ST for me

I have owned all 3 and like all 3. ST and SM have a pretty similar shot layout. I would lean towards ST but prefer the premium light show and metal ramps. I owned both pro and premium. Go premium if you can, sometimes you can find one around $6k and that is just a small jump from the pro.

Layouts on both are very similar. I think SM has a more difficult ruleset. For me, if i had one, i wouldn't get the other.

Wireform. The ship crashing into the playfield is cool also on the premium.

Owned STLE for approx 2 years and a big advocate for that pin - currently own SMVE for nearly 1 1/2 years. Here's my thoughts:

STLE flows way better but shots do feel good on both machines. The warp ramp is simply awesome and one of the best shots in pinball, unfortunately it doesn't have the best rules associated with it. The venom upper ramp is very cool and satisfying to hit as well, but the warp ramp is pure awesomeness as far as fun factor in hitting it consecutively.

Black Suit MB vs Klingon MB. Coincidentally, both these multi balls have nearly the same rules. Klingon mb is better with the light show, lasers and call outs going on; however, BSM is better as you can continue to progress through the game (i.e. villains) as you play.

SMVE wins in art and animations.

STLE wins in call outs and sound effects but I really love SMVE's call outs and sounds too.

So both games play well, both are integrated well. Fun factor for STLE is the warp ramp, fun factor for SMVE is everything else. SMVE destroys STLE in the rules dept. as there's more breadth and progression going on in SMVE. I do give the mini wizard edge to STLE with Kobayashi Maru beating out battle Royale. But again, BR is a fun mini wiz mode. SMVE wins in the wizard mode department; Super Hero is one of the best wizard modes around with a very rewarding bonus for completing - SMVE also has combo multiball. While Combo mb is hard to achieve, super hero is doable unlike 5 year mission on STLE. Both games have similar shot multipliers, but STLE is broken and doesn't award the multiplied shot on a combo - only non combos reward the multiplier shot. SMVE has double and triple shot multipliers that work, so it gains the edge here.

Ball Times: Both games can have long ball times - I removed the center post and put lightning flippers on my SMVE - its a much more satisfying game with this setup as it's more risk/reward building.

All in all; both are great fun pins. STLE is awesome for it's smooth shooting, light show, and warp ramp. SMVE wins in all other departments especially rules; for this I give SMVE the nod over STLE.

And I think Keith Elwin said it best in a recent interview on Slam Tilt; games are best when they have around 5 modes and other stuff to shoot and activate. Games that are linear with 18 modes which are all similar from the next aren't as fun.

All three are great pins. Buy all three.

I will be one of the few but I vote Jurassic Park.

On paper I would say SM. BUT.. I have owned SM twice, and sold it twice. I have owned ST Prem, and currently have ST Pro and have had it for about three years. I have owned a ST continuously since it was launched and somehow find it “more enjoyable” than SM, but would be hard pressed to call it “better”. Anyone else confused? (I actually started a thread once suggesting that SM might be “respected” more than it is “loved”, as I couldn’t quite work out why I completely understood and appreciated how great SM is, but kept selling it!)

ST all day, every day, and twice on Sunday! Much cooler theme and a kick ass game.

And get a Premium - the superior light show alone is worth it.

Absolutely. Plus you get other great features too.

But, if you have to ask ...

They got the pro/premium balance just right on this one. All the premo features are enhanced gadgets and bling. Nothing that interacts with the ball is significantly different. Upon launch it was shitty that the pro didn’t have the kickback, but that was fixed on an early update with the virtual kickback.

All the gameplay is there on the pro. Happy bonus is that Zitt’s awesome pop caps are super easy to install on the pro.

Modded STLE and heavily modded SM, both great but different . Neither are leaving. It’s a hobby, fun, buy whatever you
like playing.

Agreed. Money well spent going Premium IMO. The laser light show, VUK, RGB lighting, wireforms and Vengeance crash all make it a much better experience.

Perfer st premium/le over sm due to rgb lightshows and laser show.... but both shoot smooth . Also st code is deeper and has more going on imo

i have both. I like Spider-Man better. both good games.

It really isn’t.

Anyone who has Spider-Man really should remove the center drain post. Game is meant to be brutal-risk-reward. If it’s too easy flailing away and stacking multipliers without any thought or strategy is no fun

I love both and I don't think there similar at all. Not sure which I like more. I own st pro and spidy vault.(sorry you said no vault but it's the one imho)

I love both and I don't think there similar at all. I own st pro and spidy vault.(sorry you said no vault but it's the one imho

Ditto, same here but prefer SM a little more.

My disclosures: I currently own ST Pro (have played STLE as we've had it on route in the area) and JP, and have route experience with SM (original only, I've played the VE version once at a show and that's it).

So, thoughts:

Nutshell: I think all three are fun games, so in my opinion none of these are bad decisions. They do all play different (whether you'd want SM and ST together I think comes down to whether you want games with significantly different layouts or not, but the rules are quite different so they do not play like the same game).

ST: My favorite. I like flow games, and I think it feels the most flow of them all. The wamp ramp is a valuable and enjoyable shot. There are 18 modes to work with, and there is a lot of strategic value in deciding how to approach it (do you do each level 1 mission and go for KM right off? Maybe go three deep on a mission first to lock in that benefit?). Overall a great call-out package (except for Khannnnnnnnnn, that one is terrible). Negatives would be the art is so-so to bad, the modes can feel sort of same-y ("chase the lights" syndrome), and it can play sort of long on factory set-up.

Having time on the LE, I can say the visual upgrade with the light-show is impressive on the Prem/LE versions. However, given there's next to no gameplay difference (left-scoop feed is different and the left outlane kick-back... that's all I can think of) I'd save the money and get a Pro.

SM: Layout obviously similar to ST, but the rules are quite different. I actually prefer the call-outs on SM over ST. While I have played SM a number of times, I have far less overall time on it. On factory set-up it can have incredibly long (in my view overly long) ball times, but most of my time has been on a version without a center post. I still think it plays longer than ST with just that modification, so evaluate if you want a long or a short player. I don't really view the rules as better or worse than ST, just different (but they do feel more different than ST, so it comes down to the style you like). Art package is bad (other than VE, but you've ruled that out), but I don't care much about art so I wouldn't let that stop you.

JP: Far more simplistic than ST or SM, but I think it is an excellent game for its era. Note, all this is with the ChadH code package installed, it really makes that big of a difference (no more "free" Tri-Ball on ball #3, randomized mode start, and a number of scoring adjustments to provide better balance). It's commonly called a poor man's Addams Family mainly because the rules for the modes are like that game. Shortest player of all three of these with a factory set-up. One ramp but diverter lets it feed to either lower flipper, good shaker use, and the modes feel quite different in terms of what you have to shoot for. I have six games, JP always catches the most eyes of anything I have ever owned and is what most new people want to play.

I would also place ST (I have a STLE since 2014 and owned a SM for a few years) a little before SM. JP is waaaayyy behind...

The only reason I have not removed the post is because weak shots to the center left ramp tend to go sdtm, annoyingly. There should be a deflection of some sort to prevent that, but there isn't and the center post saves it

I was going to post, know it’s an old thread but my 2c

Owned SM twice currently in my collection and total of 4-5 years with both.

Owned STLE and currently ST premium also total 4-5 years.

I’m kind of split on which one I prefer but slight edge to ST.

ST premium or LE has much better lighting imo. I love color change inserts since I first encountered with ACDC prem.

Theme is tie but very slight edge for SM as I’m a big comic and superhero movie fan. Both are outstanding theme.

Shots are close (tie) slight edge for ST as I’m more interested in the two side shots (mode start) where SM has the nice Doc Oc and Venom shot. I really prefer Venom ramp to warp ramp.

Rules tie but slight edge to ST only because I like to pick my modes and if I’m going to try for all 6 L1 modes or try to go for a mix of L1 and higher modes. SM is more of the same game every time.

Overall if had to keep only one it would be ST premium.