Ghostbusters (LE)
Stern, 2016
Ghostbusters (Premium)
Stern, 2016What's the last pin that Stern put out that was truly loaded under the glass? There are arguments to be made, but I'd say Ghost Busters from 2016 was the last fully-loaded game from them. It's a like a Bally/Williams it's so full of mechs, and theme, and just "stuff". Even the Pro is packed. What do you guys think? I'd love to hear some more opinions.
GB Playfield1 (resized).jpg
That was a great response! Made me LOL for sure.
Quoted from Billy16:[quoted image]
I just listed every Stern since 2016, but since we've had a few votes for older games, I added an extra category for miscellaneous older games.
Quoted from Billy16:[quoted image]
Orbitor 1 love!!!
Truly the most underrated Stern
JP Prem/LE gets my vote because it's the LAST loaded Stern IMO.
If the question was, which Stern is the MOST loaded I would vote GB Prem/LE. That pin has a ton of features, mechs, gadgets, toys. Loaded!
With nearly 100 participants, it's interesting to see how the votes are shaking out. Ghostbusters is in the lead by a wide margin, followed by JP, with honorable mentions for Elvira3 and Simpson's Pinball Party.
You should add walking dead to the poll. You have mostly spike games listed, and that’s where things started going downhill. Metallica and acdc also had a lot in them.
Quoted from imagamejunky:JP Prem/LE gets my vote because it's the LAST loaded Stern IMO.
If the question was, which Stern is the MOST loaded I would vote GB Prem/LE. That pin has a ton of features, mechs, gadgets, toys. Loaded!
This... but you stacked the poll by putting GB first and posting a pic of it.
GB definitely has a packed playfield.. how many actual mechs does it have ?
The ghost echo goggles thing is pretty cool, but that’s Premium only, yes?
Quoted from razorsedge:TSPP was the last.
That is fully loaded! ... Have we seen 5 playfield flippers in stern since?..
Family Guy would be the closest, but 2 were mini playfield flippers.
Not everyone might define meaning of " loaded" the same. I believe pirates of the carrabean raised the bar. Simpsons or game of thrones might be the closest competition.
Quoted from TKDalumni:This... but you stacked the poll by putting GB first and posting a pic of it.
Well, I started with Ghostbusters and went forward to present day. My thinking was that very few people would argue that GB isn't "loaded", but that there might be some argument as to whether or not any other newer Sterns were as loaded as GB. And I obviously couldn't add every Stern ever made to the poll. Other people are free to post their PF pics. In fact, I'd love to see some playfield pics along with some supporting statements for other nominees.
Truth be told, it never crossed my mind that people would say a game as old as TSPP (2003) was the last fully-realized Stern game! Interesting.
Here's a pic of the JP playfield. Can anyone sell my on why you consider it loaded? JP has great shots, and great rules, but it still feels a bit empty to me. Particularly on the pro.
I know that the dinosaur mech is cool (which is missing from the Pro), but for me, I feel like JP would need some pop-up dinosaurs, or some magna-saves/slings, or a bit more "something" to feel completely loaded. I wonder if even simply having assets and call-outs from the movie would push it to packed/loaded status? That's one thing I love about GB, is all the clips from the movie. That adds to the feeling of the pin not being a compromise in any way.
surprised no one is saying metallica, prem/le that is. hammer lock, coffin subway, snake with opening and closing mouth, graveyard with cross that rises out of the pf, sparky up the middle. then all the flow in the shots with the metal ramps. i vote for metallica easily
Quoted from DakotaMike:Here's a pic of the JP playfield. Can anyone sell my on why you consider it loaded? JP has great shots, and great rules, but it still feels a bit empty to me. Particularly on the pro.
What? R U out of ur tree sir.
Also who cares if the game is loaded or not if its fun to play? IM is one of the best pins I've ever played and its pretty barren. JP which is a loaded pin is also very fun to shoot but I don't consider it more fun than IM because of that fact. Whats the point of this?
Quoted from DakotaMike:Here's a pic of the JP playfield. Can anyone sell my on why you consider it loaded? JP has great shots, and great rules, but it still feels a bit empty to me. Particularly on the pro.
I know that the dinosaur mech is cool (which is missing from the Pro), but for me, I feel like JP would need some pop-up dinosaurs, or some magna-saves/slings, or a bit more "something" to feel completely loaded. I wonder if even simply having assets and call-outs from the movie would push it to packed/loaded status? That's one thing I love about GB, is all the clips from the movie. That adds to the feeling of the pin not being a compromise in any way.
[quoted image]
I still can't unsee the T-Rex eating that bolt on the slingshots whenever I look at JP. I would have to replace those with darker bolts if I owned one.
Quoted from DakotaMike:Here's a pic of the JP playfield. Can anyone sell my on why you consider it loaded? JP has great shots, and great rules, but it still feels a bit empty to me. Particularly on the pro.
I know that the dinosaur mech is cool (which is missing from the Pro), but for me, I feel like JP would need some pop-up dinosaurs, or some magna-saves/slings, or a bit more "something" to feel completely loaded. I wonder if even simply having assets and call-outs from the movie would push it to packed/loaded status? That's one thing I love about GB, is all the clips from the movie. That adds to the feeling of the pin not being a compromise in any way.
[quoted image]
Four ramps go a long way in my book to making it loaded. When is the last time we saw that? Throw in the raptor pen (admittedly more impressive in the prem, but still a great ball lock area in the pro), a completely new/unique rotating captive ball device, and in the case of the prem/LE a moving, ball gobbling, dinosaur. Yeah...that's loaded in my book, especially in an era where the vast majority games are two ramps feeding opposite flippers, an outside orbit, and a few standard things thrown in between (don't get me wrong...I still like most of those too..but if TMNT is one more IronMetallicGuardians clone, I'm going to be sad).
Quoted from Jediturtle:Four ramps go a long way in my book to making it loaded. When is the last time we saw that? Throw in the raptor pen (admittedly more impressive in the prem, but still a great ball lock area in the pro), a completely new/unique rotating captive ball device, and in the case of the prem/LE a moving, ball gobbling, dinosaur. Yeah...that's loaded in my book, especially in an era where the vast majority games are two ramps feeding opposite flippers, an outside orbit, and a few standard things thrown in between (don't get me wrong...I still like most of those too..but if TMNT is one more IronMetallicGuardians clone, I'm going to be sad).
I have to agree. It seems like they really took advantage of the pf real estate and then added some really cool toys and mechs plus it has 4 ramps which really adds to it. No one walks away from the premium thinking man Stern really stripped this one as usual.
Quoted from Hazoff:What? R U out of ur tree sir.
Also who cares if the game is loaded or not if its fun to play? IM is one of the best pins I've ever played and its pretty barren. JP which is a loaded pin is also very fun to shoot but I don't consider it more fun than IM because of that fact. Whats the point of this?
Oh yeah, this isn't a "What was the last fun/great Stern" thread. I was inspired to start this thread, because I played a GB on location a couple weeks ago, and as I was playing I was struck by how packed the machine felt. I really felt like there was nothing more that really could have been added to the machine. And GB was made only back in 2016, which is pretty recently. And yet, it doesn't feel like anything was removed or trimmed to get to a BOM. Even on the Pro.
And yet, as time goes on, Stern has been accused of being more and more budget conscious, and providing less and less value with their machines. And so I thought I'd see what other pinsiders thought. Because for me, GB feels like the last no-compromise machine from Stern. It has the art, assets, rules, and layout. I feel like with every release since, I can find some sort of compromise that was made, or something lacking in one of these areas, in order for Stern to get to a certain price/cost. But like I said, I could be wrong, which is why I wanted to see what the rest of the community thought in this thread.
Quoted from DakotaMike:Oh yeah, this isn't a "What was the last fun/great Stern" thread. I was inspired to start this thread, because I played a GB on location a couple weeks ago, and as I was playing I was struck by how packed the machine felt.
Yet u didn't get that from JP? you see that's what makes me question the motive, then again I don't particularly care. 
Quoted from Hazoff:Yet u didn't get that from JP? you see that's what makes me question the motive, then again I don't particularly care.
Nope, I didn't! But the only JP near me is a Pro, so that could affect things a little. Regardless, part of my point is that on GB both the Pro and Prem. feel loaded to me. Either way JP is a great game, no question.
Quoted from DakotaMike:Nope, I didn't! But the only JP near me is a Pro
I had a pro its pretty loaded but I guess ur talking molded plastic stuff. That never mattered to me with pinball, neither did a lot of mechs and subways etc. Played plenty of games with lots of stuff and gimmicks that didn't last long and many games with very little in the way of these things that I loved like BK3 and StarWars.
Quoted from DakotaMike:Here's a pic of the JP playfield. Can anyone sell my on why you consider it loaded? JP has great shots, and great rules, but it still feels a bit empty to me. Particularly on the pro.
I know that the dinosaur mech is cool (which is missing from the Pro), but for me, I feel like JP would need some pop-up dinosaurs, or some magna-saves/slings, or a bit more "something" to feel completely loaded. I wonder if even simply having assets and call-outs from the movie would push it to packed/loaded status? That's one thing I love about GB, is all the clips from the movie. That adds to the feeling of the pin not being a compromise in any way.
[quoted image]
First thing I saw in your post was the picture. My first thought was, ‘man that game is loaded - inserts, wire forms, shots, Jeep toy, rapture cage, moving T-Rex’ what a masterpiece. Then, I read what you posted, and was like wtf... 
‘
Nobody is talking Batman 66. It has all metal Ramps and wireforms, The turntable with all that going on with the targets, phone, batmobile spinner, the batvision screen, the penguin crane, the action button that definitely matters in this game, physical ball lock, etc...
Also it has a magnet
Quoted from Eskaybee:First thing I saw in your post was the picture. My first thought was, ‘man that game is loaded - inserts, wire forms, shots, Jeep toy, rapture cage, moving T-Rex’ what a masterpiece. Then, I read what you posted, and was like wtf... ‘
I feel like I've quantified, for me at least, what makes a game feel "loaded under the glass" all ready. It's a combination of mechs, art, assets, ramps, and layout. And it's also just a feeling that you get while you're playing. And so I don't think a picture of the PF alone is enough to make that determination. I think you have to consider all trim levels as well, not just the higher-levels.
The word that comes to mind for me when thinking about a loaded game is...uncompromising.
I think GB is the perfect example for me of looking "loaded" but failing short on game mechanics/gameplay. JP blows it out of the water in every way imo. I don't care which one has more coils or more bullet points on a piece of paper. Even a game like SW which get a lot of heat for being stripped of features is pretty fun. I would take that over GB all day every day. I know some people love GB and that's the thing. What we like in games is all subjective and has nothing to do with coil count.
Thought I would bump this b/c after godzilla and it’s plastic “mechs” and stagnant GZ pickle, Ghostbusters continues to be the most loaded stern by a LONG shot. Mechs -
slimer
goggles
Custom city pops
underneath metal ramp
magna slings!
multiple custom sculpt
two captive balls,
two scoops
Full assets
prob more I left off. GB beats them all, even JP with that super cool mech.
Here’s the question - what was it about GB that stern said let’s just blow this shit up? It’s like the BOM was changed by mistake and they couldn’t take it back b/c it’s so much more than the rest. I don’t remember what the next stern was about GB but obviously that increase in BOM didn’t continue.
Yeah GZ is pretty loaded for a Stern, as a consumer it's still hard to justify buying over a similarly priced JJP, but they have definitely upped the game. Most loaded since TSPP/LOTR and certainly on-par with the latest Spooky. Where they need to gain ground is in the lighting. Every light should be RGB by now, those aren't expensive any longer.
Having said that, if I'm Stern I don't change a single thing. If folks are buying a cheaper to produce product at increased prices then just ride the wave Gary and team! Well done Stern, wish you were publicly traded.
Quoted from jarozi:it's still hard to justify buying over a similarly priced JJP
No its not. It really comes to taste not justification cause of cheesy gimmicks and fancy light shows. GnR is a boring pinball machine all the lighting in the world can't save that. I'll take a BKSOR at the same price any day.
Quoted from delt31:It’s like the BOM was changed by mistake and they couldn’t take it back b/c it’s so much more than the rest.
I think its more a case of case of the designer working with in the budget hes given.
Quoted from delt31:Thought I would bump this b/c after godzilla and it’s plastic “mechs” and stagnant GZ pickle, Ghostbusters continues to be the most loaded stern by a LONG shot. Mechs -
slimer
goggles
Custom city pops
underneath metal ramp
magna slings!
multiple custom sculpt
two captive balls,
two scoops
Full assets
prob more I left off. GB beats them all, even JP with that super cool mech.
Here’s the question - what was it about GB that stern said let’s just blow this shit up? It’s like the BOM was changed by mistake and they couldn’t take it back b/c it’s so much more than the rest. I don’t remember what the next stern was about GB but obviously that increase in BOM didn’t continue.
After Ghostbusters there was an increase for the LCD screen for Aerosmith. Godzilla has full assets and then some. Full clips and audio from 10 classic Showa era Godzilla, plus BOC Godzilla. It looks like in addition to the assets they let them manipulate things any way they wanted. The theme sounds like an expansion of Monster Zero with the aliens. As a life long Godzilla fan I am extatic. I love Ghostbusters, but when I had a choice I chose Aerosmith. I didn't like the theme as much. I chose it for the LCD, the toy box, and I didn't like the way Ghostbusters shoots compared to it. That said I do think Ghostbusters is a great game and if I had bought it instead, it might still be in my collection. Godzilla is fully loaded, has more than full assets, and looks beautiful.
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