Top 10 Most Overrated Pinball Machines Of All Time

Straight Down the Middle·video·18m 2s·analyzed·Jan 10, 2021

Analysis

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TL;DR

SDTM ranks pinball's most overrated machines, targeting classics like Quicksilver and Addams Family.

Summary

Greg Bone and Zach Sharp present a provocative 'Top 10 Most Overrated Pinball Machines of All Time' list on Straight Down the Middle, arguing that iconic machines like Quicksilver (#1), The Addams Family (#2), Big Bang Bar (#3), and Spirit (#4) are overpriced and overvalued relative to actual gameplay enjoyment. The hosts challenge community consensus on classic and rare games, citing weak rules depth, short replay value, and inflated secondary market pricing as reasons these machines don't live up to their legendary reputations.

Key Claims

Quicksilver is an all-green, ugly pinball machine that is massively overpriced and not worth the cost despite tournament popularity
high confidence · Zach Sharp directly critiques Quicksilver as #1 most overrated; calls it 'expensive turd,' criticizes its green playfield and center bank placement
The Addams Family has very short replay value—players love it when playing but never want to return to it after one cycle
high confidence · Greg and Zach both note that owners say 'yeah really liked it' but won't replay; Zach compares it to rewatching the film—enjoyable once but not worth repeated engagement
Elvira's House of Horrors is overpriced at $2,300-$4,000 when it has System 11 rules depth and can be replaced by Scared Stiff at half the price
high confidence · Greg states pricing at $2,300-$4,000 range; both hosts agree rules are weak and game gets boring despite decent shooting
Big Bang Bar is driven purely by rarity hype, not actual gameplay quality; Pinball Magic is a cooler game with better mechanics
high confidence · Zach: 'I think it's one of those things that's just purely driven by the rarity'; Greg: 'Pinball Magic is cooler... those mechs and what they do with them are fun'
Family Guy and Shrek pinball machines by Pat Lawlor have bad layouts and insufficient gameplay variety despite high pricing
high confidence · Zach criticizes both as having the same level playfield format; compares unfavorably to Data East's Lethal Weapon; notes friend who drove far to buy Family Guy was disappointed
Safe Cracker is overrated due to time-based mechanics, small playfield layout, and collector nostalgia rather than actual gameplay merit
high confidence · Zach: 'I hate the format it's like a time based thing I hate the layout how it's smaller it doesn't feel good'; calls it a bubble gum-like experience
Batman '66 is boring and overvalued; the crane mechanic, while complex, doesn't justify the game's high price and hype
high confidence · Zach explicitly calls the game 'boring'; cites inability to identify favorite shots as evidence of shallow gameplay; acknowledges rotisserie is complex but gameplay disappoints

Notable Quotes

“if you're a pinball person it's like Twilight Zone you gotta own it at least once yes and when you're playing that one game that is fun in The Addams Family nothing comes close to it no but when that game is over and you see the wagon and once that's over yeah you don't want to play it again”
Greg Bone@ 13:21 — Core argument for why Addams Family is overrated: exceptionally fun in one specific mode, but lacks replay value after experiencing it once
“buy seven Meteors”
Zach Sharp@ 15:02 — Stark value comparison suggesting seven cheaper, better games could replace one Quicksilver
“I hate it uh even some of my friends who including Raymond Davidson Raymond Davidson is the number one pinball player in the entire earth the world he loves this game raydaypinball you're just wrong man”
Zach Sharp@ 2:18 — Directly contradicts elite competitive player Raymond Davidson's taste, establishing willingness to challenge even top authority in pinball community
“it's all green and it's Quicksilver oh puke an all green playfield I can't do it I I don't I'll never understand Quicksilver I'll never understand Stargazer”
Zach Sharp@ 14:33 — Visceral negative reaction to Quicksilver's aesthetic; compares it to Stargazer as similarly unappetizing despite different rarity/price
“if there's a list of overrated pinball machines this should fall into oh god yeah and I wanted to I want to own this game it's a fun game but again you know how we go back and we talked about before about how you know how I know that this pin is very underrated is because people keep it in their collection people tout this game”
Greg Bone @ mid-section — Reveals internal contradiction: Addams Family's enduring desirability among owners undermines overrated claim, suggesting hosts may be conflating 'overpriced' with 'overrated'

Entities

Zach SharppersonGreg Boneperson Ken Cromwellperson Raymond Davidsonperson Pat Lawlorperson George GomezpersonStraight Down the Middle: a pinball showevent|media

Signals

?
business_signal: Hosts suggest remake potential for Quicksilver (rumored Stern project) could waste a good theme on poor game design, indicating skepticism about IP-driven pinball development strategy
medium · Zach: 'I know which one that one was gonna be was a Quicksilver rethink and I was like don't ruin a good theme'; suggests previous rumors of Stern remaking Quicksilver
?
community_signal: Hosts intentionally provocative framing ('put some noses some feathers', 'break some hearts', 'make people very angry') suggests they expect community backlash and are leaning into engagement-driving controversy
high · Opening: 'this one might uh put some noses some feathers it might ruffle some feathers'; repeated warnings about making competitive players angry; explicit solicitation of comments
?
community_signal: Hosts soliciting direct community feedback and debate in comments, positioning 'overrated' list as conversation starter rather than definitive criticism
high · Closing: 'are we nutty are we right are we on to something... give us your thoughts yeah in the comment section below'; explicitly inviting disagreement
?
competitive_signal: Tournament-favorite machines (Quicksilver, Batman '66) valued by competitive community but dismissed as boring/ugly by casual/collector audience, indicating meta-gameplay divide
high · Zach notes 'this is gonna make all the competitive players very angry'; Quicksilver is tournament staple; hosts willing to challenge elite player (Raymond Davidson) taste
?
design_philosophy: Quicksilver's all-green playfield aesthetic criticized as fundamentally ugly and detracting from tournament playability, suggesting visual design can undermine even competitive-tier rule depth

Topics

Game overvaluation and collector hypeprimaryReplay value and long-term gameplay engagementprimaryPricing and secondary market inflationprimaryDesigner reputation and community deferencesecondaryAesthetic design and visual appealsecondaryRules depth and code qualitysecondaryRarity-driven value vs. actual gameplay meritsecondaryCompetitive tournament meta vs. casual player preferencesmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(-0.35)— Hosts are playfully critical and provocative throughout, but express genuine affection for pinball culture and machines. Negative sentiment targets pricing, overvaluation, and hype cycles rather than the games themselves. Zach's tone is more harsh/dismissive; Greg provides balance and occasional disagreement with his own rankings. Ends on note of community engagement and lighthearted debate solicitation.

Transcript

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all right let's kick this you hit it with the bumper knife [Applause] [Music] shout out to ken cromwell i guess this is straight down the middle this is greg i am zach we're here for another wonderful video what do you want to say about special wind lit edition maybe we are lit right now we are here we got to be lit to give them the next top 10 list because this one is gonna this one might uh put some noses some feathers it might ruffle some feathers actually a lot of people might agree with them top ten most i don't know overrated most overrated pinball machines of all time you heard it we're gonna break some hearts today but these pens are just not worth what you think they're not that fun nope they're not that they're no they might be good games they might be a little rare there might be some rare it's fine but that does not they might be classics they might be the greatest but come on you guys put them on this pedestal we're about to knock them off yep too many people talk about them tenth most overrated pinball machine it's gotta be kingpin yeah the capcom game sure it's a good game it's fun uh the guys at uh circus maximus i think we're trying to i don't know whatever happened to that i don't know but you know that was decent it was decent it's fine the remit but not for the money no this original that i think originals still go for like fifteen twenty thousand dollars you can buy so much more gain than that yeah i like the spinners on the ramps it's clever but there's not enough there people don't keep valuing that pen so high that's overrated the number nine most overrated pinball machine is one that i loathe i hate it uh even some of my friends what including raymond davidson raven davidson is the number one pinball player in the entire earth the world he loves this game ray day you're just wrong man it's family guy take your pick sorry pat lawler they're both layouts they both suck i feel like i'm playing a single level game i had a friend who drove forever to go pick up a family guy got it and he was kind of like that's it yeah and there's there are a lot of money yeah they are they know you yeah they're not cheap i've just never been a big i'm like shitty give me a give me a data east lethal weapon over over that arrow like just something in there you kind of like like south park's not a bad game but you still had that same level like the way the playfields were made or looked like it was just something just about that every time it goes up the upper little mini playfield oh god you got bb's mini balls sucks that game blows way over stop talking about it pricing it that's a 2800 game yes and i wouldn't buy it no i wouldn't buy it and it's ugly no i like the family guy i like family guy too but the pen there's some unique stuff the best toy right in the middle that can ugh not good number eight this game pisses me off too why do people like i'm i'm a little angry here why do people like this game so much i don't know again a pat lawler i'm sorry pat safe cracker oh like i don't know if it's like the weird nostalgia of it with the coins and difference i don't know i don't get it maybe it's like collectors because i remember when i first got into pinball like people touted it it was one of those things like safe cracker no i hate the format it's like a time based thing i hate the layout how it's smaller it doesn't feel good i feel like i'm shooting for a bubblegum piece of bubblegum i played one of the show like when when when i first got into pinball because people were talking i was like there's a safe crack and there was a line and like i was like i want to play this and i was just i got a better planet and i was like um no no this is not what i like why are people talking about this oh that's that's another pat lawler yeah the next one comes with a comes with a disclaimer um i do not agree with this and i think greg was smoking crack or some substance when he urged and pushed and said you know what you got one on the top 10 underrated list i'm going to give you this one and you guys see it on the screen right now white water i think it's terrific okay i love that game full disclaimer okay when we were compiling this list a while back i don't know what mood i was in when i was arguing against this i think some of it came to price point for which it is priced high yeah it's the the rules aren't as deep no and i think that that's the thing not even a wizard mode no that's what i'm saying i that was kind of my major argument um after some form of reflection i do very much enjoy the shooting of this send hate mail right in the comments section below but seems great again for the price and what you get and i mean the theme's pretty cool looks pretty cool but it's still the code on that game at that price there's a lot better games that you can get for that price that's fine and everybody touts white water you know what's going to make people even more angry is our number six because i think the game sucks now this is and everybody's getting this is the reversal of white one yeah i didn't want this in the list or no you did one i wanted i tried to say no and you're like if i'm gonna give you white water exactly you're giving me this batman 66. you heard it shirts george gomez shirts lime and sheet shirts capel but sure it's effing boring no oh i think it's fun i enjoy it i'm not like into that era either for ever adam west batman but it's just every time somebody tries to look up for this game i always ask them one thing and they leave me with a non-answer what's your favorite shot on that game um i'm not really a good shot on that you know what's bad is that is the only game that i think the crane disagreed on in a hater pinball love it nope love it but no i can see where that it can be over hyped for what it is because it is it's holding value oh it's boring it is it's it's a pretty pen like i i i do think that it is slightly over hyped for the way it shoots and the layout and that's all and everything that rotisserie george gomez is a genius and that rotisserie is so complex but when i hit a damn ramp and then i get to hit the phone that's lit and it's not turned yet and i gotta try to no it's a fail that game is no bueno friends it's fun arts looks nice ish i think theme and i think theme and code go a long way on that long way down the because that game sucks the most the top five we're in top five now the fifth most overrated pinball machine of all time well we're really gonna make people mad as we go up on this list elvira in the party monsters it's a fine game it is fun it's fine it's fun but it gets boring you can just keep shooting it and keep stacking and it's not great no it's not overly difficult give me a lot of other system 11 yeah at half the price give me any other elvira pin i'll take scared stiff or house a horse and it's another one that that's probably it's it's overrated with the price and people buying it because i i would own one i would like one i could say nowhere near going to pay the price for because the game does not hold up to the price into the way that people hype it and the the the want for this game rule says in system 11. very much so and that that's again it's the weak point it falls into those rules it shoots it shoots pretty good you get that one ramp that's fine yeah i like that it's fun but it's just not where it is it's a it's a freaking seventeen hundred dollar game two thousand dollar game yeah and it goes with it four thousand dollars two thousand dollars twenty three hundred dollars let's go let's give it let's get up there twenty three hundred bucks it is all that game is worth take your money elsewhere i think the only reason for anybody to ever a strong take the only reason anybody should ever own party monsters is if you have the other two games and just want to completely try effectively and people pay stupid money for beat up ones why that's like batman there's not a good batman game no i don't like any of the batman games no i'm dead east the forever batman forever they're all okay i know you're a batman fan now the number four most overrated pinball machine is one that is a beauty it is a beauty people love it it's a god leap and it's rare yeah and it's made our top list for top back glasses it's spirit spirit yeah it's pretty it is pretty it's multi it takes a lot of risk got multi levels in it and some people really like the code they really love that game yeah it puts me to sleep yep i think there's nothing going on in there that makes me want to go back from nowhere no again you're paying a hefty price tag for it and people demand it one of the ones that didn't mess reminds me one of the ones that didn't make our list um and people are going to get mad at me alien star people love alien star it looks cool let's just play an alien star it's boring man long ball time it's just boring nothing i know there's a thing you do the thing no boring boring boring oh the number three this could get remade i just don't understand why i don't every time i hear it the third most overrated pinball machine of all time is cat another capcom yes big bang bar i don't get it nope it's neat looking sure it looks neat because it's got fluorescent plastic there's rarity but when there was talks it and i i love the company and i'm not even going to mention them because i love the people there they'll let me make it the the talks of this getting remade still when i think about it today it never makes sense to me of why that it's getting remade like i i don't know i and i just for the rarity i guess yeah i don't understand because it's not a you shoot it it's not good no and like cactus canyon i can get behind characters can you there's some questions that's a fun game it's fun i like the theme the shots i do too so i can get behind that like this the strip pole like no dancer alien i don't get it at the left ramp is cool i think it's one of those things that's just purely driven by the rarity i think pinball magic is cooler pinball magic is happy magic's actually it's a pretty good game yeah those those mechs and what they do with them are fun it's it's a neat structure to that coat it's not bad i don't get big bang bar no i don't either never had but no no overrated very sorry number one you got an expensive piece of turd if you got it in your collection no the wait is over a revolution in led lighting for your pinball is finally here fully customizable full spectrum lighting from PinStadium Lights order yours now at kingstadium.com chrome it brass it black nicolette candy chrome it powder coated the possibilities are endless at pinballplating.com [Music] 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 pin graphics.com now to see what's available for your pinball machine number two numbers don't lie no i get behind this too and i want it i know you want this game but it is so overrated yep it's show time it's adam's family the second most overrated pinball machine of all time is adam's family ah it's cool this is the nail on the whole game if there's a list of overrated pinball machines this should fall into oh god yeah and i wanted to i want to own this game it's a fun game it's a fun game but again you know how we go back and we talked about before about how you know how i know that this pin is very underrated is because people keep it in their collection people tout this game and when they own it and they have it they love it adam's family is the opposite everyone that i've ever talked to it owns an adams family says yeah really liked it but well everybody if you're a pinball person left early yeah if you're a pinball person it's like twilight zone you gotta own it at least once yes and when you're playing that one game that is fun in adam's family nothing comes close to it no but when that game is over and you see the wagon and once that's over yeah you don't want to play it again no it's very short-lived and magnets are cool i like the ball diverter i like the thing i like that there's modes in it i like to start there's so much to like greg but theme's fantastic once you get through the tour the mansion yep you don't need to tour it anymore and that's what i've heard from everybody and that's the only thing keeps me from buying is i don't want to spend that much money and i don't want to lug it to the basement and then pull it out in three weeks because i'm done it's really like the film you go back and watch that film it's a damn good film it's a fun film but once you see it you're like yeah i'd go another 10 years without saying i'm not i'm not watching it again next week because it was so not worth the money though and your most overrated overrated pinball machine the number one of all time now this is gonna make all the competitive players very angry very very angry it's a stern electronics game it's one that goes for so damn much money it is one of the ugliest pinball machines that i've ever seen it's all green and it's quicksilver oh puke an all green play field i can't do it i i don't i'll never understand quicksilver i'll never end stargazer okay i get it you got three success i get it even see which to a certain degree they perfected with beetles yeah but man with silver quicksilver needs a lot of work no doesn't do anything for me i don't even care about the rules the rules are fine i get it nope nope if you're gonna spend that much for that expensive turd yeah buy seven meteors yeah yeah that game and the placement of that center bank in a sweep of i don't give a so it was a lot of things but what right when you put it in the in the middle of the play field like that that game is just not worth it this is not so ugly oh the side cabinet sucks the bad glass service no no it's just it and like you said tournament players it's fine people where did people even come up with loving that game so much i don't know i know a lot of my favorite the names that are independent of pinball they're like i hate you zack and everything straight down the middle stands for but but you can't say that it's not himself that thing is yeah look at it as a whole when people talk about i wonder if stern is ever going to redo like they did see wish to beatles i want them to redo and quicksilver quicksilver i'm like no don't ruin a good theme on that turd oh please don't hate that game it makes me scared when the rumor though for a little bit that that's what um um yeah i know which one that one was gonna be was a quick silver rethink and i was like don't ruin led zeppelin no that's what i thought i could even do a stargazer stargazers stargazers you get triple spinners you've got the weird slings with the cups in them that shoot yeah but it's not fetching quicksilver price and it's not oh the quicksilver is yeah adam's family quicksilver so a quick recap on your top 10 most overrated pinball machines of all time number one quicksilver number two adams family number three big bang bar number four spirit number five elvira and the party monsters number six nice try jazz music batman 66 number seven white water what are you smoking number eight safe cracker pat lawler my bad number nine another pat lawler family guy or shrek take your pick and number 10 kingpin i wouldn't try to remake that circus maximus cut your losses trying to make the pinball starters stop selling it's ugly too yeah just not good what do they need to do between now and next time maybe if you want a a better taste in your mouth go watch our most underrated pinball machines get you fired up but in a good way yeah or watch one of our reviews or our christmas special or hell or recap into the 2020 year thanks for the continued support and everything you do for straight down the middle uh we love you we love our friends out there um and all the support give us your thoughts yeah in the comment section below are we nutty are we right are we on to something adam's family collector nobody should argue adam's family people keep their abs family because they feel bad they're like i know it's a great game i'm like oh the way it looks play it bro yeah i don't really know i like the magnets your mansion got where you got weird see you later [Music]