Quoted from Puffdanny:Deadpool theme to me is lame just like every superhero game but it's definitely one of my top 5 favorite games ever.
The best thing about the Deadpool pin is that they used the comic assets and NOT the film. It's already aged much better and translates easier than had they used the film. Movie is a fun romp, 4th wall breaking paradise but the pin is best on the comic. I would say oddly enough the Deadpool theme might be the single best pinball theme that resonates with me.
I'm not into comic books and mostly stopped watching the Marvel movies a few years ago as they are just cash grabs and made for 14 year olds. But Deadpool as a character is great (I think? lol). I love the heavy-handed humor, vulgar style, anti-hero vibe he has going. Couple that with the comic art style, along with 16-bit 90s-era video game graphics with a great soundtrack and the Deadpool pin is a banger.
So many pins phone-home design, art and wrap it around a playfield that was probably on paper 10+ years ago in some notebook. Deadpool feels like a real work of art in every way. Great voice acting, great design, great art, great music and pulling it all with all of those together while having a great playing pin is quite a mountain to climb. I don't think it deserves to be higher than 7 on the pinside top 100 but I bet if it was a more classic themed pin with that gameplay it would probably be like 4-5 all-time. I think the Deadpool pin isn't love or hate it though, I think "most" people enjoy it but for a large chunk of the pinball enthusiast consumer-base, they didn't grow up with snarky banter, 16-bit anti-heroes.
Deadpool will probably climb on the all-time over the next 10 years as the buyer-base age demographic shifts more to GenX and away from Boomers. I suspect thats also why there are rumors about a He-Man Masters of the Universe pin, why we just saw Scooby Doo drop etc etc.. GenX buyers are starting to become the focus of the market. I think themes like Bond etc from the 60s will slowly become a thing of the past and you're going to see a lot more 70s/80s/90s themed pins emerge ... or... modern themed pins with retro GenX vibes to them.
Example, Deadpool.