Thinking about getting a Tron - opinions on long term playability, enjoyment?

Tron will be in my long term lineup at some point. Two of my friends have it now so no need to rush. It is one of the top played games at a friends place who has ten games.

Check out my collection, and see how many games I've been through in the last year. Tron is the one that I've had almost the longest (~7 months) and I don't see it leaving any time soon. It never gets old for me. I'm not a huge fan of the new movie either, so the theme isn't the main reason I find it so enjoyable.

Tron will be the last game to ever leave my collection. It has become my all time favorite. A perfect blend of music, gameplay, frantic action, but cool and slick. I wasn't a TRON fan, but played the game before purchase and really liked it.

Ditto here, I've wanted a Tron for a couple of years, finally got one 11 days ago and its sheer bliss. I don't know if a game has ever had my heart rate pumping so much as this one. Like most great pins, you can get great games going, but then you'll have a bunch of stinkers which for me, guarantees I won't tire of it because "it ain't freakin' easy!"

Do it. It's the best. I have yet to tire of mine, and don't expect to ever tire of mine. My favorite game in my collection of very decent games.

I love my Tron and I think it has plenty of long term enjoyment. Ball times are generally on the shorter side and the game can be pretty brutal, but also very rewarding. It has a good mix of shots and relatively easy multiballs to get into (and repeat) which I think can make it fun even for the people that don't care about finishing modes and making it to Portal.

It's not a terribly dense game though and there are probably other ones out there that might go just as well in your collection. I really like the Tron theme, although I would have preferred hand drawn art, and for me it was a matter of having a mixture of features that I liked in other games, center bank shot, multiple multiballs, three flippers, good flow shots and a few precision shots (arcade scoop).

I don't think you'd regret picking one up though.

Requires too much modding.

It is the only game that actually gets me down on my knees doing the, "no, no, no, noooo". The amount of emotional investment that can be placed into a shot is not beaten on many other machines. I don't think this will change a lot over time. Even though the game is usually described as not the deepest, I feel there are so many WAYS in which to get better at playing it. A deep ruleset is not necessarily (IMHO) 100% correlated with long term lastability in a collection (ha! but you would know all about that..35 machines, you would know better than me! I'm not worthy!) Tron simply has EVERYTHING that belongs in a pinball machine.

You mean like when you have Portal flashing at the scoop and just can't seem to get it in? And then drain.

This is the one issue I have with Tron. I don't know what I've spent on mods (and I'm glad I don't as I don't want to answer that question to the Mrs.). Tron is fun to mod but sure is expensive to mod. Every time I buy a mod for it I say it is the last one . . . it tends to never be the last one. Now I want to install that clear disc that looks so awesome.

As far as game play is concerned Tron is fantastic and will be in the lineup forever (I believe now anyway).

Moved to Stern pinball sub forum by the way.

Exactly

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh

Always hard to know which ones people might be interested in, but these guys went nuts!

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whos-cracked-the-1k-tron-mod-spend

The two I played both sounded like a leaf blower when the disk was spinning. Debating whether I could live with this long-term if I got the game.

It is a very solid game. I will likely not sell it unless I pick up an LE. Simple but compelling.

Mine recently started to squeal, and I think the bottom bearing is shot. I slapped a small bracket on mine that applies a small bit of pressure to the bottom end of the shaft. It looks like crap, but has made it quieter than new. Who knows how long it will last, though?

I'm also looking into sourcing a higher quality motor to fix the problem properly. I'm not sure how that will turn out.

Anyway, in my opinion, the motor noise is a downer, but certainly not enough of a problem to prevent me from keeping the game. I've owned mine a year now, and despite buying 3 other games (MET, LOTR, SS) in that timeframe, Tron is still my #1.

Everyone has their own opinions, so I'm going to share mine.
Tron was my first NIB. I've bought and sold a ton of machines, but Tron is one that will never leave unless a Tron LE falls into my lap instead.
I got it because I like the theme, but I'm keeping it for the gameplay. Yeah, the game looks amazing, but it's a blast to play too. Never gets old!

It's funhouse without the creepy face. What's not to like

I have owned mine for almost a year now and am loving it. I do not think you can go wrong w/ a Tron purchase. As many have mentioned there are tons of mods for this machine. I know its expensive to mod it but its so much fun!

Its a great game to continue to go back and play over and over. The depth is a little lacking but if you make it your goal to complete each mode and not just get to sea of simulation you have a game that will kick your ass but make you smile when it does it.

Nobody wanted a tron like me, i love the music and theme.

I finally traded my lovley spiderman with a allmost nib tron, i played it and really fast found out i made a bad trade.

A week after, 2 weeks after i just couldent get into the games fast balltimes, its eyecandy but bwadrrrr gameplay, its the fastest game that had left my pin collection, never gonna buy it again. Playfield is so empty, balltimes too short, music and artwork too great, naaaaah need a spiderman back again.

I offerd the seller a backtrade plus i offerd him 1k inbetween, the answer was hell no

TRY IT alot before buy it

Tron was my first NIB, Im not sad to say that it is leaving today...
The gameplay is OK, but honestly its too difficult for most of my family, kids and adults alike, to really get into.
It for sure is a looker, sounds great too, the build quality was alot better than I was expecting after the ACDC debacle and Transformers problems. It took me about two months of playing to see all the game has to see, and it just doesnt justify its own cost in my gameroom. I mean you can spend more than the cost of a nice williams game just on mods alone. The game is fast and furious, I love Quorra multiball, and am not dogging the game at all, its just not my style, I enjoy BSD more than Tron for that one more game type feeling.
PS. no I am not an old fart...

My Tron will be coming up on two years in my gameroom soon. Still love the game and it isn't going anywhere. I had played it a bunch on location first, and it took a while for it to click with me. But once it did I ordered one up. I've taken days off from work trying to get to the portal. But of course, some people love it, and some people don't. But really... two years in my house? Yeah, fun game.

To me, Tron is the High Speed of modern pins. Fast, flowing, simple, but timelessly fun.

My High Speed and Tron sit right next to each other for a reason.

Fact: The scoop actually shrinks in size when portal is lit.

I am more of an old school '80's SS kind of guy, but with that said...Tron Rocks! It's a long term keeper in my collection.

Get LOTR instead if you are looking for long lastabelity, oh and nice long ball times.
On lotr, when i play it for maby 40mins and destroy the ring, i get my faily pinfix and are satisfied.

On tron, it screams one more game, one more game and its popular for that. My problem was too short ball times pr game and not enough satisfiction, its hard to explane with my bad english but hope you get my point

I have pin ADD and have gone through pins fast. I've had Tron for almost two years (sold it briefly and had to have it back). It has extremely good lastability.

There is something about Tron that you just can't describe in words. The rules are relatively simple, so you would think it would tire quickly. It is exactly the opposite. Maybe it is the layout or the shots required to complete the modes. Maybe it is the light show or the badass music. Who really knows? It is just one of those games that has the "it" factor. When I have friends over that actually play pinball and understand the game we always migrate towards Tron. All of our best competitive games are played on Tron. I love my Tron and so does everybody else. Truly a masterpiece.

Definitely one of Stern's stronger titles. As you are not a Tron fan (I do think that helps), I would suggest you play it some more and see if you have the same opinion. Overall, I think the shots and modes are interesting and well integrated. It's not the deppest game, but there is enough there to keep your attention for a while. Would definitely consider it a good game to have.

That said -- I am biased since I am a Tron (movie) fan. However, am also a huge IJ fan and that game was a huge let down.

It was my first and only NIB to date. Sold it 7 months ago after about 6 months of ownership. Bought another one tonight . I missed it. After owning a number of games I realized how good it really was.

Is this a serious question??

Tron is beyond awesome. Plays fast and you do not play in the grid, you survive in it.

Day one owner here with over 4000+ plays on her; with all those plays, she still doesn't get/feel old.
Just the usual monthly maintenance/upkeep to keep her purring; hopefully with luck, she'll go way beyond those totals in the future. My TRON (besides the almighty Scared Stiff), still gets the lion's share of total plays when people come to visit.
Rest assured jfh,
TRON has staying power!

It "requires" mods?

image.jpg

Got a HUO one here for sale if there's any interest. Could possibly bring to Expo with a deposit up front.

John P. Dayhuff
Battle Creek, Mi.
269-979-3836

I bought mine a month ago and it is a keeper. Of course I am a fan of Tron.

Absolutely phenomenal pin. Will never sell it. Be prepared to drop some coin on mods though.... Just the arcade mod alone is over 200 bucks. Ouch. But soooooo worth it IMHO.

I burned out on Tron. Mine was an HUO, modded beauty and I swore I'd never get rid of it (like all my other pins!). But alas, it's gone. May pick one up down the road, but not while there's so many other pins I haven't owned.

Enjoy!

I owned one for a couple of months and its a good game but got boring pretty quick and I sold it with no regrets.

that's what she said.

I've been playing TRON almost daily for about a year and a half now. It never seems to get old. There's always a challenge to do better. Plus, the visuals, sounds, and overall fun factor are top notch. I've been to Portal about 30 times now and the adrenaline rush of trying to complete SOS is always there. No other game brings this out in me like this one. A true keeper.

I play Tron more than any other game I own. The gameplay is so addictive, it's like crack. Plus, if you ever start to get bored of it, just shove 4 glow balls in there, and it's a whole new experience!