# SDTM Episode 52: Pirates of the Caribbean Pinball Machine Review - Deluxe Edition Part 2

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2018-03-05  
**Duration:** 63m 12s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a71ED5fGAXw

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## Analysis

Straight Down the Middle reviews Jersey Jack Pinball's Pirates of the Caribbean (Part 2), covering art, shots/layout, and rules/code. The hosts give high marks across all categories—A/A+ for art and layout, A/A- for rules and code—praising the cohesive design, innovative wide-body layout that avoids typical wide-body floatiness, and deeply coded ruleset inspired by The Simpsons Pinball Party. They emphasize the game's accessibility to casual players while offering competitive depth, and note the machine is production-ready despite being prototype.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Pirates of the Caribbean's playfield art is hand-painted, not clip art as initially suspected — _Eric Minier told the hosts during their visit that the art is hand-painted; hosts observed it looks like an oil painting up close_
- [HIGH] The game's wide-body layout uses a standard-sized inner loop (similar to Demolition Man) rather than typical wide orbits, making it feel like a standard body pin — _Hosts analyzed the layout extensively, noting Eric Minier 'took the best of both worlds' by closing off the back two-thirds and adding a third flipper while maintaining quick shot flow_
- [MEDIUM] The frosted/matte ramps are an intentional design choice for LED diffusion and durability, not confirmed as permanent across production models — _Hosts praise the frosted ramps; Eric Minier mentioned these may be prototype frames and it's undecided whether they'll stay that way_
- [HIGH] Pirates code is comparable to The Simpsons Pinball Party with stackable modes and multi-balls, featuring five films with randomized modes — _Hosts directly state it's 'The Simpsons Pinball Party on steroids' with five films, five modes per film, five multi-balls, five mini wizard modes, and master wizard mode_
- [HIGH] The game features 22 selectable characters, each with unique powers and balancing mechanics — _Hosts discuss selecting characters based on both appearance and gameplay mechanics, noting some characters have drawbacks to balance them_
- [HIGH] Pirates has five subway entrances feeding into one subway plus one entrance between subways—unusual for contemporary pinball — _Hosts note subways are rare in Stern and Spooky modern games but this machine integrates them extensively_
- [HIGH] The machine is production-ready despite being a prototype they reviewed — _Hosts state they reviewed it based on substantial play time at multiple shows and note 'it's production ready' and they're 'not worried' about reviewing again later_
- [HIGH] Eric Minier designed the game to feed the third flipper frequently as a core gameplay strategy — _Hosts reference Eric's intentional design philosophy and note the Treasure Chest lock mech was redesigned during prototyping for easier shot access_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is like an acrylic versus an oil painting... it's that rich and again it's just the colors, it's something that just draws me to it."
> — **Host (presumably Greg or Zach)**, ~5:00
> _Describes the hand-painted art quality and color saturation of the playfield_

> "This might be one of the best shooting wide bodies ever. It really might be."
> — **Host**, ~18:00
> _Strong endorsement of the layout design, highlighting how it avoids typical wide-body floatiness_

> "This code is a masterpiece. This code is a masterpiece. Now, is it the type of code set that I generally go for? Absolutely not."
> — **Host (Zach Sharpe, discussing Keith Johnson's code)**, ~28:00
> _Acknowledges exceptional code depth while admitting personal stylistic disagreement with stacking-heavy design_

> "The Simpsons Pinball Party on steroids. Yes. That's what this is."
> — **Host**, ~29:00
> _Direct comparison framing the ruleset's complexity and multi-ball stacking mechanics_

> "If somebody told you that they understand completely all the little multipliers, all the collecting gold, all the character advancements, if they tell you they know what's going on, their name is Keith Jeff Johnson or Eric Menier or Joe Tapp."
> — **Host**, ~38:00
> _Emphasizes the extreme depth of the ruleset and credits the design/code team_

> "I understand this better than Dialed In!. I know that that sounds ridiculous."
> — **Host (Zach Sharpe)**, ~35:00
> _Highlights Pirates' superior accessibility compared to notoriously complex modern Stern games_

> "He made man overboard where he falls off the ship ramp or shipping. Oh, my God, yeah. There's nothing more pirates about that."
> — **Host**, ~22:00
> _Praises thematic integration of game rules with IP narrative_

> "Every single aspect of this is so deeply coded... and maybe the most deeply coded is 22 characters when you start this thing and it's not just for fun."
> — **Host (discussing Keith Johnson's code)**, ~31:00
> _Emphasizes that every game element has meaningful depth and balance_

> "You can open anything up. You can stack anything damn near... there are five films. There's five modes randomly selected for each film. There's five multi-balls. There's five mini Wizard modes. Complete it all. Master Wizard mode."
> — **Host**, ~30:00
> _Summarizes the core ruleset structure showing the game's modular complexity_

> "It's like they said, okay, I was able to grasp and comprehend that game. So on location, I could play that game and have a fantastic time... But it has so much depth that I don't already understand that it's going to appeal to competitive players."
> — **Host (Zach Sharpe)**, ~39:00
> _Articulates the balance between casual accessibility and competitive depth that makes the game appealing to both demographics_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Pirates of the Caribbean | game | Jersey Jack Pinball premium pinball machine; subject of review; prototype reviewed is described as production-ready |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Pirates of the Caribbean; hosts thank crew including Eric Minier, Keith Johnson, Joe Aipperspach, and Raymond Katz |
| Eric Minier | person | Lead designer and coder at Jersey Jack Pinball; first-time lead designer on Pirates; known for iterative playtesting and attention to detail |
| Keith Johnson | person | Code designer ('code god') at Jersey Jack Pinball; designed Pirates' ruleset compared to The Simpsons Pinball Party; created 22-character system with balance mechanics |
| Joe Aipperspach | person | Jersey Jack Pinball crew member; thanked by hosts for hospitality during visit |
| Raymond Katz | person | Jersey Jack Pinball crew member; thanked by hosts for hospitality during visit |
| Zach Sharpe | person | Host of Straight Down the Middle; provided detailed critique of Pirates code, rating it A-; noted understanding Pirates better than Dialed In! |
| Jack Sparrow | person | Johnny Depp character featured prominently on playfield and side cabinet art; replaced on Collector's Edition by David Jones |
| David Jones | person | Pirate character featured on Collector's Edition art instead of Jack Sparrow |
| Jason Roofer | person | Known as 'Crazy Jay'; created Star Wars laser-cut brushed aluminum topper mod being given away to Head2Head Pinball viewers; contact: mnpinball@yahoo.com |
| The Simpsons Pinball Party | game | Stern game referenced as design inspiration/comparison for Pirates' stackable modes and multi-ball ruleset |
| Demolition Man | game | Wide-body Stern game used as comparison point for Pirates' layout design; Pirates achieves similar feel with standard body inner loop instead of typical wide orbits |
| Dialed In! | game | Stern game referenced as complex and difficult to understand; Pirates rated as more accessible by hosts |
| The Lord of the Rings | game | Stern game used in comparison discussions about code depth; noted as having simpler foundational rules than Pirates |
| Houdini Master of Mystery | game | American Pinball game referenced for having subway features; comparison point for Pirates' subway implementation |
| Twilight Zone | game | Classic game compared to Pirates for variety of hidden shots and different shot types |
| Star Wars | game | Stern pinball; referenced for comparison of topper/headkit design aesthetic; Jason Roofer's laser-cut mod is being given away |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Podcast/video show where this review is published; also referred to as 'Head2Head Pinball' by hosts |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | company | Pinball distributor/retailer sponsor; sells machines from Jersey Jack, Stern, Chicago Gaming, and American Pinball; offers Escalera hand truck |
| Pin Stadium Lights | company | LED lighting modification vendor; sponsor; offers fully customizable full spectrum lighting at pinstadium.com |
| Marco Specialties | company | Pinball parts supplier with 50,000+ parts in stock; sponsor offering same-day shipping at marcospec.com |
| Chicago Pinball Expo | event | Pinball tournament/show event where hosts and guests played Pirates of the Caribbean prototype |
| Louisville Pinball Expo | event | Pinball tournament/show event where hosts played Pirates of the Caribbean prototype |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Playfield Art Design and Cohesion, Wide-Body Machine Layout and Shot Variety, Rules Code Complexity and Stackability, Competitive Depth vs. Casual Accessibility Balance, Mechanical Features (Ship Ramp, Maelstrom, Subways, Third Flipper)
- **Secondary:** Prototype-to-Production Iteration and Polish, Character Selection and Gameplay Balancing, IP Integration (Pirates Theme in Gameplay)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Hosts are enthusiastic and impressed across all review categories; minimal criticism is presented as constructive feedback rather than negatives; high grades (A/A+/A-) given throughout; hosts note the game exceeds initial expectations and call it 'special'; only mild debate over multi-ball frequency and personal code preference style, not quality concerns

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Straight Down the Middle (Head2Head Pinball) giveaway campaign soliciting viewer-submitted memorable quotes/sayings from show hosts to win Star Wars laser-cut topper mod (confidence: high) — Hosts announce giveaway mechanism: fans email SDTMPinball@gmail.com with favorite quotes; winner drawn in couple weeks; mod created by Jason Roofer available directly at mnpinball@yahoo.com for $45 shipped continental US
- **[sentiment_shift]** Positive reception to Pirates' accessibility; hosts note game is more comprehensible than Stern's Dialed In! despite greater code depth, suggesting strong balance of casual and competitive appeal (confidence: high) — Host states 'I understand this better than Dialed In!' and describes ability to grasp basic strategy while acknowledging limitless depth for competitive play
- **[design_philosophy]** Multi-ball frequency criticism exists in community but hosts argue it's invalid critique based on designer skill obscuring true difficulty; compare favorably to Demolition Man which players love despite being 'strictly a multi-ball game' (confidence: medium) — Hosts note 'people are critiquing it too heavy on multi-balls' but attribute perception to Eric's expert playstyle; contextualize as similar to well-received Demolition Man
- **[design_philosophy]** Eric Minier (first-time lead designer) deliberately balances wide-body shot variety with standard-body feel by using single inner loop instead of wide orbits and adding third flipper, avoiding typical wide-body floatiness (confidence: high) — Hosts detail how Minier 'took the best of both worlds' and contrast with Demolition Man; note the game 'shoots fast' and 'doesn't float' despite being wide body
- **[market_signal]** Star Wars laser-cut mod by Jason Roofer available for $45-$52 shipped; aftermarket demand for toppers/hetkits noted as necessary aesthetic enhancement across multiple Stern games (Star Trek, etc.) (confidence: high) — Hosts explain topper need: 'You get this big beautiful machine. You're missing this' and note it's standard on other Steve Ritchie games at Stern
- **[personnel_signal]** Eric Minier confirmed as first-time lead designer on Pirates of the Caribbean; represents trust in emerging talent at Jersey Jack Pinball (confidence: high) — Hosts repeatedly reference 'first time designer as lead designer' and emphasize game's quality despite this; praise shows confidence in Minier's capability
- **[announcement]** Pirates of the Caribbean by Jersey Jack Pinball is being reviewed as a production-ready prototype; hosts have extensive hands-on experience across multiple show events (Chicago, Louisville) confirming advanced development stage (confidence: high) — Hosts state 'it's production ready' and 'we're not worried about reviewing again later' after substantial play time; game shown at Chicago and Louisville Pinball Expos
- **[product_strategy]** Pirates features 22 selectable characters with unique powers and individual balance mechanics; ruleset based on five films with randomized modes per film, creating significant replayability differentiation (confidence: high) — Hosts discuss character selection system and note each character has 'special power' with some having drawbacks for balance; five films x five randomized modes structure explained
- **[product_concern]** Hosts initially concerned Pirates art might be 'clip art' or photoshopped, but confirmed as hand-painted after in-person inspection; frosted ramp diffusion design may be prototype-specific and not confirmed for production (confidence: medium) — Hosts admit initial skepticism; Eric Minier confirmed hand-painted; frosted ramps described by Eric as uncertain for final production ('we don't know if I'm gonna stay that away')
- **[technology_signal]** Pirates integrates subway features uncommon in contemporary Stern/Spooky games; five subway entrances feeding one subway plus inter-subway routing noted as unusual modern implementation (confidence: high) — Hosts note subways are 'hard to get into contemporary pin' and rare in Stern/Spooky; praise the five-entrance integration as distinctly themed

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## Transcript

 Are you ready for your next pinball machine? Call Flip N Out Pinball now and choose from the newest and hottest pinball machines from Jersey Jack Pinball, Stern Pinball, Chicago Gaming Company, and American Pinball. Flip N Out Pinball also offers the Escalera stair climbing hand truck. Visit now at FlippinOutPinball.com. The wait is over. A revolution in LED lighting for your pinball is finally here. fully customizable full spectrum lighting from pin stadium lights order yours now at pinstadium.com check out pin graphics for the latest and greatest in pinball enhancements power blades blade skins pin blades and even more visit pingraphics.com now to see what's available for your pinball machine marco specialties same day shipping accessible website exceptional customer service and with over 50,000 different pinball parts in stock, Marco Specialties is a must for every pinball enthusiast and operator. Treat your pinball machine right by visiting marcospec.com now. Mr. Jason McNally, sir, could you please emphasize... Yarrr! A little heavier, please? Oh, yeah, mate, no problem. Yeah! Thank you. Ooh, I'm fired up now. I'm fired up. Do you like that intro, huh? It's nice. It only took me about 14 and a half hours to get that thing. It's not that great. All right, I'm fired up because we get to review Pirates of the Caribbean. Yes, the long-awaited Pirates of the Caribbean. This is part two of our deluxe review. Yeah. Deluxe review part two. We had a great time out there. Thanks again. We had to break it up. Yeah, thanks again to the JJP crew, especially Eric Meunier, especially Keith P. Johnson, especially Joe Katz, and the whole crew up there. They were nothing short of just awesome to us. Agreed. We consider ourselves friends now. Thank you, fellas. Thanks, guys. No matter what we may say during this, we will remain friends. Yeah, that's the thing. Like, regardless if we go up or not, all bets are off at this point. We love you. It is. This is the real deal. This is what we do. All right. So, anything we need to... Oh, you know what? Before we start, we had Crazy Jay, Jason Roofer, reach out to us. and he wanted to donate a mod for us for Star Wars. Yes. And I thought, oh, we'd love that. We'd love to give that away. Yes. So we're going to give that away in a... How are we going to give that away? I got an idea. All right, so this is... If you guys can see that. I think it's really sharp. Oh, my gosh. It's brushed aluminum or brushed stainless 16-gauge laser cut with clear imagery. It is very clear. It says, use the force, light speed, fire. So this thing is missing on the Star Wars. You get this big, beautiful machine. You're missing this. I mean, this is... I do think it adds a lot to it. It's in the head. So it's nice. It's got 3M adhesive. It goes on really easily. He wanted to reach out to the SDTM viewers and give this away. So what we're going to do is we're going to give this away by means of email. Where do they need to email us at? They can Facebook us. You can Facebook private messages. Facebook messages, yeah. Or you can email us. Tell them about the email. SDTMPinball at gmail.com. Yes. That's SDTMPinball at gmail.com. You can win that. All you've got to do, the fans of the SDTM show, we want you to message us one of your favorite sayings or quotes that you've heard Greg or I say or anybody on the show. We want to compile those. And if you're kind enough to give us one of those memorable moments from the last year, we're going to draw a name out of the hat here in a couple weeks. and we're going to send that to you. In the meantime, if you want one of these and if you have a Star Wars, why wouldn't you? Right? I agree. You'd have to ask this. I do agree. I do think it's really awesome. Absolutely, because it's on all the other Steve Ritchie games. You've got Star Trek like that. ACDC's all got that. You need this. And the Star Trek really stands out. And they're cheap too. This thing is $45 shipped into the continental U.S. and it's $52 shipped internationally. So get a hold of Jason Roofer, Crazy J, at, listen, here it goes. Get your pen ready or your pencil. or your quill, mnpinball at yahoo.com. That's the letter M as in Mary, N as in Nancy. Well, hell, it's on the bottom of the screen. And he really did do a good job. The TIE Fighters are really sick looking. Oh, they're absolutely. It's a little bitty intricate detail. It says fire and light speed. Yeah, it really is very well done. Yeah, so we want to send this to you, lucky winner. And if you don't win, go ahead and order one from him because this is needed on your lock. It's not a lot, stick it on any machine. That's right. all right so in typical SDTM fashion let's start with art this is Pirates of the Caribbean by Jersey Jack now people are gonna say Greg why are you guys rating this this isn't even in production yet what do you guys jump in the gun here but we were able to get quite a bit of time we played it at Chicago we played it at Louisville Expo we got to play while we were in Chicago with Eric and Joe and Keith so we've actually put a substantial amount of time yeah on it for it to be a and prototype pin how developed this thing is oh it's very developed yeah it's i mean it's production ready yeah really i mean yeah yeah so this is based on the prototype i guess we'll review it again if we need to in a year but yeah i'm not worried about that no all right so let's start with art does the art stand out the art stands out tremendously like the i love the art okay um you know and i'll tell you what the colors like like jjp has the the color saturation and it really is the way that their colors work on a play field is gorgeous but even that that trans light around the lcd screen is actually looks very vintage pirate yes it is very gorgeous but that play field is so beautiful and i thought that it was just a quick photoshop look like clip hearted clip art heads yes that's what we thought but eric told us it's hand painted when you go up and look at it really close yeah it looks like an oil painting it does it is that rich that's how it's like an acrylic versus an oil painting yeah it's that rich and again it's just the colors it's something that just draws me to it now the going into it i honestly did and i told you on the trip up there i said i think the art might be the thing holding it back yeah But when I went in person and you see that cabinet, see my favorite is that side cabinet. I like the side cabinet. Of all their portfolio faces. It is. Oh my. Well, but again, it's one of those things that I love that I always find so important is the cohesion of a pin. The play field matches, the cabinet matches, the trans light. It all is one beautiful art piece in conjunction. You know, the play field doesn't look different than the side art. The side art doesn't look out of place with the play field the way it's lit up or anything else. I mean, look at, if we take another Pirates pin, look at Black Rose. Yes. Or even look at Stern's Pirates of the Caribbean. They said very traditionally, Pirates are, you get a little bit of blue from the water, but mostly you're going to get tans, you're going to get browns, you're going to get reds. They could have went that route. But for these guys, this artist went pops of color and he found a way to make it look fantastic. I agree. So much so you're an A. Yeah. An A on art. Yes. I would have never thought. Because, like, okay, and that's a good comparison. And I like Stern's Pirates. I do. But if you look at that back glass, you can never light that back glass up according to the play field. It looks off. And you've got all the blue surrounded by the map, the brown, the tans. It's just not a cohesive pen. This is juicy. It looks juicy. Freaking stellar. I gave it a B+, because I can't give it an A, because to me, A is just in its own league. This is not in its own league. It is definitely beautiful. There's really no action scenes. When I think pirates, I think kind of action. I can understand that. So I've got headshots, and I like. everybody uh is worried about the johnny depp guess what johnny depp's in there yeah jack sparrow is in the game he's he's the biggest head on the play field he's the biggest head on the side of the cabinet yeah um until you go to the ce then the ce you have david jones at the bottom in the place of jack sparrow still looks good oh it looks fantastic yeah it is different it is different the artist the art's fantastic it's phenomenal you're gonna see a trend here of what we're going through this game's special guys this game is special this game is special in a lot of way so we'll keep going shots and layout so this is a first time designer a lead as a lead designer did he just totally botch it no what you give him tell him what you gave him for shots and layout i was an a plus that kind of laughed at me that's awesome and i i'm i'm not kissing eric's ass um but no like like the thing is that i like and i i i'm not i haven't played the vast number of pins that you have or a lot of people like I played a lot of pins but I haven't played a vast number so some of these things may have been uh recreated or something else and and other pins or something else I don't really know what are you talking about I'm just I'm I'm I'm I'm rambling it's you have an a plus I was at an a go ahead damn bastard um so like you know like that far out lane like I like that that far out lane is not your drain lane yeah and that it goes back in it's your middle lane that's your your drain no that is cool I like that it's like a outland crossover yes I do like yes and so I enjoy that that's different and it builds a lot of speed coming down to that left flipper yeah which is hard to deal with or get used to yes and then he's got the saves on the outside like I like that and I thought I got to say this when we were up there and I was watching Eric play those because I I played it and I saw the outlay but I'd I never really tried to nudge it and mess with it too much. But watch it. Eric said that there's a post there. And that post, he's going to supply rubber with it. Because it makes it a little more difficult. And I thought, watching Eric play, he'd save the shit out of that ball. And I'm like, dude, that pen needs to come with that rubber. Because it's too easy to save that ball. That's true. But I played it more and more. I couldn't save the ball that easy. Oh, could you not? he might have played it 10,000 times that's what I'm saying so I was judging it from the designer playing it but the nice thing is about having that option of that rubber is if you get too good at saving it yeah like Eric is I'm not and there's two spots that you can change the rubbers yes you can take them both off put one on put one I mean yes there's different levels but you can put that rubber on there and up the difficulty no different than changing your out your your post or anything else so I like that but and again the ship I mean we've had some upper playfields but the rocking ship the cannon um i love the the what's the swirly whirlpool thing called oh the maelstrom maelstrom yeah like i love that that's not just a ramp it's a diverter that puts it the it's a neat shot like i one of my favorite shots this sounds so stupid i'm sorry i'm rambling but like i love i love this part of you i love when you start the mode up in that magnet area and the post comes up and it's slinging it around in there bouncing it around i don't know why i like that but i just so there's so much different stuff to this pin is why that i ranked it so high you make me want to do an a plus yeah because i think shots and layouts on indie that's one of my you know that's one of our highest ranked pins another wide body another white one look at you so weird it's coming around so weird about this but that like there's so there's so many cool shots on this we could go on and on and on an episode just about the shots yeah that's my favorite thing about the pin i'm the nice thing is uh a lot of people hear wide body like you and you're like you shrill a little bit this plays like a demo man wide body because you've got you really you have your loop that is structured around a standard size inner loop which is one of the most fantastic shots on the game the inner loop that like that shadow loop um and it's used for so many different ways and then you've got instead of like demo man how you have two left lanes are just captive falls this is literally it's always going to be over there it's a scoop and it's a turnaround with a uh with a subway entrance in there but not only that unlike demo man because demo man to me i love the pin is a it's a standard body pin in a wide body because the two the two left lanes they act as you know you don't really use them but on this pin off to You're literally using the entire pin because you're through the pops on the right. Like you said, there's that scoop. There's the orbit over here. You literally use that entire thing, but it shoots so fast that it's smooth. That's what Demoman feels good. If you've got a good, strong flippers on Demoman, that doesn't feel like a wide body because it doesn't float. That's a good point. It shoots fast. It's not like the Hobbit where you're waiting for the ball to come to you or anything. or it's just floating around up there and up slowly up the ramp. These are good, quick, standard body shots. They are. The argument that I would make of why the shots and layout is so terrific on this, because what Eric Meunier did was he took the best of both worlds. He knows that when it comes to wide body, we love as players having a number, an array of shots. Wide as we can, we want to stuff as many shots in. but a lot of people don't like the wideness of orbits on wide body so he said okay i'm going to give you all of the shots out of the out of the flippers the main flippers i'm also going to close off that back two-thirds so that you don't have those big wide orbits i'm going to give you your standard orbit that you love that's a damn good point i'm going to add that third flipper that everybody loves that repeatable i mean just those three little techniques right there makes the best foundation that you can in a wide body yes this might be one of the best shooting wide bodies ever it really might be yeah honestly it really might be and then that's not all then you got inner loop you've got i like the shots and layout um the ship is cool enough but he designed it in a way where if you hit that right ramp a lot of times you're going to hit a spinner uh those sails oh yeah i've hit it i've hit it quite a few times that's straight up and i'm automatically into it and if you guys haven't seen our uh our part one uh deluxe review where the designer and the coder go over it he'll tell you how he dialed in that inner loop shot to make it perfection yes i agree uh another shots i like is the behind the flipper oh behind the bayou it feels good you hold it up very good oh again that why that like some people got so many people got mad that i i i compared it to twilight zone it doesn shoot like twilight zone no but I talking about all the different shots and all the hidden shots that Twilight Zone has This is like that Yeah. But better because Twilight Zone to me is a lot of up that center. It is. And this isn't. It's true. It's varied. But if we're comparing it to Twilight Zone, I mean, that's pretty good. Yeah. That's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. I like the map stand-up targets to the side of it. It's the size of the ball, and it's a hole that goes into the subway. I've never seen anything like that. I've never seen a gobble hole that's that little bitty that feeds into that. I love that. Well, you know what's nice, too, is a lot of times, like, you know, if you don't have enough, like, on that left ramp, and we're all over the place with this just because we're just reminiscing about great shots. But if you don't get up to that maelstrom, is that right? Yeah, maelstrom. Like, and you might not completely go around. Even if the bird is not down, you don't have enough power. You're going to drop down that hole. It's going to mess your shot up. It's going to the subway. Same thing with going up the ship. If you go up the ship and you don't have enough speed, not only do you take the chance of it rolling down, but depending on the rock of the ship, you might tip one of those flippers and get rejected a little bit. I've seen that happen a few times to me. He made man overboard where he falls off the ship. Oh, my God, yeah. There's nothing more pirates about that. Yeah, because you're not given. It's like, oh, my God, it's just this right ramp. I go up to the ship. I can hit that ship all day long. But that's not the case. No. Because like I said, you've got to have the steam to get up it. And then you said the man overboard. You can get up there and scream. You say, damn it. I love that this guy this guy must have been in his dreams designing this thing too he didn't spend no waking hours not thinking about this thing even the extra ball shot it's the farthest right shot on the machine where you have to go through the pop so we all kind of love the challenge of that but it's it's a rubber and it's a switch back there and you have to hit it without hitting any pop bumpers to get your extra ball yes oh I like that one too it's really tough I I want to just shoot and shoot and shoot on this thing. And you'll see, once we talk about the joyability, why this thing is so cool. And you're almost exploring the pin. Oh, yeah. The entire time. Different places to go. It's an adventure in itself. Just learning it and exploring the shots. That's true. We didn't even talk about the chest shot. Locking multi-balls. I mean, you go up and back through. Isn't that bad? Don't talk about Waterworld. Isn't that bad? No, it's better than Waterworld. But isn't that bad that that's such a cool thing? but like there's so much going on like you're just like oh the physical ball yeah it's so good and it's nice because it's got a fork in it so it can be an inner loop that feeds that flipper he talked about wanting to feed that third flipper as much as he can and it shows too because that's one of the funnest shots yes and that was a redesigned um they redesigned that mech going up into that chest because eric was still prototype when we have prototype yeah and everything but it's redesigned it for an easier, easier shot to get it up in that chest. So that's, you know, always tweaking. Those guys, like, up there, they were always talking about, like, every little thing tweaking to the last minute, so that bastard's rolling off the assembly line. It's tweaking, tweaking, tweaking. Even the left ramp, that Maelstrom ramp, that is satisfying. I love it. I love it. I felt like that Black Rose, that tribute to that other pirate game, just up and around. I don't know what this constitutes. I don't know. And this isn't really shots and layout, but it is, I guess. I like it that it's not this crystal clear plastic. They use this frosted. Now. I don't know that might just be a prototype thing Oh, no Oh, well, I'm gonna tell you talking about this is this is my thing on it. I like that Do you know why I like that because I don't have to flame polish those bastards. Yeah, they don't get scratched up It doesn't look like shit that pin is gonna those ramps that they stay in the stores is a good LED diffuser Yes, it really does you don't want to see an LED bulb. It looks like a rain Yeah, you don't want to see an LED bulb behind a clear ramp. Yeah, and then especially that's okay if it's brand-new Yeah, but once that bastard starts getting you know, five lines on it and getting lines It looks like shit with a ball line true so that Eric you guys keep that though. I like I don't know people like it threw me at first Yeah, but then I was like I love this At Expo I was talking to him about it. He was like, oh those are prototype frames. We don't know Hi, I'm gonna stay that away for that reason and then we forgot to talk about subways It's hard to get subways into a contemporary pin. Stern doesn't use subways a lot. I don't think that Spooky does. Houdini did, so American Pinball does. This thing's got five entrances to one subway and one subway entrance to another subway. Which makes it feel like there's a lot more going on because of all the feeds. Yeah, and you learn them and you're like, ooh, I know where the ball's going now. I love it. Shots and Layout, you're an A+. And you know what? I think I'm with you there. I'm in an A for now, but I almost support your decision better. I almost support that better. Oh, my gosh. Now we're going to rules and code. This is Keith P. Johnson. Yeah, code god. So there's a lot going on. This is, okay, so I'm at an A. You're at? An A minus. So we're both thinking it's spectacular. Yes and no. Okay, I'm going to give mine. You give yours first. Yours is going to be... Mine will be the correct interpretation. So, this code is a masterpiece. This is a masterpiece code. Now, is it the type of code set that I generally go to? Absolutely not. Okay. Absolutely not. I'm not a big stacking mode, stacking multi-balls kind of guy. Okay. This is the Simpsons pinball party on steroids. Yes. That's what this is. Which for a lot of pinball, pinball players, right now they're grinning from ear to ear when they hear that. Yeah. You can open anything up. You can stack anything damn near. Yeah. You could really talk about the, you heard Keith P. Johnson talking about the codes for an hour. So we're not going to get into that far of depth. But essentially there are five films. I just love the format, basic format, guys. I was teaching you this the other day. Five films. There's five modes randomly selected for each film. There's five multi-balls. There's five mini wizard modes. Complete it all. Master wizard mode. I like that. Yes. I like that. I like that they randomized the modes. Yes. I like that. I like that that's not all. You have a map. No. You've got a map that spins. It could just be a spinning disc. Nope, he coded the hell out of it. That map is coded deeper than a lot of games in general. That's true. All right. I will agree. The compass tells you where to shoot. That compass is coded more than a lot of machines. That's agreed. The pirate inlanes. The pirate inlanes. That could just give you a bonus or something like that. They're super proud of those pirate inlanes. And they should be you get to select your reward for lighting those yes that thing is deeply coated yes Everything every single aspect of this is so deeply coated and maybe the most deeply coated Is 22 characters when you start this thing and it's not just for shits and giggles you're picking these characters They balance them each one of them has a special power and a lot of them have things that bring them down a notch to like I play this game for you at Little Expo the wife finally got to play it against in Chicago with me and she had picked a character and I was like oh what because I'm having problems with exactly what Keith and Eric said and I was like shut that's right the woman picked it before me so she got it based on looks picking it based on rules yeah but uh okay because it looked like you that one. Scrum? Is that his name? I don't like it. I agree with what Zach said, but here's my problem, and I gave it an A-, so obviously I thoroughly enjoyed it. You rated it higher than most pins you rate code-wise. I did, but I also have, I was torn with this. I was torn with this, And the reason being is it feels, and I'm going to play sort of, I'm going to critique it a little more than you. Are you playing devil's advocate here? Yeah, I'm going to critique it a little more than you, man. I'll be Al Pacino. And so. Where's Charlize Theron at? Going crazy over there on the couch. Such a sexy Charlize Theron. All laid out on the couch like a beauty over there. He's ignoring us. we got a smile on there but so i'm i'm not a big simpsons fan i i am that common like what keith had talked about of the people that it takes a while to warm up to his games i am that person with simpsons because i haven't owned it and i've got to play it a little bit yeah so i'm not wild about it so i am i am guilty of that exact person that he described so you're Respecting it enough for an A-. Yes, but... So, there's talk of it being multiball heavy. At times, I sort of felt that it was multiball heavy playing it. But that being said, I think that the multi-balls, it's such a deep, complex game. And with the stacking, the multi-balls help you progress through the depth that they are needed. and they're they're not they're not oh my god i'm just guaranteed this multiball like like demo man people love demo man yeah they do they do it's a great competition game and that's that's strictly a basically a multiball game you get a couple little modes up off the crane but it's technically a multi and it's easy to get those multi-balls and you love it and you love it okay and i don't feel that when i put it into that context i don't feel that it's multiball heavy i think that watching Eric play it makes no offense to you Eric but it's made the game seem too easy and seem too multiball heavy because Eric can live in a multiball because he's a hell of a player and he developed the game so I think that it makes it seem that way I don't have a problem being in the multi-balls overly long or achieving multiball after multiball after multiball yeah so I think that that's an invalid argument critique okay when that people are are critiquing it too heavy on there. We should have filmed us playing it up there. Yes, because... Because we're average pinball players. Well, you got to see that brief glimpse of me playing it. It wasn't anything. I wasn't, you know, it was good shots. It wasn't multiball crazy. But I do think the multi-balls are needed because, again, it helps you progress through the story. And there's depth, like you're saying. And there's depth. You need some help. But at the same time, I still don't understand Hobbit. I know that sounds stupid. It does. I still do not understand Hobbit. But I will tell you... It's like the easiest coach to do. I will tell you, I feel I understand enough of this game that I know what to shoot. Wow. So you understand this better than The Hobbit? I understand this better than The Hobbit. I know that that sounds ridiculous. But listen, I know to shoot the skull. Yes, the skulls for my modes. Like that left loop. So each film has its own start shot to get your modes. And I know that when that's solid, then I shoot it up into the bouncy thing that I like. And that's what activates my mode. and then i know to shoot the character names they literally light up for the shots like like there'll be like um like your your your right ramp has two names and they're like these v-shaped yeah arrows going into it so you know that if the both of those are lit up i gotta hit that twice if you want to go to black pearl multiball you go to black pearl yes yes it is so like it's actually very comprehensible yeah and some people are like the move the most and it's like keith said modes are nothing but lit shots and this has them it's not necessarily this gigantic arrow it's the little arrows with the names but you know what shots to hit and they're still a good one they're still different yeah the shots are different corresponding to the movie with again with what character is in that film scene that's what you're shooting for the evolution of this argument you started out saying and you talked yourself back into loving it again i'm like you don't have to you don't have to convince me. I said it was a masterpiece. I literally thought that I was going to be a little rougher on it. It didn't even come out that way. It's too good. Just because I'm not into the depth. This guy's convincing me. It so happens. I tried to be a little shittier on it. A synopsis on the rules. It is so deep. There is so much going on. If somebody told you that they understand completely all the little multipliers, all the collecting gold, all the character advancements, if they tell you they know what's going on, their name is Keith P. Johnson or Eric Meunier or Joe Tapp. But again, it's like they said, okay, I was able to grasp and comprehend that game. So on location, I could play that game and have a fantastic time. Yes. But it has so much depth that I don't already understand that it's going to appeal to competitive players. Keep you coming back for more. Yeah. That if I owned it, it's going to take a lot for me to get tired of because I'm going to be playing a basic strategy and playing it. Man, it'll take forever to get tired of this stuff. Yes, and then the more that I learned, then obviously it opened up a whole new game to me. And that's what I like about it. And maybe Simpsons is like that. This thing makes Lord of the Rings look simple. You know what? It does. It feels like Lord of the Rings. Does it not feel like Lord of the Rings the way that it is? Not to me. Not the way it shoots or anything, but I mean just... The code, no. No? No, it doesn't. Maybe I'm wrong. Well, now, what I will say, like, if we're comparing it to Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings has very understandable foundational rules. That's what I'm saying. I can comprehend Lord of the Rings. It's like that, but it does that five times because you have five films, and then you can start them all at once. Oh, it's, yeah. All right, here's the thing, and I've been telling everybody this because everybody's worrying about everything, and I'm like, look, here is the brass. We're going to get down to the brass tacks here. This code is so deep. I don't know if Eric and Keith like me saying this, but this is true. We're not going to bullshit. No. This code is so deep and will keep you coming back for years. So much so that here's a tip. I ignore all of the rules. And here's why. You ignore all of the rules because there is so much to shoot, Greg, that what I do first when I play Pirates is I focus on blinking lights. I just try to have fun. This game is so much fun to shoot that I focus on that first, and because it's so deep, you'll start opening up. Well, that's what I was saying. When I own it at home, like when I get it at home, it would stay for a long time because just that exact thing. That's what I was trying to explain. That's just the way that it works. You start opening things up, and then before you know it, you're on ball two, and you've started about three or four multi-balls. you're close you're opening up modes that's when you stop you take a breath for a casual player like me i stop take a breath then i start looking at my screen i think okay i've completed this this this and this all right looks like i need to do this but to think that i'm going to start with that with a strategy and all this that's a little much for me initially to do so if you guys want to have a blast on this and it'll keep you coming back for more because this honestly this kind of code set I don rank A at this kind of rules I don Just because it not formatted in the way that I like But this game is so much fun because of everything else that I love the code because there so much to do So I an A you an A It's a masterpiece. It is, it is. Complete masterpiece. So on to Toys and Innovations. Is there much to say? No, yeah, no. I sort of struggled with it. No, you didn't. You gave it an A+. I mean, it's fine. I gave it an A+, as well. But I'm going to back that up because some might say, but like again that maelstrom maelstrom over there is just it's kind of cool it's simple but it's cool okay the locking chest is awesome physical ball lock we love it i love a physical ball lock sculpted physical ball ramp that goes up and down to allow it to so you can pass underneath of it and do the the loop the orbit is great in the ship i know that it's just a rocking upper play field but it is so fantastic that that is a number one toy it might i know it's an upper playfield i had trouble with that too is it a toy is it is an upper playfield but to me it's a toy because of its motion and its movement it's both yeah and it fires a cannon that's it's a toy it's not just an upper playfield it is a where's the fire cannon at in a shack another sculpted ship and it's not only, oh, it's just a ship sitting there with a hole in it. No, you can knock the bastard sideways a few minutes. It moves. But you still hit it. Or you can shoot it through the port, the hole. So, there's so much. There's so much. Is that a fun? The spinning pop bumper. Not only are they a, oh, spinning pop bumpers. Yes. Yes. And there are a couple of them spin. Tiki Tom or whatever we named him. Tortuga Tom. Tortuga Tom. Yeah, Tortuga Tom. It looks like Greg. Spinning around drunk. Oh, that's better than the hillbilly pirate. Nice job. I've been practicing. Okay, so let's talk about the upper play field. That's fun. It's legitimate fun. It is. And it's challenging, too. It is. And it's fun trying to get it in that cannon. I love it. And not fall overboard off the plank. Agreed. Right? Oh, I love it. Is that a top three upper play field of all time? Oh, easily. Easily. And here's why. Because there's been some critique from people who haven't played it yet. It's like, oh, man, it looks boring up there. It looks slow. It looks that. But, again, I will say it. I think that I said this back when I very first played it when we first saw the game. Is it keeps you, and it's still true to this day, it keeps you so focused because of the rocking motion. And there's multiple things that you have to achieve up there. It's not just hitting targets multiple times. You've got to make it through the spinners. The spinners are satisfying. Then you've got to hit the two targets. Then you've got to load the door once the door opens. Oh, yeah. So all of that during a rocking motion. And it rocks at different speeds. Yes. and a character, again, back to the characters with the coding, slows it down for a particular character if your ass sucks at rocking the boat. So it is, again... There's so many options. It's a fun upper playfield. It's actually a fun upper playfield slash toy. And you hate upper playfields and you hate wide bodies. I do. And you love these. This is a demon. this we forgot to talk about the three ring circus of a spinning map oh you forgot about that yeah that would be the central toy in any game yes because it throws your ball and they're spinning a different so it can it'll wiggle your ball it's not just up slinging over here it'll wiggle your ball certain rings can spin certain don't have to certain but again it's not like slow fast like twister or it's not like x-men it's not it's not just the disc there it means something because it's coded it actually has a purpose you guys stop them screwing your ball up and that's it again with the rules anytime you can plunder somebody else's ball that's awesome people hated that ball plundering thing I saw people like that guess what turn it off yeah I was like how often is it probably gonna happen and everything like I just don't it's a first I think small people were bitching about it on location bitch my money if I pay for three balls I need to get balls not two balls and somebody was like oh you sorry you wasted your 35 cent you come one ball I don't care it's that stupid of an artist yeah somebody like broke it down you know I like of your boss like you that is so dumb because it just it's fun yeah I'm fishing you don't want that obviously it would turn off that's right but playing on location dude that's funny it's fun yeah I like the even for talking toys Matt from back alley creations Bravo brother you bringing this thing toys wise to life fantastic even the devil's triangle it's a stable thing but it actually makes me want to spend extra money for an L yeah does he make tortuga Tom to I don't know Matt reach out to us I think let us know if you made tortuga Tom did I think he's making the black sales for the black for a wait till you see that the production That was the prototype. Wait until you see the production. Where were the sales at? I saw the pictures of it. I'll show you. Have any of them that we played have it on there? No. Okay, so it's going to... Just wait. Oh, my God. It's going to blow it away. It's unbelievable. Sorry. And then also the... What else was I going to... Oh, we can't leave out the Collector's Edition topper. That's nice. I do have some complaints on that. That is possibly a top three topper of all time. Really? It's a rocking ship. Oh, I think it's gorgeous, but here's my guess. It's got lighting effects? I know it's... It's on the seat. And I know that it's an engineering nightmare the way that I'd want it, but I don't like the... This is... This... The half look? I don't like the half look. Okay. That's a good point. I want a full ship and a bottle and have the mechs maybe underneath hidden somehow so where that it rocks in there, but I don't like the flat back panel. That kind of kills it for me. I think it only kills it if it's in the center of a room. Otherwise, it's against the wall. Who cares? I mean, it's so cool as hell. Don't get me wrong. This thing is loaded with toys. I think this, if J.J.P. ends up making a Toy Story, this might have more toys than the Toy Story. And it's in the title. Yeah, good. Okay, so music and call-outs. This is going to be like a two-hour review. I did worse than you on music and call-outs. Go ahead and tell them what you got. So I got a B+. I don't mind the music. I think that it's good. I think the call-outs, is it Kevin Jason McNally? Kevin Jason McNally. Kevin Jason McNally does a fantastic job. I think that he was a very good pick. David Thiel did the composition of the original music kind of thing. Yeah, and so what if it's not the exact Pirates music? I know the Pirates films were a fantastic score. You can't just say, so what? That's a big effing deal. I think it's a big deal, but who truly... It's a fantastic score. I've listened to the score. I've listened to the score. It's fantastic. But this isn't a deal breaker to me that it's not that. I didn't say it was a deal breaker, but it is a big deal. Now, why... And again, somebody... Wait, hold on. Let me get in this real quick. Unless this will throw you off really bad. So somebody wanted us to do this. And I do want to find somebody because I thought this was a fantastic idea. I had gotten a message. And somebody wanted us to, I think it was Walshy in Australia. Our buddy at Walshy? I think it was Walshy. Sorry if it's not you and it's somebody else. We got Walshy on the line. Yeah. They wanted us to go through the licensing of what it takes to do that with a pen. And I do want to find somebody, whether it's Eric or somebody, to go through a licensing, as much as they can tell us that's not off the books, that we can explain to people the difficulty of getting licensed and what each company looks for. Because I'd say Disney is different from a lot of other licenses. Some just simply won't give it. Some it's just so expensive. Yes, because I want to know the hang-up with Disney and the music. Well, I understand the voice call-outs because of getting the actors. Yes. And you've got to pay them fees and royalties on top of everything. but I want to and I'm assuming that it's the same thing with the music because I want to understand with Disney being so strict about their properties about why that that of all things a reward-winning soundtrack that score is not there it's exactly think they'd want to represent that to the fullest yes so I'd like to make a pirates pin for us yeah we're putting in that yeah because that's the thing that people have to understand about these pin manufacturers and I I think that we discussed it maybe all the way back to Star Wars or something. I thought that we had discussed this before. But you cannot necessarily blame the manufacturers all the time. You can't necessarily blame Stern. You can't blame JJP for certain things because some of them, it's just, it's unobtainable. We possibly could if we knew the details. We just don't know the details. Yeah, it might be some of the manufacturers' fault on certain things. But some of it, I think, is the rights. If I played devil's advocate, I'd say, if you get Star Wars. and you don't get Pirates of the Caribbean, then you can't tell me it's unobtainable. I know that. It's just how much more do you want to spend. Star Wars could do that because, let's face it, there's nothing in that game. So you spend a little extra money. This one, JJP makes games that are built like a tank that are fun as hell. It is. Maybe they put their money more into the experience and the gameplay rather than the flash and lights. That's all I can think. Okay. But if you're so mad at all this, why are you rated higher than me? I'll tell you why. Okay. Because David Thiel and Kevin Jason McNally. That's why. I love in our audience when we have yawns. Every time you talk. I can somewhat go with that. I've never based it off a name. I base nothing off a name. I mean, David did a fantastic job. That's why, I mean, I think it was good. Never base anything off a name. Reputation is nothing to you? No. It means everything to me. It means what you do. No. Whatever product you come out with. Look at DeLorean. DeLorean was a fantastic car designer. I still like a DeLorean, so don't get me mad. But when he made his DeLoreans, he was a fantastic car designer. One of the best of the time. And then he set out and built his own car. And it bombed. It was a heavy-ass steel tank. But David Thiel isn't running his own company. No, but I'm saying, though, you can't base it off of reputation. Yes, I can. That's no. I still think you did a fantastic job. It shined. Like, he doesn't make me feel like I'm out of the Pirates world. No, I don't think so either. I feel like I'm right in there. That's what I'm saying. The only thing I'm missing is da-da-da-da-da. I'm missing that. But everything else, I hear glimpses of it. I feel. Smitty looked at you like, look at this. I feel glimpses of it. I feel that. He remembers it to that T. and then and then that's breaking on his mini keyboard like Ross on Friends compared to Ross a lot of times in my life he's proud of it he's proud hey he's a good actor he's not getting much work right now but he's a good actor he's a good actor alright smelly cat let's talk about Kevin Jason McNally he did a phenomenal job. That is an actual actor from the film. Now, a lot of our newer pins, they don't have voice actors. And he's one of the only actors in all five films. Him and Johnny Depp, I believe, were the only two. So it made sense to actually use him. You use one of two people and you're sure as hell not going to get Johnny Depp. Nope. But I liked it, so let's move on. It sounds fantastic. Display and animation. So display and animations is a new category. And why did we add this? Because it's a pinball standard now it is it's twippy category that's the standard so we're if for lcd screens and animations going forward and you'll see in our video probably next week when we review our year round we're talking about displaying animations now what we know it doesn't have are the video assets from the film what well the people the actors yeah and it's got the film scenes we got ships we've got all of it except for the faces of actors yes and and and i is it a big miss no no i i don't miss it um would it have been nice to have been there like the hobbit yes hell yeah i probably overrated it i'll be honest i gave an a minus i did too and i probably overrated it but but the animations that they did come up with and what they had to work with of the map and everything is so superb if you actually look at it and when you hit you know when you sink that ship with the cannon over there and it actually swirls and sinks it's a moving map interactive yes it's an interactive map like a harry potter almost like uh the the the um marauders map yeah that they had that's what it feels like to me looks like yeah except for way more detail even better but it has that same feel and that's superb choose your character oh another crew Jack Sparrow The Goblin The Jade Knot The Snuffbox It's very well done, and it's very detailed, and I don't mind the little snippets that pop on there of the screen, you know, when you're in a mode or in a chapter. Yeah, it's nice. Ah, jackass! Into the maelstrom! The Black Spot. And the freaking animations for the multiballs are superb. It's sickening. It's sickening how good those are. Jackpot! Yeah! Gold everywhere. Up to Tortuga for a grand time. Ah, Tortuga. At World's End Multiball. wait until you guys i don't know if it's been filmed yet but i've seen it uh wait until you get the sound and visual experience of an extra ball in this game that's all that's nice into the maelstrom well you know what something that's not on here that i want to talk about is this is one of the best sounding pins i've ever heard oh like what eric said it was just like a 2.1 or something but it sounded like I think it's more he told me something the quality of it is just nice it's literally like a bow system it's small and it's just in your head but the directional yeah it throws the sound to where that it sounds like a surround sound pinball machine like I was I was that's quality it caught me off guard and that's why I had to say something to Eric when we were up there because a lot of the other stuff's been at shows and stuff we haven been able to play it in a quiet environment I got three words to describe why I gave it display and animations an A without Johnny Depp from the films Because how in the hell do you give it an A- without Johnny Depp? But three words for you. J.P. DeWin. Yeah. That's exactly why. J.P. DeWin does the animations for Jersey Jack. He's done a fantastic job. I want everybody to stop right now and take the time to think about The Hobbit, The Wizard of Oz. Think about the displays and the animations. That's Jean-Paul Duvin. Yeah, but people would argue, well, they had the screenshots and they had the characters and all that good stuff. Bullshit. I mean, I still think you did a great job. The things are masterpieces. And he had to do more with this. Yes. Then screen cuts. That's what impressed me. as again this is more like a dialed in situation of where that you had to create something because you couldn't use that you couldn't go the easy way out yeah you couldn't do nice scene cuts jp dewin is the best animator in pinball he's the second best animator in pinball he's the third best animator in pinball and if he puts his name to something i know it's going to be phenomenal and his name alone i mean jp for dewin yeah i like your name Jersey, Jersey, yeah, pinball, whatever. You win. Purdue win. So, yeah, it's beautiful. Who cares? So the theme. I was in the name. People, people, dislike the Pirates. Pirates of the Caribbean? Yes. It's been done before. I don't care. It's still a good theme. Pirates are a good theme. Pirates of the Caribbean is still a good movie. When it came out, it was a superb movie. Every one of you loved it. Don't lie to me. It's like a blockbuster. It's a cool, like a Jurassic Park, Star Wars. The other films, they're better. Fell off. but the first one was still it's still Pirates Pirates of the Caribbean people loved it when it came out years ago is there a better Pirates film in history than Pirates of the Caribbean I'd have to think on that before I commented I'm thinking now I can't nothing Hook Hook was fucking stellar loved Hook but was it the blockbuster that Pirates of the Caribbean was no Hook was a different That's a different fairy tale. Cutthroat Island. You remember Cutthroat Island? Yeah. What was that one? It was a Gina Davis. Oh, Pirates. Yeah. That's a good one. All right, we're stopping there. All right. But if we're talking theme, it may be the most blockbuster. Yeah, blockbuster because of the comedy and Johnny Depp made that film. But Hook was a superb film. Shitty pinball machine, though. Oh, my gosh. One of the worst of all time. So you're at an A. Yeah, because it's still Pirates and still Pirates of the Caribbean. I like that. But I'm a big movie guy. Yeah. Now, does this theme feel like Pirates of the Caribbean? Yes. Or does it feel like Pirates of the Caribbean and something else? No, I... Yes and no. It encompasses the film, but it could be a standalone pirate and ball machine. Absolutely. And that's why I like it. Yeah. Because Pirates of the Caribbean, do I want that in my game room? I like Johnny Depp. I like the first film. I like the last I mean they're cool films but is it a top 10 thing for me no is it a top 20 no is it top 25 no so I can't give it an A I'm gonna be plus yeah of course sorry I'm gonna be plus just because I love pirates I love that theme that's why I like Black Rose and this is the most part I dare somebody to use all the money in the world to try to make a more piratey pinball machine than pinball and pirates and that's what if you're just not a fan this is what i say to the people if you're if you're not a fan of pirates of the caribbean like this is still a good standalone pirate pinball machine you don't think so much about it being pirates necessarily yeah so you can still own it enjoy it love it in your house because it's so beautiful and get around that and here's the caribbean but for pirates of the caribbean people it also encompasses enough of it that you would love it here's what i love about the uh if we're going just another throwback to the code the layout all of it you think about pirates and you think about pinball right uh what are some this thing symbolizes pirates in the way it shoots in the code and the sounds because what are pirates what do we know in general pirates are sneaky yeah and they kind of they're not the smoothest and they stagger but they're sneaky and they're fast right that's this pin gray it's sneaky it takes your balls it puts it in subways where you don't know it you're reaching now you're just reaching i think it's a good does this does this feel like a pirate what if it was really fast is that pirates no no pirates are drunk they stagger you got a spinning disc that you're staggering you got a swaying ship you're staggering pirates aren't the most agile things people i make a good point people right now are like oh yeah you got a good point looking deep for that one. I'm going to be plus. Yes, and I'm going to be an A. So, enjoyability. I don't know how in the hell you ranked it like that. Well, I win A minus. What'd you go? A plus. I win A minus, and the reason why, and I'll tell you, and it may go up a few notches, is just because I don't understand the half point, one and a half times. I understand my actual stand-up multipliers. But there's some other... Yeah, there's some of the stuff that I don't fully comprehend right now. yeah that that so it it doesn't over complicate things because i like the depth but i don't know enough about it right now to say that i enjoy it that much for that but i gave it a minus which is still super solid because of how it shoots and the code that i do understand and the code that is easily understandable okay it's still fantastic and i still i just have fun it's enjoyability let's have fun with it like because it's gorgeous and it's fun shots and That's all you need. You don't need code for it to necessarily have enjoyability. That's true. You know? So, that is a good point, though. Yeah. That is a good point. You can still have fun. Yeah. It's enjoyability. It's different from everything else. I think it reflects what I'm about to say, and that's that there's things on here I don't like. Yeah. There's things on here I don't like. I don't particularly care for the theme. Yeah. I don't particularly care for that foundation of code. I don't particularly care for the gold and trying to tap the button to get the gold. I agree with that. I think that's a little too much. I don't particularly care for not having Johnny Depp in the film. I don't particularly care for not having the score. But here's my point. I don't care for all these things. Everything is taken away. And I give this an A plus because this thing is a freaking blast. It is a blast. And it takes all of my worries about what Pirates Pinball by Jersey Jack was going to be. and it laughs at them i agree because the integration of everything together it's like bitching about a cake because it's like you know there's a little uh i don't usually like this but is the cake good oh my god it is it's the best cake i've ever eaten like this cake is awesome so i don't care that there's things that i don't like because i'll just shoot the maelstrom and i'll play the upper mid play field or shoot the loot i don't care and i sort of have to address this because I've played it maybe a little bit more than you actually on this one. This is like the first time. And I will have to tell you that the gold button the gold button the first few times I played I was like this is a pain in the ass. It's like the Tide Rider bullshit. Like why am I... But I will have to tell you this. Maybe it's because of my lethal weapon that everybody hates on and you've got to do so much of pull the trigger! You've got to fire and you're trying to keep your ball the gold button i have found i've had a few instances where it has actually upped my enjoyability really because okay i have trying to hold this flipper i switch this flipper real quick while i'm gathering my gold and trying to save my ball and keep my ball and play while i hit that yeah and it and there's enough room in there and thanks to hit that it's actually i felt some pride and some enthusiasm of keeping my ball alive while I hit that goal. So at times it's been a bitch and I've hated it, but at other times it's actually kind of added to my enjoyability and I hate to admit it. But again, I enjoy a lethal weapon and it's a lot of that bullshit. So maybe that's what's helped it grow on me. For me, I've just, I've come to the conclusion that I don't have to be the greatest tournament player ever. I want to play a game and I want to have fun on a game. and if I don't want to press the damn gold button I'm not going to. If I trap up a ball and I notice there's gold on the screen, I tap it or you know what, maybe that's why the 22 characters is awesome. I go to the character that I only have to press at 1 to collect all my gold. That's a deficit of mine. I have a hard time enjoying. I can do it. I just don't enjoy this much. So maybe I pick that character. It gives me all kinds of options to play. So if we're talking about pros and cons let's do pros and cons first. Let's do composite real quick. composite composite i'm in a minus 3.8 damn that's high it's pretty high i'm just as high i'm at a minus 3.75 wow so it's nice it's a good pin it's a great pin pros and cons of it pros uh pretty much everything there's so many everything pinball i agreed and it is you'll have so much fun pinball machine made by passionate people and you can own this game for years and never get tired of it yes cons price price but um when you're paying this price for this pinball machine and you're paying a price for some other pinball machines you get a hell of a lot more with this yeah you get double and you're not charged double no but you get double what you get from possible competitors i agree it houdini was a very good that's a good value too good value for its book this is right there with it even though it's a more expensive pin it's a more loaded it's a more loaded pin so a more loaded it's yeah yeah so it it it's on that same that same plane yeah i'm torn between the price because the price is just so expensive it's still expensive because at 9500 i'm the kind of weirdo that says you know what 9500 you get a lot to play you get a lot to play 9500 is a decent car that's what i'm saying but then you say do you really want to spend 9500 on a pin yeah that's you know what though you know who's thinking about doing it i know you are i thought about it when we left chicago when i first played it about getting my the the standard i mean so i get my deposits in on all of this yeah so i got a deposit in whatever but with layer but do i really but i think about it do i sell two machines this is basically an equivalent my collection of going from a three machine lineup to a two machine lineup. No. Not right now. But I'm an advocate for multiple pins. I'm not. I just want quality fun. Yeah. This pin plays like, this is what I was telling Keith P. Johnson, it plays like five pins. I've got five films that I can play with. It does. I enjoy it. I think I'm going to do it. This game is awesome. I think that's just really it. Some of the theme integration. We're just, these guys know it too. They know it too. They're okay with it because it's spectacular, but it doesn't have every asset. Good argument. You know, that much money. You know, we'd like to have more assets. Now, if they told us, if they called me up and Eric said, Zach, here's the deal, bud. You can have your Johnny Depp on the screen. You can have your original score, but you're not going to have the maelstrom. You're not going to have the upper rocking shit. Yeah, because we had to pay this much money to get the characters on there. Then I would say, great job. It drives it from an $8,500 and a $9,500 pin all the way up to like a $10,000, $12,000 pin. Maybe even more. Yeah, because of that. Maybe, you know. So if that is true, and I probably think it is because these guys want, they're so passionate about this. So it's a hiccup for a reason. I trust those guys. I agree. Yeah. Overall, that's Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm going to A-. You're at A-. It's one of the greatest pinball machines ever made. That's right. That's right. There's been thousands of pinball machines. I won't go that far yet, but I love it. I absolutely will because it's a fact. It's a fact. Look at that pinball machine and go back to it. Line up all the other pinball machines. Line them all up. And I guarantee you, if I take 10 people, independent study, they're going to walk up and be like, holy shit, that's the one I like. I do like it. Yeah. All right. What do these people need to know, Greg? If you haven't watched our first review. Subscribe to us on. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You got to watch that to understand the game. Yeah. From the people who made it. Yeah. I had to watch Keith about three times. I know some guy commented. He was like, I could tell at one hour and 32 minutes, Zach, you kind of faded out there. I'm like, I don't have a seizure disorder. I just was trying to get. Yeah, you're trying to comprehend there. That's why I had to rewatch it a few times. And then one guy said, and I love this comment. He said, oh, my God, terrific review. But why didn't you have the likable one interview? I mean. I'm not as knowledgeable. I couldn't carry that probably. Speaking the truth now. Speaking the truth. Greg did a nice job on the camera work, too, by the way. It was rough. There are certain aspects to that that only people, I think Eric Meunier was laughing at me a little bit, watching me slide up backwards up a desk to stay out of one camera view and be out of the way of lightings in an office and everything. I think he was back there kind of chuckling. I wish I could say that that was easy for us. Yeah. That's hard work for us. It's pretty tough for two people because we're a two-man team. That's it, man. We're on a shoestring budget. Yeah. There is one man working cameras and everything else. And then the other guy is interviewing. And then we do editing. On a basic program. And so we start getting paid for this stuff, and we can do some good stuff. Yeah. This is what you get, which I still felt we knocked it out of the park. There's some critiques to be made, but that was still a hell of a video. You kicked ass, buddy. I kicked ass. We all kicked ass. Congratulations, ourself. We're going to pat ourselves on the back. Yeah. And we're going to bring you guys more of that, because that's what you guys want, and we're reaching out to manufacturers all the time. We hope that we're invited. We hope that we're invited more to some of these. Maybe do some reveals like this. That's what needs to be done some reveals like this or partner reveal with a gameplay or something But until then check us out on Facebook. Yeah, check us out on YouTube. I do us on you. Check us out on Twitch Yeah, I teach. Oh, yeah. Oh, this is our new one Or boy Christopher Franchi. Yes. He does things like Batman 66 Guardians of the Galaxy and SDTM t-shirts Yep, and nice little one print shop CD graphics. Oh, you're gonna give the logo plug a log man And they worked hard. They stayed up late to get us. We needed them before Louisville Expo. Yeah, they were in the shop until 8 o'clock the night that I picked them up before Louisville Expo. Yep. They stayed there until Friday to get the shirts out to us. And we had a short turnaround notice. So big thanks to you guys. Reach out to us. Talk to us. We want to talk to you guys. Let us know what you want to see. Give us some this or that. All of that stuff. We love you guys. We'll see you on the next Deluxe Review. What's it going to be, Greg? Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Straight down the middle again. Middle again. You had a fling with a fling shot. You're rolling out the alley dog again. I tried to cradle you with my flipper. It was all... Girls, quiet! Okay. Okay. That's an outtake right there, by the way. You scared me. That's why I called a butthole. Daddy's a butthole Let's go

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 45c74928-9bf1-4e81-8fa1-ef17f6c6f996*