As a TMNT cartoon obsessed kid in the 80s/90s, I know what I’d want in the game:

-Original cartoon stories/clips/voices
-Custom callouts from original cast. They’re all still alive except for James Avery (Shredder). If they can only afford a few - hire Barry Gordon since he does Donatello & Bebop, and Cam Clarke since he’s Leonardo & Rocksteady...but really, having them all would be amazing.
-Original theme & show music or reasonable recreations. The recent Arcade1Up has a cover of the theme song instead of the real one...so we know the tunes are still possible.

What kind of toys would be cool? Something involving the Technodrome, Krang’s robot body, Mousers, or the Transport Drill would be cool. Incorporating the dimensional portal to Dimension X would be great. Shoot the portal for Dimension X modes or something. Fighting Shredder & Krang’s tech seems like a good way to feel like you’re the Turtles vs. the bad guys.

Srsly if any Stern peeps would like a consultant for this project, hit me up. I’ll sign an NDA & help for free...I know everything about 80’s TMNT episodes & have connections with many people who were involved with it. Cowabunga!!!

They can still use the tune - I’d rather just have the instrumental tune without fake voices.

They can probably get it if they offer Chuck Lorre a pinball machine. He's almost a billionaire, he doesn't need the money.

I'm not Delt...but my wife bought me some TMNT pajama pants! (Also Mario Kart, Pac-Man, and NES Super Mario pajama pants)

DE TMNT does not have the full vocal one from the cartoon. Just instrumental with MIDI.

The arcade game had the full real cartoon song with lyrics. - Arcade 1Up didn’t license it, so they made a sound-alike.

It looks pretty bad. No one is going to want a pin based on it.

Next is Stranger Things.

I just want a toy/feature that’s NOT a torso or head. Please.

I will, thank you! Borg also tends to fall back on spinning discs. Tron’s prob the best version he’s ever done, though. Maybe he’ll dupe it in TMNT & call it the pizza oven.

Nah, the theme is about all of them. Avengers Hulk LE was bad since it featured 1 character from a theme about a team.

Stranger Things.

Nick owns all ALL TMNT, old and new. Laird has the option to create & publish any new TMNT comics.

This game will be based on the classic 80s/90s cartoon, not any of the reboots or newer versions. 80's cartoon Turtles has the most nostalgia...nostalgia sells pins. Newer/younger TMNT fans still like the old version, so it's not a detriment to use that version.

Yes, try to imagine it. For real. You'll realize that "playing pinball on the internet simultaneously with people" is a concept that makes zero sense in terms of game design, functionality or fun.

Pinball isn't a video game. Stop trying to make "online play" happen with pinball. It makes zero sense due to what a pinball machine is & how they function. (Not to mention Stern can't even finish a base game for 2 or 3 years after launch)

Those were the pre GB/Yeti days. Stern could have done GB'16...but knew nostalgia & awesome art was the better route with that theme. They'll do the same here. 80's cartoon TMNT has the most nostalgic love.

Nick/Viacom...same thing.

What if there are enough to be all the mask colors? Orange, Red, Purple, Blue!

Semantics, what's your point? Nickelodeon is a Viacom company. Everything about the TMNT franchise sale relates to Nickelodeon. All TMNT merch says Nickelodeon on it now.

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Krang is essential. Especially if they’re getting original actors for custom callouts - you’ll want villains in there, and Shredder’s voice actor is dead.

He makes great shooting games, but hasn't really made a game with fun toys/features since Metallica. He too often falls back on torso shampoo bottle tops or giant heads that do nothing. X-Men, TWD, Kiss, Munsters...custom sculpted toys that do nothing might as well be nothing.

I really hope there are some innovative and interactive toys based on the Technodrome, Krang, Shredder's subterranean drills, the dimensional portal...things related to the villians so when you fight/bash/interact with them, it makes sense. Hitting Wolverine makes no sense. Hitting Herman makes no sense. This is a classic good vs. evil theme, so hopefully the features will reflect that.

He’d do it - he’s Nickelodeon’s voice director now...and he was Donatello in the last version of TMNT!

What would “playing together” actually mean, or how would it be fun? In a video game, you’re sharing a screen and seeing each other do things simultaneously - how do you “play online” when you each have your own individual wood playfield that you’re looking at, with each machine doing different things? How could “online pinball play” be functional or fun?

I think the most people are going to see are high score tables, achievements, virtual tournaments....nothing where you’re actually doing something “together”, as the concept doesn’t make sense. However, even high scores between machines doesn’t even make sense, since everyone’s games will be set up differently...different outlane positions, different pitch, different options...and anyone can cheat with the glass off.

Pinball is inherently you vs. machine. I don’t get how people envision it becoming Fortnite.

How would that be fun? You can’t see or hear them...your game would just die. Sounds annoying.

People have to remember that these games are made for coin drop on location...these silly most likely non-fun functions would only be for home buyers...and honestly would probably not be used much. Online servers & play make sense for an all digital universe. There are so many factors with a complex physical object like this. I don’t see “online play” ever happening with pinball....especially since Stern (and most companies) still can’t release finished fleshed out gameplay and rules at launch...now they’re expected to come up with some kind of convoluted online play infrastructure that most probably wouldn’t use? It wouldn’t move sales up, and just be a costly pain in the ass on their part.

I’m calling it...Pinball internet will be:
-Operator stuff (remote updates, service alerts, earnings, remote setting changes, etc)
-Tournament & Social Media stuff related to scores & events.

No “online play”.

Do you really want to sit there and watch someone else play on a different machine with different setup? I dunno, that sounds horrible...wouldn’t you just want to spend your time playing vs. waiting? It’s one thing when you’re waiting on the machine in front of you - but waiting for someone somewhere else while your game is just sitting there saying “play me”?

Pinball is not a video game, people...but I guess we’ll keep seeing people try to will nonsense “online play” into existence. Enjoy pinball for pinball.

Also - I do NOT want a pinball camera connected to the internet in my house. Prob the easiest thing to be hacked ever. No thanks.

Unless this game has been in development for years & has gone through tons of testing, I don’t see how Stern could actually pull that off in any kind of meaningful or functional way...or how it would be fun. Look at STh...code barely finished, games are falling apart. Oh well, we’ll see!

If you want to stare at art, buy a Turtles poster for $10. This is a pinball machine. Make sure it’s good, built well & works well before throwing cash blindly.

Fuel target on your Metallica!

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No scoop & not similar to X-Men.

It is based on the 80’s/90’s show. It has the theme song, but it’s a cover...but a pretty good one. Better than the cover on the Arcade 1up. 17 character voices confirmed...which hopefully means show assets. No word on if they got custom real actors, tho...but fingers crossed. Classic characters featured: Slash, Metal Head, Casey Jones, Neutrinos, Baxter Stockman.

Don’t worry about internet. It’s pinball.

Is there a high quality stereo version of the original song? If not, you might just wanna stick with this one. I HATED the Arcade 1up cover. The Stern version sounds good.

What would that even mean?

You vs. game. How is what other people doing on their games relevant or satisfying to what you’re doing on your game?

P3 Racing game makes some sense due to the racing/power up ruleset. Even so...would a player even know if they were playing against someone vs computer? Is there any satisfaction like a video game where you see each other together on a screen & can truly interact?

No one thinks about userbase. Online video games have millions online at any given time for instant matchups. Pinball would have a few hundred...a thousand or so at most...and then how many of those would be online ready for a game? The numbers don’t make sense.

I keep seeing people wanting Pinball to be Fortnite, but I feel no one really games it out and imagines what “pinball online” would truly be. (hint...it would suck and you’d just go back to playing normally)

When Stern goes internet, it’ll be for updates, info, social media, tournaments, operator remote stuff. They surely know that “playing against each other” makes little sense....especially when getting code/rules for a base game is so difficult for them.

Everyone else is alive though. Since Krang is a main feature, I hope they got Pat Fraley to provide custom Krang taunts.

Wow, you didn’t know?!

When I was a kid, I was watching Fresh Prince and when Uncle Phil got angry and yelled “WILL!!!!!!” I instantly went “HOLY CRAP, THAT’S SHREDDER!!!!!!“

Cam Clarke, voice of Leonardo was also Rocksteady. He was the voice of Kaneda in the original Akira dub...and Liquid Snake in Metal Gear Solid.

Ya want a blurry pic? I can get ya a blurry pic.

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But it wouldn’t be the same game. It would be two different games set up differently doing entirely different things at any given time. Wanna chat? Call. Lol.

You can’t even explain why it would be fun or how it would even make sense. Pinball machines don’t need microphones and cams so you can talk to friends. Just do that with your phone. I’m poo-poo’ing it because it’s a stupid idea with no real world fun application. If you want to play online games with friends, play Mario Kart. Play Fortnite. Pinball is pinball. Playing “against” other people on different machines in other locations is just “wouldn’t it be cool if....” talk.

How do you gauge a “race” on a pinball machine? You don’t see other people moving around or maneuver around them like an online racing video game. There’s no satisfying interaction with others in this scenario.

Don’t expect pinball companies to waste resources on something unnecessary. Period.

But why is that fun in the context of pinball? You can’t see what the other person is doing or interact. You’d only know at the end of a game who “won”. Who cares? In an online racing game you see & interact with each other.

Why is it so hard to visualize that pinball is not a video game? Lol

What community? Small user base would make “online pinball play” relatively useless.

Are you really gonna watch a video of someone else’s playfield while you’re trying to play on your own? What would the purpose be? You won’t be doing the same synced things like a video game because pinball is random.

So when is your P3 showing up?

Same question for everyone else who’s convinced online pinball play needs to be a thing.

Marvel approved Bobaleebobo & Shittybeast. Approval doesn’t mean good.

It’s not. It’s all new & relatively original. Think Tron meets Apollo 13 meets The Shadow.

When is your P3 arriving?

That would be horrible. Why would you want your machine to go dark to wait for someone somewhere else to do something? You could be playing your game.

Stop trying to force something horrible not compatible with pinball to be a pinball thing.

False equivalency. Hanging out with friends together is different than a machine doing nothing while people online do things.

LJN never made a Nintendo TMNT. It was always Konami/Ultra.

So, those are called “inserts”

I have enough imagination to know that your definition of “online pinball” sounds like a nightmare of boredom.

Also, when’s your P3 arriving?

Clearly you’re new and don’t understand pinball. Maybe you’ll understand and enjoy the game someday. Pinball is nothing like a video game & by its very nature cannot be as interactive & satisfying online like a video game is, nor will it ever have the userbase to make it worthwhile for pinball developers.

I’ve never been anti-P3. I was one of the first to sing praises for the concept after I played it around 2011 or ‘12 at the Pacific Pinball Expo. I’m anti “stupid notions for online pinball play”. I’ve said that Cosmic Cart is actually something that somewhat makes sense, but still the reality is that an online “pinball race” will never have the satisfaction of an online racing game where you & the other players are sharing the same visuals, bumping into each other, etc. It’s also a reality that it’ll never have the user base of a video game. That’s a delusional statement to say that matchmaking is faster on P3. If you go on Mario Kart, that’s a userbase of 20 million+. Instant matches. What’s the user base of Cosmic Cart online? 10? 50? 100? It’s a cute gimmick, but not a realistically consistent online userbase. It’s what the kids would call “dead”.

I dunno, to me the 1up was all off key and weird. This one is pretty good, but the little insert voices like “we’re really hip” sound weird and British lol...but the song itself is pretty good.

I believe they don’t use the original song anymore because they don’t want to pay Chuck Lorre royalties. The dude’s a billionaire, I wish he would just sign the rights away for charity or something lol

The original actors still do the original voices when hired. There’s a Honda commercial that features them.

They wouldn’t use the current voices because that’s an entirely different show.

Stern is using sound alikes based on the 80s show that this theme is based on. We’ll get to judge how they sound when the stream happens today.

Jared, I was a mega obsessed Turtle nerd so I appreciate your passion for this project, but are you allowed to tell us why the original cast wasn’t hired to do the voices? They’re all alive & working except for James Avery (RIP Uncle
Phil!)

Thanks ZY! Looking forward to it.

We haven’t heard any callouts yet, just the song. The “we’re really hip” and “get a grip” are just part of the song.

No idea, but in the show it was always Shredder & Krang (or other villains) have an evil plan, Turtles fight them & stop it. Pretty simple, totally works for pinball narrative. Good vs. Evil

The stream: Pleease just play the games without explaining every little thing. Please please please.

Yeti art is awesome, looks great. Really looks like he took elements from different designs that were used on the show & merch & combined it along with his style.

Borg usually makes nice playing games, looks fun & smooth to play.

Music is incredible, Jerry rules!

.....and the fake voices.
OK - I’ll give them some credit. This isn’t remotely Bobaleebobo or Shitty Beast. It’s clear the actors are fans of the material & are doing decent sound alikes....buuuut, it’s still not the voices of my nostalgia. It bums me out, especially since they’re doing dialog and stories from the cartoon...I wish they had just used show clips for those & hired some of the real actors for custom. Hearing a classic Raphael line but not from Rob Paulsen is just weird. Most people prob won’t care, and it’s leagues better than the horrible Marvel game voices...but, takes things down a few notches for me.

The fake footage on the LCD as well...relatively janky CG models that look like they’re from an up-rezzed PS1 game. Stiff & hollow movement. April looks awful. I dunno, it’s not impressive to me. Would have rather seen 2D art manipulation or show clips. That being said - when I’m playing the game, I’m looking at the playfield & this animation is just “business” on the score display...so, not a deal breaker, not offensive....just perplexing & dated looking.

At the end of the day, even with my nitpicks I can see the passion from the TMNT fans who made this game, and I appreciate that. I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun, and the code/rules look nice as well. It feels like Dwight landed right in the middle of complex & approachable, and I think that’ll please all players on this one.

For me, I needed all I expected to be there to bite and pre-order. So, that’s not gonna happen...but I’ll keep my eye on this machine & could possibly see getting one down the road.

LOL, "relevant". This is pinball, the most irrelevant thing in 2020. Pinball is retro. Pinball is nostalgic. Stern picks nostalgic themes. Elvira? Munsters? Batman 66? Iron Maiden? Relevant? Fuck no. Nostalgic? Fuck yes. TMNT is nostalgic....perhaps not for you...but that's OK. Not every theme is going to appeal to everyone.

I'm 43 and was stupid bonkers obsessed with Ninja Turtles. So, this theme is absolutely relevant to me as an adult who likes big stupid expensive irrelevant toys.

The tech isn't the problem. It's the approach. You can do good animation that feels like it has weight and nice timing with the lowest tech imaginable. It's how the animator animates, not the technology. It's how the artist sets up the scene...composition and cinematography. That's what's lacking most in this display animation...but it's also the models/style/art direction. It's just not that great. To be fair - good animation takes time... they probably accomplished all of this work in an extremely short turnaround...so, kudos to them given the circumstances. IMO, it would have been easier and looked better to just use show clips & manipulated 2D art assets instead of full 3D characters.

If you watch the later episodes, Cam Clarke really changed how he did Leonardo...he did sound more high pitched and whiney compared to the more stoic voice of the first batch of eps.

For me, the one that stood out the most as being "wrong" was Raph. No one can do that sarcasm like Rob Paulsen.

Does Stern "allow" you to hide inserts under art if you wanted to? Games like Simpsons Pinball Party & Monster Bash have inserts completely covered by the characters...so the characters light up when you complete the tasks required. I feel like Stern doesn't really do this anymore...wondering if it's a mandate or up to the designer/artist.

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:

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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.

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.

Batman 66 has nice 1080p restored footage. TMNT isn’t film sourced - it’s old 80s/90s broadcast masters...a hair better than VHS. Still, on a small LCD score display, you’re not going to really notice the resolution of the clips that much, especially since Sterns tend to have compression artifacting even with HD sourced clips. The models & texturing of Stern’s CG isn’t exactly making use of high resolution texture or anything.

If “no clips” was a Nick thing, I’d rather see Yeti’s art on screen with some After Effects motion-comic style movement and FX....but most here seem impressed by it, so it is what it is. At the end of the day, it’s the score display. The playfield is where my attention is & that art is great.

The van is there, but no functionality.

Most pins have a 3 year license...as long as there’s demand, there will be an opportunity to buy it over 3 years. Sometimes Stern & distribs announce a “last call” as well. You’ll be able to find one for a while, new or used.

The game is based on the original 87 cartoon...not sure if it’s streaming anywhere, but that’s the basis.

Remake movies are awful, but the 2nd one does have Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady & Baxter.

The original 1990 movie is great. Still holds up, Jim Henson’s turtle costumes look amazing, the acting is good & it has a lot of heart. I still think it’s one of the best comic book/hero movies ever made.

2nd movie is more kiddie/cheesy, but decent & fun enough. Hs the “legendary” Vanilla Ice Ninja Rap.

3rd movie is a horrible garbage fire. Avoid.

Yeah, I think Splinter & his performance by Kevin Clash (most well known for being Elmo in Sesame St) really grounds the film. From his early conversations with Raph about his anger & emotions...to the part where he’s a prisoner & in pain, but still wants to help Danny. I’ve seen the movie a million times, but it always gets me when he says “all fathers care for their sons”. It’s a friggin MUPPET...but in this movie, he is real.

Actually, all the cartoon reboots are pretty solid & unique in their own way. I never watched any of them in their entirety, but have seen a bunch of each & thought they were solid new shows for a new generation of kids.

I found my TMNT production cels...I need to reframe/clean these up. Back in the 90s, they flooded Toys R Us with these for around $10 a pop. For an animation fan, that was pretty amazing since most animation cel galleries were selling cels for hundreds or thousands.

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(Duplicate, mods plz delete)

No, but I know what eps most are from. Purple suit Don is from “The Big Cufflink Caper”, the Raph/Shredder one is from “Shredder & Splintered”. Pretty sure the Leo one is from “Unidentified Flying Leonardo”, I think the one with the nets is “Michelangelo Meets Bugman” ...and if I watched the whole series again I could place the others.

Get a Premium instead, install mirror blades.

The DE game came with the Playmates toys attached from the factory.

For real? When I watch location players, they usually don’t even know how to find the start button...then they chimp flip, drain, and move on.

Too bad he’s not in the game!