# 2023 Alien Pinball * Ripley Version * Worst Gameplay Video EVER! **Source:** Pinball Shenanigans **Type:** video **Published:** 2026-07-21 **Duration:** 16m 6s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpAZbIC_F0M --- ## Analysis A casual gameplay video of the 2023 Alien Pinball Ripley Edition machine by Pinball Shenanigans, where the host admits to having minimal familiarity with the game and discovers rules and mechanics on the fly while playing multiple balls. The video showcases the game's complexity, difficulty, and mode structure involving inlanes, ramps, scoop shots, and multiball sequences, with the host struggling to execute shots and understand the rule set despite the entertaining presentation. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Each inlane requires hitting the scoop to start a mode — _Ben (presumably the machine owner/operator) told the host this mechanic_ - [HIGH] The Alien Ripley Edition game is described as 'freaking tough' — _Host references Danzig's description of game difficulty_ - [HIGH] The game features mode-based progression with levels (descend to level two) — _Host reads on-screen prompts during gameplay showing 'Shoot ramp to descend to level two'_ - [HIGH] The machine has an upper flipper mechanism — _Host mentions and uses upper flipper during gameplay_ - [HIGH] Game features multiball and narrow escape ball save mechanics — _Host references narrow escape mechanisms similar to Jaws and attempts to use them during play_ ### Notable Quotes > "I've played it like once in my life. So, I do not know what I'm doing. So, this is not going to be a tutorial." > — **Pinball Shenanigans**, Opening > _Establishes the host's lack of familiarity and casual approach to the video_ > "Pinball brothers, let's go." > — **Pinball Shenanigans**, Early video > _Host's signature catchphrase addressing the audience_ > "This is the worst gameplay video I've ever done in my life." > — **Pinball Shenanigans**, Mid-video > _Self-aware commentary on the poor gameplay quality and rules understanding_ > "Danzig did say that this game is freaking tough, so might take a try or two." > — **Pinball Shenanigans**, Early game attempts > _References external source assessment of game difficulty; possibly Danzig Lev or another known figure_ > "That narrow escape does not work. I mean, I need to crank the machine in order to save that." > — **Pinball Shenanigans**, Mid-gameplay > _Comment on ball save mechanism difficulty and playfield save ergonomics_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Pinball Shenanigans | person | Content creator and YouTube/podcast host producing gameplay videos and commentary on pinball machines | | Ben | person | Likely the operator or owner of the Alien Ripley Edition machine; provided rule explanation to the host | | Danzig | person | Referenced as having commented on the Alien Ripley Edition's difficulty; possibly Danzig Lev, a known pinball figure | | Alien Pinball Ripley Edition | game | 2023 pinball machine based on the Alien franchise, featuring Ripley as the protagonist; known for complex rules and high difficulty | | Alien Pinball | company | Manufacturer of the Alien Ripley Edition pinball machine | | Jaws | game | Referenced by host as having similar narrow escape ball save mechanics to the Alien machine | ### Signals - **[gameplay_signal]** Alien Ripley Edition exhibits high difficulty and rule complexity, with mode progression, inlane/scoop mechanics, multiball sequences, and multiple ball save options that require quick understanding and precise execution (confidence: high) — Host struggles throughout video to understand and execute shots; references game as 'freaking tough'; multiple rapid ball losses across multiple attempts - **[gameplay_signal]** Game features multi-layered rule set including skill shots, mode qualification via inlane/scoop combos, level progression within modes, airlock mechanics, multiball, and creature features (alien tongue/mouth activation) (confidence: high) — Host discovers throughout video: 'Mission is qualified' after inlane+scoop, 'Shoot ramp to descend to level two', airlock mode activation, magnet activation revealing alien tongue, multiball sequences, Bob Jones creature mode - **[design_innovation]** Alien Ripley Edition incorporates sophisticated mechanical and playfield design including upper flipper, magnet activation, creature features (alien with motorized mouth/tongue), narrow escape ball saves, and interactive saucer/shot sequence modes (confidence: high) — Host references upper flipper usage, magnet activation ('magnet activated. Mouth opened. Oh, the tongue came out'), saucer shots, narrow escape mechanisms, and complex multiball shot sequences - **[product_concern]** Game difficulty may be skewed toward experienced/advanced players, with rapid ball losses and complex rule set that makes it challenging for casual or first-time players to understand and execute successfully (confidence: medium) — Host loses balls rapidly across multiple game attempts despite trying different strategies; describes video as 'worst gameplay video ever' due to poor performance; needs to play multiple games to capture single successful sequence - **[content_signal]** Pinball Shenanigans produces casual, exploratory gameplay videos that prioritize entertainment and discovery over tutorial instruction, showing real player learning curves and authentic struggle with unfamiliar machines (confidence: high) — Host explicitly states 'this is not going to be a tutorial', plays multiple games attempting to capture better footage, edits out failed games, self-aware about poor gameplay quality - **[community_signal]** Pinball Shenanigans actively engages with the community through casual, unfiltered gameplay content and uses signature phrases ('Pinball brothers, let's go') to build audience connection (confidence: medium) — Host's informal, conversational style; self-deprecating humor; audience address; social media interaction implied through casual references to other players/operators --- ## Transcript All right, I'm going to do a gameplay video on this Alien Ripley edition machine. I've played it like once in my life. So, I do not know what I'm doing. So, this is not going to be a tutorial. I'm just going to kind of discover it as we go together. All right. [snorts] Pinball brothers, let's go. As you may have figured out I'll crank up the volume so she'll be able to hear it nice and loud and clear. Ben did tell me that each inlane you got to hit and then hit the scoop. That starts a mode. So, you can feed the inlanes from the left and right ramp. That's all I know. Here we go. Use your skill shot. We've lost contact with the colony on LV426. Good start. Go right ramp. A little early. Boom. Now scoop. Mission is qualified. Bam, just like that. Remember we're looking for synthetics in here. Shoot ramp to descend. Which ramp? Both ramps, I guess. They're both lit. This is fast, man. I got to slow it down here. Shoot ramp to descend to level two. Steady, people. What about upper flipper? More flippers. Here we go. Nobody touch nothing. Shoot ramps to locate colonists. All right, which ramps? Oh, like ramps is in the lit green orbits. All right. [screaming] Oh, everything's lit now. Airlock initiates mission. Boom, just hit the airlock. APC Dude. Hold on. Information overload here. Shoot left orbit or left ramp, okay? Can I backhand it? Oh, backhanded the airlock instead. [music] Nailed it. Oh, man. At first I thought I'd trust the nub. And then I thought I would slide save, but it was way too late. Launch ball when ready. I'm ready. Where's the skill shot? You're ready to initiate the stick wizard. Okay. That was a sad way to die there. We got to get the alien to stick out his tongue at us if we can. Let's hit some of those targets. Danzig did say that this game is freaking tough, so might take a try or two. Some drop targets on the right here. Uh, drop ship on the right ramp. Can I backhand that? Left orbit says mother. Let's go mother. Not even close. Everything's lit now. What's happening? Where'd it go? Okay, I lost sight of it. Values doubled. Uh, that's not cool. Hyper sleep chamber when lit. I bet you when one of these is lit, you can say goodbye. All right. So, what about my airlock? Is it still lit? Got it. Is it over? There's like a you know, jaws one-way gate narrow escape kind of thing going on there, but I blew it. The topper light's going crazy. Oh, look at this. No match for me. Okay, well, I'm going to tiny uh Not bad for a idea of what to do here. Let's uh try again. Ripley, we have to talk. That was only like 4 minutes, so How about if I Get out of my house. Oh, I can pick alien or aliens. back with the colony on LV-426. I don't know. What should I play it first? Oh, I got a skill shot. I like the uh slingshot creatures. [music] Bonus didn't light. This game is tough. All right, let's try a skill shot again. Airlock. Bam. Is that anything? I just realized that whole display there. That's cool. I'm going to go alien dude. I'm assuming if I hit the alien targets enough times that he might come out and play. But, man oh man. Already on ball three. Oh, like That's it. It's over. Done. I'm going to scratch that game from the history books and not even show that. Okay. I think I'll delete that whole game. All right. We must try that again. Here we go. Okay. You want alien or aliens? Let's go [music] aliens. I think I missed my skill shot opportunity. Already on a warning here. And already dead. Yeah, I feel like I just got to hit any shot for skill shot. Did that count? No. I don't think I was ready yet. No, not yet. Oh my god. Wow. Got to stay away from here. That's the trick, okay? Okay. I'm going to stay the hell away from those areas starting after now. It's already over. Okay. Try this one more time. Or I'll just keep playing it until I have a good game and delete all the shitty games. All right, here we go. Going aliens. Yep. I don't even see what I picked actually. Oh, that's cool. There's a lot of like things going on. I don't know what all that is. There's all these as well. Oh, come on, man. This is the worst gameplay video I've ever done in my life. All right, hallelujah. Started a mission. What do we got? APC? Yeah. Left orbit or left ramp. Okay, here we go. Oh my god, I can't believe I survived that. Oh, I got a upper flipper shot. That's cool. Do you read me? What do I got to do? I can't see what I'm doing. Wayland inlanes needed to qualify mission. Oh, so APC mode is over. Now, we got queen's nest lit. Uh so, maybe that is lit, which means I have the right inlane now. I need the left inlane, possibly. Just come Where's my narrow escape? That narrow escape does not work. I mean, I need to crank the machine in order to save that. Woah. Oh, I changed the mode that's lit. Combat drop now. That's not ready. Right inlane. Okay, yeah, yeah. You can see the left inlane light kind of right there. And now, I need right inlane. Airlock initiates mission. Airlock is ready. Bug hunt. One tilt left. Yes, another mode. Remember, we're looking for civilians in here. Okay, what do I got to do? Shoot ramps to descend. Oh, I already played this level. Steady, people. No, don't do it. Don't do it. Let me live. No. All right, last game. So I don't want this to take an hour. And I got to get the freaking alien to come out. I'm just going to start drilling them. Skill shot. Skill shot even. Oh, he's green now. Oh, magnet activated. Mouth opened. Oh, the tongue came out, but the ball was not there. But at least I started a multiball. Oh, there's a saucer over there. Who would have known? Oh, sweet. Come on. Got to use two. 12 meters. Oh, son of a Hey, there's that saucer again. I didn't know. Oh, I see. You want to hit the saucer as number one, and then the shark directly to the right is number two. So, you want to go all the way over there. You Tommy inlane needed. Oh, I still need the right inlane. There we go. Oh, you jumped. Free inlane? No. Let's hit the one. Hit the two. One solid, so Oh, two's not available anymore. Ah, no narrow escape. Is that ball two or three? Balls Ball up three. Okay, ball up three. That's an interesting way of saying it. Hey, there's number two. I don't know if that counted, though. It did. So, I got two solid, now I need One is solid. Is there a three? Here we go. That should light the air lock. Boom, air lock. Now, we might pick it up on the tracker again. Going deep. Find dust. Find Jones. Okay, what do I got to do? Avoid blue shots. Oh, it's a cat. Shoot to find Bob Jonesi, but avoid blue [music] shots, okay. Uh-oh. Bob Jonesi, I'm trying to That was a blue shot. Stay away from that. Are you there? Coming for you, Bob Jonesi, but the stupid No, narrow escape doesn't work. Poor kitty. All right. That's the end of that. Anyway, that was fun. It was painful, but it was also very fun. If I get a match, then I'll be happy. Dad didn't think so. _(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v5)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: c0add59b-5d4d-443e-b449-acf705d53ff6*