Harry Potter Pinball - First Reaction

Pinball Pursuit·video·16m 28s·analyzed·Jun 11, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Pinball Pursuit hosts react positively to Harry Potter machine reveal with minor reservations about design choices.

Summary

Mrs. J and Dr. C from Pinball Pursuit give their initial reactions to Jersey Jack Pinball's newly revealed Harry Potter pinball machine. They discuss their hopes and fears being largely addressed, though Mrs. J expresses some disappointment with the movie-centric design over books and the large backscreen implementation. They praise the machine's mechanical innovations like the Grand Staircase, Quidditch field, and wire-form ramps, while noting concerns about the volume of video content and repetitive character placement on the playfield.

Key Claims

Jersey Jack Pinball released teasers throughout the week showing different cabinet arts, then released a final trailer a couple days before this video
high confidence · Mrs. J and Dr. C discussing the promotional rollout
The designer (Ron Gonzo) was interviewed about the machine, likely on Retro Ralph's channel
high confidence · Dr. C: 'I was watching an interview today with the designer on Retro Ralph's channel'
Harry Potter pinball has three sections per year: fall semester, summer semester, and final test/wizard mode, with 15-20 shots per mode across 8 movies
high confidence · Mrs. J explaining the mode structure: 'you're going to choose what movie you want to play and there's going to be like a fall semester a summer semester and like a final test'
The Grand Staircase mechanical element has 13 different ball paths depending on the mode
high confidence · Dr. C: 'I think they said 13 different ball paths that it can create'
The Quidditch upper playfield determines player position based on performance (beater if you do poorly)
high confidence · Dr. C citing designer interview: 'depending on how well you do the first time you go up there, is what position you get'
The machine has wire-form ramps rather than plastic ramps
high confidence · Dr. C: 'I like this is a lot of wire form ramps'
Jersey Jack recorded 60 additional pieces of content (voices, music, or call-outs) specifically for the game beyond movie clips
medium confidence · Mrs. J: 'they recorded, like, 60 other additional things just for the game' (Dr. C uncertain what this content is)
The Collector's Edition features book-style artwork on the cabinet
high confidence · Mrs. J: 'the cabinet art on the collector's edition has all of that cool book style art around it'
The backscreen is 27 inches and is a Jersey Jack Pinball standard feature

Notable Quotes

“I should have seen this coming to be honest I'm a fan of the books not so much the movies... when I saw that the machine was very movie based I was kind of like I was a little sad.”
Mrs. J@ 2:18 — Reveals the primary concern about the game's movie-centric approach despite book preference
“I like wire form ramps rather than the plastic ramps... I don't know what it is but the plastic ramps I just don't like. I like the wire form a lot better.”
Dr. C@ 13:00 — Notes aesthetic preference in machine design, contrasts with recent King Kong release
“I don't love back screens like I don't love watching the clips I'm kind of person that's just like okay next I just like let me get double clips to the next one.”
Mrs. J@ 3:29 — Expresses concern about excessive video content on large backscreen interrupting gameplay
“The Grand Staircase is a mechanical element I didn't... Not something at all that I expect them to put in the machine. It's not like what I think of when I think of Harry Potter.”
Dr. C@ 9:30 — Indicates surprise at the innovative mechanical choice despite not fitting initial expectations
“I don't like that the Death Eater is just a generic Death Eater... You would have rather it be, like, Lucius. Exactly. 100%. Or Bellatrix. Someone that I can actually hate.”
Mrs. J and Dr. C@ 8:58 — Identifies design criticism about lack of specific villain character representation
“I could use without having multiple of the same character on the play field... I'd rather see more than just the three of them on the playfield a little bit.”

Entities

Harry PottergameMrs. JpersonDr. CpersonJersey Jack PinballcompanyRon GonzopersonRetro RalphpersonEricapersonThe Flipper Roomlocation

Signals

?
community_signal: Hosts engaged with pinball community through merchandise acquisition, venue visits, and social network connections (Erica's Pinball Journey, The Flipper Room community)
high · Discussion of swag from The Flipper Room, meeting Erica, awareness of various arcade operations
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community_signal: Hosts actively monitoring designer interviews and promotional content across multiple platforms (Retro Ralph channel, official trailers), indicating strong media coverage and community interest
high · References to watching designer interview and featurettes, multiple sources of information about machine details
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design_philosophy: Death Eater mech uses generic, faceless villain rather than specific named characters (Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy) that would enhance thematic engagement
high · Mrs. J: 'I don't like that the Death Eater is just a generic Death Eater... Someone that I can actually hate. Yes, exactly. Instead of faceless'
?
design_philosophy: Playfield art features repetitive character placement (Harry appears twice, Ron appears as keeper and in trio, multiple Hermione variants) rather than showcasing broader Harry Potter universe characters
high · Mrs. J: 'I could use without having multiple of the same character on the play field... I'd rather see more than just the three of them'
?
design_philosophy: Large 27-inch backscreen implementation criticized as taking up real estate that could be used for backglass art; excessive video content (15-20 movie clips per mode, ~200 total clips) will be largely ignored during active play

Topics

Machine design and mechanics (Grand Staircase, Quidditch field, Diagon Alley, Whomping Willow)primaryAesthetic preferences (wire-form ramps, backscreen size, cabinet art, playfield art)primaryMovie vs. book source material interpretationprimaryMode structure and gameplay depth (8 movies, 15-20 shots per mode)primaryVideo content and copyright limitationssecondaryPricing and edition tiers (Collector's Edition, Premium, Pro versions)secondaryJersey Jack Pinball design conventions and screen implementationsecondaryVoice acting and recorded audio contentmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Hosts express genuine excitement about the machine and appreciation for most design choices, but temper enthusiasm with reservations about movie focus over books, backscreen prominence, character repetition, and generic Death Eater design. Mrs. J's initial skepticism evolves toward acceptance throughout discussion. Overall tone is optimistic but cautiously measured.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.049

3, 2, 1. Hey Flippers, welcome to Pinball Pursuit. I'm Mrs. J. And I'm Dr. C. And what are we talking about today? Well, what everyone's talking about right now, which is Harry Potter pinball. Harry Potter. Jersey Jack Pinball released their teasers all throughout the week, showing us all the different cabinet arts. And then the final trailer released just a couple days ago. And we watched it. We watched the featurette. I watched an interview with the designer, Eric Menear. Is that the one you sent me? No, I sent you a different one. Okay. Which one did I send you? I can't remember. Yeah, I think I sent you the Retro Ralph video. They had a bunch of stuff. I don't know. Yeah, maybe. Yeah. I can't remember. We're excited to talk about it. Very excited. Before we get started, though, we do want to show off our pinball swag that we got. The Flipper Room. Flipper Room in Concord, California. Yes. I traveled to California quite a bit for work and was able to meet up with Erica's Pinball Journey. Yeah. She's fantastic. If you guys haven't seen her stuff, she's great. She's all over Instagram. She has a YouTube channel as well. and she was nice enough to kind of give me a tour of the Flipper Room a little bit and said, hey, I want to get you and your wife some shirts. Gave us some cool swag. So thanks, Erica. Someday I'll meet you. Thank you. We're very excited. So I wanted to show that off. The Flipper Room has such a cool aesthetic. I've got a whole tour that's going to come out here soon. I want to go. It is a really cool place. I need to. Mike, the owner, has a very unique, very fun art style. Interesting. It's cool. I'll have to wait to see more. But anyway, let's get to the topic at hand. Harry Potter pinball. Harry Potter pinball. Okay. We had our whole hopes and fears. We talked all about how we were worried about this being one machine. We were worried, could they cover all of it? Could they make me happy? Basically that's what we were worried about. Yep. Yep. So I want to hear from you first. What are your, what are your initial thoughts on Harry Potter? Because we haven't discussed this yet. He asked me and I said, no, no, you must wait. Um, I should have seen this coming to be honest i'm a fan of the books not so much the movies i've seen all of the movies at least once of course when they came out of theater i was very excited i don't know that i've re-watched very many of them really yeah okay well we have them all we should watch i know we should but i just i just am such a huge fan of the books and i don't feel like the movies really did them justice so when i saw and like i said i should have expected this that the machine was very movie based. I was kind of like I was a little sad. So, but I'm getting used to the idea. Still love Harry Potter. Still love everything in there. But the cabinet art on the Potter CE, which is the highest tier, has all of that cool book style art around it. That is true. I love that they threw that back. I do like that, but that's only the Potter CE. Yeah, that's the really pricey one that you're not going to see very often we can't afford it no so i'll be eternally sad but that's okay that's so fun um it does have a really big back screen yes it's the 27 inch giant it's giant JJP one which again like i feel like i'm a hater right now but i don't love back screens like i don't love watching the clips i'm kind of person that's just like okay next just like let me get double flips to the next one. Exactly. And so it is cool that they integrate so many iconic clips from the movies. Yeah. But I think I'll watch them once if I have the machine, and then I'd be like, okay, next, next, next, next, next. Like the, eat slugs, now, four. Right. Okay, next one. Yeah. I love that. Yeah, any thoughts on the screen? Any thoughts on the initial, like, what were your initial thoughts of the machine when you first saw it? When I first saw it. So I knew this was going to be a Jersey Jack machine right. Yes. And I played more Jersey Jacks than you have I think you only played Toy Story. Toy Story and Willy Wonka right. I don't know if I've even played Willy Wonka. Did we play Willy Wonka? I think we did once. Okay. We found it once. But we played a bunch of the Toy Story. Yeah, yep, yep, yep, yep. That Duke Caboom ramp. Very fun. Yeah. So I knew what to expect with the larger screen, because I've played... I think I've played every single Jersey Jack except for the Wizard of Oz. Yeah. So I've played all of them. I've played a lot of Pirates. I have a friend over here that has a Pirates that's very hard to get. And the screen is cool, but you just don't end up looking at it as much. Yeah. I like what they've done with the screen, how they have certain sections for the Death Eaters and for the Quidditch team. Yeah, and it keeps track of the things you're going through. Yeah. I like the Gemino thing where it starts piling treasure on top of the screen when you have the multiplier going. I think that's really cool. I'm kind of like you, though. I'm a sucker for the art of the back glass. Yeah. And because the screen takes up so much real estate, you don't get as much of the art. I see. I would rather have more art there than more screen. But I get what they do. Yeah. It's a premium product. It looks really cool. And it may be different in person. This is the opinion of a girl that's never had a playbook. So what do I know? But these are just my initial thoughts, of course. So who knows? For the outside, like the cabinet, as soon as we're kind of focusing on that, I love the Potter CE. I think it looks amazing. So cool. Again, never going to have one, probably. So the standard editions, there's two of them. I like that it's like the bad guys on one side and the good guys on the other. I like that they did that. That's a cool little feature of it. Yeah. So I think they did a really good job with the art package overall. The art on the playfield, I think, is also really well done. I could use without having multiple of the same character on the playfield. So like Harry's on there twice, I think. I know Ron's on there because they have the three of them at the very bottom. Yeah. And then there's like a Hermione in the library, and there's like a Ron as a keeper also on the playfield. I was like, I'd rather see more than just the three of them on the playfield a little bit. I feel like there's a big focus on just those three for some reason. Well, I mean, they are the three, but I don't know. Like, I just thought in my head it would be just to focus on all of the things on there and not so much Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Yes, very Ron, Harry, and Hermione. I mean, the wands that are the ball lock are one-to-one replicas of Ron, Harry, and Hermione's wands. Cool little detail. If you ask me what, like, Ron's wand looks like, though, I don't know that I could tell you. I could not tell you. And I've seen the movies a lot. might pick out Hermione's because I think it has, like, some leafy things in it. But I don't even know if that's correct. I know the Elder Wand. I can identify that one. Yes, yes. So maybe they should have put that one in there. I guess. But yeah, in terms of the look of it, I think for a Harry Potter pinball machine, I think it looks good, though. Yeah. And I really like the things that they did include. And it's funny because we ran through our list of hopes and wishes, things that they would include. And a lot of these weren't on our list, but I'm still excited about them. They've got Diagon Alley, which is really cool. Which is fun. And I think that's where you go get your bonuses. Yeah. Is what you think. That's where you go to get your bonuses. It's like, okay, you're going shopping for the bonus you've collected. I think that's really cool. I think that's cool. I like the Quidditch field. The upper... It has a couple different shots. And I was watching an interview today with the designer on Eric Menear's channel, and he was talking about, depending on how well you do the first time you go up there, is what position you get on the Quidditch team. That's right. So if you go up there and you, like, totally are bad, you're just a beater. Your position's not great. and I almost wish they would have done the same thing with a sorting hat element and which house you go into. Like even if it's just you hit a certain ramp and you're sorted into Gryffindor or Slytherin. I just think that that would have been really cool and I wish they would have done more with the houses. I wish you could have just like, and maybe it's there and we just don't know yet. Yeah. Maybe when you start, you can pick what house you want. Yeah. Right. Like start of the game what house do you want to be. Which house would you be. Oh I am a Ravenclaw 100. I am a Ravenclaw. According to Pottermore I am a Slytherin. And you know what I will wear that proudly. I will be a Slytherin. So I would sort myself into a Slytherin house. Yeah, Ravenclaw. Me and Malfoy will hang out. She looks like a Hufflepuff. She's not. She's dying. Slytherin blood. Ravenclaw all the way. I'm a scientist. What do you expect? That's what I do. I got distracted, though. So Diagon Alley's cool. The Quidditch field's cool. The Whomping Willow, I think, was really fun. As the pop bumper that moves around. Yeah. Yeah, that's really cool. I think it's a cool detail. And, like, potions class. Yeah, the little cauldron you go through with the ball lock, I think that's cool. And you can brew your own potions to get bonuses and stuff. I think that's cool. Yep. And there was one aspect of it that we actually did mention, we talked about. I don't like that the Death Eater is just a generic Death Eater. Mmm, yes. You would have rather it be, like, Lucius. Exactly. 100%. Or Bellatrix. Someone that I can actually hate. Yes, exactly. Instead of faceless. Faceless, anonymous Death Eater. I think there's a head in it that's just behind there. That's what we'll do. But I like that it shoots the ball back at you. Yeah. At like varying speeds, apparently. So you never know. You never know. So I think that's kind of cool. Yeah. What do you think about the Grand Staircase? The Grand Staircase is a thing I didn't not expect them to put in the machine at all. It's not like what I think of when I think of Harry Potter. Yeah, that was another aspect that we did not anticipate. I don't think anybody did. And I think it's really cool. Yeah, it's like, I think they said 13 different ball paths that it can create. Yeah. Which, you know, depending on the mode you're in, it's kind of cool. Yeah. Keeps you guessing, makes sure you have to pay attention. And it's a fun little mech. Yeah, it's cool how it turns around and it moves stuff around. Just because it's hard to tell without playing it. Yeah. I don't know how it's going to work. like how much are you going to be able to predict things or is it going to be just totally random and i like that if it's totally random yeah so it's it's really cool now one thing we talked about in our hopes and fears video for Harry Potter was how are they going to do all the movies so we now know that you're going to shoot a scoop and you're going to choose what movie you want to play and there's going to be like a fall semester a summer semester and like a final test or final. So like three sections. Three modes within the mode that each have like two or three, so it's like 15 to 20 shots to finish a mode. That's a lot. It's a lot. And then the seventh and eighth movie, seventh book, is the wizard mode. Yeah. What do you think about them taking that approach? Again, I was a little upset when I saw that there were eight different, and I mean the last two are wizard modes. I get that. But they're like, for the eight movies. And I was like, but there was only seven books. This is me getting stuck in the book mindset. Where I'm like, I don't care about the movies. I just care about the books. And so, again, this is just something that I'm sure I would get used to. Yeah. But I think it is cool that the last two, initially the same book, are the final wizard showdown wizard mode. Yeah, exactly, exactly. I think that's cool. Makes sense, you know, because that is basically the final battle. You know? Where it all goes down. And so I think that's, I like that. I still am wondering if three modes for each year of school is too much. It's a lot. Again, this would be something that we'd have to play and find out. But I'm like, whoa, that feels like a lot. It's a lot. I think they said it's like 15 to 20 scenes that you play through for each year. That's so crazy. Which is a lot of video clips. I mean, you multiply that times eight. That's almost 200 clips they have from the movies. And maybe that would be fun as a spectator. but as a person playing, I'm not gonna watch them. Yeah, because you're gonna be so focused and that's the problem with the big screens. Yeah. But it'll be fun to hear at least. Definitely, yeah. Yeah, I mean, those lines are iconic. Yeah, and just like the fun scenes from every movie, so. Yeah. So what else about this machine really stands out to you either good or bad? The Protego. That word. That word. The spell. Yes. The spell. Yeah. That stops the ball from going down the outer. Yeah. Exactly. Love that. Think that that's super cool. Um, I don't know. I i think i've gone through a lot of my list. What did you have on yours? So the only other thing that i think i wanted to talk about was just i like that and this is just a weird aesthetic thing that i think i've realized especially with the new King Kong that just came out i like wire form ramps oh i do too rather than the plastic ramps and i like this is a lot of wire form ramps yeah i don't know what it is but the plastic ramps i just smell something i don't know i think that's okay but i don't like i like the wire form a lot better. And so I like that this has the wire form. From what I can tell of the gameplay, it looks like it's a fast machine. Yeah. Really fast. I like a lot of the small details. I like that one of the spinners is Luna with her little, like, lion head on. Yeah. It looks like they've put just a lot of little Easter eggs. Yeah, fun little callbacks. One thing I wish is that they would have put and I understand that they couldn't right because there's probably some YouTube copyright algorithm stuff I wanted to hear more of the machine. Yep. Yep. I totally know what you mean. Yeah. Because like they've said they have the main thing. Yes. Yes. And one of the reviews I was watching said that they couldn't play it because of copyright. So I'm sure there's a lot of that involved. I'm sure there's a lot of voice lines that we couldn't hear, but I really wanted, I just wanted to hear more of what they have, like, you know, Dumbledore, or Dragon Ball, you know, from the movies. Snape. Yeah. Snape. And Snape little isms. Yeah. Just fun little call-outs I'd love to hear. Yeah. The voices, if they have any other songs. Yeah. Just anything like that. I mean, from what I understand, they recorded, like, 60 other additional things just for the game. Oh, so it's not just going to be movie call-outs. Yeah. Yeah. So it's, and maybe it's just the call-out, maybe it's just music they recorded. I don't actually, it wasn't clear to me what that was, but I wanted to hear more. Yeah, I want to hear more too. I'm interested to see what that sounds like. Yeah. So anyway, that's our initial thoughts on Harry Potter pinball. Crazy. It's crazy. It is coming. Yeah. I'm excited to see it. I hope with that cheaper version that we get one that we can get on site somewhere near us. Somewhere near us. So that we can play. Maybe we can rent it if Kelly will watch this. Kelly. Kelly. We want you to get it in your lineup. Any other final thoughts you want to talk about? No, just excited. As I mentioned before, I don't know what it's going to be like. All I have to go off of is people's reviews, the trailer. I don't know. I don't know. So I'm really excited. From what I can see, yeah, I'm definitely interested in playing it. Yeah. I mean, in terms of themes, like where is Harry Potter in the dream themes for you? I was nervous, as we know. I was like, I don't know if I want to say this is a dream theme because if it's not the way I want it, I'm going to be disappointed. Because I'm a snob. You know, just kind of like the whole movies versus book thing. Like I said, I'm sure I'll get used to it, and it'll be just fine. But I think it's really cool. I think it's really fun. I just finished up a Harry Potter fanfic book myself. Oh, my gosh. Yes. Don't judge. Don't judge. It's a whole thing right now. Anywho, so I'm, like, in my Harry Potter era again, and I'm loving it. I think I need to go back and read the books again. We have the illustrated ones up to five. Which would be so fun. The sixth one comes out soon this year, right? I thought so. I could be lying to everyone. I don't know. I think it is coming out. I hope so. Apparently, from what I, rumors I heard is that they burnt the artist out a little bit. So he had to take some time. Oh, I believe it. Because those books came out fast. Yeah, yeah. And they're gorgeous. He does such a good job. So hopefully. But I can't read those on my Kindle. We'll figure it out. Anywho. Well, that's all from us. Anyway, keep tuned in here for more pinball stuff. And until next time. Keep flipping.