(Topic ID: 216526)

Is Lord of the Rings truly Stern's greatest pinball machine ever?

By FarFromHeaven26

5 years ago


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  • 169 posts
  • 88 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 years ago by Zora
  • Topic is favorited by 3 Pinsiders

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There are 169 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 4.
#151 5 years ago

Hahaha Rai, that is a fantastic Mt. Rushmore reinvention! Gotta love it!!!

#152 5 years ago
Quoted from FarFromHeaven26:

Hahaha Rai, that is a fantastic Mt. Rushmore reinvention! Gotta love it!!!

really hard for me because I had like 8 that could go.

Tron
IM
Met
TWD

AcDc
SM

LotR
Tspp

wanted to have at least one from Borg and one from Richie (could have had two from Borg and need to cut one pin somewhere else), I view the four Borg games as equal maybe slight lean towards Met/TWD for custom dots.

#153 5 years ago

I’m surprised to see Spider Man getting a lot of mentions. Not AC/DC?

#154 5 years ago
Quoted from Russell:

I’m surprised to see Spider Man getting a lot of mentions. Not AC/DC?

That’s razor close (I don’t think ST is as good as either one).

I could go either way but like the comfort straight forward super hero pin plus third flipper shot, still think the lower PF on AcDc is underused or less compelling than it could be.

#155 5 years ago
Quoted from Russell:

I’m surprised to see Spider Man getting a lot of mentions. Not AC/DC?

Why? Spider-Man is a great game and I enjoy it more then the majority of games being mentioned. I'm not a fan of AC/DC or TSPP but others obviously like them.

#156 5 years ago
Quoted from lordloss:

Who wants to fight me:

If only most of those could compete with your DE pins. Work smarter and harder Stern!

#157 5 years ago
Quoted from pinnyheadhead:

If only most of those could compete with your DE pins. Work smarter and harder Stern!

Someday the must have pyramid will be added to my collection. For now the DE titles are fun and have a lot of nostalgia for me.

#158 5 years ago
Quoted from lordloss:

Slight update, only game I deem worthy outside of stern for being good enough for this chart was added to god tier:

Move MET to the great tier row, dammit. FFS what's god tier? Doesn't anybody care aboot the rules? This isn't Nam, there are rules. One pin to rule them all??...you make a compelling argument sir. I could endorse with suggested change.

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#159 5 years ago

Spider-Man was my top Stern at one point, but not so much now. It’s still a great pin, and I would have to say top 5 at the very least.

My top 5 would be:
Tron
LOTR
AC/DC
X-MEN
Spider-Man

Top ten:
Tspp
Metallica
POTC
Star Trek
Maiden (maybe? Early to tell)

Honorable mention, Avatar, Transformers (underrated/hard) and WPT.
Iron man is definitely not on my list, scoring is low and unbalanced if you do well. (Scores in the 250k range but drops 50 million on you)

Dishonorable mention: Playboy and wheel of fortune. Wheel of fortune does absolutely nothing if you get to the end, and Playboy is about a fun as practicing falling down.

#160 5 years ago

Until Iron Maiden I really thought Ac/Dc premium was far in away the best Stern has released. Tron was a close second to me.

LOTR I had the fancier version and it was awesome with great call outs and sounds, none of the shots stood out as feeling amazing although I did like backhanding the right ramp and of course the eye shot was nice. The long ball times were too much, I am a mid level player at best and I still had ball times that I would call too long.

No plans to ever bring it back and I find about ten times better then the hobbit, so best Tolkein pin, but not even close to best stern pin. I might had had more fun with Family Guy but thats debatable.

#161 5 years ago

Wow, this guy (OP) is even more full of himself than I am.

How about: No, LOTR is neither the greatest nor truly the greatest. I still say those mean the same thing and that the "truly" meant nothing, as opposed to your long winded and repetitive defense of it, which spoke volumes.

As I did explain, in case you missed it when my minor complaint raised your ire. (How dare I question a, a... BLOGGER?) Too long, too much commitment required, too much work.

Hey, just like the movies!

#162 5 years ago

Watch these top players play LOTR and listen to Bowen and Steve Bowdens commentary on the game. It's hard not to get excited about LOTR watching top players get deep into its nuances.

#163 5 years ago
Quoted from FarFromHeaven26:

Snooty ONLY to the tiny few who cast stones at the outset for my literary license. To 99% of the others on this thread I have been polite, gracious and effervescent. I appreciate the pointers for sure. BTW the resume inclusion was unavoidable after my writing ability was brought into question. What I do professionally indeed has zero to do with this site in every sense. I also I am not pontificating generalizations, I was lobbying for comments and relevant discussions, both of which I have come into play on this thread. I was polite from the very start, have upgraded practically every post and have thanked respondents every chance I have gotten. I am still in shock that with such a gracious bedside manner (which I have employed at my site successfully for so many years) I came under fire in an attack that redefines nitpicking. As to the thread being a "bore" you are the only one who made this contention. Seems all the others have been thrilled/happy to engage. My intrusion on this thread has been to defend myself against that unbelievable unfair original charge against my writing style, which should never have been made here in the first place.

lol *insert Michael Jackson popcorn GIF*

#164 5 years ago
Quoted from DanQverymuch:

How about: No, LOTR is neither the greatest nor truly the greatest. I still say those mean the same thing and that the "truly" meant nothing

I'm not a grammar instructor or anything but I do speak English.

To me, there is a slight difference to the questions. The "truly" added makes me think the OP is placing emphasis on the game's reputation rather than his personal opinion. If that was his intent, then it was successful (at least with me).

I think the question stated either way would get similar responses.

2 weeks later
#165 5 years ago

Before I answer I should probably give a little background info about me: I’m in my late 30s and I just started getting into pinball a few years ago. I grew up playing arcade, console and later PC games but I never knew anyone who was into pinball.

As a result I never understood the depth or complexity of pinball and didn’t even know what a “mode” was. So while I’m sure I played an odd game here and there I never enjoyed or “got” pinball as a hobby until recently.

The first game of pinball I ever played that I enjoyed was LOTR at a local barcade when I was checking it out to play some old arcade favorites. It was the first pinball I didn’t immediately drain all my balls, and it was the first game I’d seen that made it obvious (to an extent) what was going on with modes.

After playing a number of games I went home and started looking into pinball to learn more about it (and how to play). I obviously got more into it and here I am.

So I am obviously a little biased, but I do think LoTR is one of if not the best Stern pinball to date for a number of reasons:

- The theme is awesome and the mass appeal of the books/movies is undeniable. It’s on an entirely different level than almost anything else.

- The playfield and gameplay are approachable while also being deep and challenging. There’s something there for anyone who walks up to the machine and that’s not always the case.

- The programming and modes are fantastic and the sound is top notch with amazing callouts and recognizable voices.

- The toys are cool and definitely add to the immersion. Additionally, the number of potential mods/customization is fantastic for fans of the series.

All in all I think it’s an excellent pinball and while I understand why it’s not ideal for tournament play due to the length of games... I just have one thing to say to people who have mentioned that’s the reason they won’t or no longer own the game:

If at any time you’re bored/tired of playing the game or a multiplayer game is taking too long... feel free to step away from the machine and let your ball drain. No one’s forcing you to keep playing, pinball is just like video games in that you shouldn’t be playing if you’re not having fun.

Also, there’s nothing stopping you from self-imposing time limits per ball or even creating “time attack” challenges with your friends to see who can complete the most modes in X minutes.

With that being said, if anyone has a poor neglected LOTR they don’t play because it’s “too long of a game” and it’s in pristine condition... I’ll gladly give it a good home!

#166 5 years ago
Quoted from Aithos:

Before I answer I should probably give a little background info about me: I’m in my late 30s and I just started getting into pinball a few years ago. I grew up playing arcade, console and later PC games but I never knew anyone who was into pinball.
As a result I never understood the depth or complexity of pinball and didn’t even know what a “mode” was. So while I’m sure I played an odd game here and there I never enjoyed or “got” pinball as a hobby until recently.
The first game of pinball I ever played that I enjoyed was LOTR at a local barcade when I was checking it out to play some old arcade favorites. It was the first pinball I didn’t immediately drain all my balls, and it was the first game I’d seen that made it obvious (to an extent) what was going on with modes.
After playing a number of games I went home and started looking into pinball to learn more about it (and how to play). I obviously got more into it and here I am.
So I am obviously a little biased, but I do think LoTR is one of if not the best Stern pinball to date for a number of reasons:
- The theme is awesome and the mass appeal of the books/movies is undeniable. It’s on an entirely different level than almost anything else.
- The playfield and gameplay are approachable while also being deep and challenging. There’s something there for anyone who walks up to the machine and that’s not always the case.
- The programming and modes are fantastic and the sound is top notch with amazing callouts and recognizable voices.
- The toys are cool and definitely add to the immersion. Additionally, the number of potential mods/customization is fantastic for fans of the series.
All in all I think it’s an excellent pinball and while I understand why it’s not ideal for tournament play due to the length of games... I just have one thing to say to people who have mentioned that’s the reason they won’t or no longer own the game:
If at any time you’re bored/tired of playing the game or a multiplayer game is taking too long... feel free to step away from the machine and let your ball drain. No one’s forcing you to keep playing, pinball is just like video games in that you shouldn’t be playing if you’re not having fun.
Also, there’s nothing stopping you from self-imposing time limits per ball or even creating “time attack” challenges with your friends to see who can complete the most modes in X minutes.
With that being said, if anyone has a poor neglected LOTR they don’t play because it’s “too long of a game” and it’s in pristine condition... I’ll gladly give it a good home!

Great post.

I’ve owned LotR and just sadly sold it.

I’m not going to contradict anything you said, LotR is all that you said.

Plus excellent DMD animations and the ring toy is one of the best of any pinball machine.

Only demerit would be sound clarity, not sure if this can be fixed with speaker upgrade or not but the sound does seem compressed and tinny compared to the later Stern pins.

As far as saying ‘it’s the best’ that’s really something that can be debated and you’d get a lot of various opinions. It’s almost like saying Lebron is the best NBA basketball player. Well he’s great but is he as good and MJ or Wilt? that’s something you can not really say without getting a lot of people disagreeing with you and they’d not be wrong either.

I’d argue SM is everything you said about LotR.

SM had a *great* theme, great call outs, great modes, easy for novice players but can be deep and challenging if you are a good player. SM has toys (not as good as LotR but decent), great ramps, code etc..

#167 5 years ago

Now that I know of the awful side-effects of Ambien, I’m definitely sticking with an hour long game of LOTR when I need a nap!

#168 5 years ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

Now that I know of the awful side-effects of Ambien, I’m definitely sticking with an hour long game of LOTR when I need a nap!

Just listen to Kenada’s podcast you’ll be asleep in no time.

#169 5 years ago

LOTR is my favourate game and will never leave. What makes LOTR so attractive?

I think the game objectives that fit to average players and more skilled players.

It provides enough targets form the average player: beat (not only play) multiballs, destroy the ring, win modes and collect elf gifts, get or beat taba.

For for more advanced player: valinor. I know a some people that have a lotr and the game does nor leave because they have not got to valinor. I think that is the most fascinating issue. Not to have achieved the final wizard mode. „One day I will get to valinor.“ Once you beat the final wizard mode of a pin frequently, it will get boring very soon.

I have not yet achieved valinor. Have been close (only MB ROTK and one elf gift left), but not yet there. I absolutely love the game (music, call outs, depth, objectives, strategy). But the main reason for the success of the game is the complexity to get to valinor.

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