Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum
FLASH!!
(KABOOM)
Ahh ahhhh!!!
Okay, nostalgia for a cheesy 80’s movie with Queen music makes people take notice of the pinball machine.
Would you believe there was a time when Flash Gordon was a big failure?
Thanks to repeated showings on cable (blame Ted Turner) the film became a cult classic.
The pinball had a slightly more favorable reception. I remember the teenagers at the roller rink talking this machine up. “The movie was bad but the pinball is cool!”
8 year old me immediately tried it and it took my quarter in less than a minute.
That’s not fun!!!
Although it was a permanent machine in the roller rink until the day it closed, I never tried it again.
It became more interesting in my mid twenties. A local arcade had one, staring me down and laughing at me. I fed it money many times until I got mediocre at it.
Besides, we were halfway through the 1990’s by then and new games were demanding that I play them.
I recently played it again and it beat me up and took my lunch money, as usual.
Enough about me, Let’s talk the finer points.
Art:
FLASH!!! Ahh ahhhh! Sorry. This is how a film based pinball should look. It is the movie poster and imagery you expect. The only downside is Flash himself on the backglass. Does he need to poop? Does he have a toothache? Is he worried about the state of affairs in the Falkland Islands? Who can say. Should have used the “Yeah!” Jump from the end of the movie.
Playfield design:
Pop. Bumpers. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Playfield.
What genius thought “Amazing! They will never cause the ball to always instantly constantly fly at Mach 3 downwards towards the drain.” Yeah it’s a love hate playfield, and probably one of the hardest and accuracy demanding ones ever designed. The best way to play is to shove two crushed pop cans under the front legs. (Kidding! Nobody ever did that back in the day, wink wink.)
Sound:
Great for 1980 standards. Repetitive, even then though. I like to use what I call the Sinistar scale. Sinistar said like five things but it was done in such a way that it was taunting and even a bit scary. Anyway Gorgar speaks, The-Black-Knight-Challenges-Thee and Flash… shut up Ming! It tries and in many ways succeeds but it feels like maybe they should have a cheap squeak style board instead. Maybe I’m being too picky but I never liked the sound.
Gameplay and fun factor:
It will chew you up and spit you out and you will like it and beg for more. I can’t say this is a game for everyone. More like a game to train someone to be a better player. The fun factor suffers because of this, until you get your first successful score out of it. I would give it a better score, but there are many people who want to play a game for fun, even if they generally suck at pinball. That’s the fun factor this game lacks to those not interested in precision or discipline. An eight year old will have a blast shooting the ball around on Attack from Mars, Gold Wings, Comet, or Night Rider (just to name a few). Put them in front of Flash Gordon and they will probably instantly hate pinball. People that want that extra challenge will seek it out when the feel they are in top form and ready for a good fight. There’s the fun factor but it doesn’t have a balance between both casual and serious play.
But it is in the top 100 on here, and on other top pinball lists. The reason is because you want to like it, you want to be challenged you want to master it, learn from it and, most importantly, you want to beat it.
That’s what a good game is all about.
Crofton, MD
London
Hamilton, ON
