# Star Wars - Fall Of The Empire - Love it or Hate it

**Source:** Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2026-01-28  
**Duration:** 35m 22s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsDiC14EuGE

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## Analysis

Enzo provides an extended hands-on review of Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, expressing a love-hate relationship that leans heavily toward appreciation. He praises the game's theme integration, Spike 3 hardware capabilities, Ray Day's code work, and character-based mode progression, while criticizing tight shot geometry, the fan layout design philosophy, and missing features like dual playfields. He contextualizes design choices as necessary trade-offs for approachability and manufacturing reliability aimed at the 30% location market and younger demographics.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Ray Day has done phenomenal code work on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire — _Enzo states 'Ray Day has done a phenomenal job with code on this game' and later reiterates this assessment multiple times throughout the video_
- [HIGH] The game's tight shot geometry (Luke shot, Death Star lock) could have been widened by narrowing the lock shot and making space adjustments — _Enzo shows playfield analysis: 'I think if we had opened up the lock shot right here and given a little bit more space to the Luke shot and the Death Star lock, probably people would hit more of those shots'_
- [HIGH] The game is designed with approachability and manufacturability as primary constraints, targeting casual/location play — _Enzo explains: 'the game had to be approachable, easy to manufacture, easy to get on the line, be reliable, be a workhorse, but still appeal to the Star Wars masses'_
- [HIGH] Enzo prefers Fall of the Empire over the 2017 Steve Ritchie Star Wars machine — _Direct statement: 'I do prefer this game over the one next to it, which is a 2017 Star Wars' and later 'I think I prefer this one in relation to how the modes are'_
- [HIGH] The Jedi ball save feature is hard to use because players forget to keep flippers up and forget to press the action button — _Enzo observes: 'I still don't really fully understand. It's like you got to keep your flipper up. If you don't keep your flipper up, it knocks out as well' and 'I always I do forget the action button'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I think what we have here is a game that is extremely appealing because of the theme. In the words of Kerry Hardy, it's approachable. It is approachable, but it is also a very interesting fan layout."
> — **Enzo**, Early in video
> _Core thesis statement about the game's design philosophy balancing theme appeal with fan layout constraints_

> "Ray Day has done a phenomenal job with code on this game."
> — **Enzo**, Early section
> _Direct praise for the code designer's work; repeated multiple times throughout review_

> "Could there be more? Yes. You know, I'm the first to be a Stern shield, but I do think this probably could have had a little bit more in it."
> — **Enzo**, Mid-video analysis
> _Balanced critique: acknowledges missing features while defending design philosophy_

> "I would have liked to have seen a lower playfield that was the cave and have, you know, Luke hanging upside down. You got to kind of spin around him or an upper playfield that was the Emperor's chair."
> — **Enzo**, Game reflection section
> _Specific design wish: dual playfields (common in other Stern titles)_

> "I think this game doesn't get enough love. You know, again, I think there's a lot of Stern haters that jump at any opportunity to criticize something because it's not an Elwin or it's not a Danger."
> — **Enzo**, Mid-gameplay
> _Addresses community criticism and designer comparison bias_

> "We are really spoiled with Stern games when it comes to layouts by George Gomez, Keith Elwin, Jack Danger. I think this game's probably copped a little bit of criticism because it was a Star Wars theme and everyone wanted it to be an Elwin or a Danger flowy game."
> — **Enzo**, Design analysis section
> _Contextualizes Fall of the Empire against high expectations set by legendary designers_

> "For a theme that is an approachable theme and a theme that will fill your quarter box—your coins in the box—probably maybe a little bit tight could be the only criticism I have."
> — **Enzo**, Late-game analysis
> _Summarizes the central trade-off: tight layout for broad appeal vs. shot accessibility_

> "You need something that is simple. You walk up to it, I can see what I've got to do. I can see what I hit. Even if you don't understand pinball, you get it. I think this does that really, really well."
> — **Enzo**, Philosophy section
> _Defends the design's approachability for non-experienced players_

> "Make sure you play one before you comment on it. We're getting a lot of negativity posts where people are saying things, and they haven't even played it."
> — **Enzo**, Conclusion
> _Calls out community criticism without hands-on experience_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Enzo (Gonzo) | person | Content creator and pinball reviewer running Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama; provides extensive hands-on analysis of Fall of the Empire |
| Ray Day | person | Code designer/programmer at Stern Pinball credited with Fall of the Empire's code; receives high praise from Enzo |
| Kerry Hardy | person | Quoted by Enzo regarding the concept of 'approachable' game design |
| John Borg | person | Implied designer of Fall of the Empire (based on KB context); also designed original Walking Dead pinball referenced in KB |
| Keith Elwin | person | Legendary Stern designer; used as comparison benchmark for shot layout complexity and player experience |
| Jack Danger | person | Pinball designer; referenced as comparison for complex, flowy playfield designs |
| George Gomez | person | Legendary Stern designer; referenced as benchmark for playfield layout design |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Designer of 2017 Star Wars pinball machine; used as direct comparison point for gameplay preference |
| Star Wars: Fall of the Empire | game | 2025 Stern Pinball release on Spike 3 platform; primary subject of this review; features character-based modes, fan layout, tight shots |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Fall of the Empire; Enzo defends reliability and code update support benefits vs. boutique competitors |
| Spike 3 | product | Stern's third-generation hardware platform used in Fall of the Empire; praised by Enzo for 4K screen, audio, and lighting capabilities |
| Joe from Kids Just Want to Have Fun | person | Arcade venue operator who loaned the Fall of the Empire machine to Enzo for early hands-on review |
| Expression Lighting system | product | Stern's dynamic LED lighting system featured on Fall of the Empire; Enzo praises integration with color palette and gameplay |
| King Kong | game | Recent Stern release referenced by Enzo for comparison on design complexity and amount of activity on playfield |
| Metallica | game | Stern title referenced for scoop difficulty comparison; Enzo notes Fall of the Empire has easier scoop design |
| Godzilla | game | Stern title referenced for scoop difficulty comparison |
| Guardians (of the Galaxy) | game | Stern title referenced as same game as Metallica in terms of scoop difficulty |
| Insider Connected | product | Stern's software/connectivity ecosystem that Enzo credits as significant value-add justifying game pricing vs. boutique competitors |
| Rush | game | John Papaduke-designed game referenced for center shot mechanic similarity to Fall of the Empire |
| 2017 Star Wars | game | Steve Ritchie-designed Star Wars pinball that Enzo compares to Fall of the Empire (prefers Fall of the Empire) |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Playfield layout design philosophy (fan layout vs. complex shot sequences), Code quality and game balance (Ray Day's programming work), Spike 3 hardware capabilities and presentation quality, Theme integration and approachability for casual players, Shot geometry tightness and accessibility trade-offs, Comparison between Stern and boutique manufacturer design philosophies
- **Secondary:** Community criticism and expectations management, Mechanical features and toy implementation (AT-AT, Jabba, sculpts)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Enzo expresses a 'love-hate relationship that leans more toward love.' While he identifies legitimate design criticisms (tight shots, missing dual playfields, simplified layout), he defends these choices as necessary for manufacturability and broad appeal. His conclusion is strongly positive: 'Does that change anything for me? No. I'd still buy one.' The criticism is constructive rather than dismissive, and he advocates for hands-on play before judgment.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern's Insider Connected software ecosystem cited as significant value proposition justifying premium pricing and offsetting boutique manufacturer comparison criticism through ongoing code support and updates. (confidence: medium) — Enzo: 'we get constant code with Stern. We get Insider Connected with Stern. There's a lot of value in Insider Connected. That thing costs a fortune to make, maintain, and keep updating. The reliability of Sterns are workhorses.'
- **[community_signal]** Enzo's content strategy includes extended hands-on gameplay and detailed technical analysis to educate community and counter speculation-based criticism; frames play experience as primary validation method. (confidence: medium) — Enzo: 'Make sure you play one before you comment on it... Let's play the game, then make a comment. You'll be surprised.' Video features 30+ minutes of actual gameplay footage and detailed playfield analysis.
- **[competitive_signal]** Fall of the Empire positioned against boutique competitor games at similar price point, creating expectations for complexity and shot design parity. Community criticism driven by comparison bias toward legendary Stern designers (Elwin, Danger). (confidence: medium) — Enzo: 'everyone's going to want to play this... People will always criticize because they keep comparing to the boutiques because it's the same dollar value' and 'I think there's a lot of Stern haters that jump at any opportunity to criticize something because it's not an Elwin or it's not a Danger'
- **[design_philosophy]** Jedi ball save feature receives mixed feedback: praised as 'fantastic feature that gets a wow every time' but criticized as difficult to use due to requiring flipper position maintenance and action button timing; Enzo suggests training mode could improve usability. (confidence: high) — Enzo: 'The Jedi ball save is a fantastic feature that gets a wow every time you do it' but also 'I always I do forget the action button' and 'I'd like to see, like I said, some type of training thing'
- **[design_philosophy]** Players desire additional complexity features (dual playfields, upper playfield, lower playfield cave) that were omitted, likely due to manufacturing/cost constraints. Enzo acknowledges this trade-off as acceptable but notes it's missing. (confidence: high) — Enzo: 'I would have liked to have seen like a lower playfield that was the cave... or an upper playfield that was the Emperor's chair... Could the game have had more? Yes.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Fall of the Empire explicitly designed with approachability, manufacturability, and broad demographic appeal as primary constraints, resulting in simplified fan layout vs. legendary designers (Elwin, Danger, Gomez) who create more complex shot sequences. (confidence: high) — Enzo: 'the game had to be approachable, easy to manufacture, easy to get on the line, be reliable, be a workhorse, but still appeal to the Star Wars masses' and 'For a game that is going to be pretty much every age bracket is going to walk up to it and want to put quarters in it to play, you probably can't really have that.'
- **[market_signal]** Location operator Joe from 'Kids Just Want to Have Fun' provided early machine access to content creator, indicating manufacturer/operator strategy to seed positive coverage before widespread availability. (confidence: medium) — Enzo: 'Thank you to Joe from Kids Just Want to Have Fun for getting this game to us very early in the piece so we can sit with it, play with it.'
- **[personnel_signal]** Ray Day's code work on Fall of the Empire receives consistent, unprompted praise from independent reviewer Enzo, suggesting quality work that transcends typical designer criticism patterns. (confidence: high) — Enzo repeats Ray Day praise at least 3 times: 'Ray Day has done a phenomenal job with code on this game' and 'I think Ray Day has done really well' throughout video
- **[product_strategy]** Fall of the Empire character-based mode progression (Obi-Wan, Luke, Han, Yoda) designed to appeal to broader demographics including younger players unfamiliar with Original Trilogy planets, representing intentional accessibility choice. (confidence: high) — Enzo: 'starting modes with characters, not planets. Hardcore Star Wars fans know planets. Not everyone does, especially younger kids. They probably don't remember them.'
- **[product_concern]** Shot geometry on Fall of the Empire is reported as problematically tight (Luke shot, Death Star lock), with specific recommendations for widening certain shots to improve accessibility and hit rates for casual players. (confidence: high) — Enzo demonstrates playfield and states: 'if we had opened up the lock shot right here and given a little bit more space to the Luke shot and the Death Star lock, probably people would hit more of those shots' and 'The Luke shot is really hard to make. It's tight.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Enzo notes significant divide between hands-on players (who love the game) and online critics who haven't played it. Advocates for play-before-critique approach. (confidence: high) — Enzo: 'We're getting a lot of negativity posts where people are saying things, and they haven't even played it... A lot of people I know that own this game—they love it. They bought it because they played it first'
- **[technology_signal]** Spike 3 platform improvements (larger 18.5-inch LCD screen, enhanced audio system, improved lighting) represent meaningful hardware advancement that Enzo values highly and contributes to overall game presentation quality. (confidence: high) — Enzo: 'I really like the Spike 3 system. Obviously the 4K screen, the bigger picture, the sound, the light show' and praises Expression Lighting integration throughout review

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## Transcript

All right, guys. Enzo back with another video. Uh, it's been a while. It's been a while. It's been a minute. There's been a lot going on in my personal life. There's been a lot going on with work life. There's been a lot going on with Christmas breaks and everyone's been sick with influenza or gastra or something. But we are here. We have Star Wars uh Fall of the Empire. Now, obviously, we're not in the UK because if we were, we wouldn't have it. I know that's still a touchy subject. Um, but we are very lucky. Thank you to Joe from Kids Just Want to Have Fun to get this game to us very early in the piece so we can sit with it, play with it. And uh, boy, do I have uh interesting thoughts about this game. I I have a lovehate relationship with this game. Uh, more love, don't get me wrong. More love. Um, [clears throat] I think uh what we have here is a game that is extremely appealing because of the theme. Uh, it's, in the words of Kerry Hardy, approachable. It is approachable, but it it is also a very, uh, interesting fan layout, and we'll get to that soon. Um, I really like this. I really like the way the theme integration is. I really like the Spike 3 system. Um the obviously the 4K screen, the bigger picture, the sound, the light show. Um the code Ray Day has done a phenomenal job with code on this game. Um you know where we are obviously starting modes with characters, not planets. Hardcore Star Wars fans know planets. Not everyone does, especially younger kids. They probably don't remember them. uh a game like this that you know it is going to predominantly be be at home for 70% of the market but that 30% of the market that is uh going to be in an arcade everyone's going to want to play this cashbox going to get full on location and the game has to be for everybody. The interesting part is is that it's a little bit hard to shoot and I'll show that later. Um I think some of the shots are a little bit tight. I think some of the shots could have done with a little bit of widening. Um, and we we'll get to that and I'll go you through all that. But once you dial it in and you really practice where those shots need to leave from the flipper, it is an extremely addictive game. It is an really captivating game. It does make you want to press start. And we've just had a code drop recently. Uh, the Jedi ball save is a fantastic feature that gets a wow every time you do it. Um, I'm still learning a little bit. I'd like to see something in code maybe done for like Jedi training. maybe a mode that you can start that allows you to just keep pumping balls out and you need to catch them and practice that. Um, but it is a what's a Star Wars game without the force, which is what this bad boy behind me is lacking. Um, you know, again, for me, I I think it is great. We are really spoiled with Stern games when it comes to layouts by George Gomez, Elwin, Jack Danger. Um, and I think this game's probably cpped a little bit of criticism because it was a Star Wars theme and everyone wanted it to be an Elwin or a Danger flowy game with awesome shots and unique ball paths. And as much as I love Elwin and Jack games, they sometimes can be a bit much. There's a lot happening in them, you know, and for a game that's meant to appeal to the masses because of the theme, we didn't need Elwin or Jack for that, you know. And uh in my opinion, I don't think that's a bad thing. I think keeping it safe uh isn't necessarily a bad thing. Um could there's been more? Yes. You know, I'm the first to be a stern shield, but I do think this probably could have had a little bit more in it. Don't get me wrong. It is far more impressive in person um than it is um from photos, especially the color scheme and the artwork. At first, the artwork I was a little bit like not sure you see it in person. The artwork is is really good, especially the uh the backbox. Um obviously uh like I said, the shots are a little bit tight. Um but when you get those, it's great. This has a Death Star fix in it. Um I extremely like the Darth Vader modes. There is an abundance of modes in this game. Like a bucketload of modes. Um over 30 modes if I'm not mistaken. Now, uh the multiballs are fantastic. Obviously, we've got the multiballs on the Luke shot, which is the left shot here. There's the Death Star, and then there's the the middle shot, which obviously is the the um falcon shot. Uh so, multiball, not too heavy, fantastic. Uh I like the chaos of the pops. Um I do like the fact that you can rip the left and right orbit with the spinners. I love spinners. Game should have more spinners. Um so, what we'll do is we'll take the glass off. We'll show you through it a bit better. Uh we will do some game play and then we'll just have a chat. All right guys, we're going to take a closer look at this. We've got the uh internet YouTube friendly music that Stern has provided to be able to stream this game. It's a stunning game. There's no doubt about it. I think the way it's been put together with the color, the color palette, the lights, the expression lighting, it works really well. Like I said, the artwork in person looks heaps better. Um, and
Oh, come on now. We haven't got all day.
The C3PO call outs are fantastic.
Look, you know, like I said, could the game have had more? Sure. I mean, there's no doubt I would like to have seen a lower playfield and upper playfield. I'm a sucker for those. But look, at the end of the day, like I said, the game had to be approachable, easy to manufacture, easy to get on the line, [music] uh, be reliable, be a workhorse, uh, but still appeal to the Star Wars masses, [music] which I think it does. Um, is it a hard shooter? Look, at first I think it is. I think it definitely has elements of being a bit of a tough shooter, but again, you dial that in, and I'm not a great player, so I'll show you that. Hopefully, you can see that. I think this artwork, guys, is is really cool in person. Um, really really detail. There's some depth to it. Might be hard for you guys to see on camera. It is a bit dark in here. So, I'm going to do my best to uh show you. I think this is probably the only thing I would like to have seen like a Death Star and like a shooting laser beam go all the way up the side. That was lighting. I think that game, this game deserves that. Um, that's just my personal opinion. We'll just turn this across so we can get to the other side. Oh, sorry. Solo. Oh, tilted the game. The Empire Strikes Back part like I really like Empire Strikes Back like most Star Wars fanatics do and I think to do him to that is fantastic. Um because you know being probably the most popular out of the three films. Hope you guys like this old school Italian carpet.
Come on now. We haven't got all day.
So what we'll do is we'll uh we'll have a couple games and we'll see what happens. All right guys, we're going to have a game. So we got the friendly music for YouTube. No Star Wars music. This is the original music that Sterns put in. Uh, we can do a full spin and try and hit a shot to get a skill shot. Um, to start the character modes. I just did that. Basically, they light up. Uh, I really like the modes on this. That was my fault.
Theme integration. Really cool. That center hyperspace shot is extremely satisfying and repeatable.
Oh, that was my fault. Didn't even see that go up. There's a couple shots are a little bit tight. the death star shot and the loot shot, which I think we probably could have gained a bit of space by making the light lock under the AT-AT or atat uh a little bit. I'll try and grab. So, this here is quite wide and if it was a little bit narrower that and this might have been a little bit wider as a shot. Um, we started the multiball. I would have liked to have been in a mode, but I wasn't.
Sound effects and call out. Very cool. Ah button. Oh, always I do forget the action button for the Jedi ball save because Yoda's lights are very they're [snorts] not they're not huge and you kind of so it's so fast as a game that you just forget that you got to hit the action button. So you got to really uh train yourself to do that. Modes are lit. No, that didn't work. Get that back. Now you can backhand that. Boom.
Listen to me, Chewy. Chewy, this won't help me. Hey, Oh, brutal. It's a It's a fast game that, you know, it's a typical ball game. It's fast. It's brutal, but it's extremely enjoyable.
Save your strength. It'll be out of time.
So, I got full Jedi ball save. Hopefully, I can show you guys that. Get another ball logged.
Recording while I was cleaning him. song called Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Very cool. I do prefer this game over the one next to it, which is a 200 uh well, I always forget the year on it.
We're in Battle of Hoth Multiball. This is a very cool multiball. Oops. And I just drained all those balls. That's what she said or he said, whatever floats your boat. Oh, not having a very good uh multiball on that. I haven't been a I have not been able to hear anything at the moment,
which is one of the, you know, when you got a um a fan layout that's tight, the multiballs are challenging because obviously it's for a novice player that's not a sniper,
it's very hard. Oh no, I was too busy. I stuffed that one up. That's my fault. Um,
enter your initials. too busy. Let's have a look. Too busy trying to keep the ball alive. So, um, we'll do another game.
Says the chance of a match is 725.
Super skill shot completed.
All right, let's hit some standup targets to lock some modes. So, I've showed you the hoff multiball. See if I can uh show you the desk star multiball. All right. Now, uh these are lids. So, I can actually allocate one of these um for the uh one second. Let's see if I Oh, come on. I'll blame the fact that the game's probably not fully level. No, make it. Ah, I'm really struggling. All right. All right, I started. Ah, man.
I suck a pinball. It's official. But, you know, it's uh you're seeing what it's like when you're a very average player. We've opened up the Death Star. Now, even though the game is a bit brutal with the layout, it is still, you know, fun. It's fast. There's one. Oh, just made it around. [snorts] Oh. So, we're going to try. There's one. Oh, nearly. Oh, no. See, I went to Jedi and I was too slow.
So, I generally think that this game doesn't get enough love. Um, you know, again, I think there's a lot of stern haters that jump at the fact that they any opportunity to on something because it's not an element or it's not a danger uh or it's a little bit approachable and safe, you know, with the understanding that when you've got a theme like this, it's going to sell itself. And yeah, could have had more. Totally. I totally agree. It could have had more, but you know, it is what it is. And we get still get to play another epic, fast, well themed integrated uh pinball that is kicking my ass at the moment,
but I enjoy it and I don't care that it's brutal. Um,
this could really save my neck. Get back to the show.
All right, get another ball lock. My god, Enzo. There you go. Backhanded the ball lock. Let's get into uh another one. Oh, that was s You guys saw how fast it is. All right, so boom. Backhanded. Let's start this. All right, let's go. I love how it shoots out of there. I would have liked to have seen the green lasers on the Death Star, but you know, at least it's a Death Star 2 this time.
the thing is with I will say with the Jedi ball save, if you don't keep looking up, you don't remember how much save you've got, whether you've got a full one or not. So, you kind of start panicking. That's a good score, 200 mil for me. Um, you start kind of panicking going, "Oh, and you know, do I how do I use it?" Um, [music] so maybe a couple call outs to help with that. I I can look at the flashing lights and I keep forgetting to look at the flashing light, but again, you know, when you're trying to keep the ball alive, it's uh it's challenging. Um Trying to hit the R so we can start a mode.
Oh, what do we start? We start a Yoda mode. Rip some spinners. Get some Jedi save on there. Oh, oops. Um, so there is a lot going on in the background as well on this game. I still don't know the code fully. There's ball one locked again.
Full plunge. I'm a sucker for a full plunge that goes all the way around and I can mess things up. You can backhand that. You can wait for randomize or you can hit the action button to choose the mode.
So, we got all the modes of the characters. We got Vader modes. We got Rebel missions. We got Jabber events. There's a lot going on in this. So, backhanded again. I know what Yoda would be saying to me right now. Control, control, control the ball. Slow it down.
Oops. You get combos.
Laugh it up, fuzzball.
Laugh it up, fuzzball. One of my favorite texts. So, can we back? Oh. I've got this just hitting the top bubble. Not that it means much to a lot of people, but
All right, I got full Jedi ball save. Do I drain it just to show you guys? Nah,
won't do that.
I'll use it when I actually need to use it. Oh dear, my circuits get deeper and longer.
Missed that mode.
There you [laughter] see cuz I forgot. I was like, "Oh, I hit the action button." So, I've got to just Oh, God. That's my fault. That's not the game. That's my fault, people. That's my fault. We'll live stream this and I'll get one of my mates to come around. He's a one of the top 10 players in WA and he he will uh show us how to play this. Oh, something happened there.
the action button to save.
Ah, come on. I [snorts] just I still don't really fully understand. And it's like you got to keep your flipper up. If you don't keep your flipper up, it knocks out as well. So,
you're quite clever.
Anyway, we'll end it there cuz uh it's dinner time. So, yeah. Look, you know, for me, I think it's a great game. It's very well put together. Uh modes are fantastic. Ray Day has done a phenomenal job. Artwork is fantastic in person. Call out sound effects really, really cool. Could the game have had more? Yes. I would have liked to have seen like an a lower playfield that was the cave and have, you know, Luke hanging upside down. You got to kind of spin around him or or an upper playfield that was the emperor's chair that you had to kind of bash around. But I get it. I do get it. It's meant to be something that is uh, you know, approachable, is simple, it's easy to build on the production line. And that's the thing that I think sometimes we forget, right? So yeah, I mean let's uh let's have a chat and take it from there. To start modes, we've got to spell force
on the standup targets. And I got the spinner skill shot on the cup. I love that cup. Spinning cup. So the modes are open now. I have started the Obi-Wan mode. I've got the Death Star. See if we can get the Death Star. No. Oh. Um, go around. Got that one. There's another Scott. Oh, that center shot is really satisfying. Uh sometimes if there's not enough oomph behind it, it does fall short. I've got a ball save.
I've started the hand solo. We'll get that around a few times. It's a satisfying repeatable shot. And the way that the backbox is lit at the back so you can see where the ball goes around is so cool as well. Oops.
That spinning cup. I'm a sucker for plastic ramps and spinning cups. So, [snorts] see what happens there. Straight into the Death Star.
Save enabled. I got my Jedi
ball save has started as it's pulsing. When it's solid, it means that it's full. So, I can basically use the full force.
Yeah.
All right. So,
no, failed that one. Only had the J, I think. Go around start of the hyperspace multiball. Oops. We do add a ball by going into the spinning cup, which I'll try and do. There you go. Oh, I don't think it's span enough. I think it's got to spin like 10 times from memory. Oh, just just got it. Ah, stuff that one. What I Oh, that was brutal. Uh, what I wanted to show you is basically I'm not a great player, right? And it it's brutal, but it's not at the same time. Like it is I'm not I've got a bad habit of not like thrusting the game and not um
uh you know, not moving it around and owning it um nudging it and and all that. So I've I've got to get better at that. But I really enjoy playing it. Um so give it another spin. That was not a good game. I do like that you got to hit that center shot to get it up a little bit like in Rush. Another John B game. Oh, the pops being a little bit celic. I enjoy shoot. Now the modes are the modes are lit.
I started the droids mode.
I really like the fact that when you've got like a um a drop target in front of a shot so it makes it like a dual shot. Um that's one of my favorite things, you know, using um well any mech really to achieve that. But I'm trying to Oh, that rejected. Probably because I didn't have enough power, not because of the
All right.
Well, I'm not going that way.
Get down there. Come around. one of the things that I think this game needed, and I'll show you in a second is basically
the Luke shot is really hard to make. It's tight. anymore,
which is let me put that there. That's the Luke shot there. This is quite wide and we probably could have gone a bit narrower to make this a bit more accessible. And also that this you kind of get these standups in the way a little bit. They move um multiplied. Just one of the flashing mission shots. All right. So, we started a hand solo mode. What's going on? You saw some gameplay. He kicked my ass, right? Uh I'm not a great player. Um and it's a fast game. I still haven't dled in the shots yet, but obviously wanted to show you guys the game. Um it is fast. It is action-packed. There is a abundance of modes in this. One of the things that I guess people have seen is the gameplay where you do hit a lot of post and a lot of stand up targets and that is true to the fact that it is a very tight shot fan layout. Um for a theme that is an approachable theme and a theme that will fill your quarter box your quarters in the box and and your coins in the box probably maybe a little bit tight could be the only criticism I have. I think if we had opened up the lock shot right here and given a little bit more space to the Luke shot and the Death Star lock, probably people would hit more more of those shots. You can backhone those quite easily. Um, but you know, again, I understand what's going on. I get it. You know, to this day, even playing King Kong for such a long time, there's a lot going on. And I think that's one of the things with Elvin and um, Danger Designs. They're fantastic, but there's a lot going on, right? And for a a game that is going to be pretty much every age bracket is going to walk up to it and want to put quarters in it to play. Um, you probably can't really have that. You need something that is simple. You walk up to it, I can see what I've got to do. I can see what I hit. Even if you don't understand pinball, you get it. And I think this does that really, really well. Jedi ball save, it's tricky. I'd like to see, like I said, a some type of training thing. Maybe you can hold the two buttons and start like a training wizard mode to practice um on that. Um but yeah, look, I I really enjoy the game. I think it's better than the other one. The other one is still a fan favorite of mine, but I do think I prefer this one in relation to how the modes are, how we start in characters and not planets. Um and just in general, just the overall gameplay experience. It really makes me keep wanting to push start. I really want to keep pushing start on this. Uh even though it kicks my butt. Um so but I really hope we get this in the UK. I think Gonzo would love this game. Um not to put salt on the wound GS, but I really think you'd like this game. Um you know, I I think we've got Stern always criticized about sculpts. We've got one, two, three, four, five. You know, we've got sculpts in this. Um I don't know how I feel about the glowworm jabber. It's cool, but I think I would have preferred maybe uh no light in it or maybe a spotlight on him instead. Uh because it is a bit weird, but it's grown used to me. I do like the touch of the little pinball. Um I do like the fact that the TIE fighter in the Falcon with the engine lights. It would have been cool to have the green lasers here like we [clears throat] had on the first one. I'm sure someone will make a mod for that more than likely. The AT-AT would have I think it's a gray mech. Could have been a little bit bigger. Sure, it could have been a bit bigger. Um, but you know, maybe to the point where it literally was above and it didn't need to collapse, maybe. Um, but I do like the fact that it collapses and I think that gives you, you know, a bit of a wow moment. It's not hard. It's not easy to do though, I must say. So, there's that. The everyone's calling them the Pez helmets. Uh, again, I don't think that had to light up on the inside. Um, it is a bit strange, but it works. you know, it's possible. The pops are really cool. I really dig those, you know, for the fact that it is obviously a little bit bare here. Um, there's a bit of manic here that happens with the scoop. I'm glad that we don't have to hit the scoop to start modes. I'm a bit over that. Um, even though that is a much easier scoop to hit than Metallica or Godzilla or Guardians, um, same game as Metallica, but you know, um, I just think that in relation to what they've done for a game that they needed to get out with a theme that is appealing to a lot of people and a lot of demographics and a lot of ages. Um, I think they've done a great job and I understand why there's not more. Um, people will always criticize cuz they keep comparing to the boutiques because it's the same dollar value and I understand that. Uh, and you know, I'm guilty of that as well sometimes, but we sometimes forget that we get constant code with Stern. We get insider connect with Stern. Uh, there's a lot of value in inside insider connect. That thing costs a fortune to make, maintain, uh, and keep updating. Um, the reliability sterns are workh horses. It's very rare uh that they fail and if they do it's easily solved very quickly. Um but you know it's one of the reasons why a lot of arcades put sterns in them because they are workh horses. Um so look I think at the end of the day could have had more. Yes. Should have had more probably. Does that change anything for me? No. I'd still buy one. And I think that uh it's a fantastic um combination of theme integration, modes, call outs, sound effects, chaos, speed um and nostalgia, and I think it's ticked all the boxes. So, uh if you haven't played one, play one. And make sure you play one before you comment on it. You know, we're getting a lot of these negativity posts where people are saying it's and they haven't even played it. So, let's play the game, then make a comment. You'll be surprised. A lot of people I know that own this game and they love it. Uh, and they bought it because they played it first, not because they just buy games cuz they can. So, uh, we'll see you on the next one. See what happens. [music]

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: bbfaf487-48c8-4dfd-92a3-fcdf77bb1112*