OP

Quoted from PanzerFreak:

When Toy Story 4 was officially revealed there was a lot of disappointment on Pinside. The game initially didn't appear as loaded both feature, mech and code wise compared to past JJP pins. There was also the odd choice (well it was by choice or forced by Disney) to tie the theme only to Toy Story 4. Also, there was a big backlash against the huge price increase rightfully so. I agree with the backlash against the price as we've reached insanity levels in pricing but JJP isn't the only one charging all time record high prices (looking at you Stern). Would I personally pay $12.5k - $15k for a Toy Story 4? Probably not, everyone's pinball budget is different, and I personally would never spend $12.5k - $15k on any pin. I had a chance to trade a Ghostbusters premium for a NIB Toy Story 4 CE so that's how I was able to get the game.
Now here's what I'll say about actually owning a Toy Story 4 (a CE) and playing it. The game is just as fun as past JJP pins and in many ways more enjoyable. Gasp! Feature and mech wise I would actually put Toy Story 4 up against a majority of modern pins and say it has a similar or greater count of mechs and toys. Double gasp! How?
Below is a list of the toys and mechs in Toy Story. Now if you compare that amount of items to modern pins that's actually a fairly loaded game. Then why does it seem like Toy Story doesn't have a ton in it? It's because when the game is not in use you don't actually see most of the mechs being used. That's it pure and simple. The jump ramp, Benson posts, character mech, and spinning disk are all below or leveled with the playfield. When in use though those are actually very interactive items, especially the jump ramp and pop up posts. Other games have their toys and mechs more exposed but that's not really the case with Toy Story. Take Bond premium / LE for example, there's more going on mech and feature wise in Toy Story then that game. With all of that being said I still wish the 10" LCD was an actual physical toy as there's already a 27" screen on the backglass. Also, those cheap little character figures are also fairly cheesy when you realize JJP typically puts at least one custom mold in their games.
Toys / Mechs
Pop up jump ramp (not evening mentioning the entire landing area that is very well done with RGB lighting)
2 pop up Benson posts
Spinning disk
Pop up character mech
Physical kickback (not virtual...)
Drop target
Physical ball lock
10" LCD
Other features
4 pop bumpers
JJP RGB hot rails
The other area of concern has been code. Now this is an area I went back and forth on a lot. I usually want that crazy impossible wizard mode in a pin even though I never get to it, that always equals value in my mind. Here's the thing though, as Pat Lawlor said most final wizard modes just mindlessly dump all the balls onto the playfield and that's it. That's not the case with Toy Story's wizard mode, there's multiple stages within it, unique detailed animations, unique light shows, and there's even two separate paths for it. In other words far more effort and thought went into Toy Stories wizard mode then what see in most pins. Has anyone actually seen Somewhere over the Rainbow in WOZ? Minor spoiler but the mode itself is rather bland just like with most wizard modes. Actually reaching the wizard mode in TS4 isn't a simple task but it is more feasible compared to most pins. I don't think that's bad thing when there's plenty of other stuff going on in the game (see below).
Besides what I mentioned about the wizard mode the game itself has I think 5 multiball modes, 11 carnival modes that are objective based, and a mini wizard mode. There's also plenty of depth within some of those modes such as completing carnival modes to earn character bonuses which then impact the entire game.
Anyway just wanted to mention some things about Toy Story 4 and how much fun I've been having with the game. The CE is easily the most impressive looking pin I've ever owned (damn that topper is cool and heavy). It's easy to bash a game when you never actually play it, or get caught up in bashing it with others. Toy Story like all pins needs to be actually seen in person and played to properly give it a fair shot.
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