Favorite Multiball effects?

Punisher

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Jan 5, 2013
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I'm talking about the ominous display nearly every pinball table makes before Multiball starts. You locked the necessary balls, and you shot the multiball shot. Now the table's flashing and the DMD is showing off some sort of slow, ominous animation. What's your favorite?

Mine has got to be Highwire Multiball in Cirqus Voltaire. You see the electricity going up the wire while ominous music plays, while "HIGHWIRE MULTIBALL" flashes on the DMD every now and again to a "DADAAAAAAA" score of notes. Even the playfield effects are amusing, how the beacons flash in a circle, then everything flashes quickly during the times the DMD reads "HIGHWIRE MULTIBALL".

What are yours?
 

superballs

Active member
Apr 12, 2012
2,653
2
Table quiets and briefly goes dark.
Your (presumably a ferarri) car blows through a red light right next to a police cruiser.

Red lamp on top of the backbox starts to spin. "Suspect has run a red light" the officer radios in. Police sirens and police chatter as you're instructed to shoot for the super-charger.

HS2: The Getaway's Run the Red Light Multiball get's my blood flowing every time.
The Redline mania is a close second.
 

Pinballwiz45b

Well-known member
Aug 12, 2012
3,678
33
DON'T TOUCH THE DOOR--DON'T TOUCH THE DOOR--DON'T TOUCH THE DOOR--DON'T TOUCH THE DOOR--all that and the door exploding :)
 

Sean DonCarlos

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Staff member
Mar 17, 2012
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I'm assuming you're referring to non-wizard-mode multiballs.

My favorites are the "classic" ones from the 90s tables: dramatic lightshow buildup, usually with ominous/exciting music and sounds. For some reason most of the modern Sterns just don't do the same job of it. But if I had to pick a few favorites:

  • Medieval Madness's Multiball Madness (4-ball): "Joust!" "Catapult!" "Peasant!" "Damsel!" "Troll!" "MUUUUUUUUULLLLTTTIIIIIBBBBAAAAAAAAALLLLL MMMAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDNNNEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!" The 4-ball version is just so gloriously over the top. (Castle Multiball start sequence isn't bad, either.)
  • Scared Stiff's Crate Multiball: Elvira's terror of lawyers and salesmen never seems to get old.
  • Twilight Zone's Multiball: Don't touch the door! "Don't touch the door! Don't-touch-the-door! Don't-touch-the-door! Don't..."-BOOM!
  • The Addams Family's Showtime Multiball: Mostly for historical/nostalgic reasons.
  • FunHouse's Midnight Multiball: Because you start it by putting your ball in Rudy's mouth. Just what the bastard deserves.
  • F-14 Tomcat's Multiball: Because if the thought of 4-ball multiball on F-14 Tomcat doesn't inspire a certain feeling of alarm, you've never played F-14.
If you are allowing wizard modes, then Twilight Zone's Lost in the Zone, Attack from Mars's Rule the Universe, Scared Stiff's Monster Multiball, and Medieval Madness's Battle for the Kingdom all have a lot going for them.

Most anticlimactic multiball start goes to Doctor Who...hardly any light show, just a quote from the Daleks and the other two balls release without any sort of fanfare.
 

pezpunk

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Jul 29, 2012
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TNG -- Patrick Stewart proclaiming "ALL HANDS PREPARE FOR MULTIBALL!" it's great in and of itself, but it's also a sweet reminder of the greatest cold-open in television history: Cause and Effect, where the Enterprise blows up before the opening credits :D
 

Sumez

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Nov 19, 2012
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I'd love Highwire Multiball if it weren't soooo sloooow, for each locked ball, too.
 

Lord Boron

Member
Apr 18, 2012
583
1
I love the transformation on Bride Of Pinbot. The table goes dark and then all the lights start to pulsate with the heart beat. Unfortunitly, it lost in PA because they zoom into the face.
 

Jutter

New member
Dec 30, 2012
478
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Bride Of Pinbot metamorphosis
Class of 1812 (heartbeat/chickens singing along)
Monster Bash Frankenstein multiball (Have you got him strapped in? Jackpot! Superjackpot! Double super jackpot! Tripple super jackpot!)
 

esp2000

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Jun 4, 2012
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I love the Monster Multiball in Scared Stiff. Freaked me out the first time it happened when everything went dark and then the DMD started to freak out.
 

Mark W**a

Banned
Sep 7, 2012
1,511
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Cirqus Voiltaire is indeed pretty. The way the chick on the DMD sort of "magically" pushes the ball into the lock. Very nice touch.

It's nice... but the following animation of the two trapeze artists is too long and drawn out. And you can't skip it until you go through multiball once, then you can. Kinda annoying.

Strobe Multiball is my choice, from AfM.
 
Last edited:

Tony C

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Feb 20, 2012
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Addams Family is probably my all time favorite.

Since I own a brutal F-14, Sean DeCarlos is dead on with his comment about that machine. Even if you are very familiar with it, you will resort to flailing the flippers like a 10 year old girl. :cool:
 
N

netizen

Guest
One of my personal faves because of how well the voice calls, playfield lighting and DMD all worked together was:
 

Blueshirt

New member
Nov 17, 2012
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NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!

My all time favorite out of the way, I love TZ and CV's Multiballs. Especially the way the DMD pushes the balls into the lock on CV. Love it. I'm also quite fond of Two Towers multiball, if not simply so I can shout TO WAAAAAR in the arcade and get weird looks. Oh, and I almost forgot Funhouse. Making rudy choke is always fun.
 

Bowflex

New member
Feb 21, 2012
2,287
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CV's Highwire definitely has the most interesting DMD intro. Why does that cat want to kill the people on the highwire?
Best lighting is AFM strobe multiball.
Most enjoyable experience is probably funhouse with Rudy's commentary, the trap door goal and overall sense of craziness.

Mist multiball in Dracula gets honorable mention for great sound and great intro (the pinball just roaming the playfield is pretty cool)
 

Sumez

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Nov 19, 2012
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Most enjoyable experience is probably funhouse with Rudy's commentary, the trap door goal and overall sense of craziness.
That multiball is hands down what turned me on to exploring the rest of what PHOF and TPA had to offer!
It's not just lock the balls and then activate multiball, it's a progressive process -manipulate the clock so Rudy thinks it's midnight and goes to sleep, then shoot the ball into his mouth for whatever reason and cause havoc in the funhouse. I love it.

Mist multiball in Dracula gets honorable mention for great sound and great intro (the pinball just roaming the playfield is pretty cool)
Yeah, can't help loving that effect.
 

brakel

New member
Apr 27, 2012
2,305
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For most memorable in TPA I'd say it was NGG. When my family and I get multiball in other tables we tend to mimic the gofers yelling multibaaaaaaaaaal!!!!!!
 

Laurence Merraine

New member
May 14, 2012
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Surprised no-one has said party-zone. Hello boys and girls its happy hour, fill her up with rocket fuel and blast off.... Through the ozone!

Also I think it's when you fill it up the captain flying towards you with his tonsil waggling, INCOMING!!!!!!!!!
 

Rudy Yagov

New member
Mar 30, 2012
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Table quiets and briefly goes dark.
Your (presumably a ferarri) car blows through a red light right next to a police cruiser.

Red lamp on top of the backbox starts to spin. "Suspect has run a red light" the officer radios in. Police sirens and police chatter as you're instructed to shoot for the super-charger.

HS2: The Getaway's Run the Red Light Multiball get's my blood flowing every time.
The Redline mania is a close second.

It's a Lamborghini Diablo.

http://www4.rcf.bnl.gov/~nieuwhzs/1991_Lamborghini_Diablo.jpg
http://www.dougwatsondigital.com/pinball/full/getaway.jpg
 

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