I'll go first. As much as I LOVE the theme I feel Funhouse has the most boring Lawlor design. Want to get the ball to your upper left flipper? Don't shoot it through the pops, shoot the lock shot, it's a much safer and you can hit the side shots better. Theres no reason to target the right side of the playfield at all. Lawlor, much love, but thank god for Rudy- without him the game would be a snoozefest.

I agree with you on all points except Hobbit..my fav JJP is another unpopular opinion... WOZ.

All my local friends *HATE* WOZ - and to their point I get it, we had it at our local bar for a year or two and it wasn't a particularly good playing example. The theme for me though is just incredible and has many unique concepts in one game. It does have the issue I have with all JJP games though... a lot of flipping with a convoluted "end goal" which sometimes just happens, you have no idea why, or how you got there.

I agree with you on the Pinsound point- EXCEPT Data East games. Something about the soundcard they used... really grinds my gears.

Wasn't the original art like a cheesy black and white disaster movie? (Hence the spider value and such) I'd love to see how it got so mangled as a concept. If they kept it as a disaster movie (like GZ) I think it would have sold way more games. It's a shame, cuz it's a great shooting game.

I totally agree with you there- Byproduct of years of dive bars.

Yes everyone... keep it civil. It's literally a thread called unpopular opinions. Take the downvotes as a badge of honor. To quote Rudy (going full circle here) "Hey... it's only pinball"

Whoa whoa whoa, I wouldn't say by far. the original has an orb painted in that shows the player in the reflection. Probably the coolest art "easter egg" in pinball.

Another hot take- Lights Camera Action is deeper, has more mechs and is more fun than any Bally/Williams of the time- if Gottlieb stayed on course and didn't go "street level" they could have rivaled B/W in the early 90s.

Fathom- classic for 1981. Killer art package. But shooting it... I don't care what kind of 2.0 code Mermaid edition is- you can't recode the shots.

It's the sole reason I sold my POTO. I watched someone miss the skill shot (which is the best way to start multiball) nudge the ball so it drains down the middle, and the game will give you a skill shot again. I tried it...sure enough, it works. You can even drain multiple times. Totally killed the game for me.

I'd take Adele over Billie Eilish anyday...

Using Rush members as voice actors was a bad idea. Callouts sound uninspired and borderline sarcastic. Watching the reveal I'm getting flashbacks to 24 and Chloe's "Jackpahht..." WHERE'S CHRIS GRANNER WHEN WE NEED HIM?

Yeah, a lot of respect for Walter Day, and I appreciate his part in video game history, but pinball trading cards... those poor trees that sacrificed their lives... for THAT.... I'm just sad.

Here's an unpopular opinion (at least with my friends):

Fishing > Golfing > Hunting

I respect hunters but it's a ton of waiting for a couple minutes of fun and then.... all the work.

I'd go farther and say Hockey > Basketball - or pretty much most sports. Just a really well regulated game with not a lot of stopping and starting. And shootouts are cool, sorry all you purists.

All award shows are unwatchable. Any of the EGOTs are just circle jerk pageants that just help pad each other's resumes.

I absolutely DESPISE 2.0 kits. They make me sad and angry at the same time. Best part of Funhouse is the art package, the voice of Rudy and Granners brilliant soundtrack. By adding a completely unnecessary new code (game is still clunky to shoot) you've taken the soul out of the game. I refuse to buy a 2.0 kit, and won't support a company building them. Want a new code? Build more games!!! I'm on board with Fathom Mermaid edition because they are putting more games into the world, but there's only a finite supply of the ones we have, we should preserve them. Bride of Pinbot 2.0 is a travesty and if Python was still alive there would be hell to pay...

80s Gottliebs are better tournament games than 80s Williams games.

Uh... can be get back to pinball related opinions here? I mean... we're kinda on a pinball site.

TMNT has been a slow burn for me in tournament play. HATED it initially, then was meh, now it's one of my favorites. The callouts/music/sound is absolutely dreadful but the game is fun to shoot and it's got a ton more depth/strategy than people give it credit for.