# Black Knight Sword of Rage: Pro is the best?

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2019-04-10  
**Duration:** 15m 18s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqA6d1D8POo

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy critiques Black Knight Sword of Rage after watching a Stern stream, focusing on the LE/Premium upper playfield made of lexan material. While praising the game's overall quality (artwork, sounds, animations, flow), he expresses significant concerns about the upper playfield's gameplay effectiveness and durability, calling it a "gimmick" not worth the $1,500 price premium over the Pro model. He plans to test the game locally before deciding whether to purchase Pro or Premium.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The upper playfield on Premium/LE uses lexan material which, while strong, shows abrasions/scuffs easily and will wear quickly with play, requiring future replacement purchases — _Cary directly observed stream footage and articulates concern about long-term durability based on lexan's material properties_
- [HIGH] The upper playfield is mostly ineffective in gameplay—majority of shots brick/fail, with only one good shot (the loop) and minimal mechanical targets — _Cary edited together multiple clips showing upper playfield action and observed consistent failure patterns; 'a vast majority of the times that a ball is up there you're missing the shot'_
- [HIGH] The $1,500 price premium for Premium/LE over Pro is not justified given the upper playfield's limited gameplay value — _Cary explicitly states this is a 'gouge' and not worth the cost; frames lexan as inexpensive material_
- [MEDIUM] The Pro model appears to have equivalent speed and flow to Premium/LE versions but lacks only the upper playfield lock feature — _Cary observes 'the gameplay on the pro looks just fine to me i mean it looks just as fast as this one'_
- [MEDIUM] Stern is using lexan upper playfield as a differentiation/profit strategy to justify tier pricing — _Cary suggests this is a 'way to gouge $1,500 more out of their customers' and frames it as a 'gimmick'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I'm not sold on that upper play field anymore"
> — **Cary Hardy**, mid-analysis section
> _Core thesis of video: despite game quality, upper playfield doesn't justify Premium/LE pricing_

> "brick brick brick and it almost seems like it not much going on up there and when there is something going on it don feel like you accomplished anything"
> — **Cary Hardy**, upper playfield critique section
> _Specific criticism of upper playfield gameplay ineffectiveness and lack of mechanical depth_

> "I'm going to charge me fifteen hundred dollars for a piece of lexan which i know is not a very expensive material"
> — **Cary Hardy**, material cost analysis
> _Challenges Stern's cost justification; claims lexan is cheaper than wood_

> "I would almost be pretty content with settling for a pro"
> — **Cary Hardy**, conclusion section
> _Major sentiment shift: Pro now viable option after initial skepticism of non-upper playfield version_

> "I have not yet played this game. All I'm mainly stating is that I am not going to be purchasing this game until I play it."
> — **Cary Hardy**, early conclusion
> _Establishes his observation-only analysis and defers final judgment pending hands-on experience_

> "I'm watching a lot of just dunk dunk brick brick brick just you know it's doesn't seem to flow as well up there"
> — **Cary Hardy**, gameplay flow analysis
> _Comparative criticism: upper playfield doesn't flow as smoothly as predecessors in Black Knight franchise_

> "I was just against not having the upper play field now that I have seen the upper play field and what essentially it capable of and what it's there for I'm not being sold on this game having to have that additional feature on there"
> — **Cary Hardy**, perspective shift section
> _Documents Cary's mindset change: initially pro upper-playfield, now skeptical after observation_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Cary Hardy | person | Content creator analyzing Black Knight Sword of Rage; plays pinball, maintains collection interest, considering purchase decision |
| Jack Danger | person | Stream host/player who played Black Knight Sword of Rage; Cary watched their stream footage |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Designer of Black Knight Sword of Rage; credited for gameplay design philosophy Cary appreciates |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Black Knight Sword of Rage; Cary praises their work on art, sound, animations while criticizing upper playfield design choices |
| Black Knight Sword of Rage | game | Stern Pinball's recent release; subject of Cary's analysis focusing on Pro vs Premium vs LE tiers and upper playfield effectiveness |
| Black Knight | game | Original Black Knight game series referenced as precedent for upper playfield expectations; Cary notes players expect upper playfields in Black Knight titles |
| Deadflip | person | Stream content creator; Cary directs viewers to their channel for Pro model footage |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Upper playfield design and material (lexan) effectiveness, Pro vs Premium vs LE pricing tier differentiation strategy, Upper playfield durability and maintenance costs
- **Secondary:** Game quality (artwork, sound, animations, overall gameplay), Black Knight franchise legacy and player expectations, Purchase decision framework for new pinball machines
- **Mentioned:** Observation-based analysis vs hands-on gameplay testing

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Cary expresses strong praise for game's overall quality (animations, sound, flow, artwork) but significant criticism of upper playfield design and pricing strategy. His sentiment shifted during analysis—initially skeptical of Pro (no upper playfield), now reconsidering Pro as viable. Frustration with Premium/LE value proposition dominates final assessment.

### Signals

- **[competitive_signal]** Pro model emerges as stronger value proposition relative to Premium/LE due to eliminated upper playfield concerns while maintaining equivalent speed/flow (confidence: high) — Cary concludes 'the gameplay on the pro looks just fine to me i mean it looks just as fast as this one' and Pro lacks 'only the upper play field lock feature'
- **[design_philosophy]** Upper playfield criticized as mechanically shallow (minimal targets, no drop targets on deck) and gameplay-ineffective (high brick rate, low accomplishment feeling) (confidence: high) — Cary catalogs upper playfield contents: 'there no drop targets there like a target up there next to the ball lock the catapult multi lock' and observes 'almost every shot you're gonna see on here is a brick'
- **[industry_signal]** Lexan upper playfield shows scuffs/abrasions easily and will degrade visually with play, potentially requiring replacement purchases over time (confidence: high) — Cary notes 'lexan although very strong it still shows abrasions very well' and expresses concern about wear making interior 'difficult to see' and questions long-term durability
- **[market_signal]** Premium/LE tier pricing ($1,500 premium) perceived as unjustified given upper playfield's limited gameplay value and material cost (confidence: high) — Cary states upper playfield is 'definitely not worth that $1,500' and notes lexan is inexpensive material, 'even cheaper than the wood'
- **[product_strategy]** BKSOR uses three-tier model (Pro/Premium/LE) with upper playfield as exclusive Premium/LE feature to justify $1,500 price premium over Pro (confidence: high) — Cary explicitly identifies upper playfield as differentiation driver: 'I'm going to charge me fifteen hundred dollars for a piece of lexan' and frames it as profit-driven strategy
- **[product_concern]** Stern's overall execution on BKSOR praised across multiple dimensions (art, sound, animations, call-outs, LCD visualizations, playfield flow) despite upper playfield concerns (confidence: high) — Cary dedicates significant time to praise: 'I'm very impressed with a majority of what has been done with this game', 'applause goes to each individual', 'everything else... I can go on and on about this game'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Cary's assessment of Pro model changed from skeptical (initially opposed Pro's lack of upper playfield) to favorable (now sees it as viable option with equivalent gameplay) (confidence: high) — Opening: 'there is no upper play field for the pro version... striking a chord with any Black Knight fan' → Closing: 'I would almost be pretty content with settling for a pro'

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## Transcript

 The time is now, my friends. Black Knight Sword of Rage. We are a mere five minutes away from the time where the stream is supposed to begin for Jack Danger as he plays the Black Knight. I don't know which models for sure they're going to have. He told me on a stream that we should be getting the Pro and possibly the Premium. So I really want to see the Premium because that's the one I'm leaning towards getting. I have high expectations for this game with one, it being part of a series that I love to play. And two, coming from Steve Ritchie whose gameplay tends to be something I fancy. Just a couple of minutes away now, so I'm going to switch over to the panel view, so that way you can see everything as I see it. Alright, so it looks like they are switching over to the LE version of this game, which is going to give me much more of a vision on what the upper playfield can do, so I'm ready for this. There's going to be a change of plans when it comes to what this initial video was going to be about and the direction that I was planning to go with it. But after going through all the editing and even actually sitting down and getting to muster over and stew on the stream of which I observed it today, it gave my perspective a little bit different about this game. and so therefore I wanted to basically we're going to not even bother looking at the pro model gameplay now I apologize to those of you that wanted to see that if you want to see that feel free to go to deadflip stream and watch all the pro footage you want to and it is all great we are going to mainly focus on the limited edition version because that is the other model that he played. Now granted I did not watch the entire stream 100%. I did have tasks that I needed to get done. But for the amount of footage that I got to see I think I got a pretty good feel of what the games look and play like to give me a better idea of whether or not I want to make a purchase for a pro or a premium. So what I'm going to do is give my thoughts and opinions and granted for warning these are all subjective so everyone's got the right to their opinion so therefore you have all the freedom in the world to give me yours down in the comments below so that being said I'm going to play footage basically all it is is just showing you the upper play field because that is essentially the main difference between the pro and the other two top tier versions so I'm I'm just going to highlight mainly the upper play field so that way you get an idea of what the gameplay is like up there. I know it's only been like two balls that I've seen go up there so far. But honestly, it seems very clanky and I'm not too impressed so far with the upper playfields. I'm hoping that they can change my mind. So let me first start out by telling everyone that works at Stern everyone that put all their time and effort into this game I want to preface by saying that in no way or form am i telling you that this game is bad or what you have done is bad i am highly impressed with the work that is put into this game it looks beautiful it plays fast and flows very well I was so impressed with how the visualization on the LCD looked, the actions, the callouts, the sounds. I mean, applause goes to each individual that has put time and effort into this game. I'm very impressed with a majority of what has been done with this game. So with that being said, the only thing that whenever I first saw the reveal of this game was the fact that there was no upper play field for the pro version. They were only going to have that on the premiums and the limited editions. Now immediately, this is striking a chord with any Black Knight fan. is because we are so accustomed and used to having a Black Knight game with the upper playfield. If it was any other title, it wouldn't be that effective to us. But since we are so used to the predecessors having an upper playfield, then naturally our thoughts go towards a Black Knight 3 having that as well. So then it gets revealed that there is an upper playfield, but only on those top two versions. okay but something a little bit different on that instead of your traditional upper play field they had gone with a lexan material now there are pros to this without a doubt but there also are some cons that immediately struck a chord with me upon seeing that and that was that lexan although very strong it still shows abrasions very well so what's really cool about it though is that you can see through it so you're not like cutting off a part of the play field but over time the wear on that is going to make it to where it's going to be even difficult to see what's underneath it and i feel that that's going to be more wear on a game than is needed it's i think it's a very cool concept i just am not sold on the execution of it now that being part of that with just the material what really leads me to where i'm not even sure i want to get a premium is basically the point the purpose of this upper plate field i mean if you've been watching these clips i have essentially edited out anything that is not on the upper plate field so every shot has been cut to where there's a ball going on to the upper play field for you to do something with the ball now you're going to notice that a vast majority of the times that a ball is up there you're missing the shot it's just immediately just rolling down and unless you bounce it up like the previous black knights you're not going to make your shot and what's even worse is that your only good shot is like on the very tip of that flipper to get it to go around that freaking loop and then you might be able to smack it up to the ball lock maybe otherwise almost every shot you're gonna see on here is a brick just brick brick brick and it almost seems like it not much going on up there and when there is something going on it doesn feel like you accomplished anything i mean there no drop targets there like a target up there next to the ball lock the catapult multi lock and I want to say that it and then you have the loop which probably gives you points as well but other than that there's nothing more mechanical on there which makes me feel like this upper play field is more of a gimmick and a way to gouge $1,500 more out of their customers for something I feel is definitely not worth that $1,500. Now granted, this is all just from pure observation. I have not yet played this game. All I'm mainly stating is that I am not going to be purchasing this game until I play it. kudos to those of you that boxed your le on the mere announcement of this game kudos to you for taking that dive and for those of you who purchased your pro i mean i believe that you're going to get your your bang for your buck that game looks like it's going to be a great game it plays fast it's smooth and everything serves a purpose my issue is with the premium and le's now granted the le's because it's a limited edition and you're getting all the extra little perks with it yeah blah blah blah but you're gonna charge me fifteen hundred dollars for a piece of lexan which i know is not a very expensive material i've even manufactured playfields before using like jackpot and stuff like that myself it's not an expensive material i bet it's even cheaper than the wood for the times that i saw this video there are a total of three ways to get up to the play field the upper play field one is on the left orbit which uses the buck to shoot it straight towards the flipper although it doesn't go straight towards the flipper it essentially a lot of the times just goes straight underneath the flipper to where it's like okay that was kind of a waste your other shot is through the flail lane once you get past the flail it shoots you up to the upper deck to begin your ball locking sequence if you can accomplish that task and it looks like it's a very difficult one and of course the third one is whenever you shoot the ball from your shooter lane all the way up there to the upper deck so essentially in a nutshell I'm not buying this game until I play it. I want to say here the next month or two a local barcade will be getting an LE and that'll give me a chance to experience that upper play field to see whether or not it is actually truly a gimmick and actually worth the extra cash or should I settle for the pro and just already know that I'm going to get a good product that way. But once again I need to stress that everyone that was involved in this game I'm not dissing what you've done the artwork the callouts everything it looks beautiful and it looks like it plays beautifully I'm just not sold on that upper play field anymore so now I'm going to continue where the original footage was going to go towards the end of the stream and I give more thoughts and opinions that lean towards everything that I've just explained through the montage of all the upper playfields that you just saw so i want to give over some information i say information basically i want to talk about my opinion so far on watching this game play for this game uh and after seeing what i have seen this evening so far an hour and a half into the stream i want to say that i no longer against the pro model and i really wasn per se against having the pro model i was just against not having the upper play field now that I have seen the upper play field and what essentially it capable of and what it's there for I'm not being sold on this game having to have that additional feature on there it actually kind of makes me I don't want to say concerned but that is my my my only really complaint slash concern is the lexan that is being used as the upper playfield this is something that i was concerned about whenever i first initially saw the game and then it was told that it was a lexan surface now lexan can take a hit like nobody else's business that is what is designed to do but it does show where scuffs scratches abrasions whatever you want to call it it does show that and i'm feeling that over a designated amount of time of playing this game that this play field is going to be getting worn out when it comes to how often it's being played and how clean the pinballs are so it's a little bit wondering on basically how long that play field's able to last and if it's one of those things where it's like hey yeah we sell these upper playfields on our store you can buy them or 200 bucks a pop it only requires five screws and a hex screw or whatever then you could take it out and replace it or whatever then you're essentially you know just adding an extra you know x amount of dollars to a game that's gonna eventually just start breaking down and it's one of those where i'm like man the pro model i wouldn't have to worry about that wouldn't have the additional cost over time and maintenance would be a lot simpler and the gameplay on the pro looks just fine to me i mean it looks just as fast as this one you're just not getting the extra little uh lock feature in the upper play field but if you have watched this upper play field in action as much as i have just in the hour and a half there's a lot of brick shots up there it is not as smooth as the predecessors i'm watching a lot of just dunk dunk brick brick brick just you know it's doesn't seem to flow as well up there um but everything else the animations look great the soundtrack sounds great the call ads are great uh i mean the artwork i mean i can go on and on about this game and nothing concerns me except for the upper play field that is the only thing or I'm like, I don't know about that, but I am totally on board with this, but I am not as hardcore on getting a premium or bust on this. I would almost be pretty content with settling for a pro. Now, I haven't completely made up my mind yet, but it is not out of this question for me to settle for a pro. My time is limited, so I've really actually got to run out the door. So let me know down below what you think about the Black Knight sort of Rage game, and if you're going to get it, what version are you going to get? and why? Do you share the same feelings as I do when it comes to the upper playfield? Do you not? Agree to disagree? Let me know down below. Give me that thumbs up if you like what you've seen, and if you haven't already, do not forget to hit that subscribe button down below. That way, you can be notified of whenever I upload new content for your viewing pleasure. Until next time, peace out. We'll see you next time.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0e5913ae-7ae7-4fcb-bb63-b8681c9f6085*