claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034
SDTM reviews TMNT Pinball: challenging John Borg layout with exceptional art, grows on players.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles art package is one of Jeremy Packer's best pieces and one of the best art packages in pinball period
high confidence · Hosts gave artwork an A/A+ rating, comparing it favorably to Ghostbusters and noting superior composition and color work
The left ramp/layer target area has a design flaw with very low success rates even for top players
high confidence · Hosts discussed Travis Murray hitting the shot only 30% of the time forehand, 50% backhand; design requires difficult flipper timing
Game requires learning dead bounces and stand-up target control to manage the brutal slingshot chaos
high confidence · Zach Sharp explained dead bounces and stand-up targets as 'airbags' and 'control layers' essential to managing ball control
TMNT sold a lot of units initially and was highly hyped, then tapered when Avengers released
medium confidence · Greg noted strong initial sales and hype, with taper coinciding with Avengers arrival
The game is a hybrid of Guardians and Tron layouts with some Walking Dead difficulty
medium confidence · Hosts described shot design and layout as combining elements from these three prior John Borg games
Greg Bone initially disliked the game but was convinced by Zach Sharp to give it more time
high confidence · Greg recounted story of being gifted TMNT by wife and Zach, initially skeptical, came around after 15-20 minutes of play
“Get John Borg'd. That's why I got rid of my Guardians.”
Greg Bone@ 1:43 — Establishing the host's love-hate relationship with John Borg's brutal left outlane designs
“He put more into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles than he did Avengers”
Zach Sharp@ 1:05 — Claim about Jeremy Packer's effort allocation across simultaneous projects
“I think this might be a better ensemble and a better art package than Ghostbusters”
Zach Sharp@ 15:38 — High praise for TMNT artwork, comparing favorably to one of pinball's most celebrated art packages
“It's precisely why I'm at a B+, and I'm not in the A, because that area, I like conceptually that area there, that layer area, but I do think it is a bit of a flaw.”
Zach Sharp@ 23:01 — Explaining the design flaw that prevents an A rating for shots/layout category
“Dead bounces are the key to this game. And people will complain about the long stand-up targets. To me, that is the key to ball control.”
Zach Sharp@ 27:09 — Key insight into game strategy and design philosophy for managing chaos
“I knew you would like the damn thing. I know you so well.”
Zach Sharp@ 25:43 — Explains why Zach coordinated the gift, confident Greg would eventually appreciate the game
“Code starts clicking. Code starts clicking, exactly.”
community_signal: Zach Sharp coordinated gift of TMNT to Greg with Greg's wife, confident Greg would eventually appreciate the game
high · Zach arranged surprise Christmas gift after Greg repeatedly declined to buy it; Zach stated 'I knew you would like the damn thing'
sentiment_shift: TMNT experienced positive reception upon release, but initial hype tapered with Avengers' arrival; game perceived as difficult to shoot, leading some to underappreciate it
high · Sold a lot of units initially with strong hype, then 'started tapering off' when Avengers released; hosts noted people didn't give it proper chance
design_philosophy: Layer/left ramp shot design has accessibility flaw with very low success rates even for top competitive players
high · Travis Murray hits shot only 30% forehand/50% backhand; requires difficult flipper timing; design prevents this shot from being 'stellar'
design_philosophy: John Borg strayed from his typical accessible layout design on TMNT, creating more speed-focused design more akin to Mark Ritchie's philosophy
high · Hosts noted Borg 'kind of strays away from' his typical accessible design; game features exceptional speed on orbits and ramps unusual for Borg
design_philosophy: John Borg employed stand-up targets as 'airbags'/'control layers' to manage chaos from brutal slingshots, creating ball control mechanics for skilled play
high · Zach explained long stand-up targets as key to ball control on high-speed game; described them as intentional design to manage sling chaos
youtube_groq_whisper · $0.176
Greg Bone@ 26:37 — Moment where Greg's understanding and appreciation of Dwight Sullivan's ruleset deepened
“There's a lot of shots in this game. And this might be maybe one of John Borg's best laid out games you can't really deny that.”
Greg Bone@ 18:50 — Acknowledges TMNT as among Borg's best layout work despite initial reservations
community_signal: Jeremy Packer put substantial effort into TMNT artwork simultaneously with Avengers; hosts believe TMNT received more attention
medium · Zach stated 'he put more into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles than he did avengers' and described him doing both 'simultaneously or Avengers came right after'
sentiment_shift: Greg Bone's opinion on TMNT reversed from negative to positive through extended play and understanding of ruleset depth
high · Recounted journey from 'shit game I can't stand' to loving it after 15-20 minutes; code started 'clicking'; learned ball control mechanics