Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Pinside rating

This game received 380 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.946 /10

7.946

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #91 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.



Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.188

Artwork: 7.63

Sounds/Music: 7.522

Other Aspects: 8.073


Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 7 of us have rated this game.

7.503

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Found 214 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 214 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 1 of 9.

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8.988/10
71 days ago
very neat&addicting pin...lots of fun shots/modes...really like that there are many ways to start multiball...
8.589/10
81 days ago
This game is challenging! The theme is great for families. The shots off of the top flipper are challenging to make, but accessible for players of all levels (the ball often slowly rolls down to the flipper, so players can time their shots and think about what they are shooting for. The magna saves are fun and random. There is a vari-target at the scoop is also somewhat unique and fun.
8.136/10
3 months ago
Fun game. Have spent a fair amount of time with this one and I wanna play again. What gets me is the deeper rule set. I dont always go for a high score. I like to complete the modes to go to Atlantis. Haven't seen frog frenzy yet but I'll get there! I think this one is bolted down.
8.265/10
4 months ago
Ripley’s is a fantastic game that gets dinged a little bit for not being the most popular theme. The execution of the theme is about as good as anyone could do, but it’s definitely limited by what it is.

The shrunken head is one of the cooler toys in any game. And, being a Lawlor design, the game is pretty packed with gimmicks and shots.

In my opinion, if this exact same layout would have instead been themed as Beetlejuice (including the shrunken head) it would be a top 15-20 classic game.
9.316/10
4 months ago
One of the truly underrated games, from a player's perspective. Many different shots with different degrees of difficulty and risk. A less skilled player can visit continents and reach most of the same goals as the more advanced player, albeit while earning fewer points along the way. There is a degree of strategizing to employ for bigger scores that is just about right -- not too complicated, not too simplistic. The more skilled player can spend a long time trying to reach the continent of Atlantis or Frog Frenzy. I'm not sure I will ever get there unless I start working more seriously on my skills. Consecutive games played by the same player can produce drastically different game times. Rarely do I have good game that doesn't include one evil ricochet side drain or some disastrous "just missed" carom. It's not overly complex, but it never gets boring. A top ten game for me; it should be a top fifty game, at the very least, on Pinside. The silver lining is that it remains a relative bargain compared to other games of this caliber and fairly 21st century vintage.
6.425/10
4 months ago
Loaded with toys, solid build quality, great theme, and a really cool looking package. The playability, on the other hand, is terrible. The shots feel clunky and lackadaisical, and the game is just *way* too easy. I'm not a talented player, but after 7+ minutes on ball 1, I got bored and just let it drain.
7.235/10
5 months ago
I found this game to get old surprisingly quickly. Great code for the era, but not in the same league as TSPP or LOTR.
8.337/10
7 months ago
This game has a lot of interesting shots and toys. The shots are smooth and there is a lot going on. It's an underappreciated gem.
8.084/10
8 months ago
What is wrong with pinball people? This game is an absolute pleasure to shoot and very different from many pinball machines. 6 pop bumpers, drop holes, ramps, magnets. What more do you people need? Buy it play it you won't be disappointed.
8.156/10
1 year ago
Would have never guessed this game would be so much fun. Definitely has been a hit part of
My 6 pins
8.360/10
1 year ago
I remember playing this when I was little as well. It used to be available at one of the Pizza places where I live and it eventually got removed. When I saw this machine on Sterns Pinball Arcade however, it got my attention. This is what initially drew me to getting the collection in the first place. Getting on track, my favorite part about the game is the humor and the design of the game. It provides a fair challenge, though. I never got a perfect Ripley wizard mode segment except on accident. One time, I had my best run going, but because we were preoccupied by other things, we weren't paying attention to when the Xbox shut down and we lost my progress. But overall, this is a funny machine that takes me back to the days when I played it as a young child.
8.250/10
1 year ago
I love this game. Currently have it in my small collection for about 6 months and it's still my favorite. The rules are very deep and collecting is a decent challenge for me. Collecting all RIPLEYS letters or frog mode has still proven impossible, but that's what engages me because I want to achieve those some day.

Playfield layout is good, but not excellent. As a Lawlor design, it has all typical features like a shot through the pops, scoop at the bottom of the playfield, upper flipper, ... But it feels less solid or flowy than Whirlwind for example. The upper pops always feel cramped and the ball almost always just dribbles out to the left, which feels awkward to me. Not that many toys, but I do like both magnets. All in all, not perfect but still very enjoyable and challenging.

The theme was unknown to me but I've grown to like it a lot. The pin feels like undertaking an adventure, exploring continents and collecting things. Incandescent bulbs also fit perfectly as they add to the gloomy/tropical theme. The music is pretty catchy and I also like the callouts and shrunken head, as opposed to some people. The artwork on the playfield and translite looks great to me, the cabinet is pretty unimaginative and could be better.

In summary, not the perfect game but definitely one of the deeper and challenging ones. This one will definitely stay in my collection for quite some time.
7.954/10
1 year ago
Really fun game to play, was not sure about the theme but the gameplay makes up for it, if it was a different theme and the same everything else, would have been considered a classic for sure.
8.809/10
1 year ago
Ripleys is highly underrated. It's a pretty deep game but not so deep you need a 100 page book. The shots are fun, especially the left orbit between the pops. The shots feel similar to Dialed in, or vice versa. The Penguin jackpot shoot is so satisfying because it's so damn hard. A colordmd really makes the animation pop. Its bizarre and unusual, and thats what makes it fantastic.
6.711/10
1 year ago
The very definition of a C list Stern game from an era when the games felt cheap and phoned in. The theme is OK with a whiff of colonialism that isn't aging well. If anything, it could stand to be MORE weird. It's sort of cookie-cutter weird.

The layout is OK, but can be frustrating. The scoop and the vari-target can both be difficult to hit at times and both are what you really need to advance the game. The game is near impossible to collect RIPLEYS - letters awarded for completing modes - with standard adjustments. You need to nail every shot in a very short time frame to collect a letter and too often the ball will get stuck in the pops making it difficult. Even with each mode made easier in adjustments, it's very challenging.

There are no toys. The temple is just a dumb way to give you mystery awards, none of which are exciting. There are two magnets, two ramps and a lazy physical ball lock. That's it.

The sounds are at times campy and at times just awful. The rasta head call-outs are pretty bad, some especially terrible (when he counts down, he sounds like Arnold Schwartzeneger). The constant gasps and screams are annoying - particularly in modes like North America. The gasps on the drains are cringeworthy. Call-outs like "Weird gravestones - my favorite!" are endearing in that so bad it's good way.

Overall, just OK. Still fun, but...
9.000/10
1 year ago
Love it
8.820/10
1 year ago
Wow. Instant classic. Could play this game all day and night. Great shots and callouts. I really need this one in my collection.
8.700/10
1 year ago
Great layout and rules
9.380/10
1 year ago
Very underrated game.
8.900/10
2 years ago
Such a great table, highly underrated in my opinion. Pat Lawlor and John Youssi created another amazing game! So many shots to take, it will entertain right away, and yet very hard to complete the rules for the seasoned player.
8.220/10
2 years ago
It's hard to call this anything other than Stern's Twilight Zone, and for me as a Pat Lawlor fan but generally not a Stern fan, I think it does the job. The rule sheet is a novel, and the modes are cool, and for those who'd like a more forgiving and better lit approximation of TZ, this works!

Pros: Unlike a lot of Stern machines, there is a bigger variety of toys and pathways, and the modes are pretty good. The depth of rules is also bananas, and a lot of the shots are rewarding, so it's easy to spend a long time with the machine.

Cons: Unlike Addams Family or TZ, the alternate flipper shots didn't feel intuitive, and the sheer breadth of things to do is a bit dizzying. The barcade that I played this at only had it for about 3 weeks, so I may revisit this if I find another one.
8.190/10
2 years ago
A nice surprise. This game is great and highly underrated. The theme is very different, weird, and may not be liked by many, but i loved it. Sounds, toys, rules are great.
7.527/10
2 years ago
fun game to play, the build quality of the playfield could be better. the call outs not too strong.
7.688/10
2 years ago
Great game. . . dsepite an older title, still holds up and has very rewarding shots!
8.280/10
2 years ago
Nice game that seems packed with features and shots. Not crazy about the theme, but it’s still fun.
There are 214 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 1 of 9.

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