You Let's kick the shit Take me down to the paradise city Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty Oh, won't you please take me home Take me down to the paradise city Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty Oh, won't you please let me home? You were young and your heart Was an open book You used to say Live and let live You know you did You know you did You know you did But if this ever-changing world in which we live in Makes you give in and cry Say, living that time Living that time We'll be right back. What does it matter to you When you got a job to do You got to do it well You got to give me a good time Greg Bone, we do not always get Jersey Jack pinball releases, but when we do, it comes like this. If you had one song from Guns N' Roses to describe your life, I'm putting you on the spot. What would that song be? Don't you cry. I'm trying to think what mine would be. November Rain. Oh, I do like November Rain. November Rain is freaking beautiful. You know what? I love Civil War. That is one of my favorite songs. You don't like that song? Chinese Democracy maybe? Yeah, it's weird. I like Civil War. I enjoy it. I enjoy that song. I don't know why. I love the whistling. What about Welcome to the Jungle? You wanted the best? Well they couldn't make it. From Hollywood, Guns and Roses! Welcome to the Jungle. Now it's getting fun. and a little played out for me we got fun and games but i enjoy it i would say live Or let die, damn it. Yeah. Because if you won't let me live, then you might as well kill me. Yep. Maybe that's what I'd go with. That's pretty fantastic. So what are we doing? We're going to do a first impressions because we have had the special opportunity to go up early and to play Guns N' Roses designed by Eric Meunier. This is his second game, his follow-up to Pirates of the Caribbean, which has been critically acclaimed. This is Jersey Jack Pinball. This is Keith P. Johnson and Joe Katz, a little tag team there. original hand-drawn artwork by a newcomer in pinball as well as an artist many artists that do the illustrations in the posters for the Guns N' Roses band this game is full assets it was co-designed by one of the biggest and most iconic rock superstars of all time slash he is a co-designer with Eric Meunier all assets all songs all animation by JP DeWin and team and then you also have concert footage it's there's so much to take in so much innovation here but we we've put a lot of games on this yes these people are watching this and they haven't put their hands on it you know so we are here to guide them if you will to the paradise city that is guns and roses You wanted the best Well they couldn't make it Living like that with your heart and your heart One more, one more You can wait and live and live But if you're part of the changing world You can live and make the living Hit the target. Shoot the center spinner. Shoot the center spinner. When we first walked into the new factory of Jersey Jack Pinball in Elk Grove Village Chicagoland area Illinois you saw this game Greg What caught your eye first I got to tell you a quick story though real quick. So I'm stepping out of my car and Eric Meunier is coming across the parking lot and I thought he was coming out to greet me. Oh, yeah. I was like, oh, I'm special. Thank you, Eric. But no, he was like, hey, I'm going to get lunch. I don't want you to see this game. Oh Until I get back from getting left there before I Was running a little behind so I was like cuz I was gonna go in I would just play the shit out of it While I was waiting on Zack, so I just had to stand around and wait set up gear. Maybe Yeah, I mean Ken walked around and King Cromwell who works in their marketing department there. Me and Ken went around. We were scouting some shot areas and stuff to set up for our interviews and so forth and everything. It gave me a quick tour of the factory and their new setup, which was phenomenal. They got a nice new setup there. I got to see the cabinet. I will tell you, I did have a first impression. They were on the line. It was the concert posters. That's the LE. When that was first unveiled to me, because we'd seen shots of some of this stuff. We'd seen Playfield, I guess. We've been working with George and Jack for a little bit of time. And then the cabinet. We'd seen some of the brief other pieces of art and so forth. In the cabinet, I was like, man, I don't know if I'm wild about that poster art. I don't know if that I wanted to see it. But in person, that is my favorite package. I love the posters. They are so much better and it looks so much cooler because it fits the game. I was like, how are you going to do a play field around this? Yeah, I could see that. And everything. And then we got to see the game. The play field. Everything put together. Yeah. I want to play it right now. What did you think about it? Whenever I first saw the artwork, I like the LA. I think that is solid. it's maybe no zombie eddie but it is solid uh a lot you were saying you didn't like the standard as much artwork i like that i thought it was cool the cartoon kind of stuff yeah uh but the oh i haven't seen one in person yeah we have yeah we have um i haven't seen the whole machine in person but the collector's edition artwork on this i think it's appetite for destruction kind of the machine versus this oh but the chrome cabinet or yeah no i'll tell you what the le i'll tell you why i i that of what separates it for me and why i like it i like a good throwback game i feel like that that sterns and everything are so colorful these days and so vibrant i like the tone down this is more rich rich color exactly rich colors of that but exactly it is very refined yes yes yeah it's it's not it does but hobbit was same hobbit you know a lot of older ballet games were the same way and stuff and this to me is one of the like closest that they have gotten to an old ballet game wow okay in in every aspect but that's why i like that i like that more it's a lot of art and there's a lot going on obviously in those concert posters but it's not just in your face bright colors all over the cab the playfield pretty bright the playfield is bright in the lighting like i like the hand work like finally jersey jack pinball we get some hand-drawn artwork some stylistic uh choices that these artists make the bottom third of those skeletons with axle right oh and then you got slash all in skeletal form mid play field with the uh with the map and stuff that's fair but ever oh does the map not look better like i thought the map took up such a lot of real estate that i was kind of like well it's like a damn globe on there like yeah something's just not right about that why did they do that but it it's a major part of the game the map is yep all the cities are laid out exactly but it's it it's it doesn't it feels cohesive with everything else on it might be a little too busy if it were anything else exactly so it fits very well and works in person this game is hyper energy beyond hyper energy you try to play this game calm Beyond. Yeah. Yeah, it feels like you're at a concert. Eric Meunier, we saw on our promo, say that he was trying to, one, establish and create the greatest music-based pinball machine of all time. Right? Yeah. And he wanted the player, you, to experience the Guns N' Roses concert from a pinball machine. So we get things like a 27-inch screen with them performing on it. Then the Jumbotron in the back of the game you get with the actual assets from the concert. On the alley and everything? You have moving stage lights, roving stage lights. Yes, can lights. Yeah, you got that. You've got, oh. And I'll tell you what. That's not something, that's not a narrative that, again, first impressions, stepping up and flipping it. Not only, like, when you see the game, are you overwhelmed with all the shots, all the cool stuff, the sculpts, everything else. But when you flip that game, that's not a narrative that you need to be told or have explained to you. No. Like, I do, like, when you step up there, you go, holy shit, this is like I'm at their concert. Like, between the roving, you know, stage lights, the can lights, everything blashing. When you start a song in this game, Greg. The light rails, the drumsticks, like, everything. The cymbals on the pops. The neck of the guitar. Yes. The spinning disc that makes the entire LEDs spin. Yes. And with the Jumbotron all on. Dude, freaking. They even got the hexagon lights in the back that were the same as on the GNR stage. Yes, that's what I'm saying. Like, they do not need to set that narrative in your mind. The integration on this, it's close to like The Hobbit. Yes. Hands down, it is sickening. It fucking rocks. It just rocks. Some of the innovations that I've seen in this, I know what they were talking about, innovation. Now, you get your Wi-Fi, right? You get your Wi-Fi out of the box. You've got Bluetooth headphone speakers now. These Hot Rails, these patented Eric Meunier genius creation of Hot Rails. When I was told about the Hot Rails, you know me, I thought. A lot of these people thought the same thing. They were. I was like, okay, they're like PinStadiums or something. They're like, no, they actually shine up at you. And I'm like, why? I don't want something. I don't want it in my eyes. I don't want it blinding me. I don't want it strobing in my face. So when I was told that I was like, well, that's a deal killer for me But I also talked to two people who'd played it. Yeah, and there was no complaints of it But I'm a unique very you are reserved individual when it comes to my eyes Do you like lube them up at night? Yeah, I was like do I need some glasses like what am I gonna need? You're pin shades not at all. No, not at all. It does not affect your eyes like so I'm gonna unless you have like epilepsy. I thought Star Trek I think Star Trek is one of the brightest games out there. And it's in my face. I actually had to remove some damn flashers out of Star Trek. I hate it. That's how anal and weird I am about that shit. This does none of that. Even in the dark. Because we played it. I got to play it in like a fully lit factory. And then we got to play it in a dark room. And in the dark room it was not harsh on the eyes at all. At all. But in the promos it looks like it would blind you. You know the annoyance. I love Lethal Weapon 3. A lot of Data East games, Sega games, just always in your... Yeah, like strobing. It's nothing like that. Even during everything exploding and going off, it's not the strobe light effect that it looks like. So the Hot Rails are a winner for you? A fucking fantastic winner. I've never seen a light show like this in my entire life. there's no light show like this. No! It's impossible! This makes Wizard of Oz light show, which many herald as the greatest light show in pinball. It makes it look like amateur hour Yeah Dialed in had a good light show I sure that hyperbole but this is easily easily any other manufacturer degree This is easily the best light coated game in history ever in his ever by in by leaps and bounds It is its own character. Yes, it pulls you in as well as the music pulls you in. Yep the lighting the hot rails I've never seen a feature all year. We've had a lot of releases. Mm-hmm. There's not been one feature yet Greg like hot rails No. No. You've got to see them in real life. They tell the story, and they pull in all the ambience of the lighting you're looking for. Because it just seems like if you were to have it explained to you, and you've got, like you said, the hexagonal stage lights in the back going off, you've got the can lights going off, you've got the hot rails going off, you've got the rest of the GI, it sounds overwhelming. But it's not. It's literally like being at a real concert where it sets the stage. It sets the atmosphere. It doesn't hinder anything. It does nothing. But you're going to complain about the sound and lights of the concert. No, that's what I'm saying. Yes, that's what I'm saying. Exactly. This game, and it shoots. Let's talk about the way it shoots. So, it still shoots. Four flippers? Yes. Yes. Upper playfield. Yes. Triple decker playfield. It goes down the neck of the guitar. Two guitar necks. and they have the assets and licensing from some of the hardest musical manufacturers. Yes. Fender. Yes. Right? You get the, I don't know all the terms, but you get Les Paul. You get all of the brands. Yep. Emboldened from the GNR thing. It has drumsticks that the ball rolls down. His drumsticks. Yes. On the CE, the drummer signs them. Yes. It is phenomenal. And it still shoots. Now, I will say, it still shoots like a Jersey Jack. it still has a softer feel to it. Yeah, compared to like a Sterner. But with it being a standard body, it still shoots very good. It shoots better than Pirates. I think so. It shoots better than Pirates. I think so. It's one of the best shooting white buzzards of all time. And that's what I'm saying about bringing it back to that standard body. It shoots better than Wizard of Oz. It shoots better than Hobbit. Yes. Does it shoot better than Dialed In? It might. It could. It might. That is very true. It might shoot better than Dialed In. I'll tell you, Wonka is one of my favorite shooting games. It's not as brutal as Wonka. No, it's not as brutal as Wonka. But these shots that they have on here, Eric in a standard body was still able to take the magicalness that he had in Pirates with hidden shots and just shots in places. They're coming to get you. Do you hear them? I do hear them. Sirens. You've been drinking, boy. It reminded me of a story. Remember a streamer that we had and some sirens and stuff that started going off on our very first streamer? that we had with us on Twitch. Remember that whole fiasco? That's what it reminded me of! That was amazing. It's a crime the way you opened that pinball. That was insane. But these shots and stuff, there's shots in places and they come out and do things just like pirates, but on a standard body that you're not expecting, which is phenomenal. It's a game that you want to explore from the very first time that you shoot it. There's speed going, there's diverters, there's upper playfields that are fun. That upper play field is a blast. It is neat. You can try to hit it into the buck, or you can try to hit it into your lock shot. Six ball, physical ball lock on the neck of that guitar, Greg. Inner loop shot. Even the freaking, like the pop bumpers are symbols. The pop bumper symbols are one of my favorite things. That is magical. Magical in every way. When shit like this happens, when you see him play games like this, that's what makes me go back to thinking Jersey Jack Pinball they just are a little different they just they push the boundaries and push the envelope a little better it's like there's no restraint it doesn't feel like it it's like Eric is given the opportunity here Eric you create and this is what you get I don't know if anything got pulled or not but this game is great this is a Win Schilling this is a Win Schilling I'm not Win Schilling shit it's just awesome I don't give a fuck because I'm in on the CE and I'm going to be playing that thing and people can be screaming behind me shill shill shill but guess what I'll be playing that son of a bitch until 2-3 o'clock I don't care I was like you know what man I kind of want this game because I like GNR I like it but I'm going to have to do my normal standard especially because JJP came in at a better price point with their standard on this a lot of differences between standard and CE and with the light rails and everything else and playing that LE, I was like, this may have to be my first $9,000, $10,000 game that I buy. And maybe weed out a few things just to get this because it's like when we first played Pirates, all we could talk about was, I want to play it again. You almost dreamed about it. Truly, as a pinball person, you dreamed about wanting to play it. This was the same way. When we left JJP, all I could think about on my five and a half hour ride home was, I just want to get my hands on that. Yes. I want to get my hands on that. I know. And we don't have one right this second. I want one really, really bad. Any other mechanisms in it? What about the code? The code is cool because I was telling Keith P. Johnson when we were playing up there. I said, Keith, when you start a mode, you have to hit all the characters, get them all together to start a song. Which is easier than what you think. Yeah. Get them all together. It's pretty straightforward compared to some of the other Jersey Jack games. Get all the characters. You start a song. You can select over 20 different songs on here. They are not family-friendly either. No. They come shipped with a family-friendly mode, but turn that son of a bitch off. Yeah. Because the integrity of Eric Meunier, he wouldn't put radio edits for, I think, four of the songs. Yeah. Because he says, it's not right. Yep. It's not right. And one thing that Keith expressed to us that I thought was very true, too, was that there is the normal Keith P. Johnson depth of where there is some ridiculous shit. But the casual, I won't say casual, the regular pinball player, the guy that wants to buy one for their house or play on location or anything, the hobbyist that gets into it, can step up there, understand this game, still have fun, figure it out, still play the song, still have a good time. And I equated it, and I can't, I think you looked at me like I was stupid. Maybe I was saying it to Ken. This reminds me of Simpsons in that way because I always feel like Simpsons. Yeah, that look. Do you not? Yeah. I'm going to explain it to you, and maybe I'm just far off, but I always felt like Simpsons had a ton of depth with pretzel, multiball, with the, oh, shit, what was the? Alien. You had a bunch of stuff going on, but your main objective if you were just stepping up to that game still had fun, shoot the couch, start the modes, go through your modes, lock the ball. Like there were still things that were very out there But there was so much depth and underlining things to Simpsons that you can go for and shoot for that Take some exploration to find yeah But the different part for me is what I was talking about before when I started Keith P. Johnson when you start a mode The the song so you can start song Everything stops It's almost like the stage is lit. It's turned on Greg, the coding on this game every song is uniquely coded and has its own unique lighting features and rules and all of that stuff I told Keith, I said I'm not blowing smoke up your ass every song feels like a wizard mode everyone feels special and I just want to see what this song does or I want to see what my Michelle does or I really want to see with patience what that does that's the biggest highlight for me is the shooting the innovation with lighting and sound and everything. Yes. And experiencing each one of these. And that's not counting the five different wizard modes. Well, you hit the nail on the head. Not only with Eric's shots do you want to explore the game, but you want to explore Keith's code. Yes. You want to dive into that. But it feels like a fully fleshed out game if you didn't know what you were doing. No, you can just... It's much more approachable than other games. Yes. This is a much more approachable game than Wonka shot Yes Much more approachable than pirates yes dialed in probably this is not a an incredibly hard shooter but if you want to see all the code yeah you got to keep that ball alive yeah the ramps are inviting right the verter oh the diverter that jumps it off that ramp to that side ramp there's not a shot that you look at that game and it's like i dread that shot why do i have to hit that and the spinner it actually spins when you hit Oh, the hat. Slash. It spins. Yes, yes. What about the translucent spinners? The wait is over. A revolution in LED lighting for your pinball is finally here. Fully customizable, full-spectrum lighting from Pin Stadium Lights. Order yours now at pinstadium.com. Chrome it. Brass it. Black nickel it. Candy chrome it. Powder coat it. The possibilities are endless at pinballplating.com. Your pinball machine deserves the best. At Comet Pinball, you'll find the best variety of LED products with the best quality LEDs. And most importantly, at the best price. Your collection is begging for an upgrade. Order yours now at cometpinball.com. Check out Pin Graphics for the latest and greatest in pinball enhancements, power blades, blade skins, pin blades, and even more. Visit Pingraphics.com now to see what's available for your pinball machine. The translucent pick spinners that are clear, so when all the RGB, they spin, they're clear. And it almost reflects. It takes it. It pulls in all the colors. All the wire forms everywhere. It is just a magically beautiful jam-packed game. But before we let these people go, how do you feel about the standard being substantially lower? This thing is now cheaper. I think than the Stern Premium Greg Bone, but it doesn't have the upper play field. Yes. Are you okay with that? And it doesn't have the colored light rails. They're all white. They do the hot rails. Yes. You get the lighting effects, but not the RGB. Yes. I don't know. That's what I'm saying. Like, I feel like that that guitar neck, all of that stuff, even just aesthetically, and you know me, I'm not a person who wants to pay for a stick, especially like over two grand to go up to the next thing. but I feel like that you get so much more with the shaker, with the, the glass, with the powder coat, with that upper play field. That's actually, like you said, it's a fun playing upper play field, um, with the, the, the, the hot rails on there that are RGB, like the roving can lights, everything. Yes. Like that to me is, it's like, there's almost night and day and you almost have to go up. You have to go up. But how, this is good value for the standard. Oh, it's a hell of a value for the standard. And I talked to some people that shot that standard more, and they said that it's like, you know, a typical thing when you remove an upper plate. It's kind of, can be preferred because it's faster. The guys at the factory said that they've been playing a lot of that standard. Yeah, because it's so fast and has so much more flow and stuff to it. So, you know, it's one of those things that if you didn't want to spend that extra money, that you're still not going to go wrong. You're going to be very unique. Because I did that with ACDC. I like the pro ACDC because I like that speed net brutality of those Off the rails you're doing so good ACDC pro the same I don't mind it I don't mind is there a music pen that comes close to Guns N' Roses by Jersey Jacks football Honestly, never don't lie to these it's impossible to it's impossible to this is in its own league this type of game Yeah, like I said, you were truly at that concert. Super chill. Not only do you have the concert footage? but you literally have all the assets that are on their jumbotrons that you would be watching at the same time that you're watching them perform and what I saw on there a lot of times is when they throw the jumbotron stuff up on the LCD then you still got slash and everything over here in the corner like an angle you look at the actual concert footage so you're seeing literally is if you were at that concert when you buy this pinball machine it's like you've taken home a piece of that show to your home I think the le is gonna sell better than the other models agree the collector's what i'm in on because i love that you not only get a topper but part of the topper is another soundboard to jam out even more yeah you get that and then you get the rgb what they change wonka ce had the red lighting under and behind they built it in they recess it looks really nice right very nice on guns and roses ce you get the chrome artwork but The RGBs are under the cabinet and behind. So that interacts, and the topper is RGB. So it all interacts throughout the game. That's awesome, dude. And there's a coma. The CE does have an extra feature. We have not seen that yet. Yes. When you drain, you can save a ball through coma. It's virtual on the standard and LE. But on this one, it physically locks a ball in your apron that you can see. You can physically see the bowl stacking up inside the apron. I can't wait to see it. And it's got the glitter sparkles and stuff like that. This is phenomenal. Beyond. I want to go down to the Paradise City where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. In closing. I cannot wait to play more of this game. Yeah, absolutely. What do these people need to do? Follow us. Like us. Like physically? Share us. No, don't stalk us. Follow us on Facebook. Subscribe to us on YouTube as normal. My phone is going to pop up and target. Check out our video from JJP. Check out our interviews, man. Those were phenomenal with Eric and Chris, or with Keith and with Joe. Special thanks to Kim Cromwell for helping with all of that. Yeah, very much. Communication was great. He's an asset up there. Yeah, very much. Just seeing the way he interacts with that team and stuff. Yeah, very much so. And to just the entire JJP team, man. They stressed that. every time we talked to them it wasn't this is my game this is my thing they every single time we talked to them expressed that it was such a team effort well yeah everybody like people behind the scenes everything it was such a team effort there were so many people that it took to bring this game together even like they have six coders now each one of the coders got to like choose their own song and that's why each song feels so much different because different coders are doing they They have to put their own stamp. Yeah. It's phenomenal. Yeah, follow us on Facebook. Follow us on YouTube. Subscribe and follow if you haven't already. Some really fun stuff coming up next. We need to get back into a couple more reviews. We need to do an Avengers review. If we haven't done so yet, we also need to do a Rick and Morty review. We need to do a Turtles review. We've got a lot of fun stuff. We do. Top tens, maybe a little this or that. Maybe we'll just listen to you rant. What do you think you're going to own next? mmm honestly mmm oh it's tough oh it's tough these things are shipping I think yeah they're shipping this has got me this has got me because I haven't I haven't I haven't wanted to pull the trigger on the last couple of new games come out and this one right here if I can just get my mind around spending that money my tight ass you can play my probably this come play mine I want to borrow one. Alright, until next time, this is Greg and Zach from Straight Down the Middle. I'm not even going to call it a pinball show. Stay tuned. When we first walked into that beautiful factory up at Elk Grove Village. Is it not? It might just be me. What are we doing? Grabbing roses. Yeah, baby, it takes me away to that second place.