# Jaws Pinball Review (SDTM, 2024)

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-06-15  
**Duration:** 47m 47s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj4oryTfE_Y

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## Analysis

Zach Sharp and Greg Bone review Stern Pinball's Jaws machine designed by Keith Elwin, featuring detailed analysis of its ball path, playfield layout, art direction, rules, and code. The hosts praise Elwin's superior design work and innovative upper playfield while noting minor issues with shot tightness, captive ball rejection on Premium Edition, and ongoing code development. Both rate the game highly (layout A/A-, art B, code B+) with confidence that updates will elevate it further.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Keith Elwin is the only modern designer who can sell a game based on his name alone, alongside historical designer Lyman Sheats — _Greg and Zach discuss designer prestige; Zach states 'one of the very few people that can still sell a game based on his name alone'_
- [HIGH] Jaws Premium Edition features a full upper playfield with five options, while Stern version lacks this — _Joel's detailed ball path overview explicitly contrasts editions: 'on the Premium Edition you have that entire upper play field' vs Stern 'just feeds the upper flipper'_
- [HIGH] Premium Edition Chum Bucket captive ball has more rejections due to metal lip than Stern version — _Zach describes Premium Edition issue: 'on that captive or that captive ball inside the boat on the Stern there's nothing to impede it... on the Premium Edition you've got a metal lip on that boat where it lifts up... you get a lot more rejections'_
- [HIGH] Code is currently at v9.91 and still in development with recent major updates in past couple months — _Greg states: 'it's 9.91 now it's come along like in the last couple months they've had some big old code updates'_
- [HIGH] Elizabeth (code designer) recently updated Night Swim mode lighting based on community feedback to keep it dark throughout — _Zach explains: 'she listened to feedback because everybody was like you need to keep it dark for the whole thing it's amazing'_

### Notable Quotes

> "he is the greatest designer in pinball right now and it's not close"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~25:40
> _Strong endorsement of Keith Elwin's design prowess over all contemporary competitors_

> "the best parts about this game are things that shouldn't feel good that normally people fail on like the upper Playfield and the mini flipper at the bottom"
> — **Jon Hey**, ~33:15
> _Identifies Elwin's innovation in making typically problematic design elements (upper playfields, mini flippers) enjoyable_

> "the shark needs to eat the ball"
> — **Jon Hey**, ~54:20
> _Perspective on the shark eating ball feature; acknowledgment of design authenticity despite mechanical consideration_

> "I like to be able to need to hit those and I don't like little flippers and I like to be able to go up above to get the fin shot"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~28:30
> _Appreciation for mini flipper integration despite typical distaste for such elements_

> "I need some more distinction I don't know whether it comes in with Jerry sound to give me a little bit more distinction"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~48:00
> _Identifies potential for improved mode differentiation through audio cues_

> "It's Keith Elwin it's phenomenal the the things I love about Keith Elwin The Games are that number one they're smooth"
> — **Jon Hey**, ~20:45
> _Core analysis of Elwin's design strengths: smoothness and unique ball patterns_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Jaws pinball machine under review |
| Keith Elwin | person | Designer of Jaws; identified as preeminent contemporary pinball designer who can 'sell a game based on his name alone' |
| Zach Sharp | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle; operator with two Jaws machines (Pearl and Premium Edition); primary reviewer |
| Greg Bone | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle; secondary reviewer |
| Jon Hey | person | Guest providing detailed ball path and playfield feature analysis; appears associated with Flippin' Out streaming |
| Michael Bernard | person | Artist/designer for Jaws backglass and playfield art; also worked on Rush |
| Elizabeth | person | Code designer for Jaws; credited with rule implementation and community-responsive updates like Night Swim lighting changes |
| Harrison Drake | person | Mechanical engineer associated with Keith Elwin designs |
| Jerry Thompson | person | Audio/sound designer credited with potential for mode differentiation improvements |
| Jaws | game | Stern Pinball machine based on 1975 Spielberg film; available in Stern, Premium, and Limited Edition variants |
| Flippin' Out | organization | YouTube streaming channel and pinball venue; Jon Hey associated; streams Wednesday 10pm-midnight EST |
| Jurassic Park | game | Keith Elwin design referenced for comparison; players note loop roughness and third flipper complexity |
| Big Bang Bar | game | Keith Elwin design referenced as example of designer's mastery; features similar hairpin figure-8 shot style |
| Rush | game | Keith Elwin design; referenced for code complexity and Michael Bernard art style comparison |
| Deadpool | game | Referenced for superior mode progression indicators and battle mechanics clarity versus Jaws |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Playfield layout and shot design, Keith Elwin's design philosophy and legacy, Premium vs Pro/Stern edition feature differences, Code development and rule set maturation
- **Secondary:** Art direction and visual presentation, Mechanical innovations (shark toy, upper playfield), Mode progression clarity and audio differentiation
- **Mentioned:** Operator earnings and location viability

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — Hosts express strong enthusiasm for Jaws' design, layout, and Elwin's craftsmanship. Criticisms are constructive (code clarity, minor mechanical tweaks) rather than condemnatory. Both rate layout highly (A/A-) and expect code to improve further. Some frustration with mode distinctiveness and shot tightness expressed but framed as refinement rather than fundamental flaw.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Flippin' Out streaming actively developing Jaws expertise; Wednesday night streams 10pm-midnight EST with consistent audience engagement (confidence: medium) — Jon: 'me and my brother we stream every Wednesday night from 10:00 to midnight Eastern Standard Time and um we've had a ton of fun with this game'
- **[design_philosophy]** Mode progression and visual differentiation in Jaws code lacks clarity compared to character-battle games like Deadpool; players unclear on completion versus accumulation mechanics (confidence: high) — Zach: 'I need some more distinction... I just see four or five blue flashing shots and I need to hit those shots' and comparison to Deadpool where 'I still feel like I get a clear indicator there'
- **[design_philosophy]** Keith Elwin's strength lies in making inherently difficult design elements (upper playfields, mini flippers) feel enjoyable and rewarding through careful execution (confidence: high) — Jon: 'the best parts about this game are things that shouldn't feel good that normally people fail on like the upper Playfield and the mini flipper at the bottom'
- **[community_signal]** Michael Bernard continues as primary artist for high-profile Stern titles; composition and world-integration praised over stylistic choices (confidence: medium) — Greg: 'Michael Barnard' worked on Rush and Jaws; hosts praise his compositional layout 'not overdone' and incorporation into playfield world
- **[product_strategy]** Code improvements ongoing with Night Swim mode lighting adjusted based on community feedback; v9.91 expected to reach A/A- level (confidence: high) — Greg: 'it's 9.91 now it's come along like in the last couple months they've had some big old code updates'; Zach notes Elizabeth 'listened to feedback because everybody was like you need to keep it dark'
- **[product_concern]** Premium Edition Chum Bucket captive ball mechanism shows more rejections than Stern version due to added metal lip; minor but integral shot requires cleanup (confidence: high) — Zach: 'on the Premium Edition you've got a metal lip on that boat where it lifts up and the comes out and if you don't hit like that ball sticks out so minimally... you get a lot more rejections off there'

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## Transcript

[ __ ] hey what's going on everybody it's straight down the middle yeah that's right we're back with this time another review this is Greg and I am Zach what do you want to say to these people Greg hey long time no see did you miss them I did miss them well I don't even know when this video is going to fall they might have seen us a week ago who knows nobody saw me I hibernate you you Sasquatch it's allation pinball Sasquatch yes oh man you work me too hard I my computer I do work you a lot but that has not kept you from playing a lot of pinball machines no as an operator you're putting everything on location recently yeah anything new that comes out John Wick yeah okay what about jws love some John Wick yeah Joels what's venom venom venom yeah damn Venom there barbecue challenge no nope where do you operate out of barbecue I'm surprised I'm surprised Dave fix that and called you a little you call be like [ __ ] are you joke for real The Price is Right I throw it in there yeah I hear you I hear you there all right uh so you've played a lot of games you've even played the likes of Elton John you've played a labyrinth you've played Pulp Fiction so even though you haven't been quite in the public eye you've still been probably playing more pinball now than maybe you have in in the past couple years yeah I think so yeah the public can burn you out a little bit so sometimes I think when you when you take a a little bit of a step back from all the [ __ ] that's right like you you get a little bit I'm get back into it like you know dingles out there isn't there yeah what are we doing today we are doing jaw's [Music] review oh yeah we're going to review Jaws by ster pimbo who designed Jaws Keith the Keith elwi the Keith lwin so Keith lwin games are the bestselling games uh they're for all intent purposes they are often times the best shooting the best rules the best toys there he's kind of Godlike when it comes to pinball design now and one of the very few people that can still sell a game based on his name alone I think ah true like honestly I'm try I don't yeah I don't think there's anybody else that's like a uh well it's l one I know it's going to be good yes you know regardless of theme regardless of rules whenever it's whenever it comes out regardless of art even Lyman was maybe one of the only other people L was another one that that you saw a Lyman game like lyman's on that like whatever and we won't list some people there were some people that had that moniker they had that uh that Prestige but they've yeah you know markets change you know criteria changes eln comes in eln still got it yeah eln still got it what about code code is always a team but uh local yes fantastic Elizabeth oh Elizabeth yeah came in and did yeah she's a local local lady so she uh Elizabeth and then um Nagel's still part of that team helping uh and then there's it's always a team now big team art by Michael Michael Barnard Michael Barnard Michael Barnard Michael Barnard Michael Barnard he he was the individual who did Rush yes you like that I like that AR I thought it was very fitting audio by I think Jerry Thompson the Jerry Thompson did some audio uh and then uh I think mechanics engineering was Harrison Drake he's often times associated with um Harrison's very welln yeah with Keith L1 uh and then eisan was with the other teams but he's designed his own games now yes hello hello my name is Joel and yeah Zach reached out to me and asked if I would do a brief overview of the game and happy to do that so let's start with ball path ball path so if we go left to right if you hit this left what you would think is an orbit it actually spins around comes down ripping fast right down the side um which is a really fun and unique shot I like that shot a lot what is cool is you can hit that shot from that right flipper which is kind of nuts but I love hitting that shot uh from that that mini right flipper um there is also a little gate in here you can sneak through that's the Harpoon or the quick shot um the quick shot will pop up the target here and you kind of get one quick shot at the Target which is a lot of fun uh next thing over would be the wave ramp on the pro the wave ramp just does that it just feeds the upper flipper but on the premium you got that entire upper play field which is a lot of fun that that upper play field basically gives you five options option number one is you do nothing the ball dribbles down not particularly fun uh option number two is you kind of ski jump over with the flipper and the ball will feed the upper mini flipper which is very useful um so there are times you will purposely want to do that option number three there's the radio Target that's not there on the pro cuz there's no upper play field the radio Target basically is kind of like a spot a shot it'll spot a shot um in a mode which is very cool uh you have this the the advanced lookout tower ramp which is a very unique shot it'll spin around send the ball back up and then usually comes out that so just a heads up this is with two flips this is the ball path right flipper up the wave ramp around that up that and down yeah kind of nuts kind of a crazy ball path but um very very fun and satisfying when you hit it and then the last thing is the wheel the wheel uh there are wheel Awards in this game where it'll spin around and basically feed that so the upper play Field's fast but there is stuff to do and you're not going to be there long so you kind of have to think ahead what am I trying to hit when I shoot the ball up there very very fun shot to hit for sure next thing is the Chum Bucket that's the captive ball use that particularly to start multiball um I'll explain that in just a second uh next thing is a very fast uh middle ramp shot just a quick 180 ramp feeds the left flipper rather consistently and there are certain times in the games where you'll want to combo using the middle ramp to then shoot a shot on the right side of the Playfield next would be the shark that is not there on the pro on the pro is just the boat I will show you right here when you start the game the boat is down uh and basically there will be a light that you want to hit and when you hit that light that's how you start your shark encounters um the next shot over would be the reel and that's used to reel and sharks you saw it just spin right there when the ball ejected but what is cool is if you hit it from this left flipper it'll spin around there and feed your upper flipper um and you'll you'll hear that thing rip uh so there's certain times you need certain number of spins or certain number of hits to that very unique shot um it is a challenging shot but it's very enjoyable and maybe one of my favorite shots in the game is actually the right flipper it's just a very smooth the right the right ramp actually it's a very smooth shot that's how you do Quin Shack quint's challenge collect gear bounty hunt all that fun stuff is there on the right uh far right side um besides that there are times where you want to sneak the ball back in here to feed this little mini flipper so you can get these side shots figured out you can hit these drops you can get it in the Harpoon or the quick shot or you can feed it up there so even that little mini flipper is pretty cool and then one ball path people do forget about is here on the outline there's actually a little um stopper there a little bumper that you can hit that post and Boop you can actually save your ball you can kind of nudge it and bring your ball back in uh so very very fun there's a lot here ton ton to do ton to play and um yeah if you ever want to see me stream feel free to check out the fliping Out YouTube channel my me and my brother we stream every Wednesday night from 10:00 to midnight Eastern Standard Time and um we've had a ton of fun with this game so yeah have a great time all right so we got to jump into it yes jaw's pinball you have you you own two jaws don't you yeah yeah jaw's Pearl jaw's premium Maybe not maybe you hate this game it's a good earner though it's a pretty good earner yeah yeah Jaws is going to bring people in whenever they I mean it's the iconic Steven Spielberg yes the the block the summer blockbuster um what about art I like the art do you like the art so well I do I do but I so here's the thing is like I I'm not real wild like I mean it depends on what we talk about some of the cabinet art we're the same too I'm a little bit on it things could be a little crisper um you know you you take uh Richard dfus face and uh what's his name's face in the center of the Playfield yeah like I don't know can't remember his real name either U but like those are phenomenal drawings like they're very very good uh the I realistic kind of franches kind of don't like the premium back glass not real wild about scenario it's a little cartoony for me um I love I think that's kind of like the the cabinet side though yeah that's what I'm saying like so I'm not terribly wild about it the thing that I do like about Michael is like like his his composition we we talk about this quite a bit about how that it's not just always the style that they use but sometimes that composition how they're putting everything together that's a big thing for artists to learn when they're coming into the uh the pinb the pinball medium because it's so different on the Playfield especially Playfield yes but I think that he's U I don't think he overdoes it he doesn't overdo it he does a lot of um a lot of world under GL he's good with he's good with incorporating his art into the world yes on on the play yes and I thought he did great with Rush with that but I think this too I think it's same thing it's not overdone it tells you what you need it looks good on the play field so while I'm not wild about necessarily his style like I I like the way he lays things out and that he doesn't overdo and over complicate and oversaturate everything not too blue not too blue I mean even though it's a lot of blue it doesn't feel like a lot of blue it calls for the blue we're both at solid bees yes so we're on the same page here yeah okay yeah it's it's not the best package you've seen no but it is I'm not mad you know what saves some of it is and I even think it's barard stuff is that maybe it's his vision of this I love the classic poster the movie film poster Jaws um with the the point of the nose with the the woman on the raft kind of thing and they put that on the pro in the Ellie back glass that's great it looks that's really beautiful in person like I mean it stands out like it is pretty even the pro so like and I haven't seen that LE so but I can't imagine yeah I can't imagine what because I think the pro looks fantastic it's a minimalist it's it's Perfection that's so I do really like that but it's not knocking my socks off on the Playfield nor on the cabinet uh stuff so I meant a b it's very serviceable it is what I would classify as good yes and that's it but like I said the the faces I mean if he did those faces on that Playfield that is some great photo realism that pinball has started to miss since like we don't see so much of franie like if if he would have done that with the side of the cabinet and everything well they were trying to be cute they were trying to they were trying to make you think it was uh what's his name Roy shider or yeah is it yeah for the back of the head and stuff but I'm just saying from a clean what's his name I'm Schneider shider schider but I don't know what his name is in the thing bro bro yeah because they they didn't have the art assets for bro which is understandable but I'm just saying like the shark just more of a photo realism like he did with those two characters on you don't get to see the shark a whole hell of a lot in the movie no you don't it's on that's why he's got a kind of okay it's a be let's go on to shots and layout this is Keith elwin uh you love it so much you're an A minus uh I said you're wrong uh it's an a it's even better than what you say we so we really really like the uh the layout here what what stands out to You For Better or Worse oh upper Playfield okay I know that sounds we are we are reviewing we need to let these people know the premium La of this game uh and you owned the pro and the premium so you know the difference between and there's a lot of difference and I'll kind of go over what I feel my takes on that having both and putting substantial so you like the upper Playfield typically upper playfields will actually bring a rating down for me but I'm with you I really enjoy this upper Playfield because it it serves a purpose The Reel up there is okay but you know neither The Reel nor that other ramp up there is easy to hit but that ramp the ball feed off of that upper ramp up there when you hit that the way it comes down and feeds back up the thing yes and you know I also you there's you go first I want to hear your take when it comes to the layout it's Keith elen it's phenomenal the the things I love about Keith Ellen games are that number one they're smooth uh number two they always will take you on uh the ball patterns are always going to be different than most other games that you see even if he's only doing a two flipper this is granted this is a three four flipper but even if he's doing to flipper his fans feel different than any other kind of fan uh stuff so whenever you have ramps you don't just have ramped right in front of your face that you see it com you've got like an orbit that goes through the backbox that waves around you've got uh a a ramp to get to the upper Playfield that's a a title ramp that it's like a 180 but it kind of goes in a different direction so the wire forms and he takes chances and his chances pay off that's the mark of a superior designer any designer can take these risks and chances and it feels clunky as [ __ ] but he doesn't because if he takes chances and if it's not perfected he'll rip it out of the game so when you have a cross shot into drop targets like a walking dead I love that but then you go above that into a path that goes he is utilizing the upper play field with balls going in the opposite direction than the slope that we're uh that we're familiar with that's that's phenomenal kind of stuff plus he does the little hairpin figure8 thing in this game and in Bon 60th he's just he is the greatest designer in pinball right now and it's not close the reason uh that I can the only reason I can see you giv it an A minus over an A and I would argue against it but I'm going to I'm going to argue for you here is that a lot of stuff is in the back and the feed that goes to the little flipper um one could argue that that it's kind of been done before and um it's it goes there a lot like it it runs there a lot uh and there are some airball issues we're not going to we're not going to look past that but I would argue the airball issues are more a material issue than they are it's design yeah it's not a design issue per se so yeah I don't there's not a shot on here the 180 ramp is a filler to me so take it to leave it there um he's got two captive balls here a little sometimes elen gets a little bit captive ball uh heavy instead of a bash Target or a bash assembly um so I could see the argument they're this is has he designed a bad game like he hasn't they're all A's I will take these over I will take any of his designs over mostly anything else no but for some reason I think that this is my least favorite Ellen to shoot okay I've heard people say that but and and it's one of those things that so like I I'm not just I think I'm trying to think the other ones everything that you better than Jurassic Park it just does it does from but it's not jurassics is clunk I just don't know Jurassic is very there's a lot of bricks there's you know coming off that third flipper to that 180 ramp that you're talking about there in the the tower you can't repeat that Loop a little rough yeah the loop is a little rough even the plung shot yeah but I still feel like that that's the weird thing that I have with some of this is like I think because this feels a little more stripped down than what Jurassic Park does jassic Park there's still a lot going on to this this doesn't feel that way but I still think there is some of those slightly problematic areas like I just have a problem cuz I I don't disagree with anything you said I agree with everything you said um the the feed to The Flipper that's a little excessive on that little mini third flipper but at the same time I got to give him kudos to that because I actually like that shot coming off of that like I like to be able to need to hit those and I don't like little flippers and I like to be able to go up above to get the fin shot like I I like that and you just got to think about the design of the fin itself like a lot of people knock that but I think it's a cool very like I I don't know if it's reward heavy but it's smart and I like it it's actually fun thing go yes uh yeah you count it in that too but I mean it's still designed but like I guess that my problem slightly lies and I don't know why it's just a killer for me because I want to get up to that upper play field and maybe it's just my two games but that shot is so tight to that left yeah that going up that ramp like I don't mind a tight shot again we're Houdini fans Ghostbuster fan like I like that but it takes so much momentum to get it up for that ramp that you have to hit that so clean and that is a shot that's needed sometimes and it's just it falls apart it falls apart and it it becomes frustrating and the same thing so a little if we're talking design though he designed it in a way if it does fall it falls on the other wire form to come yes and you get credit for it you get reward for it but even sometimes with that you still got to get a hold of that ball for it to even do that otherwise it rolls back down you lose all like you don't get anything for it I'm thankful that he's got an upper play field that I that doesn't feel like an upper Playfield it feels like an it feels like an upper Playfield should it feels like I'm gonna call it an additional Playfield yes because I'm still playing pinball instead of being stuck that is perfect that one of the best upper playfields like I love it and again that return shot to that horseshoe like you were talk about it's a it's a ramp on top of an number never gets old it feels great the best shot in the game never gets old and I still like the the far where the orbit is right I do too that's beautiful but another problem and this is a little bit of that difference between Pro and premium um and again I haven't really heard this talked about much so maybe it's just me I heard one other person talk about it one time that came in through flipping out and like on that captive or that captive ball inside the boat on the pro there's nothing to to impede it like it is is free flowing on the premium you've got a metal lip on that boat where it lifts up and the comes out and if you don't hit like that ball sticks out so minimally which I've got an idea to maybe try to do tweak that yeah call Eddie or I'm just messing with myself try myself try myself um but you you get a lot of rejections off there whereas the pro is very clean hitting on that the the premium Le is a little less clean like you get a lot more rejections a little more clunk there yeah and everything to which I wish that that was cleaned up just a little bit because again that's a very integral part of what you need to hit to to advance and to be able to start a mode and then you just get so many rejections off there it's not a deal killer it's nothing terrible but I'm saying I would have liked it cleaned up a little bit I agreee on there but I mean overall again I don't want to get longwind I like the Chum Bucket to maybe I like the CH bucket I'd like it to maybe be a little heavier you get more feel whenever you're hitting it like the belt Tower type feel a little light yeah you get to see a real good swing something yeah that stands out like a ACDC that Bell that feel like a little more yeah little longer arm to get a little bit more swing on it I don't disagree but uh one of my favorite shots and nobody ever talks about this because it's so hard to do but I challenge you viewer to do it on the third flipper down downstairs on the on the main Playfield that little flipper little flipper if you hit it perfect through that it will go up and instead of like gauging how far up and back down it'll go up and all the way around back through that spinner I I've done it a handful of times and there's nothing it feels so good I still like that third FL this game the best parts about this game are things that shouldn't feel good that normally people fail on like the upper Playfield and the mini flipper at the bottom like those are the things that eln like hey I made these interesting and I made them fun we got three Spinners in this game two of which are horizontal Spinners reels that that sound feels good people get mad about it but like if you don't get anything like off of that Chum line or off the chum line there like if you don't get any air balls or anything crazy off that hitting that reel feels good I like it I don't mind it like I know some people aren't wild about it but I like it I think it's cool I I don't feel as good saying Chum Bucket I don't why does that sound so dirty Chum how much do you need to fill up a bucket like that just that's a hopefully stay hydrated what about rules and code this is still in the uh it's not complete it's 9.91 now it's come along like in the last couple months they've had some big old code updates that's why we felt like we could properly review it now because we're still like we're still both at B pluses yeah yeah so it can only go up from here this is going to end up being an A A minus code set I would I would think um for me the things uh uh that make it a B+ instead of an A minus right now is the completion of some of the codes some of the wizard modes and such uh building building more moments into the modes of these They just added the mini wizard mode of the third multiball that main multiball so I love codewise I love how there's a progression in story being told within those multiballs you have tasks freaking love that um so I've gotten a Fourth of July a few times another wizard yeah got that's not bad you just got to get all through all the mod and I love all the the Quint thing oh Quint that's how it like pops the pot bumper that's coating those are moments nicely done Elizabeth and team so I like all that what makes it a b instead of an a are uh also it's still confusing to me like you pick up on this stuff better than I do man like you attach the barrel to the Haro and then you gotow the CH you get the barrel get the barrel and then I just I just want to start a I feel like some of a little less clearcut in that like just on on that before I I say what I like and everything about but just piggybacking off of that like to me that's sort sort of almost what you do with capturing dinosaurs on Jurassic Park confusing but but but I think I think Jurassic Park's a little I think that it because it spells it out to you what you need to do pretty easily confused are you serious God I'm confused there's no hope for you I know um but you know you know something I really like that Elizabeth and I was fortunate enough to early on have Elizabeth to actually explain it in person to me and walk me through it Elizabeth explain it to yeah but like I I I she differentiated the modes it kind of has that like nice b style you know sometimes you shoot a ramp then the fin pops up hit the the F there there's some of that going on um and I love like the night swim mode like they they changed the lighting B which yay yes they used to not the the night swim mode uh in the earlier code it was dark and then they light it back up but I think she listened to feedback because everybody was like you need to keep it dark for the whole thing it's amazing and I always find that like blue LEDs for maybe it's just me like cuz if you got like a Bram Stoker like people blew that out a lot and it does it like it it makes the ball almost look it's kind a stroby yeah which throws you off but I I love it and it just calls for it that's that's Dwight suin said hold my beard yeah that's one of those moments like that we [ __ ] about that we like that does that we want to see is stuff like that like my only critique that just bothers me and I I can't fully wrap my mind around it is like I just even though her modes are very different and the modes are very different in the game I need some more distinction I don't know whether it comes in with Jerry sound to give me a little bit more distinction in there or just not so much shoot the blue flashing shot I think it it might be I don't know if you ever thought about this the same complaint that you had with Rush initially before you fell in love with it like a progress like we want to feel completion in things I don't want to just keep on building up building up and building up I want a story line in my modes and I want completion so maybe a progress bar that I don't know if there not that I know that there's a progress bar it feels like when you start a mode You're Building points building points but I don't know if there's any yeah that's what I'm saying like yeah like I see four or five blue flashing shots and I need to hit those shots well I don't know I guess that I don't I'm just hitting shots like I I feel like and again maybe it is that Rush thing cuz once I learned Russian I was like oh you know you're having the time you're doing everything um but yeah I think that that's what I I I need something that makes me feel like I'm in something different because you take something like Deadpool even though you're still fighting a character I still got a met her up there and I know that I'm battling somebody yeah and the shots are very different you know what I'm saying and then the whole Playfield turns like black and there's one flashing thing for the final blow like it tells me that's what I'm and they different colors I know that that sounds so simple that sounds so stupid but like you know when Mystique is white and then you've got you know saber-tooth and yellow and like you team did things different with some colors too that are kind of confusing like when you hit something successful I think it turns green but I'm like no green is lock so is wait wait what is that and then there's like a teal color yeah it and then the yellows are for the barrel and stuff the the pros of a big code like this is that they're so much to do like you're trying to clear the beaches you're trying to uh get the different uh the uh bounties you're trying to get through the multiballs you're trying to get through the modes you're trying to get like there's so many different things that we love about Keith L1 game cuz they're task based and you can you can layer them like a nice cake and do all kinds of things but with that also comes the downside of what the hell is going on like I've got three beach goers there I don't even know what that that means why am I clearing am I clearing the beach but and it's like well yeah before you start this mode though I heard her say like on the stream before you start this mode though you you want to hit this two times so that you can build I'm like what what same thing with the shark I believe once the shark comes up if you hit the shark once he comes up or if you're on the pro hit the shark a second time I think you get more points or it does something before you go into the mode versus if you just technically activate a mode and then shoot it I'm like you because I mean Jurassic Park does the same thing to me like I haven't dove into the DNA like I just play it for simplest form so I mean yeah I mean there's there's something is slightly missing to me but I I think that she did they got plenty of room to finish a very good job and it is coming like you said like it is coming very well to where that like I still enjoy it and I still enjoy getting into the modes there's something I need to put my finger on and we'll talk about in our summary uh we'll talk about in summary why I think this is why this all makes sense later uh but I'm not worried about any of this oh no I never worry about any of their games are you worried about the toys and Innovation at all no no no so much so that damn damn you're an a I liked it that was a B+ hey an A on are you one of them shark eater [ __ ] I am I figured sharks got to eat the ball I am man and they knew it too they put a ball in the little goodie bag to put in that damn Shark mouth they knew see it didn't bother me that bad like I understand I'm not sweeping under the rug like I understand I'm trying to be entertaining here but at the end of the day shark needs to eat the ball oh I mean yes okay listen I so much do that mod I like that mod no I don't like the mod either no offense I mean the guy did good work good work it just needs bottom jaw it just not my thing but no I mean I I would never go I'm not saying that you guys are wrong that want I want it to eat the ball too but I'm just saying like I'm not mad at it I I like that it's hidden and I like that it I like it comes up and looks like the movie poster I do I do too because it's like you said you can't have the shark out all the time you don't want the shark out all the time he went out in the movie like I actually think it needs to be a little bit more of a surprise like a little minnow out you don't want to let your minnow out let that shark out all the time do you no only special occasion but you know like I'm I'm not mad at I think it's a cool to still like and I really like that they did the the captain ball above it so it just adds another like that it wasn't just a and it's a molded boat yes that looks cool yes uh the Chum Bucket that looks cool upper play field looks cool I look at the upper Playfield as a toy it is still like you got a reel up there I still look at it as a toy there's a lot of there's a lot of features in this game a lot of different features I mean I wouldn't go that you got a fin you an upper PL you got a boat yeah you got a lot of stuff you got 3D s in the back panel with Lighting in them yeah I mean it's all nice it's a world underglass I like the fin again like what I just said earlier I like the fin I think it's a cool toy I think it's fun um when I first saw it I thought it was going to be gimmicky and terrible but I actually really like it oh yeah it works good especially it's a moment it is a moment shoot it now now now yes I wish that there was the ability I mean I completely understand why but it'd be cool if it was an actually like molded shark fin like that would be Co that would look really [ __ ] awesome going across the Playfield but I understand the engineering behind that and durability and everything else and the Gap that you would have to have there oh my God yeah you couldn't do anything but I but I like it man like I think it's cool like again I like the Reel I'm not mad at the real it fits the game you know what's crazy you take a game like jaws and you compare to another Keith Ln game uh that has a really big toy interactive toy like the T-Rex on the premium and if you ask people which one has more toys than me they're going to be like oh my the toys and mechs on Jurassic Park are second to none because they have that one feature that big feature I would argue that jaws has a lot more going on but then then you got the Raptor I got dis yeah I got to disagree even the helicopter you got the helicopter you got the r okay the helicopter is two reels you got the truck you got a Newton ball on the truck like no you're completely wrong you think okay the no I'll go with you here the truck Newton ball is the same thing as the damn boat but the Boat Lifts up with the damn Shark I know same thing with the which one's better the boat or the the truck oh the boat mhm but what I'm saying though is it's it's kind of equal but Jurassic Park still beats it out because I think when you include the Raptor pit and some of the other things I I think the Raptor pit is the boat kind of the Raptor pit might be more the boat it just holds the ball in a sense holds the ball though the shark is definitely like the T-Rex yeah but the T-Rex kills that shark that's the thing that's the thing do you want do you want a bunch of little cookies or do you want just one real good cookie I don't know I think that that's what I think that you you're saying sort of that the shark as good as it is is a little under see the back panel on Jurassic Park there's nothing really there pop bumper is nothing really there I mean uh there I mean you know what really adds you want me to tell I no I don't know man I I know what you're saying and I'm trying to put my finger on why Jaws jaws is way more of a world underglass than Jurassic Park is I actually do yeah maybe agree with that as of a cohesive world I feels like you're on the sea port in the harbor yeah I might yeah you're like yeah yeah between the two boats build now Godzilla is hard to Godzilla is hard to beill Godzilla is really that's like The Best of Both Worlds yeah you know though I think that what it comes down to you want me to tell you what it I'm I I think you are I think it is stripped down a little bit in a sense I mean I think that when I know I know that I think that when you visually look at it and you think about or JW we're talking about Jo right now with the boat on top top of the the shark coming up and again we're we're we'll talk about premium and L for all that's what we're doing purposes it still all feels like onear cage on the that still feels like all one thing like I know you're hitting technically a captive ball in there and then the shark comes out which is two things but I still feel like it's one one whole one event different stages one yeah and then other than that I I know that the the wheels they they're there and they should be counted as a toy and everything but I still think they just feel like a shot like a ramp or anything toy no I'm agreeing with you I'm agreeing with you but I think that when you do something like the man I mean I don't know it's a hard it's a hard argument you know what I think it is moments okay the Raptor pit is such a moment it's a moment a flashy moment yeah and then honestly like the helicopter makes sense it does visually it does it visually makes more sense than the real the real doesn't really look like a real that looks like a helicopter cuz it's a helicopter it does and it hitting the blade like in the real makes an awesome real soundx T-rex that picks up the ball and eats the ball and it's a whole moment coming in where he's first and then ah and something there and he grabs and throws the ball where the shark just comes out that's why I'm at a B+ and you're at an a yeah see I why was I arguing for an A and you were arguing for a B+ we literally were arguing what about music and call outs we're uh you're in a minus you really like about the same it's got the music got the music so that's a plus it's got the call outs from the film thank you it's got dfus doing custom call outs which which is nice which is awesome uh and it's got like even uh even like the uh the song that Quint sings in there I do like the sounds of the real so it's got all that kind of stuff I like all of that what makes it a B+ instead of an A minus for me is the music that I don't remember the music really yeah it yeah nothing in there stands out like nothing that's the only thing that kills me is nothing and especially when you get into other modes I can't tell you that anything sounds any different it just feels the same and and it may be completely different music in when you go into specific modes or do something um I I do like the one thing I do like is the music does get my heart cuz I mean it's kind of a game that gets you on your toes anyways it's pretty frantic and the music it amps you up amps you up and gets you with that yes it does it's tense do like that that it feeds into that that's what you were saying before we started you were like that's kind of why you were at the a cuz like it makes you in the moment of feeling like you're chasing down this killer shark and trying not to let it eat you cuz it gets you yeah agre I watch a documentary last night on YouTube about the Jaws ride at Universal Studios and the iterations it went through ohos down after man we such n miss it so much all right let's what about display and animation we're both at solid A's and I think easily because it's got the film clips and you're including bro in those film clips and the audio clips as well and even like you made a great point about the video mode yes I forget about video modes and they threw one in here that's fun I think it was clever to do that based on the arcade it's honestly one of my favorite video modes I enjoy it's a lot of fun and I just like the little sneaky thing like you know the photo of them where they'd be holding up the shark but then the balls there for like I I like some the beer sequence at the end I like they're getting really really good with their animation and we complained about that for a long time you go back to like Avengers days and stuff yes Ninja Turtles some of the stuff that we complain about like they have they have really amped up their animation and bad animation in quite some no nothing that stands out cuz those things kind of stood out they weren't horrible but you were like okay that stands out and this work is like bordering on exceptional work really really nice so good job team it's the Stern's getting to the point where their anim team is almost like the jjp expectation that we do have where it's like you know they're going to do custom animation that fits in well with the overall game it's not like they're like you got to catch up guys yes so yeah I I love well they're bringing everything together even if you're not like ah this game knocks my socks off you know like or it doesn't knock my socks off you still can't say that like they're complete package now knock your Crocs off knock your Crocs off please tell me you wear Crocs please tell me I bet you do go up in that closet you ain't got no Crocs I got no Crocs I never wear any Crocs no offense to people that wear Crocs my kids wear Crocs yeah my kids I don't wear Crocs I don't I've never owned a pair of Crocs I don't like them no we why are you angry at Crocs though I don't know why are you angry I don't like them I I don't like them I don't like them I don't I don't know what made me think I thinking about what do you wear at the beach you don't wear socks at the beach you probably do we when we going to see a Lake Placid pinball machine Lake ain't it kind oh my hey I was bying probably Lake John boy that's a hell of a cast Lake plasted had what's his name in Betty White Bill Pullman and Oliver Platt Oliver plat and Bridget Fonda that a hell of a cast too I like that movie was it was a hell of a all right what about uh all right we're on the displaying animations we gave an a a theme we're both a pluses how do you not it's one of the greatest themes that Pinball's ever seen I don't care who you never deny it's up there with Jurassic parks of the world not maybe I would argue maybe not quite Jurassic Park no maybe not quite Star Wars no it's right it's there it's that nostalgic film that had a lasting impact on everyone's CH I think it is easily one of stern pinballs top five themes in their entire company history agreed maybe top three agreed maybe top agreed even if it's not your movie to give it to that yeah it's A+ material even if it's cuz I didn't grow grow up with jws M but it's still so iconic that I love it yeah and I didn't grow up with it and I still love it what about enjoyability you're at a B+ yeah and see for me I'm an a solid a I can't get enough of Keith Ln games which is fair I got rid of my Avengers but besides that one you know I'm not mad at Avengers I can't tell you why because I want an Iron Maiden I want Iron Maiden I can tell you probably why it's at a B+ cuz it's still got a little room yeah and maybe that's but usually I see past that like we're very good about seeing P like we're very good but there's still some air balls that P off there for a while yeah well they didn't make me that mad I fixed that like that's fine there's just still something that doesn't resonate with me like it should like I when I'm playing so here's the weird thing is like when I play the game and I get done I'm like damn that was a that was a good ride like at the end because like if I'm opening it up but for some reason during it it doesn't feel so satisfying not D tense the whole time and maybe maybe it is something like but I play things like Johnny I think this is a good uh metaphor maybe you don't ride the wave as much as you want to during the game maybe it's all just tension and when you're done you're like f okay it could be there's there's no real good breathe moment there's no real there's something that and I know I'm in the minority on this like I am severely in the minority because everyone Raves this game and loves it and again I'm not yeah again I'm not M at it like I I I play quite a bit of it but I there's still just something that that's not like man I'm keeping this like this this gets me like there's still something that's off and I cannot tell you what it is you know and you may be on to something they're great because for me um I may have botched my enjoyability rating now that you're talking about it cuz I'm at an a I don't want to talk you down and I think though but what I'm doing is maybe I'm maybe I'm biased here I think that maybe I'm talking myself into what I know it's going to be for me because I don't have quite as much time on it as you do uh and I know what it's doing every time I'm playing it and I'm like oh once I become smarter once I play this more I know where I'm going to go on this game um once it gets to the 1.0 and it's sitting in my cuz this is a long-term game for me this is a keeper and this isn't this isn't a game that I go to right now and I play I don't L of I think maybe I'm giving an a unjustly I'm still keeping it sorry because I feel strongly about it but maybe I feel like a B+ right now but I know it's going to be I'm not getting rid of this game this is JW this is Keith Ellen this is Stern Pinball you can't get rid of this no again like I'm I'm not knocking on anybody would do it it's just something I I just cannot pinpoint pedigree I know this is Pedigree we know this is going to be I just I I wish I could and I will find it I will find what I'm talking about it will it will click at some point I'll go that's what I feel like I'm missing or it'll completely change my mind and I'll say oh no this is staying cuz I've had games do that too yeah sure um or you'll say they never got it it's out it's gone that's what I'm saying like I just don't something just does not grasp me oh my God speaking of grasping uhoh you've got the premium look at you Mr you used to be a pro guy premium but uh as as an LA buyer myself um I do get things that you don't get or that you don't get as a pro buyer or premium buyer I get the metallic foil I get the mirror back glass I get the invis glass which whatever uh but I also get a first time that Stern has done this they're calling it expression speaker lighting yes for and that helps tell the story too because it's and like when you're building up the CH line it'll show the ratio of the circle what's blue and what's red it's giving you information and it does help we've seen the new John Wick La where when he's shooting the guns boom boom boom that muzzle flare is going off that's pretty cool so uh If Only They did expression Lighting in Jaws it'd be even better so I get the world underglass interior art blades so the L well so I will tell you this I said here at the end I would talk a little bit about so about Pro premium uh Zack had brought up a good point normally I'm a pro guy and normally I can argue for the most part for a pro on people especially joh just because of the budget you can make an argument with John wi I haven't played the premium yet but I I will I will play the premium and then I will tell you again Jurassic Park the [ __ ] T-Rex is amazing like Raptor pit I still love that moment and everything I I think that's a good upgrade I think Jaws is a good upgrade too and one can say okay I'm just going to that the upper Feld but that game shoots so much smoother and it just feels so much better and I'm not the only one so I talked about tournament a couple times to people before they got their hands on a premium oh no it shoots it shoots better something just feels more cohesive obviously the upper play field takes up a lot of the room and it's not just so feel like it's empty up there but that upper play field adds so much and again even though that it's not as smooth hitting that cap the ball in that boat I know I know but it just adds it adds so much to it moving The Wonder of it is just it to whereas the pro feels a little more boring yeah just because yeah there's nothing visually really going on yeah the cage even though again it's that part is smoother something about the other shots just all yeah I mean if if people the the premium is the way to go on Jaws absolutely if people I wouldn't I would tell people though if your budget is not premium and it is pro you're still going to enjoy it I would say don't look past it because I'd still rather have a Jaws Pro more so than a lot of even some Stern premium like oh still Jaws yeah but uh arguing that but I'm just say PR if you can afford to go up to it premium is where it's at on that yeah I feel that with Venom too for the most part like yes that's another one because that that's such a game CH Pro is still a fantastic I love it people hate it I love it whatever I'll be whatever call me so when we do all of our cumulative uh scores bounce those all together uh looks like uh we're both be pluses how about that [ __ ] and look people still get mad at us for B+ our rebuttal is out there and it's still uh not spoken for nobody has submitted submit your own yeah submit your own scores I'll do the math see what it comes out at people do it's like it comes out it's right there at it like you can't get away from it it's just what it is because very few games are terrible and there are the few that are that throw into an A and conversely yes it is very difficult to get an A it is very difficult because anytime you give an A minus of something it actually lowers that threshold of getting an a it's hard and all it takes is one component to really bring it down yeah uh the jaws has pretty much all the components um it's it's been a great from sales perspective been a great seller even in a softer market right now it it's still it joins the Ln lineup of people who consistently will buy Ln all people love you said Nicole loved it you said everybody like there's so everybody walked up to it and they were impressed with it Nicole's yeah not a pinball player my wife Nicole so uh she's in the industry but yeah it takes something to where she's like oh we could sell a lot of this is really cool and she did that with the uh with the Jaws premium La absolutely all right well do these people need to know anything I don't we don't have much to tell people no we don't really I mean I no sponsor any yeah we don't we just do this we love people we yeah we're want to come back and say buddies and and we do this and we missed it it's summertime it's like we're out for school break and we're going to hang out Blockbuster yeah we're going to hang out and film videos all I ask is that if you do want to buy yourself a jaw's pinball machine or any other pinball or arcade machine uh give us a shot flipping out pinball if something goes wrong with it you deal with this guy who doesn't want to deal with this guy right he's the best in the business I'll put money on that and who doesn't want to deal with me a lot of people but for the most part uh I'm still fair I'm still good to you right oh you we got Timbo we got shipping too if you want a Jaws free shipping right to your door I own too I'm he's not we do you own the pro the premium NE oh we got all three the trifect all of them all right thanks uh follow subscribe like uh we're we might be on the Tik toks or Instagrams I'm not sure but the bread and butters are YouTube and Facebook follow fliping out over there uh as well uh let's go drink some beer some what is it naggin naggin RF or whatever what's the Jaws beer the know whatever I'll drink [Music] [Applause] it let's do I think unless you completely let do it we'll knock it out remember let's try to make these fast then we yes oh yeah you're the [ __ ] I got to worry about I don't know I used to think that I don't not anymore I think you get away from yourself I get long it's called passion they call that passion passion passion juice yeah okay a piece of passion fruit let see my passion fruits [ __ ] passion you know I was cracking up when we' asked the internet what they want to see uh a lot of them said Greg Bone mom that's so terrible I know oh that's so sad okay subjecting she she hasn't been seen around these parts for a while no kind of like Sasquatch in the woods you got to make an appearance elusive that's yeah she's

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3532ce94-2bf6-42f6-9eef-cc99d571ea76*