Episode 32: Spooky Surges, Potter Vanishes, and Kong Gets an Upgrade!

Ralph praises Evil Dead, discusses arcade trades, notes Spooky's design ambition.

Highlights

• Barrels of Fun's Labyrinth early production unit (unit #8) required significant pitch adjustment to play correctly, needing 7+ degrees instead of the default 6-5 degrees Ralph initially set
• Spooky Pinball deliberately packed comprehensive features into Evil Dead as a statement game after lessons learned from previous releases
• Evil Dead's lower playfield (cellar) is well-balanced and avoids the common pitfall of being either boring or tedious
• Ralph traded Black Knight: Sword of Rage for Labyrinth, then Labyrinth for James Bond Premium Edition, then Pulp Fiction and T2 for an unnamed game to reduce collection from 9 to 8 machines
• Kong received a code update yesterday that prompted Ralph to play it, but he has primarily been playing Evil Dead since acquiring it
• Evil Dead features a motorized stepper motor mechanism controlling Ash's severed hand that players can bash, pop-up deadite characters (Evil Scotty and Evil Ed), and a rotating Annie character that changes appearance based on game modes
• The hidden flipper on Evil Dead initially felt hokey and uncomfortable to Ralph but he has grown to love it after extended play
• Ralph prefers playing pinball at home in a controlled environment where he can hear call-outs better than in noisy arcade locations like Electric Bat Arcade on tournament nights