Played one on location last week. It was actually quite fun! I just despise the theme.

Theme. Plain and simple.

Its a great layout and a fun shooter but..............

To each their own I suppose, the theme is my favorite part of the game. The layout is fun, and it plays well enough but the theme is the main reason I plan on keeping it.

Teenage Nutant Minja Turtles? Lol

In all seriousness, I think it is a few things combined (economy, locations closing, pins being released, holiday cash funds, etc).

I really like TMNT. I grew up with them, so I'm a bit nostalgic. My only "issue" with it (if you want to call it that. It's not really an issue for me) is that I wish the artwork wasn't as cartoony looking. I don't really see this as a reason for people selling them off, mind you. I'm just mentioning it since you said you are a potential buyer.

Don't worry as long as you like to play it. Less cost is a GOOD thing.

It's a totally hit or miss theme. I personally am not into LZ's music. I mean it's ok, but I don't own a single album nor have I downloaded a single track. Many people aren't into TMNT. But I am as I grew up with the show, and my son grew up with the Nick remake series. For us, it's a perfect theme, a great package for the Pro model, and the Co-op allows us to play as a team. Dwight has also added 2 new great modes (one in game, and one separate) allowing us to have different ways to play. My only gripe is that to get to the wizard mode you need to collect Krang combo, and Triple Mondo jackpot and those are near impossible. You're better off skillfully draining at the beginning of a MB, hoping some fall back through the Krang loop, and then hit the center ramp to hope you just backdoored into one or both of those.

But overall, unless you have a theme that encompasses almost all generations (Star Wars, Star Trek, Spiderman...etc.) you're going to have a targeted theme which will turn off some buyers (IMDN, MET, Munsters). The core audience will have to support the more polarizing ones and therefore probably need stronger game play to make it a success. TMNT isn't a theme for everyone, but for those who it is for, typically end up loving the game play.

I’m 36. The theme is PERFECT for me. Shots and rules are good.
For me, it’s the “Spike” aspect. I’ve spent more than I would have ever wanted to spend starting w/ WWE pin on those dumb node boards that makes me not want to have one of the new pins for more than 3-6 months. It’s literally “hot potato” pinball for me.

What model are you seeing people unloading at discount prices? There is one pro at $4800 for sale right now and the rest I see along with archived ones are priced right in line with other newer games. It was the first game available after COVID hit so many after cabin fever jumped in prematurely not getting to play it first, that and LZ just coming out may be why your seeing an uptick in games for sale.

Game is on the harder side. Ball times are short until you learn how to play the game and you need to be a player to properly enjoy the game. I think it is Borgs best design since TWD. For me, the game is a winner. I like to make my own mind up about a game after 300 or 400 games.

I'm brand new with this hobby. I bought my first two pins this year, with turtles being my second. I wasn't a big fan of turtles at first and wanted to get rid of it almost less than a month in from purchasing. My wife convinced me to give it more time, and I slowly started getting the shots down and with the new code updates, I have been loving it more and more each day. I don't have much to compare it to but it I'm really having a good time and a lot of fun playing this game. I'm 36 so theme was perfect for me and my friends and family have really been enjoying it too.

I’d be all over a TMNT pro over here in California for $4800. I keep seeing Congo going for $5k+ which is just plain ridiculous.

Played it a few times and it super fast and fun. Theme is an A+ for me as I grew up with the TMNT cartoons and the movie. I just purchased and Avengers and I think that game is awesome. Elwin is the GOAT plain and simple. Love the fact that they stuck with the comic theme instead of trying to incorporate the movie.

Dream theme for me, but if you do something based on nostalgia, you’ve gotta meet the nostalgic criteria. Fake voices when the entire cast minus 1 is still alive is a choice I will never understand. With original cast, I would have bought one. Fake voices = no interest.

I’ve been playing at Pro since launch and I am not a turtles fan at all. I fell in love with the game the first game I played.

I purchased a pro last weekend and I am very pleased with the game . It is brutal fast and the shots are awesome at least to me they are.

I'm not a fan of the theme and I'm still not sure what shots I'm aiming for. I do like the new Half Shell Challenge. Makes me learn the shots. I enjoyed Avengers more. Need to come play your premium. Pretty sure the one you might be looking at is only being sold because there is no location for it to be put on.

yah theme for me.. this one and Avengers just had no appeal so had to be amazing playing to make me want one.

Didnt happen.

There are a few games where the theme sucks for me but game play makes it worth it but not many.

Mid-late 30s. I was obsessed with TMNT as a kid but no way I would put one in my house. Too kiddy of a theme.

NO INTEREST in TMNT's theme for me personally as it is a kiddie cartoon that I didn't grow up with and have no emotional connection with as a result. In fact, I can't recall a new Stern game that I have paid less attention to (although Stranger Things comes close). On top of that, due to COVID, I've had no opportunity to see in person or play it which doesn't help either.

That said, I understand that other pinheads did grow up with TMNT and are excited about it. It's all good, and to each their own.

I had an LE and got rid of it after 3 months. I loved it at first but it just frustrated the hell out of me. Im a mediocre player and the slight misses on ramps would always go straight to the huge outlanes(especially left). And you could do amazing combos but if your not in the right mode you get basically nothing. But i loved most the shots, plunge, artwork. I probably shouldve given more time.

Also the diverter was mostly useless....when AIQ came out I decided to jump on that instead. I may try getting another one down road but would be a pro. I wouldnt miss diverter or 8 ball mb. But i would miss the turtle van having 4 balls to come out and start multiball

Unbalanced scoring!

I agree with that. The scoring is terrible, it has gotten better, but it's still not good.

For me, I don't know what it is exactly, but I just don't have a lot of desire to play TMNT and I really like the theme too. I like the art, the missions are handled decently and there is some depth to the code with pizza toppings, but the game does seem to get pretty repetitive for me. The big feature for TMNT seemed to be all the team play / co-op stuff and that honestly doesn't matter to me at all so that doesn't help me love the game any more. I think with newer designers like Elwin and Eric doing so well, it has really highlighted for me the deficiencies in the recent layouts of Borg and Ritchie games. STTNG is probably my favorite game of all time and I still have and love XMLE, so it's not like I don't like their games but their recent offerings just have not wowed me at all like Keith's or Eric's have. When you put layouts like Munsters or Black Knight up against games like JP2, IM, JJP POTC, GNR they are just not even in the same ball park IMO and that's shocking to me because they are two of the all time greats. Maybe they have just become a little too predictable for me. I mean with Borg, you know you are probably going to get a version of a recycled playfield design (Tron-XM-TMNT, MET-GOTG, Munsters-Starship Troopers) that will usually have a main feature long shot up the middle (Prison in TWD, Disc in Tron, Van in TMNT, Groot in GOTG, Sparky in MET, Herman in Munsters, Magneto in XM). And with Steve it seems like you are going to get a barren looking game that is low on features but has lots of flow and usually shoots fast (Star Wars, Black Knight, Game of Thrones, Star Trek and it looks like LZ falls into this too). When it comes to Keith and Eric's games I have no idea beforehand what I am going to get, but it seems like I can count on it being different and that I know I am going to like it.

I have a Premium and it is absolutely one of my favorite pins I have. It is definitely a tough game but I enjoy that it challenges me. I had a Munsters and had to move it pretty quick. It never drew me back in. Turtles has me fighting each time to get a high score or get more progression on modes. The theme was so nostalgic for me and I was in on it from day one. The scoring seems a bit low. I wish there was a more standardized way to log points on different machines. Going from Star Wars to TMNT just makes me feel terrible when I get 20 - 30 million. The machine is fast with lots to hit and flow for days. Definitely a keeper for me. I think you see them being moved currently as it was the first new game out of Covid and now you have MANY other options. Avengers Infinity Quest, GNR, LZ, Alien, Raza and then talks about Toy Story as the next JJP machine. It truly is an amazing time to love pinball. The plus for me is that I love TMNT and it was an easy pass on AIQ, LZ and GNR so I have a little more in my wallet waiting for the right theme to strike me next.

I had a pro and LE sold the pro but that’s for COVID reasons and my locations being shut down.

It’s an amazing game

Great pin.. wish all pinball games had coop and 2v2. Ok.. so kiddie theme.. on a pinball GAME? Its pinball.. is there a "coolness" rule. But star trek and star wars has a super cool factor. Or insert any or all super heros here. Its a cultural icon. I too laughed when I heard about it.. then we played it. That kiddie theme game will kick your A. I think in a good way. Yeah.. the scoring is still unbalanced but a bang for the buck stern Pro. Everyone who comes over plays it and loves it. That's enough reason for it to stay a while.

A lot of people haven't played it yet because it was released while all the barcades and arcades have been shut down. I don't expect to play it until next Summer. We live in weird times man, but if it's a great game I'm sure people will realize it over time once people start playing it in bars and tournaments.

Because AIQ, or GNRJJP, or LZ, or AlienPB, or whatever game after it came out.

This is typical Pinside behavior. Hype a game like a bunch of circle jerks, and then as soon as the next game is even mentioned, dump that previous sucker.

No need to sugarcoat it: it truly is that simple as straight forward an answer.

Also known as "Yesterday's News" syndrome

That left outlane plain and simple

Ehoh, jp, dp, IM all still very popular and hard to find, not many come up for sale. I think it’s the theme, you either love it or don’t. When I had the game, the rules weren’t very easy to figure out and the shots were very tough, making for very short games that made it even harder to figure out the rules. In the end, the theme made me not even want to try anymore so I sold it.

We got a pro right from launch, most of our players like the theme but comment on the drains. Stack that with Stern pumping out a new game every few months and it's old news quick for most attention spans. In a normal setting with lots of public play I'm sure it would be doing great as a location game.

It all comes down to personal preference. I really like Stern TMNT and Stranger Things. Conversely, I’m not a big fan of the new Avengers. Sometimes, you like what you like.

Great game. My wife and I used to play the arcade game at bowling so theme was right up our alley.

Have the pro. The more we’ve owned it the more we love it. Lots to do. Not an easy layout, but what do you want out of pinball. If you want three way combos that make you go whoa! Then this is for you. If you want standard easy two ramp two flipper game then pass this one.

And who gives a fuck how April looks in the game? Voice acting? Come on. I’m reminiscing about something from 30 years ago, over a license that has been rehashed multiple times. It’s a fun game.

Haven't played it yet, but not a fan of the theme, and the art makes me nauseous. However, I play pinball for the game, not for how it looks so I can't wait to give it a try.

Because it’s a $6000-$10,000 toy. At that price, you represent the nostalgia in the best way possible. It used to be cool when licensed pinballs were prestige projects & people from the license were involved. The cast of STTNG in STTNG, Arnold in T2/T3, JK Simmons in Spider-Man, Gary Oldman in Dracula, Seth MacFarlane in FGY, Simpsons cast in TSPP, Elvira in...Elvira lol. If I’m expected to pay so much for a theme I love, I have expectations that need to be met, or I’m buying something else (or nothing).

I think it's the theme and poor coding of the game.

Just bought a pro after not having any machines for the better part of the last 4 years (COVID has f'd up location play). And this title, like most recent stern's keeps getting better with updates. There is love for TMNT

Damn straight. One of the reasons I love Stern's Sopranos game is the actual cast recorded callouts in it.

Has nothing to do with the title!

With pinball, the newest game is always “the best”. They are expensive toys and when people pay the crazy $ for them, they have to justify their purchase by getting on Pinside to tell themselves “others like this” see, I’m not an idiot.

Then, they play the game a few hundred times and think “man, that’s not exactly what I was expecting. How come there’s no new code yet finishing the wizard mode?” Then, it’s up for sale for a couple hundred more or less than what they paid and the vicious cycle continues a few months later or next year when the next title that appeals to the “older male with money” is released.

TMNT is not immune to these trends. Truth is that no machine is immune to this. Pinball is mostly an expensive male hobby filled with nutty people. I don’t care for the game but there are just as many that think it’s great. Don’t let trends or what’s for sale (or not) dictate what pinball is “fun and worth buying” or to justify an expensive toy. Just decide what you enjoy, play it as much as you can before you decide to purchase it, and you will be much better off. Since when does “what’s title is for sale” or “other people’s opinions” of a game influence a purchase? It’s not like you are spending someone else’s money, who cares what they sell or why they sell it?

Sorry but that's just ridiculous. It has everything to do with the title. TMNT is for a select group of fans. Change the the theme to BTTF with the same layout and similar style code, with the draining all that and its a hit. I'll never understand how some pinhsiders can't accept the importance of theme. Its one thing as an on site routed game, I'll play it and enjoy but I'm not buying one for the house. No chance, doesn't matter how well a game shoots if the theme isn't there then its off my radar for purchase.

I have no particular love for the theme, but I played the game on location and really enjoyed it. Fast forward a few weeks and I found one for sale on Craigslist at a good price. Bought it and have fallen in love with it. Even though my collection has a number of "A list games" I find myself playing TMNT the most by far, and not just because it's the newest toy in the toy box as I have picked up more machines since then.

Complete opposite for me. I'll buy a game if the play is good. Example...I think Iron Maiden music sucks ass.....I still bought the game and love playing it.

Right now im limiting myself to 2 games at a time so i can have enough time to get really good at each game and at one point i had TMNT and STpre. TMNT made Star Trek Premium seem like a old game that was a slow grind sitting side by side and made me sell Star Trek very quickly. Upper ramp on TMNT is faster then the Warp ramp on ST, yep i said it! I felt like they were very similar layouts but upper flipper/ramp flipped to other side. The code is excellent on TMNT and the shots are fast and great once you get good enough to hit them which most arent good enough players or dont give the game enough time to find the shots. The table teaches you how to nudge more then any other game ive owned or played. Its the best Borg layout easily to me and i had MET and TWD and played Tron enough. First game in a long long time that i havent found anything i dont like about it and sell after few weeks. Also had a DP pro at same time as TMNT and now a AIQ and TMNT is better then both of them in the adrenaline fun factor.

Well both things can be true. Like you I've owned Maiden and MET, both great games with horrible themes and music. But for sure Theme can hamper a game from going wide and getting a lot of love off the bat, DI for example.
Then you can have the weird one like SW, that theme somehow ended up working against it becasue there were no dolls glued to it...but peeps are finally coming around.
TMNT could end up like that. I only played it a couple times and did not find it interesting at all....but I'd give it some more plays.

I have played +/-600 games on our TMNT Pro, and it's still a blast.
Put it on 4 or 5 balls, wax the playfield and play the s*** out of it.
Love it much more then IMDN Pro (which I owned for 4 months and being a Maiden fan) and Deadpool Pro.
Also owned GOTG Pro and TMNT is a better version of that one to me.
It has co-op, 2 vs 2, Final Battle Mode and Half Shell Challenge!
It's maybe not the "coolest" theme, but man does it shoot great.

Let’s put this into perspective.

So if you have nostalgia for a theme do you pass on the only pin they’re ever going to make for it that’s fun to play? There is no I’ll pass, I’ll wait for the next one.

The layout, rules and code are great.

There have been four series made since the late 80s until present. They are all voiced by different actors. There have been 2 movie franchises. Also with new actors.

So which voices are you going to go for? How do you satisfy the whole public?

The voice acting and even the song are not original. But they are good enough to fool me someone who likes the theme but does not watch the cartoons now because I’m 50. .

Also pinsiders have already replaced the footage with the original series and the original music. So it solves the problem of authenticity. Problem solved. Get the pin.

This is not in the same ball park as Simpsons or Elvira or TWD.

Simpsons I own. Should I have poo pooed it because they could not get Marge or Lisa voiced by Julie Kavner and Yeardley Smith?

TWD had been saved by @cleland. Fantastic game. Should I have passed on this because stern didn’t get the acting rights?

I get a bit tired of people whining about lack of authenticity with pins. I kid you not people announced they were not getting TMNT because April animations looked poor. WTF? At no time when my wife is playing this game does she say “I’m sorry, I just can’t play this anymore until they recode April to look more like the original series”.

I own deadpool, people whine about Ryan Reynolds not doing the voice acting. For a game that is not based on the movies.

Funny thing is 2 of the most popular pins on pinside have very little original voice talent. Pirates and Jurassic park. Go figure.

The game is fun. I think some people beat it up over minor things.

Anyway each to their own, you’re missing out on a fun game that pays homage to the turtles.

Because it isn’t fun...

Yes. My nostalgia is directly tied to the voices & music of the theme the pin is based on. I don’t “need” a TMNT pin. I can live without it.

This argument is irrelevant. This pin is SPECIFICALLY based in the 80s cartoon. If they wanted it to be generic, they would have made it a different version or their own original take.

You have poor attention to detail, and that works for you. I require a strong audio package if I’m going to purchase a pin.

Problem not solved. All voices are still fake. Don’t order me to get a pin.

False equivalency. TSPP doesn’t have fake Marge and fake Lisa. It has tons of authentic characters from the 3 actors they hired. It’s a perfect game & represents the theme well.

Once again - these pins are a lot of money. For the price, people expect good animation & art on the display. If the animation is gonna be worse than the 80s show, why bother making it? Just use the footage. You can’t force people to ignore what their eyeballs see.

Well, you’re perfect for each each other then lol

People like the theme of Deadpool due to the movies & the humor that RR brought to it. That’s absent in the game. Fair critique if that’s what you want in a DP pin.

Pirates has zero personality due to this, another pin I’d never own. JP’s fake voices annoyed me at first, but I’m giving it a pass after I played it. Since the game has created its own narrative & it’s not tied specifically to the movie story - it works.

There are plenty of ways for me to have fun in life. I don’t need any game. It’s up to the pin makers to impress me enough for me to spend this kind of money on unfinished untested games with questionable QC. Everything *I* want must be there for *me* to buy. If you’re happy with what’s there, sweet. You don’t have to dismiss valid critique from potentially buyers.

I don't want to be that guy, but my made up OCD is going nuts. Please fix the title to TMNT.

One thing we agree on. Sorry TMNT didn’t do it for you.

The artwork that zombie yeti has done is superb. The shots created by Borg are fun and challenging. It gives me a rush like TWD. The code by Dwight is great. Lots of variety and co-op and all the modes he has created is awesome. It’s fun to battle through the modes together. A game changer.

My point being even though assets aren’t original, the game still feels like turtles if you aren’t watching the original series and comparing it to that side by side. I don’t have the original series, just enjoyed the turtles craze I experienced in the 90s. I remember the video game, the movie and the song and figurines. The voices, animations and song don’t detract from that. For me the pin is perfect. Did not realise so many grown men actively watch 80s children’s cartoons. Apologies if I offended you by giving my opinion in the first place.

Glad the OP had a variety of opinions to base their decision on.