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SDTM: a pinball show Episode 12: Ghostbusters Machine Review

Straight Down the Middle·video·44m 31s·analyzed·Apr 17, 2017
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

SDTM reviews Ghostbusters Pro: beautiful art and design, solid rules, manufacturing QC issues remain primary concern.

Summary

Zach Sharpe and Greg from Straight Down the Middle provide a comprehensive review of Stern Pinball's 2016 Ghostbusters Pro model, praising its artwork and playfield design while acknowledging manufacturing quality control issues that emerged at launch. The hosts rate the game highly across most categories (Art A+, Shots/Layout A-, Rules A, Toys/Innovation B/A-, Music/Callouts A+/B+, Theme A+) for an overall A- rating, though they emphasize concerns about long-term durability and manufacturing defects that plagued early production runs.

Key Claims

  • Ghostbusters came out in 2016 with significant playfield issues that affected early units

    high confidence · Zach Sharpe discussing launch quality problems and build date concerns

  • Jeremy Packer was the artist who created the Ghostbusters art package, also credited as Zombie Yeti

    high confidence · Hosts discussing art credits; Zombie Yeti mentioned as the actual artist name used by Stern

  • The Pro version has a plastic left ramp unlike the Premium Edition, which goes under the playfield

    high confidence · Zach detailed ramp construction differences between Pro and Premium models during playfield walkthrough

  • The game rules are linear/mode-based, starting with the same three ladder options every game

    high confidence · Hosts explaining rule structure and progression through Librarian, Okay Who Brought the Dog, and other modes

  • Magna Slings were innovative but problematic; they either work well or drain the ball unpredictably

    high confidence · Hosts discussing Magna Slings on Premium Edition as 'dead or alive' feature

  • Slimer is the primary toy on the Pro version; Premium adds Ecto Goggles and Subway features

    high confidence · Detailed discussion of feature differences between Pro and Premium tiers

  • The wizard mode 'We're ready to believe you' exists but neither host has achieved it

    high confidence · Zach stating he hasn't gotten to the final wizard mode after completing the nine-mode set

  • Manufacturing quality control remains the primary con; early units had insert cracking, drain issues, and clearcoat problems

    high confidence · Both hosts extensively discussing QC issues and recommending buyers inspect used machines carefully

  • Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd provided call-outs; Ernie Hudson provided both specific mode call-outs and general callouts

Notable Quotes

  • “The playfield is gorgeous. Original art. Thank you, finally. Thank God. Back to some original art.”

    Greg@ 17:21 — Hosts praise return to original artwork after years of licensed IP artwork on Stern machines

  • “I don't think there's enough toys. I mean, what do you have? You have Slimer.”

    Zach@ 24:46 — Core criticism of Pro model's innovation; acknowledges Premium adds more mechanical features

  • “You don't need them. You honestly don't think about it. You do not think about the lack of toys.”

    Greg@ 26:32 — Counter-argument that fewer toys doesn't detract from gameplay experience

  • “This man has no soul. How great is that? It is fantastic.”

    Greg@ 28:24 — Praising Spook Central mode call-out featuring Bill Murray's famous line

  • “For me, this is the upgrade. Keeping this Stern Ghostbusters (Pro).”

    Zach@ 15:56 — Host rejects upgrading to Premium Edition despite side-by-side comparison; Pro satisfies his needs

  • “To get a perfect score in our rankings, you have to have all A's or A-pluses. That's it.”

    Greg@ 34:30 — Explains their rating methodology and why no current games achieve perfect scores

  • “I just do not know if these games will be able to stay in that sort of condition in 20-25 years that's my concern”

Entities

Zach SharpepersonGregpersonJeremy PackerpersonZombie YetipersonBill MurraypersonDan AykroydpersonErnie HudsonpersonStern PinballcompanyGhostbusters (Stern 2016)

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Hosts comparing games using competitive review rubric with multiple categories (Art, Shots/Layout, Rules, Toys/Innovation, Music/Callouts, Theme); systematic approach suggests emerging community standardization of evaluation criteria

    medium · Both hosts using identical grading categories and A+/A/A-/B+/B scale; explained as 'report card' or 'grading rubric' for consistency

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Mixed but generally positive community reception of Ghostbusters despite manufacturing issues; game defended by hosts against 'Ghostbusters haters' with assertion that game is 'fantastic'

    medium · Hosts preemptively defending game: 'For all the Ghostbusters haters out there, guess what? You're wrong. You are wrong. This game is fantastic.'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Ghostbusters uses intentionally linear mode progression to match film narrative rather than random mode selection; designers prioritized story-based gameplay over player choice

    high · Hosts explain linear ladder structure, praise story-based progression, note Gozer is intentionally difficult as mid-ladder obstacle

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Ghostbusters licensed game includes voice acting from multiple film actors (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson); some uncertainty about which actors recorded which callouts

    medium · Hosts discussing voice work, confirming Ernie Hudson did specific call-outs, uncertain about Murray/Aykroyd participation scope

  • $

    market_signal: Hosts own both Ghostbusters and Dialed In, rate them nearly equally high (both A-), indicating collector willingness to own multiple premium machines despite high cost

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.134

0:00
You hit it off with a bumper, now you're straight down the middle again Middle again You had a fling with a fling shot, you're rolling out the alley dog Yeah I tried to cradle you with my flipper, it was all in vain It was all in vain Baby, baby, baby, why are you doing me wrong? Doing me wrong Don't you remember the good days when we used to get along?
0:30
We'd make those corals spin all night, then we'd be singing our song. We'd be singing our song. You said life was getting white, so you brought two friends in. Two friends in. But I can hardly keep up, you guys are making my head spin.
0:46
How the hell are you doing, guys? This is Zach and Greg with Straight Down the Middle Pinball. This week, we are going to review one of the new Stern games, Ghostbusters. Oh, great. Yeah, thank you.
1:03
Synergy, my friend. Okay, so let's first talk about Ghostbusters. It came out 2016 with a crap load of play field issues.
1:12
People still bought it? I did. I know. I still bought it. I bought it after Expos. Some of the kinks and stuff were supposed to be. I don't know what my build date is. I think my build date is November. And I do have small little clear coat in the drain. Yeah. But my Tobin looks good. That sounds personal. My Tobin looks good. How's your Tobin look?

medium confidence · Hosts discussing voice actor contributions; some uncertainty about Murray/Aykroyd participation

  • Dialed In and Ghostbusters are ranked as the two closest games to perfection in their review system

    high confidence · Hosts comparing their highest-rated games and noting both are 'Papa Duke close' to perfection

    • Zach@ 36:24 — Long-term durability concern about modern Stern build quality vs. vintage machines

  • “The right ramp on the Stern Ghostbusters (Pro) is the ramp. That left orbit is that thing—it's tight.”

    Greg@ 22:00 — Highlights standout shot design elements praised for challenge and satisfaction

  • “Gozer the Gozerian is such an asshole of a mode. It sucks. I hate that damn mode.”

    Zach@ 23:54 — Negative assessment of specific mode difficulty; intentionally challenging design

  • “It's all collectively really good. I think it's a masterpiece.”

    Greg@ 22:28 — Overall assessment acknowledges lack of single 'wow' moment but strong collective execution

    • game
    Straight Down the Middle: a pinball showevent
    Dialed Ingame
    The Walking Deadgame
    Spook Centralproduct
    Stay Puft Marshmallow Manproduct
    Mod Fatherperson
    Old Pin Guy Artperson
    Laserificperson
    Hooked on Pinballperson
    Stumblor Modsperson
    Jeff Goldblumperson

    medium · Zach: 'If I had the opportunity, I'd buy them both. Some of you guys have them both, and I'm jealous.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Zombie Yeti transitioned to work with Stern Pinball after previous work on Magic Girl; hosts credit Stern management for recognizing his talent and trusting him with major Ghostbusters license despite no prior Stern work

    medium · Greg's narrative: 'I'm so glad that Sam Stern said, You know what, dude? You're a freaking amazing artist. Come aboard. Not only come aboard, but take one of our biggest licenses we've ever had and you've never done work for us.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Ghostbusters Pro/Premium/LE tiers have clear feature distribution: Pro has plastic left ramp and Slimer toy; Premium adds metal ramp with under-playfield routing, Magna Slings, Ecto Goggles, Subway feature; LE adds additional cosmetics

    high · Extensive discussion of ramp differences, toy additions, and hosts comparing side-by-side machines; price difference justified by Premium features

  • ?

    product_concern: Ghostbusters Pro/Premium/LE suffered from significant manufacturing defects at 2016 launch including insert cracking, drain line clear coat failure, shooter lane issues, and QC problems that required buyers to inspect machines carefully

    high · Zach mentions build date concerns, clear coat cracking on drains, recommends inspecting inserts/shooter lane when buying used; Greg worried about long-term durability of modern Stern builds vs. vintage Bally/Williams

  • ?

    product_strategy: Hosts speculate about future Magna Slings implementation on other Stern machines; consensus is it will take a long time and may never appear again due to design/space constraints

    low · Discussion of Magna Slings fitting under ramp, unclear if space exists on other playfields, hosts predict 'going to be a ways off' or never return

  • ?

    technology_signal: Long-term durability of modern Stern machines under 20-25 year timeline questioned; hosts concerned about build quality degradation and manufacturing defect commonality

    medium · Zach worried these games won't maintain condition like classic Bally/Williams machines; concerned about what problems will manifest in 5 years

    • 1:38
    Shooter Lane's good. I mylogged the hell out of it. But they came out with it in 2016. That's been out for almost a year now. Now it's around the time that they were talking about it at Texas.
    1:51
    And they were discussing the differences between Bros, Premiums, Ellie. Now, the one we're reviewing is the Pro. I think that's important to say because there is a pretty big difference between the Premium LE and the Pro. Yeah. But we're going to review the Pro. I don't think ratings-wise it will differ with me much. No, you've got the Ecto Goggles. You've got Subway. Magma Slings. You've got the Slimer that moves down, which is actually worse. Yeah, but honestly, I don't think anything really adds that much to it. A lot of people are going to really get it. Yeah, they're going to say Go Premium. But I do like the Subway. It's very smooth. It's wonderful when you hit it. But for price difference, I don't know. I still think it's good. My pro shoots good. A pro, it's fun. Man, my pro shoots good. It really is. Okay, so we're going to go to the video here in a minute. But for you who haven't seen our show or game reviews before, we rate different categories. We rate art, shots and layout, rules, toys and innovation, music and call-outs, theme, and then we do an overall ranking. It's all like a report card. Yeah, a grading rubric. So with that being said, let's go to the machine. I'm going to show you all the shots, the different layouts, some of the artwork, and then we'll come back and Mr. Gregory and I will talk about Ghostbusters.
    3:12
    I'll tell you what the effect is. It's pissing me off. All right, everybody, let's go over this Ghostbusters. So, as I'm scanning down here, you guys see a nice overview of the playfield. Now this is a Ghostbusters Pro by Stern, 2016. And it is heavily modded. We'll look at the cabinet details here real quick. You got the Ecto-1 right along the side there with Slimer, which is pretty awesome. And then the side decals of the building. We've got a topper. We've got back alley slime mod, laserific slime, 3D ghost trap, hooked on pinball slime river mod. Side blades by Zombie Yeti. Scoophole colors. New York State Empire. Or the New York Empire State Mod. We've got a Flipper Fidelity UV light in the back that shines during certain modes. We've got Mod Fathers drain save rails or drain safe protectors there. Some Titan competition white rubbers with the topper
    4:47
    covers. We got purple trough lighting. Got my own proton stream mod. EL wires running up and down the play field capturing slimer. We got I believe Mod Father's library mod.
    5:06
    All right. So overall the front of the cabinet here I think is the nicest of all three versions. It's got the ghouls and ghosts up front there that really matches well with the powder coat. Let's go through these shots. So from far left you have your stand-up targets. Those are responsible for the proton pack. You have a Newton ball captured ball. You hit it and it elevates the top ball all the way up, locks it into place, so on and then so forth. The nice thing about that is as you hit them you get these awards. The one that I go for the most is you hit it twice whenever you're on your first ball and you can light all three locks on light storage facility. you're in a multi ball you can use it to light a lock. Light super jackpots, light playfield multipliers. Your next shot is the scoop. This is responsible for the smallest of the ladder modes. First being spooked librarian, second being back off man. And librarian I don't believe is coded yet. This is also where you access Tobin's spirit guide and that is how you actually add the ball once you make it eligible.
    6:34
    And that's where you shoot for the extra ball as well. Going back, left orbit. I have the Ecto-1 there over the air ball protector. I got that from Old Pin Guy Art.
    6:51
    It works so, so terrifically. If you have a Ghostbusters and do not have that, that's a must-add mod. So the left orbit is one of the funnest shots on this game. It is nice and tight. The left ramp is responsible for the three-mode ladder, ballroom, slimed me, and we got one. It also shows your lit locks for storage facility and your super jackpot. That ramp, unlike the premium, is made of all plastic. It comes up and is not as steep as well. It goes around here and either is diverted to this area where the bottom scoop is or it is left alone and comes down here safely to your right flipper. This is a shot that can be hit over and over and over again, especially during looping supers. And it's a very smooth shot I find unlike the Premium LE. Now with the Premium LE, it's a lot neater because it goes under the play field and the lights lock and stuff like that, but boy oh boy, the flow on this one is unbeatable. Okay, you got a shot right in there. That's where you hit that nasty monster Gozer. See him or her in the back there? You see that stand-up target back there. During the mode Gozer the Gozerian that is essential to hit. That's also where you go into the pop bumpers. Okay. Rollovers up top there, PKE. Those are responsible for bonuses as well as your skill shot. I will say the best thing to do on this game, I find, if you're trying to just get through the game, is to start a mode with your skill shot. If you do not start a mode with skill shot, you're responsible for hitting that ghost target. Slammer comes down, you've got to hit him three times to make all modes eligible. If you miss that skill shot and you have to start that way, I usually then go to try to light the locks here and then hope for a mode start on my second ball. PKE is also responsible for one of the most valuable skill shots which is the K on there. So let's say you're in a mode and you start your second ball and you've already made modes eligible or you're in a mode, the next best skill shot to go to is to try to sink that K. Now this isn't a moving rollover where you can just hit the flipper buttons. You literally have to hit that skill shot and hope like hell you can bounce it in that K and that's going to light your multipliers, which are down here. Play field two and three times multipliers. That's how you blow the game up. That is how you get the high scores.
    9:58
    Okay, there's Stay Puffed, a very, very cool feature. All right, so your ball, upon shooting it, goes up into the rollover. Unless you hit it hard enough, it goes around the orbit, but it'll land up in these pops, and it'll either come out there, or it's going to come out right here. And this right here, it falls, and it's a nice, clean shot. I can let it dead bounce, boom, boom, and safely to my left flipper.
    10:34
    Okay, next shot is the right orbit. The right orbit is responsible for the four-mode ladder. You start out with okay, who brought the dog? Then spook central, which is one of the best call-outs ever in pinball. Then gozer the gozerian, which is just a pain in the ass. It is a very hard mode for me. And then Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, which is an awesome mode and very, very lucrative, especially if you can get multiball going during it or playfield multipliers It huge Huge I did a little powder coat on that to dress it up as well before it was just black You do have a captive ball here that is responsible for symmetrical book stacking or something. When
    11:22
    you hit that enough and these asses come out, the Scolari brothers, they're drop targets and they'll pop up and get in your way of both the left ramp right orbit shot. And then one of the coolest shots in the entire pro game is that right ramp shot. What makes it unique, I've never seen before, is that when you hit it, it'll go up. As if it goes up the ramp, it will meet that left ramp, and it's got rollovers here. See the rollovers? One, two, three, and it can measure how far the ball goes and you get points based on that distance. It is a super, super smooth shot unlike the Premium LE, which I do like, but it is very tight. It's even tighter than that left orbit there. So again, really tight shot, really fun, but it is essential for certain modes to hit that right ramp shot. You've got a small tear dog target over here for hurry ups and then you've got the Van Horn scoop right here that's responsible for different like the negative reinforcement mode as well as don't cross the streams video mode. Slimer does drop down if you hit that target. He is responsible for both opening up the modes as well as during certain modes, especially this ladder right here. He slimed me your last shot, the ballroom, the last shot or so will have to go hit Slimer. We got the firehouse here. Just an overall, for me, one of the most beautiful pinball machines ever made. Very wicked because of this John Trudeau flipper gap. I find it a little bit easier on the pro than the premium and LE, but still very tough. And these monster outlanes with no rubbers, just metal. So your ball hits that, and then it's going right down the drain. But the art on this, check out the art, guys.
    13:38
    I don't know if my lighting's great, but boy, oh boy, doesn't it make you want to play? Now, one of the little mod tips for you that I will add, see that slime hanging above the top? That was not intended for that, nor was it intended for that 3D ghost trap. I get that from Laserific, I believe. Sorry if I'm incorrect, guys. It was supposed to go for the ramp. I just didn't feel like it was the greatest effect, so I put it up there, and I'm really happy with it.
    14:06
    All right. So last thing before we go back to rating this game, I have some inserts down here. like Congo or some other John Trudeau games, even Walking Dead. You can do modes. There's all kinds of strategies here, but if you defeat these ghosts with the no ghost signs here, when those are lit up, and if you hit them, you kill a ghost.
    14:34
    If you kill 20 ghosts, you focus the camera. Then after you focus the camera, you light Tobin's Spirit Guide. If you get 40, you light Negative Reinforcement. If you get 60, you loop supers. If you get 80, you start PKE frenzy, which is that right ramp shot.
    14:53
    And if you get hundreds, you get mass hysteria multiball, really fun multiball where the flippers are switched, so the left is controlled the right, the right controls the left, etc. You complete one of these ladders, either the two-mode ladder, three-mode ladder, four-mode ladder. You complete all those, the left ramp will be lit.
    15:15
    And if you hit it, you will start, we came, we saw, we kicked its ass. It's a really fun mode. If you defeat, what is it? If you get through all of the modes, I believe, nine modes, you get to we're ready to believe you. I've not gotten to that yet.
    15:34
    Not gotten to that yet. Okay, so quick overview again. this is my supermodded Ghostbusters Pro and as you guys might be able to see there's a premium sitting next to it I bought it thinking maybe oh maybe I get rid of my pro and upgrade but for me this is the upgrade keeping this pro alright guys let's go back to me and Greg and we will Rate this bad boy. Woo, it's pretty.
    16:10
    It's a miracle. All right, so you guys got to see my Ghostbusters Pro. I hope you thought it was nice. I really dig it. It's beautiful. I'm in love with that thing. Beautiful. I'm in love with it. It's beautiful. That's a call out on Lost World. It's beautiful.
    16:28
    Do you know who picked up on that reference? No one. Absolutely no one. I did. I dream about it. It's so wonderful. You dream about getting Jeff Goldblum? Yeah, I do. Yeah, Jeff Goldblum. He's fantastic. He's wonderful. Okay, let's start with Art. Yes. This game's going to be ranked pretty high. Yeah. We love this game. Issues aside. For all the Ghostbusters haters out there, guess what? You're wrong. You are wrong. This game is fantastic. I mean, I am mad about the quality issues as well, but man, I mean, it's still just a great game. Hell yeah. Let's start with the art. Let's tell how great this art is. Where you got art at, buddy? I'm in an A. Hell yeah, and it deservedly so. So much so that I gave it an A+. There's a lot going on. There's a whole lot going on. Especially on the play field. The play field is gorgeous. Original art. Thank you, finally. Thank God. Back to some original art. The artist was Zombie Yeti. What is his name? I'm a super nerd if I know. I think it's Jeremy Packer?
    17:38
    Zombietti. I think his name is Jeremy Packer. Zombietti's way better. I like Jeremy Packer. It's good enough. I hope his name is Jeremy Packer or else we blew this whole video. You realize that. People have no hesitations on calling us out. So Zombietti did the art package on it. He was the one that was licensed to do Magic Girl and did a knockout dynamite job on that and then they screwed him over so i'm so glad that stern said you know what dude you're a freaking amazing artist come aboard not only come aboard but take one of our biggest licenses we've ever had and you've never done work for us yeah show us what you're made of yeah and he knocked it he nailed it oh yeah he did it's amazing uh the hand-drawn art is really cool greg is mixed on the back glass translate i think it is knockout i mean i like it a lot uh It reminds me of a lot of the real Ghostbusters, which I like. The cartoon. Remember the cartoon? The real Ghostbusters. Oh, the real being, that's the title. Yeah. Okay, gotcha. Yeah. Yeah, fantastic. You don't remember that cartoon? I do remember. I had the toys. Yeah, I did too. He'd go in with the eyes and squeeze his lips. That's right.
    18:51
    It's probably like $150 on eBay. Oh, yeah. That's so stupid. So, Art, I have an A+, because every single piece on this entire machine is beautiful. Yeah. There's not an ugly spot. There's not a bare spot. No, not a bare spot. It's got Twinkies. It's got pinks. It's got purples. It's got Bill Murray in a funky-looking face. It's got the Ecto-1 on the side. It's even got on the cabinet. The cabinet heads are awesome, too. It's got monsters. It's got original monsters, too, which I really like. Or ghosts. Sorry. They're all ghosts. but original ghosts it's got everything man no bear spots only bear spots are from where the clear coat cracked oh Greg that's not nice no but it happens that's not nice I'm supposed to be the mean one you're supposed to be the nice one how can you help it I love Ghostbusters you can't hurt Ghostbusters you can't mess with Ghostbusters alright so who are you going to call that was corny I don't even know where you're going with it I can't even pick up and run with that one. You can call A+. That's bad. I can't even believe that came out of your damn mouth. I know. I'd be embarrassed. Cover yourself up. It's bad. Do something. You got me all thrown off now. We're going to call Red. We're going to call Shots and Layouts. Okay. So Shots and Layouts, what did you give it? I'm going to A-. And here's why. I'm going to A- because I love the Shots and Layouts overall. It is an A, but there are some design – I wouldn't call them flaws. Design peculiarities.
    20:32
    Yeah, there is. Is there a what? Do you know? Yeah. I'm calling you out. I'll put you on the spot. No, no, no. It's fine. The orbit itself is not a full, full orbit. Yeah, that's weird. It's kind of clunky. Out of your pops up top, you get some straight down the middles.
    20:47
    The flipper gap, I know that it was designed that way. I don't think the flipper gap is that bad. No. I hear a lot of complaints when the game first came out, and I've had no problem with the flipper. I'm totally fine with it. I think the reason I went A-, and this isn't fair because this is going off of what we're supposed to be doing, but the right ramp on the Premium LE, you can't get it up the ramp, really. That is a design flaw. The right ramp? Yeah, the right ramp that loops around 180 degrees back to the left flipper on the Premium LE. The Pro's awesome. It's such a tight little shot. it's really cool but A- for me because it's not a perfect layout for me I gave it an A I like it I gave it that high you were defending more I guess because of why you gave it a lower grade but mine I'm just my other thing sorry to interrupt but the angles aren't perfect that's why you get a lot of the air balls and a lot of the because I'm thinking the whole design you know there could have been some tweaking I just like there's a lot of shots I enjoyed that there's a lot of shots some scoops yeah are they super satisfying shots that right ramp on the pro is the ramp that left orbit is that thing is tight yeah oh my they're tough shots so it's satisfying in that sense I love that but I mean it's good it's a good game it really is on the shots layout good and if we talking about I guess we talk about the Slimer and toys more Yeah I mean it fun as hell I mean I don know if I kidding It sounds like we're kind of like... We got an A! It's super fun! We love it!
    22:25
    But it's hard to describe fun. There's not one thing. I think it's a masterpiece. Yeah, there's just not that one thing that you just sit there and you go, wow, wow, wow! It's just all collectively really good. Let's talk about the rules. Rules, I'm not as familiar with as you, but the rules that I do know, I like. We both have them at A's. Yes. At A's. The rules are described by many pinball people as linear. And what that means for you guys that may or may not know, it's a mode-based game, and you start on the same mode every time. You have three ladders of options, as you've seen in the video that I laid out. but upon those ladders your first mode is always going to be your first mode it's always going to be who brought the dog the librarian yes the library and then we got one so you have to progress in a linear fashion up these ladders which I think is the smart decision I think it's a smart decision for them to do that because it plays out the movie it's more a story based I don't want random I want Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, which is the four-mode ladder, I want that one to be the hardest, most valuable one to get to. And that's how it is. It's not like you randomly start Stay Puff. That would blow. That would really, really suck. So it starts out easier. You've got three shots, and then the next mode you've got more shots, and then it gets more difficult. Gozer the Gozerian is such an asshole of a mode. It sucks. I hate that damn mode. But it's there for a reason. I give you that. That is very neat. And then you can stack the multiball. The smartest thing to do is stack a multiball with your modes. But it's not deep like The Walking Dead. It doesn't have – it's got multipliers, which is good. But it doesn't have a vast amount of different options or gameplay to do. But it's still challenging. You keep coming back. Oh, yeah. Nobody's going to get to that wizard mode. I mean, some people. I'm going to get on with it. So, yeah. So, yours with a rule that you – A. We're A. Yeah, both of us A's. Toys and innovation.
    24:30
    Man, you know, I went – Personally, I went with a B on it. Why? Why not an A? Why not a C? Why is it a B? In A, there just wasn't enough.
    24:46
    There just wasn't enough toy. I mean, what do you have? You have Slimer. Yeah, I think it's a really good point. On there. Now, when you go up to the premium or you go to the LE, you've got the Ecto Goggles. They're pretty cool. And we're kind of doing like a hybrid of you here. Yeah, the Magna Slings, you consider that a toy in a sense. Oh, hell yeah, that's a toy. I don't think we're going to review. The Sunway. We probably won't review the Premium LE, will we? I think this is kind of a hybrid. It's focused on the pro. Yeah, I mean, we're going to discuss each machine.
    25:11
    So, I mean, the EctoGoggles and the Subway stuff is the reason that I actually went as high as what I did with the B. Just because in innovation, I mean... There's no magnets. No, there's nothing innovative. The Magnuslings were innovative. If you were to throw that in there... Subway is very innovative. Yeah, you could give it those, especially the Magnuslings, if you want to go with innovation. But how great are they? I don't like them. No, I don't care much for them. They're either dead or to alive. Yeah, so that's the thing is in all the other shots and everything, there's nothing super innovative. Tighten the shot up, widen the flipper gap. I mean, you could throw it in those directions, but I don't see it. I gave it an A- because. Hey, you need to be the one defending. Yeah, I gave it an A- because on the pro, I don't feel like I'm missing toys. I don't like Slimer that much because, and that's just my machine because the Slimer doesn't register great. But that's not a review. The Slimer is a freaking awesome toy. It is neat. It comes down and it hovers and you have to hit it. Yeah. It's a bash toy that moves. That's really cool. But you bring up a good point. And it's Slimer. It's the character in those boxes. How could you not have that? What else are you going to put in there? That's right. But you kind of brought up a good point that there's not a lot of toys. You don't need them. You honestly don't think about it. You do not think about the lack of toys. No, no, no. Don't need them. That's a very good point. The Magnuslings, in theory, are really cool. In theory. Whenever they get going, they're really cool. Yeah. But sometimes they throw it down the drain. Will Stern ever put a – will you see them on another game? I don't think so. Oh, boy. I don't think so. Never is a big word. Or it's going to be a while. I know that there was a lot in the way, oh, well, it fits the thing with the ghost and the radical. And I don't think you can fit, because I was thinking maybe they have regular slings and magnets down there. But I don't think you can't fit. Oh, you can't fit everything under there. So at some point, maybe. I think it's going to be a ways off. Oh, yeah, definitely be a ways off. Yeah. But the subway is really awesome. I love the subway. The first time I played that, it was so smooth. But I like the left ramp and the right ramp of the Pro better. Yeah. I don't like the steep. Yeah, it's odd. Because it comes flying off a lot. That thing's smooth. It is very smooth. It is smooth. I enjoy it. All right. So I'm going to aim my ensure to be on Toys and Innovation. Music and call-outs. Yeah. Who don't love this song? I know, but this is the part that pisses me off. You gave this a B plus?
    27:40
    I mean, it's good. It's the best. It's really good. Yeah. It's awesome. You've got Bill Murray call-outs. You've got Dan Aykroyd call-outs. I gave it an A plus. So did Bill Murray and Dan, did all of them? I know Ernie Hudson did all of them. Movie cuts. Okay. Ernie Hudson did. But Ernie did. Didn't he do? He did the specific call outs. Yeah. The specific ones. Yeah. So. Storage facility multiple. Yeah. It's still fun. Yeah. Step up rookie techs. Yeah. It's. The music's awesome. Every time you go to a different mode, it's different music. Yeah. It has one of the best call outs. You feel like you're in the movie. One of the best call outs ever whenever you start Spook Central. And it shows the. Shows like the courthouse or the downtown. Wherever they're at. And it's Bill Murray and he says. Yes, it's true. This man has no day.
    28:27
    How great is that? It is fantastic. It's so awesome. I think more people are going to side with yours. Music call-outs is A+. I'm not sure there's better call-outs than the pinball machine. It is awesome. I'm going to B+. B+, that's fair enough. Whatever. You just rung. You rung a lot, though. It's fine. It's cool. Some people are wrong. Some people are right. I haven't come back to that. Because I'm right. I'm just a poor beat-down man. Is there going to take it from this? But I mean, I mean.
    28:57
    All right. That's what I'm here for, guys. Theme. Come on. Let's not even. What are we giving it? One, two, three. A plus. Oh, thank you. Dude, where were you at on that? I was still thinking about how mean you are to me. Oh, a theme. A plus for the theme for both of us. It is a dream thing. Oh, my God. Yeah, before. There's not much other. Maybe you had another Indiana Jones. But can you redo Indiana Jones? I mean, that one was still a fantastic theme. Jaws, you might throw Jaws. I know you're not a big Jaws fan. Jaws, most of you are going to agree with me on that one. I'm not wrong. Over Ghostbusters? Jaws. Over Ghostbusters? No, I'm not saying over Ghostbusters. I'm just saying our dream themes. And we're going to talk about that in a future episode because I want to talk about themes that we would love to see. But off the cuff, what are some themes that you think would be better than Ghostbusters?
    29:44
    Yeah, that's a tough one. Man, you should have given me some time to think about it before we fell. The Goonies. I do love the Goonies. I'm trying to think of great childhood things. But Ghostbusters really calls for pinball machine. Yeah. But Harry Potter. Harry Potter would push it. Not even close to Ghostbusters, though.
    30:02
    No, no, no, no, no, no. If I wouldn't have grown up with Ghostbusters, I would say, yes, Harry Potter. Yeah, but this is us. We're the ones buying it. It is us. Yeah, but I'd buy Harry Potter just as a... I would... Okay, I probably love Ghostbusters more just because I grew up with a ton of Ghostbusters stuff. But if I had to pick between a Ghostbusters machine and a Harry Potter machine that was good, I'd buy Harry Potter over Ghostbusters. What? 100%. What? I'm a Potterhead. I love freaking Potter. I'm a Potterhead. I love it. I love Harry Potter. I've been to Universal like three or four times. I love it. I'll start calling you Hermione. I ain't taking my kids to Disney. I'm taking them to Universal. Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I've got Harry Potter ones.
    30:43
    That's where you need to stop, man. I don't want to know about your damn underwear, Harry Potter. I don't want to know about your... I've got them in my office. Your license plate frame? I've got a Jurassic Park license plate.
    30:53
    But that's actually kind of cool. Yeah, so is Harry Potter. You have a shirt that says Potter. You're just a muggle. Oh, you're going to call me a muggle? Eat that. In front of these people, call me a muggle. He's an asshole, man. Theme, A+. I think that what helps the theme out is that original art. The original art. Yeah, it throws it over the top. Because if it was just Photoshop crap, then the theme wouldn't be as strong. No, not at all. I mean, no, it wouldn't look – I don't even know how you would do that. To pull that out from the 80s and to Photoshop that stuff, it would be really tough to make it look legit. You know, I mean – Everybody loves – it's like Caddyshack. Oh. Everybody loves that thing. Yeah. But I mean, with like Noga Gopher, I mean, that's original. I mean, they're not – they're considered sort of the runoff theme. But I mean – No. I mean, I'm not saying it's great art. I'm just saying that it went with original art. That's true. That's what I'm saying. I think The Walking Dead may have been a little better if they would have done some original art on that. You had so many options. Zombies. Or if they did a vault edition. I think Stern will do this. A vault that comes out with the graphic novels.
    31:59
    Man, I don't know if they will or not just because the machine is still selling so much. Now I'm talking about in seven, eight years if the graphic novels still go. Yeah. And maybe an all black and white version. Woo! That would be kind of neat. Woo! That would be. I don't know how well it would look, but I don't know. That would be kind of lame. In theory, I think that's good.
    32:20
    I don't know. Like a Twilight Zone? Monochromed out? All the art package on the play field all black and white? Translate black and white? No colors in the entire game? All just white? In theory, it's cool. I think in real life it might be cool. You thought you were cool in real life. Oh.
    32:41
    How's it feel? You got something to cry? I still think I'm cool. You do? I don't. I kind of do. The other ones are cool. When you're a dad and you're married, you're not cool anymore. When you have a kid, yeah. Actually, you are cool. You're cool to them sometimes. Thanks, bud.
    32:56
    He's like, you suck, dad. You guys. Where are we at overall? Oh, what? What are we at overall? We're at the same. We're at A-minuses. Yeah. No, no different. I mean, it's just a great game. My A-minus is higher than yours. Like I said, I think everybody would have loved it if it wasn't for the issues. overall my art was A shots and layout A rules A toys and innovation call outs A plus theme A plus I am two minuses away from this being the perfect game I can understand that is very strong that is a very strong statement it's fun I just remember the first time I played that's what I called Zach and I was like man he was like what did you think about it how did you like it because you know he had his and I had been out here to play it and I said dude this is probably one of my favorite games I've ever played I said honestly and then played dialed in and dialed in that's a lot of fun too took over, but... I'd rather have this than Dialed In. Oh, man. Ooh, that's a rough one. That's a tough call. No, I'm going to tell you 100% I'd take a Dialed In. I wouldn't. Yeah. But see, I put a little more time... You've got to put more time on it. I played it at Z-Bar some more, and... It is fantastic. That's why we rated it where we did. They're both A-minuses, but at the end of the day... Oh, man. If Dialed In had... God, I want both of them. If Dialed In had a theme like Ghostbusters, it would surpass... I mean, I still love Ghostbusters. They're very... Oh, man, so close. If I had the opportunity, I'd buy them both. Some of you guys have them both, and I'm jealous. Very jealous. I'm jealous of you. All right, so overall, A-minuses around. Mine is a very high A-minus. Mine is very high A-minus. To get a perfect score in our rankings, you have to have all A's or A-pluses. That's it. That's the winning. Do you think there's a game out there? No, not right now. I don't know. These two, though, man, dialed in and Ghostbusters is pretty close. And right now, if you guys are thinking, these guys rate all these games so high, here's why. It's because right now we're rating the games that we do have. Yeah. Because it's, you know, they're here for us to review. They're popular games. I mean, do you really want us to go review Raven?
    34:59
    No problem. I mean, let's do it for fun. Yeah. But, I mean, does anybody really want to watch it? I mean, other than to maybe see how crappy it really is. We'll get into some other games that we like and dislike. But right now we have, these are kind of the games we're rating here, or the ones that we have at our disposal. and they're here for a reason because we really like them. Same with Star Trek or Walking Dead and stuff. Those are going to be high as well. So pros and cons of this game.
    35:25
    Pros, everything. Cons, manufacturing issues. So manufacturing issues. Quality control. That's honestly it. And that's a big con. It is a very big con. If you guys are going to buy used ones, I don't want to be the dick here, but you need to make sure to look at your inserts, the game you're buying. Look at the shooter lane. Look at the drain. Like, if there's a little bit of issue, I don't have a problem with it. You have a huge issue with it. Yeah, I do. But at the same time, I'm almost having to come to terms with the fact, like we talked about this the other day, is it something that we're going to have to come to terms with and it's going to be something that is going to be fairly common within the next year? I don't mean to knock Stern. we do and I honestly do not mean this in a negative way I just feel that it's the truth you take something like the Johnny I have or anything else I just do not know if these games will be able to stay in that sort of condition in 20-25 years that's my concern I feel that they're almost you're seeing where you're seeing different problems now, what's it going to be in five years?
    36:43
    Here's my issue. Especially when you think around it. My argument would be apples and oranges. There's no reason that these things need to be a Bally Williams condition, in my opinion, because half of this industry, I think it's probably at least half, are going to homes. Yes. Back in the day, they had to route these things. But you also have to think of the barcades, and you have to think of everything that's growing. I know you're going to start rallying is going to be No, because business owners are putting money into these things. They're going to get trashed and just like any other piece of business equipment, you have to replace it. We've been spoiled for 20 years.
    37:24
    These pinball machines hold up. Even if these don't, at the end of the day, it's a business. They're not going to keep them forever. So I don't see it being No, but I don't think a business wants to go hey, say hey, I'm going to drop a $5,000 plus on a machine and hope I make my money and then have no resale value in it. And that's going to be like the old days where they were played and they were dumped. I don't think any business wants that. They don't want to do that, but I don't think it's – I think the emphasis has changed to a lot more home – look at Jersey Jack. No, I 100% agree that it's a more homey business. It has to be as tough and strong.
    38:02
    I don't think so, but they should. Well, sure they should. Because even in a home-use environment, man, like I put a lot of plays on my games. I wish my Lincoln drove like a Ferrari, but it is what it is. Yeah, but there's a big difference. I'm damn Ferrari. We use them everywhere. But do you think, honestly, do you think that Stern, so you think that they should make games like they used to 20 freaking years ago?
    38:23
    Yeah. I mean, I do. Do you think it's cost effective? Like, back in the day, they could make things. Do you think they could make things cheaper? Back in the day? How in the hell did Bally Williams roll out? How many games did they roll out a year? How the hell did they do that? I don't know. That is the sad thing. They can't get these things rolling out to a year, and Valley Williams is making damn good games. They will last and last and last. Well, yeah, but I mean, you know, again, those products, the things that they were using could be different than what they have available now. We were talking about that. I think the wood's different. I think that, you know, there's government regulations now and stuff on clear coats and stuff. I don't know how to fix that. Is there really? Now, I don't know how it affects the pinball market, but there is with like VOCs and different things. I'm pretty sure. I don't even know what you're talking about. Yeah, I won't be 100% on it, but I know there's a lot of that stuff that goes on in regulation. So I don't know if the pinball market has hit it with any of the clear coat. But even clear coat aside, like what we were saying is throwing a baseball off of a car and going, well, my car is clear coated. Why didn't it stop that dent? Yeah. You know, I – It's what's under that clear coat. And I think that it's just – the way wood is – houses aren't built the way that they used to be. I mean, we're old men, Greg. We're talking about, that ain't as good as it used to be. But it's the truth. You know, like, first house me and my wife bought, it was built in, like, 1948. I could not drive a nail in that wood because I finished out our upstairs. Oh, okay. You couldn't because it was, like, damn petrified. It was petrified. That's some hard wood. But it was real two-by-fours. It was solid, natural-growth wood. Whereas now it's, you know, the woods are all fast-grown, you know, your maples, whatever you use. They're not dried out a lot. It's just not the good tight growth that you used to have on old wood. We need tight growth. Yeah, and so I honestly think the wood, because even on some good games, I don't want to name what games, but you're seeing a lot of scoop wear. I get scared of it. Yeah, I am scared of it. But I think it's the wood. I don't think it's that clear coat. I think it's all manufacturers, too, because we're seeing some expos, pictures and stuff and people are like look at the scoop already. Exactly. And I will tell you it's not just Stern. No, it's not just Stern. Stern's the worst, but it's not just Stern. So I honestly sort of think that it boils down to the wood. I mean, I know it's a huge argument on what it is, but I think it's the wood. I think it's what's underneath there. Why do we rant about this too damn much? We gotta just, bringing it back, Ghostbusters is an awesome ass game. It's got it's little issues with quality control, but you know what you're getting into. Still, I'm not going to buy it. Still buy it. I would buy another one. Yeah, buy it. Definitely going to buy it. To wrap up, we love Ghostbusters. How about this? It is one of the greatest pinball machines ever. It is the greatest theme.
    41:18
    As of right now, what else is going to beat it? There's a lot of, I don't know, you can't get the Hobbit. Lord of the Rings, a lot of Lord of the Rings people, but are they really going to fight and say that that's the greatest thing in the world. No, I haven't talked about what the greatest thing is. See, now I put you on the spot. Now you've got to think. Think on your toes. I'm just staying with Goonies, man. Oh, I'm saying what's out there. No, not possible because I'd go back to Jaws or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Harry Potter. Love that Harry Potter. Cool. Harry Potter. What are we doing next week? We've got our machine review. Next week's top ten. Yes. Woo-hoo. Top ten. And what's it going to be? What's it going to be, guys? We don't know. you don't know. So, at the end of all this, we do want to stop and say, we love you guys watching the video. We freaking have so much fun doing this. Yes. I have a blast doing this. And if you guys keep watching this crap, then I'm going to keep filming. You're going to keep filming. We sure as hell don't get any fame or notoriety off of it. We just love pinball. Right? We do. It is. It's honestly what we get together and do it. And we have enough of pingoes that we're okay being behind a camera. And honestly, I mean, We live fairly far apart.
    42:28
    We make it happen. We drive to film, and the people that we visit, their collections and everything, we drive to film. So, I mean, we just love doing it. We love to see people's stuff. We love to talk pinball. So you guys, we're reaching out to you guys. Send us messages. Let us know what you love, what you hate, how wrong Greg is. Send us all of that kind of stuff. So if you have collections that you wouldn't mind us reviewing with you and interviewing you, just shoot us a message. And we're going to respond to you, good or bad. I feel we're pretty good about responding to your comments. We play asshole. I play an asshole. But we're not assholes. We're good guys. He's not an actor.
    43:08
    He's just a dick. Whatever. So message us. Let us know what you like, what you don't like. And we've got some really exciting, really super exciting ideas going forward. Yes. We're going to keep those coming. But until next week, straight down the middle, I'm Zach. This is Greg. Have a good one, guys. See you.
    43:45
    Okay. Booyah, booyah, booyah. Booty, booty, booty. Walking down the street. Oh, my God. Hot damn.
    43:58
    Who was that? That's the first thing I hear in my mind. That's funny. Booyah, booyah. Okay. Check one, two. Booyah, booyah. Howdy, partners.
    44:19
    Are we doing that? I'm great, yeah. It's like we've been smoking cannabis here. We haven't been. We'll start over on that. That wasn't very good.