WOZ & Hobbit.

F-35 Lightning

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/steve-ritchies-next-game-is-unlicensed-what-will-it-be/page/5#post-4351670

Yes, also known as clunk and thunk since that is their main shot.

Here we go again from one of the main JJP bashers. There's plenty shots in both of those games, WOZ especially. Not every layout needs to be just 2 standard ramps, 2 orbits, and little on the playfield. Learn to make the shots and then the clunk and thunk will stop

You dont read... I owned and like a few JJP games so not sure how I am "bashing them"

A few of their games kinda suck playwise and thats not much of a secret... can say the same for Stern

Exactly. Nobody said anything about the number of shots on JJP games...that's never been an issue. They shoot clunky, and feel clunky. In order of CLUNK for me, least to most, it's Pirates -> Dialed In-> WOZ -> Hobbit. I haven't played Wonka yet, but my wife has and she didn't like it...and she typically appreciates flowy games more, so I'm going to guess it's between Dialed in and WOZ somewhere.

oh FFS dude give it a rest. Both of those games are known for crummy playfield layouts and lots of targets. I think they both suck but OTOH I think DI and Wonka shoot like butter (when the flippers work properly)

NOT EVERYONE WHO CRITICIZES THESE GAMES' BAD PLAYFIELDS IS A JJP BASHER

You are like the worst broken record on here these days.

You are another member of the regular JJP bashers, have been for a long time. It's old. Can't even compliment DI and Wonka without making a snide comment to go along with it...sigh.

And the record continues to skip. Groove's so worn nothing gonna budge that needle now. Dude's gonna go to his grave defending JJP, hope he gets an appropriate inscription. I just can't wrap my head around such blind loyalty to a pinball company, but whatever gets you through the day panzer...

Now I'm curious if Balcer is even going to do any more JJP games or if he's done, esp with this Ritchie rumor.

Ill compliment them (DI and Wonka)... they are the only two JJP games that play well.

Wonka to this day is still way underrated IMO.

Actually hard for me to believe the buzz around GNR and how well it sold compared to Wonka... GNR is pretty mediocre playwise.

I guess he did Houmdini and Hot Wheels so he's 'Merican?

He also did Oktoberfest for them. He has moved on to Homepin now.

Oh that's right, I forgot about Houdini. Hot Wheels shot pretty well when I played; I guess getting away from the jjp/jpop stuff helped. I don't like Houdini much but I think that carried jpop baggage he had to design around?

don't feed the trolls

He's also working as an independent contractor still with AP. He's just not the main (only) designer any longer.

Wait, Homepin survived Thunderbirds. I guess I haven't kept up on them in a long time.

As crazy as it sounds, yes.

That would be cool! Always enjoyed F14.

Easy there. I think they're more or less knocking the two tables themselves, not necessarily JJP. They were both made by Balcer and I don't think either one of those games are renowned for their for their flow. The same could be said for Octoberfest and Houdini. Octoberfest even looks like a quasi-Richie layout and is not a slick playing machine. I would be love to play a Steve Richie JJP machine though.

It would blow people's minds playing a lightning fast JJP, just squirting with flow

Hope the new playfield supplier is in place before the king arrives........

Wonka has flow for days

How does every post turn into some fanboy sh*t?

SR is in the top 2 designers of all time period, him and PL...Wherever he ends up, I will enjoy his games.

I love you, but you’re nuts.

Joe Klecko!

For others, we need to honor their memories. It's only proper.

High Speed 3 - Wacky Races! The King will make it happen!

tumblr_baeca8eb009ebeab0c4d70b32a55f212_98692c99_500.gif

He went into the tunnel..... Nnnnnnoooooo ...... *explosion and insert Muttley laugh here*

I think that is a good path to take if it is true. Or maybe he's going consultant route. Regardless good luck if this turns out
to be true. I might reconsider owning another JJP that plays better than it looks.

Joe Balcer is known for clunky games. TSPP (sorry fanboys), houdini, woz, and others all just clangfests. Theres a couple of his games I like and some I haven't played but overall I think hes one of the worst designers in the industry currently or in the recentish past.

Yeah I love TSPP despite the playfield.. the rules and theme make the game. I think it shoots better than WOZ, maybe being a narrow body gives it less room for clunk, but the playfield is still the weakest part of the game.

When I had WOZ I could see the similarities with TSPP, and as much as I liked the technology, I wound up selling WOZ because it had the worse playfield AND theme

this post is so meta

also...Ed Krynski ftw along with HW, SK, and so many others.

Go post that on the Nintendo or XBOX forums and see what happens. I think those folks are even more territorial to their brand than the people on Pinside.

If we're talking sequel games, how about a new Spider-Man based on the Into the Spider-Verse.

Yeah...they're only clunky if you can't hit the shots.

Damn, is that why I think every game is clunky?

Haha what? Just in the past decade AC/DC, ST, GoT, SW and LZ are all fantastic games (the premiums and LEs, not the pros). Not saying his originals are bad, because they are not. The bad SR games are the ones that have the main feature torn out. SW pro has no Hyper ramp. BKSoR Pro no upper playfield. GoT Pro same thing. And so on...

No Fear is licensed.

Hyper ramp not bad, BKSor upper PF blah no thanks, GOT pro at least you can see whats going on

SR is a great game designer with a lot of hits and some misses. Every designer does. People bitch about BKSoR because its the worst of three worlds... BK was an awesome game, it even holds up well to this day. BK2K was an interesting update, yet people bitched about the kickback not being a second magnasave, and that the game was reduced to a "shoot the left ramp" mentality that eventually lead to one shot games like TM:BOP.

BKSoR Premium/LE with topper is another interesting take on the BK franchise. I think the Pros blows (as most Stern Pros do) but I liked the upper playfield on SoR... The Sterns since then have been interesting and different, but I like the old school feel of SoR, even though the topper alone cost more than 10x what my brother paid for his Black Night.

I would love to see what an expanded BOM could do for a SR design if he went to JJP, but would he "Shift Gears" this late in his career game?

Literally the first time in 20 years I've heard that complaint.

This one however is on the money. One of the most boring games of all time. Would love that art & music on a different layout.

Sorry but I could not disagree more, especially with GoT. To me GoT Premium/LE with the newest software is Steve's masterpiece at Stern. BKSOR with no upper playfield is a joke. Good for tournaments or top tier players, but a joke in average home or location use.

Fast brutal games always have a spot in my house. I’ll never own BKSOR prem, but I’d love to have a pro for a while.

I actually rolled a BK2K (>100M) way back in the day before I had any real pinball skills, just because I figured out that strategy. The feed from the UPF was easy to trap, so I played probably the most boring hour-long game of pinball ever played. Nothing but left ramps and W-A-R hurryups over and over, with the occasional lightning wheel shot when I biffed the ramp. I did not play any of the replays, nor did I touch BK2K for months afterward...

I had a lot of fun with the pro. Its not a world better by any means, but quick and fun. That upper PF for me was pretty lame. I understand without it its sort of not a BK game, but since I don't like them it was fine my me
My wife loved that game and I wouldn't call her a tournament player (she's horrible).

Haha. So true.

I loved BK2K as a kid. When I got back into pinball as an adult, I realized the same strat while playing on location. Wasn't as exploitable as playing for an hour straight for me but it definitely bumped it off of games I'd love to own. Gottlieb Gladiators also has a similar-ish exploit with MB.

Hopefully it was a really cheap one. In fact, I had such a low expectation for this title that it didn't take much to make me like it. This game had the expectation gap really working for it.

TSPP is what I call the 'anti-flow game'. That's actually the beauty of it. It's an acquired taste, not designed to be a shot-chainer, and if you try to play it in the traditional flow manner, it's going to kick your ass. It's FULL of sucker shots, and the way to play it properly is to beat it at its own game. Don't take the bait, figure out the less obvious means and workarounds to more safely hit what you want. Backhanding is a must (the Bart captive ball especially). But there is always something you need or want to shoot for no matter where the ball ends up, the rules and code depth take full advantage of that, and that's what really makes it work.