I cannot for the life of me why anyone would think TMNT is a bad theme for pinball. Even if you don't care about it or the show, it's easy to recognize it's a great theme choice and a ton of people and families will think it's great.

I'd take a TMNT over a Black Knight

It would be pointless to elaborate!

Let's just say I never got the teenage mutant fucking ninja turtles. Maybe I'm too old?!

There ya go Odin! That's progress! They are making games for the 44 and under crowd now!

You sir have terrible taste!

So by worst, you mean least appealing to you personally?

No actually a Columbia University study has determined scientifically it's an awful theme.

Report is to be released tomorrow.

Maybe it is just the known lack of quality that Stern puts into their machines that makes me biased......but I just can’t seem to get excited by any of their pins.

seriously?!

and than dont forget Ted Estes + Joe Katz if i'm thinking about Dialed In

but we can also add Josh Kugler + Joe Schober on Oktoberfest, which really have a good/solid code

RE: Dwight Code

Dwight gets a lot of unnecessary heat because of vocal personalities like Kaneda and other pinsiders who desire linear simple rulesets, and don't appreciate long term lastability HUO-style rulesets that offer both depth and breadth. As it sits now, GOT & SW are 2 of the best rulesets in all of pinball. And don't forget, he came in and worked countless OT hours to get Star Trek where it is today.

I believe it was mentioned in many podcasts that Dwight was instructed to make Munsters ruleset 'simple' - and he delivered. This was known to many people before buying.

So while TMNT may not be a dream theme for me (I do like ninja turtles by the way), but to me it feels more like a Dream Team (Dwight, Borg, Yeti, Thompson, Mike).

I will say this though; one of my biggest concerns about the game, which may be the reason I end up not getting one, is they appear to be spending a lot of resources on multiplayer. Being an older guy (44) with young kids, It's probably been 2+years since I sat down with some pinheads and enjoyed multiplayer games. Maybe Rarehero can convince them to get internet connectivity and online gaming going

So you want Stern to bring back the one player machine?

Asteroid Annie 2?!

Seriously. There was no reason to create poor CG recreations of solid footage that already exists. There was also no reason to do 100% fake voices when they're using the show's storylines and dialog. The clips exist. The actors are still alive & could have done custom dialog.

Now, the game still looks like a ton of fun...and I might still end up with one down the line. However, if we're talking about sending up to $9000 to buy this game without playing it, based on my love of theme alone? Had they had original video, audio, and the real actors - I would have absolutely thrown down & pre-ordered. As it stands with the dank animation & decent (but fake) voices, I'm not inspired to send a check at the moment.

I mean...if you have functioning eyes, which of these looks more appealing as a display animation:

Awesome_April (resized).jpg

Shitty_April (resized).jpg

No one wants linear simple. GB was linear & was one of the reasons many didn't like it. What we don't like is games that can ONLY be enjoyed if you thoroughly memorize ultra complex scoring nuance vs. just organically playing the game and getting points from satisfying objectives. Or, games like Munsters, that just assume you're a total newb and don't need much of anything. Thankfully, TMNT looks to have something for everyone. Traditional modes and multiballs to just start off having fun...and then nuance like training, weapons, pizza toppings, different Turtle perks to jazz it up and give you some depth as well.

Is April’s cameraman, Vern, in this game?

Oh I never said it’s a first and I’m not referring to The idea of coop itself - but the implementation with the theme here is something much more...after all, If Apple has taught us anything it’s ‘don’t be first, just make it better’

Listen - I’m obviously biased because I love this team and I love this game - make up your own mind AFTER you play it!

Agreed. Looks like folks could have a flashy blast playing it at the barcade, especially those many co-op modes. But also for home users, lots of different turtle-choice strategies for getting to the final showdown.

Yeah, I like that the character choice results in a unique Team Up...that’s a nice incentive to play with the different characters, besides the up front perks.

Nope.

No it's actually really really cool what they're doing. And will suit most buyers. Don't get me wrong, I do welcome these kinds of changes and back in the day when I played lots of multiplayer pinball games, this would rock so I get it. But personally, 95% of my pinball experience for the last 2 years is single player. So resources are being allocated to something I probably won't be apart of all that much where it could have been focused more on polish/single player experiences. It's just me being selfish (I know we're not allowed to be selfish on pinside ) But, it may be one of the reasons I stray away from this title if that is there focus. That's all I'm saying. But, there's still a lot of unknowns - perhaps they used their resources wise and can tailor to all player style demographics. Time will tell.

Why when they can pay less for voice actors and have the pinball community create custom code if they want that level of detail. In most cases the licensee holds all the cards and they pretty well dictate to the manufacture what assets they can and cannot use. I would rather see a best effort keep the cost low and allow the community to get creative if they want and add in the original sounds if people are that anal. Stern should be putting all of their resources in layout, art, animation, and code. I couldn't care less about the sound of the machine as long as it can be customized if it sucks.

Would it be difficult to have the original actors do some custom call outs and intricate them into the game after the fact?

Might be cool to do a 2 player co-op by yourself. Set up your team ups and get further in the game...just spit ballin'

Ya, if that is the case then that really sucks, hopefully someone will find a way. It is actually to Stern's benefit, as they can put out a lackluster sound package for a reasonable cost to them and still get good sales as people know that they can still customize the sounds of the game. The Walking Dead is a great example of this.

Great idea.

Have there been cases of Stern showcasing a new title with placeholder art that has been replaced upon build & ship? Any examples? (more curious than anything)

Latest Elvira has made some display-art changes post-release....

Lots of games add more/new animations post-launch or post-preview. Alice Cooper has had a lot of new/changed animations over it's life. And so has Elvira3. So it's definitely possible that the animations could be refreshed at some point.

There’s no way for STERN to get high DEF copies of the TMNT 90s cartoon so I honestly think what they designed is better.

Wow!! TMNT looks great!!!

Shhhhh, dont give Stern any ideas about forcing proprietary parts on its customer base

I'm 54 and have never watched TMNT. I think this is a great theme....All ages I believe can appreciate it.

Looks fun and non-violent. I just wish they would do away with the 1 long target, and go with 2 or 3 standups.

If you have to choose between high def p0rn featuring a crystal meth hoe or sd pr0n featuring the most beautiful girl you've ever seen, you take the meth junkie?

And you could also just trace the original image.

Totally agree. Don't use the real voice actors and put the saved money into the design of the game. If they paid the real actors, we'd end up with mono targets or something...

I said it was Johns idea and that is true. But I like button features and button massing rules. But I do realize that its not for everyone. That's why the button mashing feature in turtles is positioned a bit deeper in the game. Most people will only get 0 to 1 per game.

No bee-bop or rock-steady ?

Stern just wrote in the JD Stream that the character Models are what they are and won't be improved.
(And yes, April was referred.)

At least that's honest.

Let's be fair. Saying there's "no reason" isn't true. There's no PUBLICLY KNOWN reason, but given the licensing issues with the song they DID talk about, it's very possible some or all of these decisions were dictated by licensor restrictions.

Some of the fake voices are more than fine. There's no "shitty beast and his friends" in the mix. So that's a plus.

Can’t wait, LE ordered
This is a theme that totally resonates for me, I was 12 when I became turtle obsessed along with my mates
Into high school and I still dug them, yes I was a geek and proudly still am BTW
Borg is my fav designer with Metallica, Kiss, Walking Dead Etc...all amazing
I’ve no doubt this will be another classic

Uh, they just stated that, altough the Pizza is the only toy that made it into the Pro, even that one is compromised.
Different Motor aka servo/ wiring (only rotates in one direction and... maybe one speed also).

So:

- Lost one ramp (shooter lane)
- Lost the raphael glider direction change
- Lost the Van lock
- Lost the hopping Krang

You are allowed to have your own opinion.
(But a ramp is a ramp. )

I'm glad you like it, for all the the little differences (and there are more) I just think the Premium is the way to go, if money is not a problem.

Anyways I'm beginning to get over the things I don't like...

Have to admit if I wasn't such a big fan of the theme, I'd be strongly considering a Pro for the first time since X-men.

Yeah I like the Pro artwork better than the Premium as well. Choice for me was Pro or LE and I just went LE as this is my dream theme.

You’re right. It’s like they even made it harder on themselves for no reason.

Uhh have you played BM66? It has amazing video. HD has nothing to do with anything. Same for Elvira.

Why does Donny have the glider tech in his player card, but Raph is actually flying it?