seawitch
radical
rollergames
monopoly
devils dare

Wow, I'm seeing a lot of pins in the top 100 listed as underrated. Seems like if you are in that space, you are rated pretty high.

Going backwards from the end of Pinside's Top 100 (351), here are my picks:

Cybernaut (338) A rare game with a unique and challenging layout. The outlanes can be brutal. Great 1980s futuristic theme.

Black Pyramid (327) Inline drops with backhand from right.

Gold Wings (323) Another unique layout. Cheesy theme and translite (Top Gun knockoff). Bottom arch design creates potential for intentional Lazarus saves. Multiple horseshoe shots feel good and design lends itself to several intentional careen (bank) shots.

Dolly Parton (311) Played a beautiful and brutal example at TPF with dangerous outlanes. Inline drops light spinner and advance bonus multiplier. Another theme that turns people off, but the gameplay is there.

Time Fantasy (241) - Another rare game, but this one has a Psychadelic theme. Build up "snail time" with the lit inlane rollover (yes, you can Shatz it). Spell TIME to start snail time and you have unlimited ball saves for up to 95 seconds. Ball 3 and you haven't spelled TIME? That's pressure.

My vote goes to Rocky and Bullwinkle, as it rarely even gets mentioned!

Glad to see someone else Thinks Hollywood Heat and Genesis are under rated.
That said:
Genesis
Hollywood Heat
Laser Cue
Solar Fire
Medusa

I think you forgot about Barbwire, embarrassing theme, terrible art, ridiculous backglass-but fun as hell!

I also really like my 24, it has a simple layout with great shots. Sometimes less is more.

Please give reasons for your picks to educate the rest of why the games deserve more love.

Another vote for Rollergames here. I actually like the theme (it's either fun and cheesy and/or nostalgic depending on your age), and it's fun to play and the callouts, music/sounds, and theme integration are awesome (what a great idea to have the locked balls spin around like rollerskaters). If I compare the price I paid with the fun factor/overall enjoyment of my pins, Rollergames is highly underrated, in my opinion.

Bad Cats- People say the only thing to do is hit the left ramp and while that ramp is loaded with points, their are some other really neat shots and features. Music is EXCELLENT too.

Nice analysis and categorizing

I think Johnny Mnemonic is the most overrated underrated game. If that makes any sense.

Maverick
Nascar
Popeye
Sega Harley Davidson
To me all of these games are way more fun than their current “ranking”

NBA Fastbreak
Who Dunnit
Maverick
Monopoly

Gottlieb Circus. Well rendered theme. People diss the gameplay and admittedly it does play slow, like an EM, but it rewards good shotmaking. A good flow game.

The sounds could be better, but it does have a cool attract mode that calls out periodically...not many titles from that era had that.

I agree 99% with this, except NBA Fastbreak. I've played it over 30 times and still don't get it.

My vote is for RCT. Call me a douche if you want, but I really like this game.

1978 Gottlieb Blue Note (and add-a-ball counterpart, Rock Star) are among the best playing wedgeheads. Yet, neither game appears on Pinsiders top 100 EM list.

These low production games are less well known and tend, for that reason, to garner little attention and appreciation. Perhaps they fall into the "unrated" as opposed to "underrated" category.

Baywatch is underrated. It's just a lot of fun to play.
The oversize ColorDMD LED coming soon for it may make it more appealing to own.

Barb Wire should be collectible. The last Gottleib and was made in low numbers.

X-files can be brutal due to the narrow ramps, but should appeal to fans of the show.

I own all three of these games and they are better than a lot of other games out there.

DE Jurassic Park: The Dinosaur eats the ball! Addams family rules with Whirlwind layout.
Last Action Hero: List the pros and cons of this on paper next to the Addams family and tell me who's under-rated.
Demolition Man: Packed game for little buck. Only game built for tall guys.
Black Knight 2000: Constantly has a line at the local arcade.
DE The Simpsons: Hard and fast playing game with a great theme.

Had Hollywood Heat and sold it.

Its a great period piece and does well in larger collection is the best I will state.

Lock ball one
Lock ball two
Start multiball, drain

Rinse and repeat.

Once was enough, no thanks. It has the honor of rotating out of my collection faster than any other game.

LOL,

I think, I am starting to collect the under valued.

1990’s B/W’s dmd’s

I500. A speed pin, a lot timed activities, with a lot of shots, different modes (12 of them), bright colors, cool sound, ramps that are satisfying to make, cool toys (turbo, rotating I500 car), not too many of them around.

Dr Who. Great ramp shots. If not the first , one of the early games that allow you to select mode options ( the doctors), cool topper that integrates well with the game, sonic booms, a real cool play field toy that raises and lowers. Can be improved dramatically with pinsound, color DMD and alt translight.

2000’s Sterns

Avatar. another speed pin, lots of color( play field/cabinet), good code depth, stackable multi balls, beautiful 3D backglass , outstanding callouts from the movie, outstanding pin recorded callouts by one of the movie’s actors, great light show, good use of movie clips on the DMD. An immersive pin.

Avengers LE. A really beautiful pin ( yes must be dialed in by the home user), 4 really satisfying shots (B/W ramp, IM loop, Captain America loop, Hawkeye ramp), the Hulk toy/ Multiball is excellent ( Hulk hits the ball between his hands ), great Hulk callouts/ taunts, great use of the flashers/light show. Game weaknesses can be dramatically improved with mods ( clear inlane plastics, Tesseract cube replacement, pin callouts)

Mustang,( man I miss mine). Speed pin with lots of shots, risk reward decisions on multiballs, cool dots, great sound. Music can be inter changed.

Recent Pins

Hobbit. The most immersive pin I have played / own. Yes open play field, but over 30 shots that need to be made, 30 plus modes, 3 wizard modes. Best use of movie assets in pinball.

A new one, but , Munsters. Beautiful pin, smooth shots, 3 level game (topper, play field, mini play field). Excellent use of the mini play field, risk / reward decisions on super jack pots, nice light show, funny taunts/ Call outs, a points pin versus mode based pin ( stackable strategy that reminds me of BSD). Will get even better with a code update

1. Safe Cracker
2. Apollo 13
3. Batman Forever
4. Star Wars Trilogy
5. Robocop

Apollo 13 is awful
ITS NOT MY FAULT!

I think it's pretty fun, I'd place it in the top 5 Sega machines. Also has the coolest multiball mode in all of pinball.

As the thread has already been resurrected, let's go with the flow...

I saw sopranos and monopoly being mentioned earlier here and I have to agree, both are fun to play and one rarely find them to play.

Monopoly is not super great, but I actually find it funnier to play than many other Stern pins from the same era. It's got a nice vibe/theme and it has stuff I've never seen before on any other pin like that rotating flipper bat and a super quick habitrail on the left side returning the ball directly in front (not behind as all other games aredoing it) of the slingshot! It also has a good bash toy with the bank door and some fitting DMD animations.

Sopranos is just fun, guess it's the theme that does it for me. The boat is a nice detail and the splitting safe is good too.

I also really like Junkyard, not sure if it can really be called underrated seeing it cost quite a lot to buy nowadays but I very seldom find one to play on location, hence the underrated feeling. I like that wrecking ball and the overall theme. It's a nice looking game and who doesn't like to sink a ball in the toilet. It doesn't have any pop bumpers which apparently turn some people off but I couldn't care less as the rest of he pin is fun. It is a bit open/less populated but on the other hand it makes the shots easier to shoot with less obstructing things in the way.

I’m going to go outside of the box a bit and say Rob Zombie. They didn’t make many (300) so I’m guessing not a lot of people have played it. I will say if you don’t like Rob Zombie or that type of music, you probably won’t like it. With that being said, it’s a lot of fun and has such a great sense of humor. It probably has the best call outs in all of pinball. It’s tough but at the same time doable. I have a Stranger Things, that I really enjoy, and I enjoy Rob Zombie just as much. It’s just different in a good way. A lot of people crap on it, which I think isn’t justified. It’s not perfect but it is definitely underrated!

If you are talking about the 13 ball drop that just overpowers the flippers, not.

The stupid 13 ball? Uff.

Like Orbiter 1, it's kinda fun the first time.

Rob Zombie
Surf n' Safari
BDK
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Stern Indiana Jones

tough crowd, tough crowd...

Pretty much every game made prior to System 11 is underrated.

1) Hardbody
2) BMX - Mostly on the list because I want to vote for Hardbody twice.
3) Monopoly
4) Wipe Out
5) Title Fight

Starship Troopers
The Beatles
X-Files
Hot Wheels
The Flintstones

Wonka...

X Files- extremely underrated. It's the flowy-est DE/Sega there is. Also the code is pretty deep with multiple multiballs, a tricky wizard mode, etc.
Both Champion Pub/Who Dunnit - code is lacking but fun shooters. And the music is GREAT!
Stern Stingray. More charm than Stars. Artwork is cheesy but fun, has drop targets and chimes, what's not to love?
Speaking of early chimes games- Any early Bally SS with chimes is great. Eight Ball is great. Strikes and Spares is great. Simple rules, brutal as hell. Mata Hari also has a simplistic grace to it. Practice your tap pass on it, it's actually really fun.
Gottlieb Bad Girls - it's just dumb fun with a great soundtrack.

I oddly enjoyed playing 24. Hard to find, but fun and full-featured game.

It's currently #303 on the top 100.

It changes for me as time goes on .... But lately...I find Freddy: A Nightmare On Elm Street and Airborne underrated....