So, I Played Jersey Jack Pinball's Toy Story 4....(reupload edition)

Cary Hardy·video·10m 54s·analyzed·Jun 30, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.020

TL;DR

Hardy's Toy Story 4 review: beautiful but overpriced, not for serious players.

Summary

Cary Hardy provides a detailed critical review of Jersey Jack Pinball's Toy Story 4, concluding it's not for him despite acknowledging it will be successful and likely Game of the Year. While praising screen visuals and clear code, he criticizes weak flipper feel, problematic pop bumper placement, an unsatisfying skill shot, and poor sound design. Most significantly, he argues the $12,000-$15,000 price point does not match the gameplay value delivered.

Key Claims

Toy Story 4 will be Game of the Year for 2024
medium confidence · Hardy states 'I'm going to go ahead and call it right now that this will be game of the year' and predicts Avengers would have won otherwise
The pop bumper region with four bumpers is a major game killer due to excessive real estate and repetitive ejection loops
high confidence · Hardy describes extended bouncing and rinse-repeat ejection patterns into the Buzz Lightyear scoop, sometimes 2-3+ cycles before ball returns to flippers
Flipper feel is noticeably weaker compared to other modern games like Godzilla
high confidence · Hardy states 'the flippers felt a little weak' and describes game as 'sluggish on the flippers in comparison' after playing other machines
The tiki video mode has unacceptable input latency between flipper inputs and screen response
high confidence · Hardy criticizes 'the latency was too high between the flippers and it responding to what I'm doing on the screen'
Community consensus is: game looks good, shoots fun, but price does not match value
high confidence · Hardy states 'your typical number one response is going to be, the game looks good, it shoots fun, but the price is not good'

Notable Quotes

“I know what I like. And that's the bottom line.”
Cary Hardy@ 1:02 — Establishes Hardy's philosophy on game evaluation based on personal preference rather than extended play time
“this game is not for me... The game is obviously not marketed to someone like myself”
Cary Hardy@ 2:26 — Core thesis: Toy Story 4 targets casual/younger players, not serious enthusiasts like Hardy
“You can put this machine in a casino next to the other slot machines and it will sound identical”
Cary Hardy@ 2:36 — Harsh criticism of sound design quality and casino-like audio aesthetic
“I'm pretty sure if you asked any pinball enthusiast out there about Toy Story 4, your typical number one response is going to be, the game looks good, it shoots fun, but the price is not good.”
Cary Hardy@ 8:48 — Summarizes widespread community sentiment on pricing vs. value proposition
“the pop bumper region at the top of there with all four of them is a major game killer”
Cary Hardy@ 5:19 — Identifies specific playfield design flaw that creates problematic ball routing
“When it comes to the screen visuals they're top-notch. I really have no complaints on the visuals on the big screen in the back box”
Cary Hardy@ 3:22 — Acknowledges genuine strength in visual presentation despite other criticisms

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Jersey Jack Pinballcompany Toy Story 4gamePat LawlerpersonTim AllenpersonAvengersgame Godzillagame

Signals

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sentiment_shift: Widespread agreement that Toy Story 4 is aesthetically appealing and sonically polished but mechanically disappointing for price tier; game targeted at casual/family market rather than enthusiasts
medium · Hardy's assertion that 'I think it not for a lot of us' and acknowledges game 'not marketed to someone like myself'
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design_philosophy: Skill shot requires precise soft plunge with high difficulty; perceived as poor value despite awards attempt success once
high · Hardy: 'The quickest way to get negative points from me on a game is if it requires me to do a soft plunge' and 'I accomplished it honestly once and after a while I was like, I don't care'
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design_philosophy: Four-bumper cluster at playfield top creates excessive real estate consumption and problematic ball routing with repetitive ejection loops into Buzz Lightyear scoop
high · Hardy's extended description of 2-3+ cycle bounce patterns and requirement to jostle machine to break loops
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market_signal: Community consensus that Toy Story 4's $12,000-$15,000 price point does not match gameplay value delivered under glass
high · Hardy: 'the price does not match for what we are getting under the glass' and quotes typical response: 'the game looks good, it shoots fun, but the price is not good'
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product_concern: Sound design criticized as generic casino-like audio; inconsistent sound feedback on certain shots; some shot activations lack auditory confirmation
high · 'You can put this machine in a casino next to the other slot machines and it will sound identical'; 'didn't even hear a sound effect or it was just such a hodgepodge mess'

Topics

Toy Story 4 gameplay critique and design flawsprimaryPrice-to-value mismatch in premium pinball marketprimarySound design quality and audio feedback issuesprimaryPlayfield ergonomics and ball routing problemsprimaryTarget market positioning (casual vs. enthusiast players)secondaryScreen-based interactive gameplay implementation and latencysecondaryGame of the Year 2024 predictionssecondaryReviewer credibility and evaluation methodologymentioned

Sentiment

negative(-0.65)— Hardy is respectful toward Jersey Jack and acknowledges game's strengths (visuals, code clarity, target market appropriateness) but delivers sustained, specific criticism of gameplay mechanics, sound design, flipper feel, and pricing. Core message: well-made game not suited for enthusiast players at premium price point.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.033

Lie back down. What's up guys and welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball. So if that sounds interesting to you, then hit that subscribe button down below. As I have stated in my previous Toy Story 4 video, not every game is for everyone. And with that being said, this game is not for me. And why? Well, we'll get to that in a bit. But first, let's call out those of you that happen to say these words on every new game release after I give my thoughts and opinions on it. and those words are, Carrie's never played it. What does he know? Well, I know what I like. And that's the bottom line. And I guess it may just be luck, but every game that I'm really enthusiastic about and like a lot, I call out that it's going to be Game of the Year, and it just so happens to be Game of the Year. Maybe I don't need to play a game to figure out if it's something that I will enjoy. I applaud this game and I think it's going to do amazingly well. I hope to add it to my collection in the future. I'm going to go ahead and call it right now that this will be game of the year. I mean, I'm thinking more about it, guys. And chances are, I think before this game was revealed, Avengers was more than likely going to be game of the year. More than likely. But now that Jersey Jack has just announced this and we've seen what it has and what's all in it. as of right now this one's gonna be game of the year i don't see why it wouldn't but enough of that let's talk about toy story 4 i put in one hour straight on this game then i took a break and played some other games and then i came back for another hour and that last hour was pure coercion because i really wanted to give this game as much of a fair shot as i could on playing it to make sure that you know what maybe the game will grow on me or maybe it will degrade well it definitely did not grow on me the game is obviously not marketed to someone like myself I mean you have the complete aesthetics of the game and then you have the sounds and oh my god the sounds seriously guys the sounds are not enjoyable for me You can put this machine in a casino next to the other slot machines and it will sound identical It just kind of goes with that theme. It's the sound effects that are with it. I felt that even certain shots the sound effect didn't really match what I feel that it should and there were even certain shots that I would make where I didn't even hear a sound effect or it was just such a hodgepodge mess of everything else going on that I didn't hear it but there are certain times where I was wondering if the certain shots that I did make were even activated because I didn't really get a sound feedback for it. When it comes to the screen visuals they're top-notch. I really have no complaints on the visuals on the big screen in the backbox and I know that people are complaining that there's no audio to go along with the movie assets that they're playing but honestly it doesn't bother me a bit now when it comes to code this is probably the most understandable code of a jjp game that i can recall because the game pretty much walks you through everything tim allen is almost holding your hand as you're playing telling you what to shoot for depending on your skill level is really going to depend on what these game rules are going to be for you. I would say they're more on the easy side, but once again, this game is not marketed to someone like myself, so I think that the rules for the average person or lower on skill level is going to be just fine. Shots and layout. Now, this is a mixed bag. I mean, the game shoots fine. The only satisfying shot for me was the kaboom ramp. My personal best was five shots in a row. I'm not a great player. I hate the skill shot. The quickest way to get negative points from me on a game is if it requires me to do a soft plunge not a big fan of it i do not like those and this skill shot being as difficult as it already is the precision that you have to have on that puller to let go to it might get in there so you'll get your extra points and everything to me it didn't seem like it was worth my time i accomplished it honestly once and after a while I was like, I don't care. Just plunge. Get it up in there. Let's get shooting instead of me having to Man just a little harder next time Uh it wasn worth it to me So the skill shot is absolute crap I felt that the pop bumper region at the top of there with all four of them is a major game killer because you got four of them up there it takes up a good amount of real estate the ball tends to get up there and bounce around a good amount of times and then it will fall into the scoop the uh buzz lightyear inner voice scoop and then for me and my experience on the game that i was playing it would eject out into the pop bumpers bounce around again and that would rinse and repeat sometimes two three or more times until the ball finally rolled out back to me but once again on my previous video i need to reiterate that the pop bumper sound effects that is one of the very few sounds that i did enjoy the large screen underneath the glass that everyone's talking about i found useful to the extent of it giving me information on what I need to shoot for next just being able to see my locked ball on that upper left ramp and it telling me what I need to shoot for and like carnival mode and stuff like that so that was beneficial at that particular time but I feel that over longevity wise that screen will become less relevant because I'm going to learn the game and I no longer need to look at the screen to figure out what I need to shoot for. That is until you get thrown into tiki video mode where you're going to be playing a digital pinball machine. And I didn't care for this. This was also another game killer for me because the latency was too high between the flippers and it responding to what I'm doing on the screen. It was basically just another time for the game to stop and if you accomplish the goal of hitting so many things on that tiki ball game then you'll get a multiball. I just I didn't care for it. I think the slingshots needed to be adjusted on this one because I felt that my ball kept getting stuck in like a tennis match a lot of the times. It would just bounce from one sling to the next back and forth a good amount of times. I literally had to jostle the machine just to give it a little more oomph so it would finally get out of my slings. The flippers felt a little weak as well, and that didn't become as prevalent to me until after my break on playing other machines, including Godzilla. And then I come back to Toy Story 4, and I'm like, man, this game is a little bit sluggish on the flippers in comparison. And that's pretty much my thoughts on the game, guys. I mean in a nutshell it not for me And I think it not for a lot of us And I fine with that I totally okay with a game coming out and it not being something that I like Because chances are there's plenty of other people out there that don't like games that I like. And that's okay in this hobby, guys. I'm perfectly fine with what JJP has put out. Even the fact that they used Toy Story 4 instead of the others. That's fine with me. But the thing that sticks with me, and I believe a majority of you out there, is the price does not match for what we are getting under the glass. I'm pretty sure if you asked any pinball enthusiast out there about Toy Story 4, your typical number one response is going to be, the game looks good, it shoots fun, but the price is not good. All right, guys, just in, I have got a little treat for you right here. This is an official exclusive. I have just received some footage from a Jersey Jack meeting. Evidently, Pat Lawler was having a meeting with his marketing team and things got a little heated. So, you know what? I'm just going to play the footage. Here you go. uh i thought it was funny um some of you may not think it's funny and like no i'm not calling the jersey jack team nazis or anything like that it's just a typical meme scene that gets used on a variety of different things so i decided to make this particular scene pinball related now i've already got a lot of feedback from a good amount of you out there that have played Toy Story 4, but by all means, if your thoughts and feelings have changed, or if things have gotten even worse for you, by all means, let me know about it in the comments down below. Special thanks to all my Patreon supporters out there. Your monthly donation is greatly appreciated. Before you click off, give me the thumbs up. Be sure to hit that subscribe button down there, if you have not already. Ding the dong. That way, you can be notified of whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. And until next time, guys, peace out.