Zach Sharp's Elton John gameplay guide highlights Steve Ritchie's flow design and Jersey Jack's premium execution.
Summary
Zach Sharp provides an in-depth gameplay walkthrough and rules explanation of Jersey Jack Pinball's Elton John machine, designed by legendary designer Steve Ritchie. The video showcases the game's flow-focused shot design, multiballs including the rare 'Champ multiball' late-game feature, and Jersey Jack's premium presentation with animated toys, RGB lighting, and physical ball locks. Sharp expresses genuine enthusiasm for the game's design and emotional moments, attempting (but ultimately failing) to complete the Champ multiball on camera.
Key Claims
Steve Ritchie is iconic and legendary throughout the pinball industry and has designed some of the greatest pinball machines in pinball history
high confidence · Zach Sharp introduction praising Ritchie's design pedigree
Elton John has distinctive design features including a physical ball lock within a piano toy, three flippers, and multiple ramps with fast, flowy shots characteristic of Steve Ritchie designs
high confidence · Sharp's detailed playfield walkthrough describing specific mechanisms and shot layout
The Champ multiball is one of the greatest moments in pinball and an environmental experience that Sharp had only reached once before
high confidence · Sharp's repeated references to Champ multiball as transcendent experience he wants players to discover themselves
Jersey Jack Pinball's Platinum Edition comes stock with interior art blades, glitter and gloss metallic trimming, and a topper; a Collector's Edition variant exists above that with lasers and TV screen greens
high confidence · Sharp's description of cabinet variants during playfield tour
Elton John features a physical Elton John animatronic that plays piano, spins, and interacts with the player during gameplay
high confidence · Sharp's description of toys: 'Elton John himself plays a piano... he's playing the piano with his little Elton hands... he even turns and looks at you'
Notable Quotes
“it is quintessential Steve Ritchie as a game designer Steve Ritchie is iconic and legendary throughout the pinball industry he has designed some of the greatest pinball machines in pinball history”
Zach Sharp@ 0:21 — Establishes Ritchie's design credentials and sets expectations for game quality
“there are all kinds of different things that you can do at different times depending on what you how you want to play the game... it's not just getting through your modes and you're done with this game”
Zach Sharp@ 8:16 — Highlights depth and replayability of Elton John's rule design
“it's one of the greatest moments that I've experienced in pinball since I've been in this hobby and it's called the Champ multiball... it's an experience and it's an environmental experience um with you and the pinball machine”
Zach Sharp@ 8:48 — Expresses high praise for signature late-game feature without spoiling details
“I got my moment I told you I wasn't going to get here because I didn't think I was going to... turn off your camera so turn off your I love this song so turn off the video right now fast forward if you don't want to see the Champ multiball”
Zach Sharp@ 25:39 — Sharp requests viewers skip Champ multiball reveal to preserve discovery experience, but then fails to execute it
“this is the joy of pinball this is what I love about pinball and Elton John's giving it to me in spades right now it's that nervousness I'm anxious about getting to uh levels of the game”
Zach Sharp@ 24:35 — Expresses emotional connection to game design and challenge progression
community_signal: Zach Sharp intentionally preserves discovery of Champ multiball experience for viewers, requesting they skip that section rather than spoiling the feature, reflecting community values around experiential gameplay preservation
high · Sharp's repeated statements: 'I don't even want to show them off... I want you to experience it for yourself' and explicit request to 'turn off your camera... fast forward if you don't want to see the Champ multiball'
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competitive_signal: Elton John features only two tilt warnings per game (not per ball), which affects player strategy and risk management during advanced modes
high · Sharp's strategic discussion: 'Remember on Jersey Jack Pinball the games there's only two tilt warnings throughout the whole game not each ball so I don't want to blow that all right this is my last ball'
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design_innovation: Jersey Jack's use of RGB-illuminated piano toy with dot-matrix-like display functionality and animated Elton John animatronic represents premium mechanical/electronic integration
high · Sharp's detailed description: 'physical ball lock within that piano... little LEDs RGB that fill it's almost like a dot matrix display... Elton John himself plays a piano... he's playing the piano with his little Elton hands... he even turns and looks at you'
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design_philosophy: Steve Ritchie's Elton John design emphasizes flow, repeatable shots, and emotional pacing that creates special 'moments' for players rather than pure mechanical challenge
high · Sharp repeatedly describes moments where 'the coding team and the designer they stop you and they allow you to experience special moments throughout Elton John's career' and praises 'choreography' of light shows synced with music and mechanics
Topics
Game Design & Playfield MechanicsprimarySteve Ritchie's Design Philosophy & Shot FlowprimaryJersey Jack Pinball Premium Presentation & HardwareprimaryElton John Multiball Modes & Rule ProgressionprimaryEmotional & Aesthetic Experience of PinballprimaryGameplay Walkthrough & Tutorial FormatsecondaryMusic-Themed Pinball Gamessecondary
Sentiment
positive(0.92)— Zach Sharp expresses genuine enthusiasm and praise for Elton John throughout, calling it quintessential Steve Ritchie design with exceptional flow, emotional moments, and premium presentation. He describes transcendent gameplay experiences ('greatest moments in pinball'), perfect shot feel, and genuine nervousness/excitement when approaching advanced modes. Negative moments (failed Champ multiball attempt, missed shots) are framed humorously and attributed to game design excellence rather than poor execution. Sharp's tone is passionate, excited, and reverent toward both designer and manufacturer.
Transcript
youtube_auto_sub · $0.000
welcome back it is Zach from flipping out pinball from straight down the middle and from the pinball show today I have the pleasure of showing off Jersey Jack Pinball's newest game creation Elton John so you want my quick and dirty on this game huh first off it is quintessential Steve Ritchie as a game designer Steve Ritchie is Iconic and legendary throughout the pinball industry he has designed some of the greatest pinball machines in all of pinball history all right so you got that then you pair that with Jersey Jack Pinball's leading industry technology and before we even know what the game is about come on it's going to be a good one there are countless themes throughout the thousands of pinball machines that have ever been produced but every once in a while there are a couple themes that become iconic synonymous for the game of pinball the silver ball and over the last 50 years a pinball iconic last has emerged some may refer to him as Captain Fantastic Others May call him a pinball wizard but for the other 7 billion people here on this Earth he's simply known as Sir Elton [Music] [Applause] John stat machine feelers always playing clean he play [Music] [Applause] Dan found the head Lots on the highway you got to let me boo I'm now [Music] I and I think it's going to be a long long time down Rings me r get to F I'm not the man that think I am at home no no no I'm Rock the Lord he's more and more oh he's [Applause] [Music] [Applause] going we'll talk about some of the rules as we play along I want you guys to kind of figure some of it out on your own that's that's part of the fun of owning and playing a pinball machine uh but first the first thing you see on the Playfield was Beauty but let's talk about some of the key features of this game we've got a lot of ramps a lot of Steve Ritchie fast fast flowy shots we have three flippers two at the bottom one up top up here we have a left scoop that kicks out to the left flipper left orbit that swings all the way around same as the right orbit swinging all the way around up next you have a side ramp here with that third flipper that's a repeatable ramp shot you can also shoot up that side ramp when available to lock balls it'll divert it into the piano physically a physical ball lock within that piano uh for certain multiballs you have a left ramp in between the left ramp and the side ramp is a backstage shot at first I was scratching my head with the shot cuz it's kind of a a dead end stop that just goes back and comes back but After experiencing over time the genius of this design it can you can hold balls back there for it to have a moment uh on the screen and on the Playfield or uh whenever it does let it go it comes right back to that upper flipper for a repeatable either ramp shot or another backstage shot it's actually pretty clever you got a three Bank drop Target right in the middle there that rock rock a box you've got a right ramp hidden up there you got pop bumpers under the piano you have the crocodile shot that locks balls it's also a vck that kicks it back to your flipper right down here I don't know if you guys can see it but there's a drop Target for Rocket Man once you hit that down there's a little passageway similar to like a Medieval Madness where it catapults that ball up around the backboard around almost creature from Black Lagoon is with the with the lighting another twirl and then feeds it right onto the Playfield for an action shot right back uh into play other cool toys and features include I talked about that physical ball lock of a of a piano on the front fascia of that piano you can kind of see it here but there are little LEDs RGB that's full it's almost like a dot matrix display and it's fully informational right now it's showing fire it can show Elton John it can show text um so it it's pretty stunning that is a stunning toy there not only that but Elton John himself plays a piano you may see uh during gameplay here that he's playing the piano with with his little Elon hands uh he even turns and looks at you sometimes that's not creepy at all and then Tiny Dancer home me closer she spins around here she'll spin around crocodile he'll Rock H yeah right Crocodile Rock he rocks back and forth the rocket uh for Rocket Man over here that thing lights up like a Christmas tree actually it's better than a Christmas full RGB integration there pop bumpers that pay tribute to Captain Fantastic artwork artwork by Christopher franie there are hundreds probably thousands of LEDs in this thing this is the Platinum Edition this thing already comes stock with interior art blades rad Cals on the side with with glitter and gloss uh metallic trimming powder coating a Topper it it comes loaded and then there's a collector's edition above that that has like lasers and TV screen Greens in the topper uh it's nuts it's got glitter on the Playfield you get a different Elton John down here in his Dodgers uh Jersey or uniform enough chitty chat I'm ready to play some Elton John this is a sneaky little pin and quick story I kind of changed my tune on this game the other night uh when I I gced it Grand Champion I I I was just in the zone I was a deaf dumb and blind kid and I was just feeling the design of this game it was singing to me I was like Avatar with a creepy like hair thingy weavy thing into this pinball machine how was in it man regardless I had a couple moments playing this pinball machine that I very rarely anymore experience when playing pinball some of the most captivating moments happen on this game where the coding team and the designer they stop you and they allow you to experience special moments throughout Elton John's career I wasn't even around for the' 70s I I was still a pup in the'80s so with that being said what I would like to do today I want to show off some of the moments that I experienced during this game I'm not going to be able to show you all of them some of them are so great I I wouldn't even want to show them off uh and part of me is saying that because I'm not going to be able to get to them you know with you today just because uh they're not easy to get to some things we are going to show you today like signature stage multiballs do you see these five big stars right here yeah uh these four right here so those are those are attainable we get to those you just spell Elton joh out and you get to those um if you get to all of them then you can go to superstardom never done that Milestones you see Milestones down there you get those there's like 10 different ways to get some Milestones uh you reach those by like combo Milestone uh maybe a Crocodile Rock Milestone you can get them a number of different ways all it takes is to get four of those milestones and you get to the final tour that's the that's the big one um picture those kind of like um kind of like golden tickets on Wonka so that's kind of what that is there are other things you're trying to do as well that again the sneaky little game uh has made me fall in love with it because it's not just getting through your modes and you're done with this game there are all kinds of different things that you can do at different times depending on what you how you want to play the game uh this Rocka box right in the middle there with three drop targets it's a pain it is mean because it's right in your face uh and it it creates death for a lot of people but there's so much fun stuff in there you get albums in there and if you knock those down enough you get to what I've gotten to it's one of the greatest moments that I've experienced in pinball since since I've been in this Hobby and it's called champ multiball I don't even want to explain what it is because it's just it's it's an experience and it's an environmental experience um with you and the pinball machine it your favorite song it's cool it's really cool but to get that you have to get through like 45 sets of the it's something it's something crazy so I doubt we'll get there I hope we do oh my God so you get to pick your song whether it's the bitch's back Crocodile Rock nobody listen to that leave Philadelphia Freedom I mean come on dentist office you hear that all day long so you can pick your favorite song uh but for now I'm just going to kind of play and show you guys what I'm doing as I'm playing for instance we're about to do a skill shot they roove through whichever ones you want I'm going with rocket fuel you build up Rocket Fuel to the right uh you see over there on the display screen see that rocket the more stuff that I do correct on this game I build that Rocket Fuel if I build up enough then I'll start rocket multiball so there's a number of things that I can do what I focus on usually initially and what I really want to show off to you guys is that signature I love that look at that uh but I want to show off some signature stage multiv balls and that's down here we're spelling Elton John out you see I've already got the O and the H but right now I want to show you guys that so uh so that's what we're doing and then you can spot those Stars different ways too you can hit them directly you can do the inlanes uh it says star you can do those through a skill shot there are a number of different ways to do them uh but once you get all of them then you can then you can get to one of those multiball anytime my ball save is on man I kind of want to go for that Center Bank just because of champ [Applause] [Music] multiball it was like one of those Feelgood things that whenever you get to it once you're like okay I want to keep playing that game to do that again definitely all right we got the E we need the O and the O and the J so we spotted a star [Music] there that's how it's done I spotted the star that gave me the O which then lit your ball one two and three at that side ramp which I nailed in a combo so I locked ball one if I lock and I got my combos Milestone I love that right down here if I lock two more balls I'm going to start that first Signature Series multiball and you can change those too like right now it's 1970 using the action button I can change uh based on which one uh I'd like to play but I'm getting ahead of myself right now we just need to lock ball to that side ramp to get it started but in the meantime as I'm trying to lock balls there I'm also there we go I'm also trying to progress through like Crocodile Rock and uh Rocket Man multiball because when I'm doing that kind of stuff y'all I'm still progressing towards albums remember that I tasted the sweetness of champ multiball and I want to get back there uh so I'm trying to start these other multiballs so I can just bang away on Rock Box uh and get some of the albums and get some of the awards there's Awards built into that that little nine Bank TNA kind of thing there too uh if I hit one more one more uh lock shot on the side ramp I'm going to start 1970s Hollywood keep in mind as you're playing these multi balls from left to right it basically is difficulty in a matter of speech uh longer ball times and such so starting off the easiest ones trying to short plunge so I can I got it all the way around so we have started crocodile Ro mul ball it's a two ball multiball now there's a milestone in here now it's not going to let me start that signature stage multiball during Crocodile Rock so that's why that side ramp didn't uh didn't start that multiball but I am progressing towards everything else like the album's right up the middle and then if you can get the uh the jack on this ah the jackpots really cool the Super Jackpot you try to lock two balls at the same time into the crocodile um and then you get the double super and that's how you get the Milestone as well I love it so now we'll get right back to hitting that side ramp to start Signature [Music] Series we try to oh boy oh oh there are a number of different ways to feed feed that upper right flipper also you can short plunge to try to hit it you can you can try to do the uh the Star Trek peard maneuver up and around you can do that right ramp that feeds it I try to do I mean Steve Ritchie you can backand stuff on this so here's a moment I'll turn the lights off for for y'all signature stage [Music] multi that's pinball that's a pinball moment I love it look at the light show look at the choreography everything is in sync with the sound it's fantastic oh baby I got my uh you get items too the notes on the Playfield see the different notes when those are lit and you get enough of them you'll oh man that suck all right all right C down all right here we go well I was saying the notes let me turn the lights back on those notes if you hit enough of those you'll collect things like sunglasses um different parts of the Wardrobe platform shoes all different kinds of shoes all different kind of sunglasses but that'll enable double scoring which is uh which is going on right now so then I'm trying to light Elton John again to get another one of [Music] those extra ball is lit as well I love that feed oh there we go kick that [Music] out another multiball again it's the choreography it's the light show it's the sound it's the music and of course I'm going to be pounding away on those albums right up the middle so I can progress especially when my Bowl save is oh you can also get a milestone it's wanting me to go to that side ramp y'all task don't do it don't you do it oh look at this oh oh Eat Your Heart Out aser oh baby there it is it's fed it's fed I'm hungry but I can't make it there it is get up there love it okay we're still in this we got a good multiball going here we're getting those Awards that's kicking that's good oh even better oh ah okay don't lose it now Zach Super Jackpot bam okay wow that was a good ball one we'll take it all right we'll turn the lights back on all right ball one I thought that was pretty good over 100 million things that I'm going to try to be doing try to be doing now right here all right check out the display I've got all 10 now I've got to get the green boxes lit I've got number six lit one more time so if you get each of those green boxes this is nerdy rule stuff which I'm usually not into but I'm digging this game y'all green box that green box is going to give you an award down here I've got tiny targets I've received super jets and as I keep getting those albums hopefully via through multiballs I can bash on that without dying uh I'll get backstage frenzy super Spinners panomatic and then champ multiball again not going to happen here today because I want you to experience it for yourself it's that freaking good um but also because I'm not going to be able to do it uh with the camera pointing on me maybe I could take off the GL no I won't do that keep in mind I also have Crocodile Rock uh the first one first time around is two ball Second Time Around is three ball but it's really cool if you can combine Crocodile Rock and Rocket Man you get Crocket man and it's a crocodile riding a rocket it's it's it's kind of cool so let's try to get into another one of these another one of these multi balls these uh signature stage multiball I can do so by lighting all the or hitting all the Elton John uh the Stars I've got o and H that's all I've got left I can even spot a star if I wanted to but I still want to don't I want to get Rocket no I want to spot a star here we go all right so spotted the O I just have H now if you can get that as a uh as a repeatable it oh feels so good [Applause] down come on come on all right 1975 Los Angeles will be nice my locks are lit at that side [Music] ramp there's lock one the shots in this game I can't I can't uh unell how great this game feels to shoot even that stupid Center bank that generally I hate on games feels good I'm going to try soft plunge again and and hit that lock too if I can add it to the rocket fuel on my skill shot oh baby we just hitting them to night aren't we all right let's start it Los Angeles signature stage 1975 multiball it's a moment y'all all right hey I'm still banging away on those albums up the gut dude I I'm a sucker for it okay and we're trying to spell Elton again we got the E and the T still be nice to get add ball going [Music] here no oh that was really bad is that it oh yo that was that was horrible let's get the lights back on I'm sorry for that uh just my apologies for uh the shittiness of that ball play there well let's try to get through I got super Spinners going though let's try to get through Elton John again I've never got three remember on Jersey Jack games there's only two tilt warnings throughout the whole game not each ball so I don't want to blow that all right this is my last ball you guys have got to see a lot we've got a milestone I would have liked to have got a couple we got through a couple of the signature ser multiballs we even uh have some of these Awards down here towards champ multiball now the extra ball is lit I'm just saying extra ball is lit at Tiny Dancer I'd like to get that and then maybe start Crocodile Rock multiball which is going to be a three ball multiball our meter for Rocket multiball is not super high uh so I'm not going to focus on that but before blowing the entirety of this ball three we'll see what's starting next is this that was Philadelphia Freedom I can't tell what start next um this is good stuff extra ball is what I'm going for should have listen to my I'm going to just it's last ball I got to jump into crocodile rock multiball and hey I can get a milestone here if I do well enough and get that super or that uh double super hope I can do that and show you guys that there we go I got our extra ball ah ah is that [Applause] it man I'm my ball save is just killing it sorry damn all right I got piano mtic going too I'm closer y'all I'm close to that back okay I'm so close I'm so close I can feel it I'm nervous that's how I know I'm close oh my God I got to stop shooting this is the joy of pinball this is what I love about pinball and Elon John's giving it to me in spades right now it's that nervousness I'm anxious about getting to uh levels of the game that I've only got to once or or never um and it's it's in my fingertips I feel it right now I need an O and an H I don't even know how you start uh that multiball necessarily but and you can see it you can see it in the nerves Miss shots there's o I got some glasses that's good right there look at the speed I love it boom you can still hit it oh oh oh no no no no [Music] noow the nerves got me okay so here it is I told you I wasn't going to get here because I didn't think I was going to and I don't want to show it off so turn off your camera so turn off your I love this song so turn off the video right now fast forward if you don't want to see champ multi bow I don't know if I should turn the lights off keep them on I'm nervous as hell I don't want to blow this y'all I got a short plunge see look at that look at that ramp the the ramp is lighting up different colors [Music] sweating and to make it worse I see this beautiful little sign on the on the side ramp the warp ramp piano ramp it's got the E ticket the Elton John ticket uh you guys can see it on your screen right look at it freaking nervous man I love this but if I blow it I may end up putting this Elton John on the side of the cabinet it just it may just go right [Music] over you got this [Music] thing Ben in the I don't get nervous side ramp don't all of my all of my uh bow save right there in those [Applause] pops side ramp I'm going to feed that upper right and I'm going to hit that side ramp like it's nothing and the crocodile shaking and really with me get up there you got to be me mother I don't even know if I want to upload this damn I'm not mad at all uh this is this is the sight of happiness and and pride I'm going to continue playing this game because I'm going to get there again it's that damn good it's not going to be on video oh I assure you not going to do that again so if you want to see it yourself as I said before and I was lying to myself saying I'm not going to show it to you cuz I want you to experience yourself I wanted you to experience I just didn't think I'd get there it's bright it's loud it's a blast it's Elton John pinball by Jersey Jack pinball order yours today by going to flipin out pinball.com or you can email me at Zack Za flip the letter in out pinball.com we'll ship one right out to you you ready for it Platinum collector what do you want also follow like And subscribe to this channel as well as straight down the middle a pinball show man what a classic disappointment well [Music] done there's an l it just feels so freaking good man it's ridiculous look at that oh it's so juicy uhoh good all I need is my o to qualify that first multiball don't you do me wrong I don't think I can back that my God all right now all right so here's the kicker all right here's a kicker all right start I can't there's a couple different ways to feed the upper [Music] flipper that's not one of them a fun feet we got the N there we got the AG love that shot one of the greatest shots in pinball in my opinion there's the J there's the T there's the oh with that combo watch his feed y'all love it bam oh hits it oh hits it come on and with that we got our first [Music] listen [Music] you're still here you're still laughing at me for blowing that look I'm going to blame it on Steve Ritchie because I hit that side ramp shot I've been hitting it all game and I hit it and it got up there it almost felt like a diverter came out and was like no no you ain't doing this uh on a video no thank you damn it you know what screw you caran Ang that's what I got to say it's all Carl's fault yeah it's absolutely Carl's fault you're too damn good at this and you probably done that 14 times already I'm I'm going to keep playing
“I'm going to blame it on Steve Ritchie because I hit that side ramp shot I've been hitting it all game and I hit it and it went up there it almost felt like a diverter came out and was like no no you ain't doing this”
Zach Sharp@ 31:47 — Humorously attributes missed shot to exceptional shot design rather than player error
product_strategy: Jersey Jack Pinball positions Elton John with multiple edition variants: Platinum Edition (standard premium with art blades, glitter, metallic trimming, topper) and Collector's Edition above with additional features like lasers and TV screen greens in topper
high · Sharp's cabinet tour description: 'Platinum Edition... comes stock with interior art blades rad cabs on the side with with glitter and gloss... there's a collector's edition above that that has like lasers and TV screen greens in the topper'
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product_concern: Elton John praised for exceptional shot feel and mechanical feedback; Sharp notes that even typically disliked shots (center bank) feel excellent in this design
high · 'the shots in this game I can't uh tell how great this game feels to shoot even that stupid center bank that generally I hate on the games feels good'