Phantom of the Opera

Data East

Phantom of the Opera

Pinside Rating

This game received 118 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.551 /10

7.551

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #185 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.



Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.017

Artwork: 8.514

Sounds/Music: 7.573

Other Aspects: 7.337


Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 6 of us have rated this game.

6.917

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Found 67 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 67 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 1 of 3.

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5.529/10
52 days ago
I really wanted to enjoy this Data East and there are some solid ingredients here, but they don't quite come together for me. The artwork is fantastic and shooting the organ to build multi ball is fun, but that's about it. The double your score shot is novel, but causes the scoring to be one note.
4.970/10
7 months ago
Not much to do, and not fun to play. Just a pretty bad pin overall.
8.779/10
1 year ago
So many fond memories of this game going back to the 90's when I was dating my wife. So many quarters and hours spent playing this with my friends while hanging out at the bowling alley. The artwork is second to none. The multi-ball play is challenging. The music is great. The greatest drawback that many will cite is the screams when the ball drains away. You get used to it.
8.842/10
1 year ago
Played it, bought it. Simple but addictive. Callouts are great. Light show on Jackpot is amazing, especially with LEDs.
9.705/10
1 year ago
This is a near perfect game to me.

Paul Faris is probably my favorite pinball artist and this is one of his best. Art is important to me and this is one of the only games with a playfield, backglass, and cabinet all having incredible art.

The rules are quick to learn and rewarding right away for new players. Not much toys, but the opening organ is all you need.

Can get a bad rap for being brutal with no ball save like other data easts, but I personally like brutal games that dont last forever.

The rules are simple, but smart. I enjoy the one chance to double your score on the last ball. My only criticism is a jackpot that builds game to game, I prefer every game to be equal.

The number one thing that would take this game from a 10 to 11 for me, would be swapping the music with music from the musical. The musical has one of the most iconic theme music ever and this game uses some standard horror trope stuff.
7.711/10
1 year ago
Pro's: fantastic art on the playfield and backglass, music sounds superb, light show is great, magic mirror and opening organ toys. Getting to three ball multiball is great fun if you are quick enough.

Con's: Rules seemed vague, wish you could shut off the screaming outlane, people who assume this is based off a stage play rather than the book like it actually states on the playfield, missing backglass mask (replaceable)

Review aside: Playfield wear can be problematic on this title which is a shame as it has such great art.
3.488/10
1 year ago
I owned this game for about a year back in the late 90s. My particular game came from a celebrity owner, and it was personally signed over to me. That part was cool. Unfortunately, it was only 1 of 2 good things about this game. The other is the backglass art. I'm a sucker for a PG-13 sexy backglasses. Otherwise, this game was a clunker. Slow, little variety, thin rules.

You see, this game was an incredible bait-and-switch when it was released in 1990. How so? In 1986, Phantom of the Opera - the sensational Andrew Lloyd Weber musical - debuted. It was an instant hit, among the most beloved musicals of the decade. It remained a sold-out seat on Broadway all the way through the early 90s. Filled with memorable music, it was a genuine phenom. How better to enjoy this than a pinball! Data East jumped on the band wagon. Shamelessly. You see, this pin has NOTHING to do with the musical. None of the music, especially. Zilch. To Data East's everlasting shame, PotO was in the public domain. They figured, we can convince clueless bar patrons to drop a few quarters in this, hijacking the popularity of the musical. The game was rushed, with just-close-enough art to fool folks into thinking it was connected.

Really, there's nothing to recommend this when compared to contemporaneous games from Williams. A piece of art in a huge collection? Maybe. A pin to play and enjoy for hours? Nope. Data East deserves scorn for their shameless attempt to cash in on the musical's popularity.
7.524/10
2 years ago
Phantom is awesome. Magic Mirror the organ and the catwalk ramp. So much fun!
7.655/10
3 years ago
Ok. It's no LW3. COOL ART and gimmicks
8.660/10
3 years ago
This game is the rembrand for pinball ,absolutly beautiful.
Gameplay is not the biggest around but good with the theme, and great multiballs.
Lightshow is great including the stereo sound with the organ.
Also the colours black and dark red are beautiful in the dark.
The mask is also a very nice gimmick when flashing to the phantoms ugly face.
Sometimes the ball draines because i am looking to his face.
Very special pin from DE from that era.
8.160/10
3 years ago
The layout and gameplay is a bit too simple. The artwork, music, and light shows on the other hand are very impressive.
7.596/10
3 years ago
Fun game with excellent art and sound. Playfield is a thing of real beauty, and it's chock full of nice touches and small details that you can only see with the glass off and the pf partially disassembled. Music is excellent and the organ sounds have great spiky-punch. As was typical of DE at the time, the rules are pretty simple, moreso than System 11 games of the era. But even though the rules are shallow, the game is fast and fun to play, and the organ mech that opens to reveal a secret passage/subway to the ball lock is a great toy.

Bottom line: Great pin with shallow rules, but beautiful art and music. Has an addictive "one more game" quality. Would fit in especially well next to a deeper, slower-playing pin.
8.032/10
3 years ago
Once again, another underrated DE pin. The artwork is absolutely breath-taking. There is just so much packed into every corner. I love the theme. The sounds and callouts are very good. It isn't a very deep pin, so that is a drawback for some...but every pin doesn't have to be super deep.

This would be great for a 5+ pin collection.
8.906/10
4 years ago
Being a fan of the musical I might be a little biased. But POTO was one of my grail games and I finally got one. And its pretty nice.

This game has some of the best artwork and music in pinball (yes, i know thats been said many times, but its true).
The layout is nothing spectacular, but it is enough to keep you playing more than just a few times.
The Double you score shot and the PHANTOM millions are a little unbalanced... but oh the feeling of joy when you actually hit it.

Its a beautiful game that is both fun and just damn awesome to sit back and look at.
8.598/10
4 years ago
Best artwork in a pinball machine ever!!! The phantom and the opera singer looks amazing! the music and the voice acting are beautiful, the theme is so amazing (gothic styled as the original novel from 1911). The only bad thing is that it may be unfair sometimes, and the ball drains too much from the out lanes, also the spot between the flippers is way too big. This table rewards the aim a lot, so you gotta be very good at the left ramp to achieve a big score. I made 24 million points thanks to the double score feature (you have 1 chance to make a double score during the whole game). Phantom millions are also a great aid to score many points. This table is not for begginers tho, but the artwork is so attractive that it's worth replaying... a lot.
Did I mentioned HOW GOOD THAT ORGAN SOUNDS???? WOW
9.217/10
4 years ago
When I think Classic pinball, this is the game that comes to mind!!! Afters years of only ever seeing this game in pitchers, I finally got to play one and WOW! This is one of DE best games! Rules are simple but do let that stop you from playing it. The theming/music on this game is par to none and will suck you right into the games gothic theming.
8.442/10
5 years ago
Definitely one of the best looking machines of all time with great artwork by Paul Farris. Good stereo sound and fun to play with friends and family.
9.580/10
5 years ago
Owned it, sold it, regret it..... I sold it due to lack of space....and now miss it. Theme, music, speech, artwork are fantastic and this takes you into the game. OK it is not super deep in rules but the shots are nice. Great ramp and “organ” shot. You keep playing it and it is a fantastic pin to play with a mix of beginners and pros. One of the most underrated pins in my opinion. Baby come back home!
8.307/10
5 years ago
This game kicks my butt everytime. Super challenging and fast. This game can be discouraging at times, but it makes you try harder d keeps you coming back. The magic mirror feature is so fun, but be ready for it when the ball pops out.
7.433/10
5 years ago
A good game for beginners. Playfield layout is pretty boring although the organ is cool. Just shoot the organ and ramp all day. Excellent art and music though.
8.695/10
5 years ago
The most beautiful pinball machine ever, hands down. Unfortunately, it's a very tough table with which I always struggle to put up a good score (or satisfyingly lengthy playtime). But boy, oh, boy are the sights and sounds amazing!
8.318/10
6 years ago
Fun game that is easy to just pick up. The music and organ multiball makes this game, but it’s very repetitive. Only good for one to two plays at a time.
8.698/10
6 years ago
I I really like phantom I think it has some of the best art, sounds and music.what hurts phantom is the rules are not the best.
8.868/10
6 years ago
The best sounding game around and quite a looker. Game play is simple but does not get old.
5.956/10
7 years ago
"2 ball play ready" --- "Ready for 3 ball play" (something like that). Phantom of the Opera is a challenging table that requires quite a few progressive shots to be made to start a 3-ball multiball, and even more difficult to get the jackpots. However, even with a punishing, brutal design, once the multiballs have been made, there are too few other shots to keep the player engaged. After overcoming the initial challenges of getting the organ shots timed right, the rest of the game fizzles and gets lame.

I don't think I'd ever want a PoO, but it is worth playing a few times through to see how challenging the 3-ball play is.
There are 67 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 1 of 3.

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