the never ending news bulletins).

Apologies to the Lawlor and Ritchie fans, but the two best designers in pinball history facing off in the final four makes perfect sense to me. Two things that should drive MM and AFM into the final IMHO. Lyman on code and far superior callouts on the B/W games.

1,3,4,2. Still bummed metallica lost

I love MM and AFM for their themes and their hilarious, campy callouts and voice acting. The music in both games is fun and well suited too. But the games themselves are pretty basic fan layouts and very similar to one another. There's room at the top for more innovation and I think GZ in particular brings that in spades. Like the other "greats" it succeeds in part through being campy both in theme and callouts. I get the complaints about the main voice actor/news caster and maybe you could argue the one place the older games easily beat GZ is in the callout department. But GZ's layout is way more interesting (though arguably fan-like to a degree in it's own way) and the rules are much, much deeper than either MM or AFM. Not denigrating those earlier games, but again I think GZ earns its place at the top and it shouldn't be supplanted there unless an even better game comes along to dethrone it.

Having said that, I can see JP eventually falling down the list as the Elwin effect wears off. That game has a great layout and amazing ruleset, but it falls flat in theme integration and callouts in particular. And I think it's those things that will let a game withstand the test of time...

...like in AFM?

I must be doing something right since I own all 4 of these. I also agree with the comment that newer titles may not hold favor after a while but you never know, GZ may still be a top tier game 20 years from now. In any case I voted MM since it's been my favorite over a long period of time, plus I have fond memories about acquiring mine back in '98.

Godzilla should win because it should win. I'm shocked that medieval madness is still up there after all these years.

Jurassic Park should really take it - but it will prob get 4th : (

MM and AFM are classic I get it

Godzilla - great game but overrated imo. Theme is a killer for me.

JP, AFM, GZ, MM

all four of these are such great games. Is one really better than an other? I'd say at this point it's mostly just personal preference, as in what is really important to you the individual pinhead. Some folks like the deeper rules and more innovative playfields of the modern Stern Elwin games, some folks like the originality and simpler fun of the older Williams machines. There's no losers in these four!

Had to give you an upvote just to balance things out. I'd flip your first two and leave the rest as you have them.

I would have been happier if the final 4 was setup so that the two classics were head-to-head and the two modern pins were head-to-head. That way the finals would be locked as classic vs. modern (may end up that way anyway, but personally I would put AFM before MM and JP before GZ).

I think Godzilla will stand the test of time against recency bias. IMO there isnt an aspect of the game that isnt a homerun, with the layout being a grand slam.

But I just got 1 billion and GC on my local GZ, so I am riding high on it right now.

As someone who has been in the hobby for over 25 years, Godzilla does everything right. It gets my vote.

I like Godzilla. I like it a lot. I already think Foo Fighter's is a better game.

Recency bias is no doubt a thing as every JJP and Stern graces the top 10 for a short period after release, however Godzilla has earned its #1 spot. It’s Stern’s best game since LOTR to me. Every aspect of the game is top notch and can stand toe to toe with any B/W classic.

I like that the earlier rounds eliminated all titles but these four pins, which also sit atop Pinside. Votes are coming in and races are tight.

Destroying the Mother ship video mode is challenging too. Mostly because it comes up once per game, at most. I always need at least one smart bomb and sometimes 2 to finish it. But I’ve completed mothership 3 times and have RTU 3 times. Both feel great, as do destroying the last saucer, bashing martians to start mb and playing strobe mb. Code on AFM is simple yet great.

Oh I don't now aboot that

Have you played ff yet? I was thinking same as you, but have not played yet.

JP is my favorite of these by a good margin but I'm pretty sure it's about to lose.

Yeah a smart bomb in AFM will destroy all saucers on screen. You earn them from Martian mb, mystery award and other ways.

The smart bomb in MM will destroy one troll and battling trolls is when to use them.

A smart bomb in STh doesn’t exist, but maybe it should. The obvious smart bomb would score one kill in demogorgon mode. Someone tell Brian Eddy to get on this.

IIRC, video mode smart bomb is separate from martian bombs. You always get exactly one video mode smart bomb. Martian bombs are earned and only used for killing martians.

That exact thing already exists, once per game, no more can be earned.

I’m going to have to relearn a whole mess of stuff. But think I’ve got it now. What is bomb called in STh and how to earn it?

You get it at the start of the game. You can use with the action button any time you are fighting a demogorgon

Not sure what it’s called, but you don’t have to earn it. Hit the action button once per game anytime a demogorgon is active to kill it. I always use it on the first one immediately, before the ball is even released. Don’t want to risk draining just to squeeze out a few extra points killing it the hard way.

Second demogorgon mode is two of them, but it’s a multiball, so you can bash ’em safely.

Edit: d’oh! Late.

writein vote for Hardbody

Yes, dude. It is awesome. The flow is off the charts and there are surprise shots that you never expect. I only played the pro, can't wait to play a premium to compare.

Appears an epic showdown of the King vs. Japanese Monster..we shall see!!

I'm not sure I can undo my own recency bias as I've owned the 2 Bly/Wms titles for many years but I will try to give my honest ranking, thanks for asking! I always tend to think of thing like this in terms of, if I had to reduce my pinball collection one game at a time until I hit zero, what order would they hang on. That said:

1) MM
2) GZ
3) AFM
4) JP

If I were to be honest I almost dropped AFM down to 4th but I kept it where it is just because of it's ultra classic 90's status, but since it's new to my collection I'm honestly playing JP way more than AFM.

I have three of these in my 4 pin collection!
All are great!!

I think JP will be first of mine to go (just too difficult for me to make any progress, even set up for easy mode), and then AFM (the squealing and depiction of women is embarrassingly dated, and the overall humor is old and wears thin quickly).

Wouldve liked to see AFM take the crown. I believe it is best in final four. Obviously not deep like modern pins…but makes up for it with all the fun stuff and strat using your various MBs to rule the universe. I think too many pinsiders think of it as ‘blow up the saucer again and again’. Pffff.

AFM making a nice run at it!! Respect....