First off, cabinet art. It is nice and simple - logo on each side with contrasting JP logos on the top side and the main sides (red logo on main side, yellow logo on side of backglass) - simple and straight forward. The translite just looks amazing to me. Yes, I agree, lose the main characters and have ALL DINOS - at first. You gotta remember, this is Jurassic Park, not "10 Million Years Ago". Yeah, the characters do take a slight bit away from the translite - BUT not much - not to me anyways. The TREX is dominant on the translite, and man, the translite, for me, is quite possibly my favorite. The blend of oranges and reds with the TREX is flat-out outstanding.

The playfield art, on the other hand, good mercy.......Nedrys hand directly above the "Lite Extra Ball" insert - OMG - are you kidding me? That just looks HORRIBLE. Other than him, the playfield art looks good, NOT great, but not bad either. This was a tough combination, doing the island map with the characters and all the oranges and reds near the ramp and TREX - tough, tough combo to blend together. Overall, I would say they did pretty good with it. NOT great, but not terrible. Scale of one to ten, I give the playfield art a 7.5, MAYBE an 8 if I'm generous.

The layout is a bit one-sided. Right flipper = 2 ball scoops and MAYBE the back-circular lane if you're good/lucky. Left flipper = one ramp and the boat dock. Top right flipper = TREX or the mid-circular lane. That is pretty much it, there isn't too much more to shoot for. The raptor pit, to me, can be hit with either R/L flipper, and the TREX is pretty much a top-R flipper shot only, unless you get lucky with a bank shot. GET CLIFFY PROTECTORS for all ball scoops - especially the bottom left ones. You will be shooting those very, very often, and they deserve to be kept safe. The pop bumpers are there, but they are nearly non-existent. At the beginning, the ball goes to them, but unless you hit the back circular shot from either direction, they are extra lights at best.

Ok, I've been hard on JP for a reason because now the positives come out. And man, are there EVER a bunch.

The toys: first, of course, is the TREX head. This has to be in the top 5 toys of all time, and quite possibly, the best one ever. The supercharger in HS2, Mist-multiball in BSD, Gumball machine in TZ,now-you-see-it-now-you-dont ball taker in TS, and Thing in TAF - ALL great toys. When that TREX head moves all around and watches the ball in play - ok cool - very cool lil' gimmick. When that ball goes into that lil ball pad (which REALLY deserves a toilet seat mod), and he roars and you see him go down and eat that ball, dude, that is it. All other toys pale right there in that moment. Then he actually swallows the ball, "smacks his lips" as if he just ate a BK whopper, and from time to time if you listen closely, he even burps. That alone, right there, made me want the machine. Absolutely AWESOME toy, and it is a HUGE crowd pleaser if you have friends over and they see it for the first time.

Next is the raptor pit. This is a ball-save kicker, exactly like the ones in LW3 and HS2, except that instead of saving the ball, it launches it RIGHT to your left flipper (most of the time). If it drains, the game is forgiving and gives you a "ball save" 9 out of 10 (of which the 10th it goes too far back up the outlane and you get screwed). The raptor pit's speed is all about how quickly the ball heads to the RP. If it is just meandering along and happens to go in the RP, it'll come out but you'll be ready and it won't be TOO fast. If you shoot that ball right in there though, and it makes a clean hit on the kicker, ho (not oh...ho) boy, you better be ready. That sucker will fly in the blink of an eye, and I've even had it hit my flippers with such force that it has gone airball on me. GREAT supporting toy to the TREX.

There's two instances where you have to shoot a raptor on the DMD. One is at the start of every ball (with exceptions of extra ball), and he runs across at different patterns and speeds depending on which ball you're on. The second is in mid game, the DMD POV is diagonal, and he is running across a field in front of your gun. You have to fire multiple times to take him out WHILE the ball is on the playfield. Not too hard, but I have lost a ball here and there trying to multitask. Sometimes, you have to ask yourself, is it worth it...?

All the other dinosaurs are support acts, and you'll see them here and there, but it's mainly for hitting bumpers or stationary drop-targets. Still, good to see the triceratops and dilophosaurus (spitters) on the DMD screen. There is only one ramp, but thankfully it does have a diverter, so in essence, one ramp becomes two - each resulting in a ball going back to each flipper. Also got 1.5 habit trails - one diagonally across the main portion of the playfield (like a mirror image of TZ's), and the other comes out from the table and brings the ball back to your right flipper if TREX is fed or you hit the "S" ball scoop".

One valuable "oddity" exclusive to JP is the Smart missile. It has its own lil' lit button on the ball launch gun, and from my understanding - whatever is lit up on the playfield when you launch that missle = you get. I don't have a complete understanding of its function yet, but it is a GREAT game saver if your two balls drain on you. On the third ball, it is an "instant" multi-ball starter. If your third ball drains and you're fast enough, launch your smart missile, and you get tri-multi-ball right out of the gate. I have done this and racked up extra balls and taken a game that could have been easily x < 20 mil become a x >200 mil points game VERY quickly.

The shaker motor is used VERY well in this game. It goes absolutely insane when you get tri-multi ball or whenever the TREX is headed your way (particularly during the "Feed TREX" mode). Do not disable it unless you're a huge preventative maintenance guy (like me :/ ). It REALLY adds a lot to the game.

The sounds are outstanding. Pretty much, all the voice actors are from the movie and add greatly to the atmosphere. By far, the dinos steal the show here. The TREX roars are simply awesome - especially the one he does after he destroys the jeep during the "match moment". You'll recognize pretty much every noise all the dinosaurs make from the movie. The light show, like any pin, is really good, and I found the attract mode to be simply that - attractive and eye catching. Pretty solid use of flasher bulbs that don't make too much of the game, yet don't take away from it either.

Overall, just an outstanding game. I am a bit biased, I love the first JP as a kid, and my first memories of pinball really stem from this machine, so I may be giving it too much good press, but I simply can't help it.

Don't care if it's a Data East. This is one of the coolest machines ever made.

Great all around pin best pin based on one of the greatest movies ive ever watched as a kid. Love the ball eating dino as a kid and still love it now.

This is a neat pin with some cool toys/gimmicks. Dino that eats a ball: check. Lazer kick pointed straight back AT YOU(!): check. Excellent artwork and good animations: check. The sore spot here is the layout. The dual scoops in the front left of the playfield severely interrupt the flow of the game and should really have been left out or slightly modified for less restrictive ball movement.

Outstanding game, fast, furious and FUN! A fantastic DE title, great bang for the buck, would own it again and I have had two of them!

I don't get the love of this game, the play itself is fine but the artwork is pretty off putting especially the playfield. Yes the colors fit the theme but man is it tacky. I thought the rule set could have been a lot clearer and yes the t-rex is cool but even that wears off.

Artwork is a big garish, but the toys (pinball muching T-rex, Raptor kick-back), sound, and layout more than make up for the art package.

Best game in its price range. I have had mine for a long time and while I do not play it all the time, I am always surprised how well it holds up to my more modern games. Interesting layout, great rules that utilize everything on the playfield, and a freaking BALL EATING DINOSAUR! What more could you want (other than some better playfield art that is...)?

Good playfield layout...check
Good theme...check
Good music...check
Nice artwork...check
Ball eating dino...check
I,m convinced this one is a keeper for me, kept me pushing the startbutton over and over. Only know a handfull of games that had that effect on me, hence this one stays

Greta game, T-Rex is awesome. Two ball mode is superb! I really injoy the game, and my family loves it.

Great game, my favorite out of this genre...still holds up today

Challenging game with a good fast flow, good multiball action. This is a great game to play, the only thing that gets annoying is the ball lauch at the start waiting to shoot the trex on the second ball. Love this game overall.

I own it and enjoy it. Not the very best....far, far from the worst.

Best Data East pinball machine ever. No exceptions.

I only wish it had a skill shot instead of just a button. With a plunger. T-Rex is one of the coolest toys in pin history. Love the theme song, & cabinet artwork.

I found it amusing that this machine had a lot of the same sounds my DE:SW has, but the T-Rex totally makes this machine go from boring to fun... first time I hit it I was not expecting it to come and "eat" the ball, that was great... I *like* DE machines and this one is pretty OK in my book

great game just played it to day. the t-rex really brings it together

The T-Rex coming to get the goat is one of my favorite modes on any pin. The shaker motor integrated with that T-Rex toy is just awesome. Jp is definitely one of the few pins that I miss after selling.

Known as 'the poor mans TAF', apparently... enjoyed it, and liked seeing the T Rex eat the ball, but wouldn't be a keeper... the build quality of this ear DE pins makes them quite clangy and clunky, so that puts me off.

good all around game great theme.

I think this is DE's best game. The layout kind of reminds me of Whirlwind. When working properly the T-Rex steals the show. The shaker motor and plenty of multiball action keep the game exciting and there's a fairly deep ruleset with plenty of modes, including a wizard mode.

Underwhelming overall, and the ruleset is weak, uninspired, and tedious at best. Game looks cool however and I admit that the T-Rex toy (when working) is pretty damn awesome. Layout feels like Whirlwind without Lawlor's touches of genius to elevate it. Still prefer it to Stern's newer version though.

decent game could have been better. like the t rex but it kinda slows down the gameplay. the kick back is awesome i dig the layout.

I spent a lot of quarters and time that I should of been working rocking this machine back in the day.T-rex eating your ball enough said!

This game is tight. Loved the few details that really made it stand out. Namely the animated T=Rex that bent over over, picked up yoru ball, swalled and chewed. I also really loved the reverse Raptor kickback and the video mode skill shot where you shot a raptor with your gun.