I was thinking about NF the other day and how I bought it without knowing much about it. Then after owning it thinking how fortunate I was to get it.

Has there been a game that you have gotten that either people have played down or your expectations were low, but for your tastes you found to be an exceptional game for you once owning it?

Spiderman (Stern)

Really likes No Fear as well, bought it a few months ago and really like it.

Did meet the maker already thou, not as hard as some others but really fun. Fast and furious.

AFM is the game i would say i was impressed by at first. I didnt chase one, i only bought it because a local friend offered it to me. Played the hell out of it, sold it because i needed money and my car wasnt selling, still miss it..

Batman Forever.. everyone seems to love it when they play it.

Quoted from Azatotht

Did meet the maker already thou, not as hard as some others but really fun. Fast and furious.

True not as hard as some but always a hell of a ride and ramps up nicely in the final three modes to want to attempt to repeat the journey.

Quoted from Monkeybug

Spiderman (Stern)

I guess expectations would be high as this is a pretty well reviewed game. Was it that it didn't seem like your type of game or you just hadn't had the exposure to it at that juncture when you bought it?

Getaway.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

I guess expectations would be high as this is a pretty well reviewed game. Was it that it didn't seem like your type of game or you just hadn't had the exposure to it at that juncture when you bought it?

Everyone raved about it.  I didn't get it.  After spending some 'quality' time with it, I can see how the high praise is justified.  Simple enough to understand but still challenging.  

I picked it up thinking that if I didn't like it, it would not be a hard game to resell (like most of us do).  Big hit with the family.  The only games prior, that had a cross family appeal, were Addams Family, Monster Bash and Indiana Jones.

Wh20

Picked it up as my second game ever on a whim 7 years ago at a Starburst auction, didn't remember much about it just that I thought I liked it.  Still have it 7 years later and it's still one of my fav's, will never leave.  

Farfalla

Don ' t know anybody who played it before my purchase , but the hassle getting it was redeemed ...  

Stern Quicksilver. I had impression for many years that game was not for me even after playing to it a lot with vpinmame. vpinmame have bad sound for classic Stern emulation but can give an idea about the gameplay. But i'm a big electronic sounds fan and like fantasy and sc-fi theme. I decided to check for classic Stern video on youtube and WOW, i asking to myself ... ''WHY THE F** I DIDN'T ALREADY BUY THOSE PINS'' and the day after i post on maaca to get some classics Stern. Quicksilver is one of the less apreciate by pinball fans but it is my special lover for that incredible sounds it have, best of all classics Stern for sounds.  

LOTR, I never liked the movies at first, never liked Sterns. Bought a nice one because everyone said it was so good... It is!

Dave

Fish Tales. Had to buy it to get WCS94 but anticipated selling it right away because the music and theme was annoying ... ended up keeping it around for months because I didn't really want to sell it.  Got into a money crunch and had to sell it. Regretted it ever since.

Other games which have lasting value that I didn't expect: Rollergames, Cactus Jack's.

Catacomb.

I'm surprised at how quick the gameplay is and how you have to keep your head using the 'toast' if you really want to score any real points which ain't easy. The bagatelle is a nifty, yet frustrating, feature that I still forget about from time to time when the ball drains and stare at the trough wondering why the next ball hasn't popped out ... . It can really help your game a lot if played well. Making the spinner shot and sweeping the top targets (once) was pretty wild. Too bad it doesn't have 'spooky' sounds though.

However, Catacomb isn't really a big 'surprise treasure' as it is simply the best classic Stern pin.  

EM - Sure Shot.  Bought it as a project, totally intended to fix and sell... can't let it go.
DMD - Baywatch.  Crap theme, but for the amount I've played it, I loved it.

My Central Park and Evil Kniviel for me.

For me , it's definetely taxi , Never play it before ,and now  it's a keeper for me.

JM all the way in my books.

SECRET SERVICE.  It's one of the best Jackpot I ever seen, with all the light and the special music.

Quoted from OTTOgd

However, Catacomb isn't really a big 'surprise treasure' as it is simply the best classic Stern pin.  

You just say that because you haven't played Stargazer enough.  

Quoted from tiger_31

For me , it's definetely taxi , Never play it before ,and now  it's a keeper for me.

I ' m glad for you ...  

Gottlieb Genesis. I fell in love with it once I played it. It makes use of some of the best classic Gottlieb trademarks in pinball such as kicker targets and the vari-target. Add 4 pop bumpers, some drop targets and 2 ramps and the gameplay is quite fast. Sounds and music are pretty good. Yeah, the theme blows but I believe that if John Trudeau got the Metropolis theme like he wanted, with some cab art, it would have done MUCH better.

I owned 2... and I am still looking for one. Just not at any price...

Indiana Jones.  

Loved the movies and had a chance to get one at a good price so I bought it even though I had never played it before. Still one of my favorites.

Quoted from Monkeybug

You just say that because you haven't played Stargazer enough.  

It was fun but I played it enough. Plus Adam highlighted the scoring fiasco :

Quoted from Vengeance

... The most lucrative shot on Stargazer is the upper bank of 3 drop targets followed by the upper left spinner.  

The most you can get per spin on the left and right spinners after lighting them is 2,000 per spin and then after being hit once they turn off.  Once you drop down a single target from the upper bank it holds the value and doesn't unlite the spinner with the top value at 4,000 a spin.  The best strategy on Stargazer is to drop one target down at the 4,000 value and then just sit there and rape that spinner over and over again, it's how I crushed Doug's high score.

The only failing that I can see with Catacomb at the moment is the locked ball(s)/multi-ball carry-over. BEST STERN EVER. Lightning looks like a pretty awesome very close second though. Coincidentally, another Joe Joos Jr. Cooke's video rocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRj6uT5TL-Y.

Quoted from OTTOgd

It was fun but I played it enough. Plus Adam highlighted the scoring fiasco :

While Adam did point out the exploit, I dare you to try it.. your aim has to be perfect to nail that shot every time, it's a tight shot.  And if you miss, you're usually treated with a SDTM or the ball goes into the pops, which usually kills your spinner lock and you have to start over

Quoted from machine.slave

While Adam did point out the exploit, I dare you to try it.

I can do it   

Quoted from machine.slave

... I dare you to try it.. your aim has to be perfect to nail that shot every time, ...

I'm not ascared either.

Well then you both can show me how it's done when our house is built.  

Quoted from machine.slave

Well then you both can show me how it's done when our house is built.  

But will they get past your security system?  

Quoted from machine.slave

Batman Forever.. everyone seems to love it when they play it.

I agree!  I was looking for a Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and the guy I found was selling other pins too.  One of which was Batman Forever which looked cool so I had to take it...Frank left long ago and BF remains, love it!

Mike

I'm with Adam on this one...  Never played a Wh20 until I purchased one, and it's absolutely one of my favorite pins.  All of my other fav's I knew what I was buying, so no surprises.

D

Quoted from Tilt

Getaway.

Bought mine because it was cheap on kijiji but am LOVING it!

No Good Gofers. Bought w/ CV to keep the price down. Game really surprised me and I really enjoyed it. Fantastic flow, great humour, excellent MB, outstanding modes, and one of the most satisfying shots in pinball, i.e. the hole in one. Had it and CV for years. Only sold it reluctantly last year to make some space.

Duane