Highlights from my brief-and-giddy visit to the NW Pinball and Game Show last night:
Some of last year’s coolest pinball tables are missing, but in their place are ’80s monsters like Bride of Pinbot and High Speed, modern wowzers like a new NBA table from Stern, and vintage machines like the one with shotgun Nuge (above). Tip: Wait in line to give the Twilight Zone machine a shot. Worth the wait.
New this year is the arcade room, filled mostly with ’80s hits like Donkey Kong and Pac Man. You’ll find a few relatively recent games—of particular note is a set brought in by Slog reader Bob*, who was nice enough to walk me through the most obscure of his slick-lookin’, Japanese sit-down machines—but the most interesting selection is Donkey Kong II. Nintendo never made this game, but a few showgoers saw this pro-lookin’ cabinet and assumed otherwise. This game is actually a slick, fan-made project, AND IT IS THE HARDEST VIDEO GAME EVER MADE. Do not play it. You have to play it. But don’t.
You’ll get your $20 ticket’s worth if you set up residency and play even 1/3 of the 200+ games on display, but bring a gasmask. The ventilation sucks in the game rooms, and there are pinball tourney players who are sweating their nerves out of their Pop Tart pits. And among today’s seminar sessions, Steve Wiebe will make another go at the Donkey Kong world record, though I never got an official start time for his attempt. Anyone involved with the show care to update us in the comments?
More pinball/arcade photos after the jump.
* I don’t think your name is Bob, feel free to correct me. I told you I was bad with names.
This one is close to the pinball room entrance and has a really great take on signature late ’80s ramps and chutes. Yum.
This guy drew a crowd for topping 600,000, but he didn’t pull off the Wiebe upset. Will YOU?!?!?
It was so rad! I got in for free right after they set up Thursday on my way to Shellac. The 60s non-digital ones were way harder than all the 80s stuff. And seriously no pics of the Baywatch pinball machine?
Robotron is the hardest game ever made. That or Stargate.
The only reason I used to go to Dante’s was their Twilight Zone machine. This was the early 90s. I wonder if it’s still there.
You were not joking on that DK2 game. Kicked my ass hard. If there had been a controller to throw, I would have thrown it.