(Topic ID: 261591)

Wonka or The Hobbit and why?

By xtravgiza

4 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 35 posts
  • 23 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 4 years ago by Doctor6
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

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    Topic poll

    “Wonka or The Hobbit and why?”

    • Hobbit 57 votes
      56%
    • Wonka 44 votes
      44%

    (101 votes)

    #1 4 years ago

    The dust has settled on Wonka, curious today which one you would choose.

    #2 4 years ago

    Hobbit is a long playing game with amazing theme integration. Layout is fine but not amazing.

    Wonka has much shorter play times and a better layout but not as great theme integration.

    I’d probably go with Hobbit personally as I prefer the theme and currently only have faster playing games in my collection so it would complement them well.

    You should add a poll to the thread.

    #3 4 years ago

    What it always come down to for me, fun. I have to say for me that means Wonka. I'll be honest I only have about 25 plays on a Wonka but in that span I can honestly say I enjoyed the game play much more than the Hobbit. I like both games and have a ton more plays on Hobbit, there's just something about the flow of Wonka that appeals to me.

    #4 4 years ago

    I feel that wonka is jjp's worst game of the five. But I'll give the pros to each

    Shots/layout: Wonka
    Rules: hobbit
    Art: hobbit
    Sound: hobbit (this one isn't even close)
    Toys: tie (both weak)

    For me, it is a no brainier. Hobbit is just way better. I'd rank the jjp games as follows: pirates, dialed in, hobbit, woz, Wonka.

    The other thing you must consider is all hobbits came before the playfield quality control issues. Hobbit will assure you no chipping or pooling chances, where with Wonka it can be a strong chance it may happen. Keep all of that in mind.

    #5 4 years ago

    Hobbit is a real love it or hate it type game. I feel that most people don't enjoy it. It's also a shooters game, meaning you really need to dial in your shots. I love the audio visual package, and yes it is wide, but when you get Smaug going (and other things), it is a total blast.

    Having said that, Pat Lawlor is one of my favorite designers. Wonka is fun too. I don't know if I've even ever seen the Wonka movie, but the audio package in the game didn't do it for me. It's all over the place. Hard to compare the two. I'm going to +1 what joelbob said.

    My honest and probably unpopular opinion is that Dialed In would be my Pat Lawlor game of choice based on layout.

    #6 4 years ago

    The Hobbit for me . They got all the movie clips and voices and it has great call outs . You can tell they put so much effort into it , even the action button has at least 6 different options . There are so many modes and so much to shoot for and killing Smug is one of the best moments in pinball . I'm not saying Wonka is a bad game but The Hobbit for me hands down .

    #7 4 years ago

    Need a poll we can gauge responses by as they will pile up on this one I'm sure.

    #8 4 years ago

    My unbiased opinion is Wonka by a mile as I’ve played both a fair amount and do not own either.

    After playing hobbit- I remember not having a desire to play it again. Theme, gameplay, rules, just didn’t grab me.

    After playing wonka- I want to press start again. My preference in layout, theme, rules, etc.

    #9 4 years ago

    Added Poll

    @7.5K it's hard to argue with the value of Wonka, but boy is it an ass-kicker.

    #10 4 years ago

    Another vote for Hobbit here. I like Wonka and I think it has the better layout compared to Hobbit. However, the rules (including rule depth and variety), features, audio effects, music, and use of licensed assets are all superior on Hobbit and for that it gets my vote. Thanks to the final few code updates The Hobbit now has masterpiece level code with a crazy amount of mode depth, and amazing audio work by David Thiel. Speaking of David Thiel there's no doubt that his absence is missed after hearing Wonka. Audio in Wonka is good but it's just not on the same level as the work that David Thiel does.

    Also, and this is kinda hard to describe, but Hobbit just feels more focused while playing it compared to Wonka. Often while playing Wonka there's so many things stacking and modes running that I can't tell what's going on not to mention how I started the mode in the first place. While the Hobbit has mode stacking there are still many moments of just focusing on single objective based modes. Overall Hobbit is one of the best objective based pinball machines ever created.

    #11 4 years ago

    I'd go with monster bash

    #12 4 years ago
    Quoted from PanzerFreak:

    While the Hobbit has mode stacking

    I agree with everything you said , but mode stacking ? As far as I'm aware you can only play one mode at a time , am I missing something .

    #13 4 years ago
    Quoted from screaminr:

    I agree with everything you said , but mode stacking ? As far as I'm aware you can only play one mode at a time , am I missing something .

    A single book mode can be stacked with Beast Frenzy, Feast Frenzy, Smaug MB, and Super Spinner. Multiple book modes cannot be stacked. The 3 Arkenstone modes and super wizard mode are all individual modes that cannot be stacked with anything else.

    #14 4 years ago
    Quoted from PanzerFreak:

    A single book mode can be stacked with Beast Frenzy, Feast Frenzy, Smaug MB, and Super Spinner. Multiple book modes cannot be stacked. The 3 Arkenstone modes and super wizard mode are all individual modes that cannot be stacked with anything else.

    Yep , I thought you meant more than one mode could be played at once . The Hobbit rocks !

    13
    #15 4 years ago

    Everyone raves about Mediaeval Madness and Mars Attacks . I think it's bullshit how everyone bags The Hobbit layout when they are so similar , and the Hobbit has so much more to shoot at . The rules and theme integration are second-to-none . It's the most underrated pinball machine out there .

    #16 4 years ago

    Hobbit is a great change up from other games. The game really is fun and easy to understand. I still can’t understand Wonka like I should. I choose and own hobbit, but would love a Wonka as well.

    -4
    #17 4 years ago

    I can't think of any game that I hated more than Hobbit. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

    The layout absolutely sucks and I hated playing it. I had to force myself to play it when I owned ot. Oh, and did I mention I hated it? Well, I did.

    I actually felt a little guilty selling it thinking no normal person would ever like it either and it was uncool to pass it off onto anyone else.

    I've only played a few games on Wonka and I think it's a decent game.

    #18 4 years ago

    I would chose either if they were fun to play.

    #19 4 years ago
    Quoted from RTS:

    I can't think of any game that I hated more than Hobbit. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
    The layout absolutely sucks and I hated playing it. I had to force myself to play it when I owned ot. Oh, and did I mention I hated it? Well, I did.
    I actually felt a little guilty selling it thinking no normal person would ever like it either and it was uncool to pass it off onto anyone else.
    I've only played a few games on Wonka and I think it's a decent game.

    Just a thought , you should probably play a game before you buy it .

    #20 4 years ago

    Hobbit is more immersive IMO and if it was a pick between the two, I would choose Hobbit. Great "change of pace" pin and functions best in a collection of more than a few pins.

    The first few JJP games were "cinematic", but Wonka broke that mold. Up until PotC, the JJP's are almost in a different category than traditional pinball. Sprawling, immersive experiences - with significant video and sound elements.

    With Wonka, I think you would be better off comparing it to the best Stern offerings of 2019: JP2 and Elvira HOH. Personally, I would choose JP2 or Elvira HOH over Wonka.

    #21 4 years ago

    I have both of them. They each get played depending on the intensity and length of game I want to play. A good game on hobbit is really intense and a challenge with all of the book modes and ranking multipliers. Hobbit is very theme immersive - super excellent job with code, sound, ... the entire package. Completing book modes, killing Smaug, and completing arkenstone mode levels just feels very rewarding and a sense of accomplishment. After a good game (usually pretty long), I still walk away with the "wow" factor after 3+ years of owning it. Wonka is growing on me, a faster game, fairly quick objectives, lots of things to try to accomplish, but less satisfaction when you do accomplish things than Hobbit. Getting past the second golden ticket is a struggle for me, but keeps me trying to figure out how I can get there. The Wonka light shows are really cool (play with the Wonkatania light show settings to change things up a smidge every once in a while and see something different for that). Light show edge goes to Wonka - the RGB lighting helps with that. I don't walk away from Wonka with the "wow" factor as much as Hobbit, but I do press that start button again more often on Wonka than Hobbit. Why? After a really good intense long game on Hobbit, I need to take a break and recoop/recover a bit and reflect on the game. I don't even play other games for a little bit. Hobbit gets the edge between the two for now. Even with that being said, Wonka gets played when I just want to play shorter games and still try to learn some things on it. I have to be "ready for the adventure" to play Hobbit, if you get what I mean.

    #22 4 years ago

    I vote for Wonka because I already have the Hobbit

    #23 4 years ago

    Hobbit all day. Game gets shit on by pinsiders that don't understand the ruleset and/or played it before the big code updates. Best all time theme integration. Best sound design. Amazing light show.

    #24 4 years ago
    Quoted from screaminr:

    Just a thought , you should probably play a game before you buy it .

    Excellent advice.

    I'm guilty of hating it because I had it when the code sucked . But it was so bad that I still cannot get past the crappy open drop target layout.

    #25 4 years ago
    Quoted from screaminr:

    Everyone raves about Mediaeval Madness and Mars Attacks . I think it's bullshit how everyone bags The Hobbit layout when they are so similar , and the Hobbit has so much more to shoot at . The rules and theme integration are second-to-none . It's the most underrated pinball machine out there .

    i don't see any resemblance between mmr/afm and hobbit layout.

    #26 4 years ago

    Hobbit is a fun machine. Wonka is a dud! Might be the worst JJP....right there with WoZ too.

    #27 4 years ago
    Quoted from RTS:

    Excellent advice.
    I'm guilty of hating it because I had it when the code sucked . But it was so bad that I still cannot get past the crappy open drop target layout.

    Shame. You're missing out, but that leaves more for the rest of us.

    #28 4 years ago
    Quoted from Doctor6:

    Shame. You're missing out, but that leaves more for the rest of us.

    More than happy to leave it to the rest of you. For the record, I'm not a JJP hater. Just Hobbit.

    If you want a truly stellar JJP game, play POTC.

    -1
    #29 4 years ago

    Both are good games, but for me Wonka is way better than hobbit.
    Wonka has one of the best playfield lay outs of the last years and an amazing rulesheet.

    -2
    #30 4 years ago

    If you want to look at it and listen to it... Hobbit. If you want to play it, Wonka.

    #31 4 years ago
    Quoted from RTS:

    I can't think of any game that I hated more than Hobbit. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

    Give BBBB a whirl. Or Thunderbirds

    #32 4 years ago
    Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

    If you want to look at it and listen to it... Hobbit. If you want to play it, Wonka.

    That's where I was originally leaning.

    #33 4 years ago
    Quoted from xtravgiza:

    That's where I was originally leaning.

    Don't snooze on Hobbit though. Before putting some time on it, home use, I absolutely hated it. After owning and fully understanding it was a great experience. Great value too.

    -3
    #34 4 years ago

    I can't vote for either of these in good faith. Can we add Metallica to the poll?

    #35 4 years ago
    Quoted from IdahoRealtor:

    I can't vote for either of these in good faith. Can we add Metallica to the poll?

    No. Go be stupid somewhere else.

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