Xenon is a 1980 pinball machine designed by Greg Kmiec and released by Bally. The game was not only the first talking pinball table by Bally, but also the first with a female voice. The voice for the female robot theme was provided by electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani who also composed the music of the game. The voice says "Try Xeeeeenon" in attraction mode or responds to bumper hits with "Oooh" and "Aaah" seductive sound effects.
Where it bumps hard on the underside of the left flipper on the way out (1:58), is where you learn to keep that left flipper up every time from then on when the ball travels down that same outlane. Eventually, it will take that same odd bounce again, bouncing upward, giving you a chance to "resurrect" the ball back into play as long as you're not blocking it with the left flipper. My favorite way to miraculously resurrect the ball was to use special type of "power hit" (in this case, shaking/wagging the game vigorously) to "dribble" the ball back up from just inside the outlane and back into play! It's pretty amazing to behold. Only certain pinball games had the necessary rubber pins in the correct places to accomplish that rare maneuver.
if it doesn't have those pins it's either a shitty coin eater or a grandpa ... as for the dribbling, whats make it amazing is probably the absolute randomness of that maneuver ... add to that most pinballs go tilt if you breathe on them too hard ... look at me rambling about pinball, i'm getting old lol
@@antiqueguy4062 Well, sorry man, Farsight, the creaters from Pinball Arcade lost their license to get the Williams and Bally tables. People who already downloaded them before this happened can still play them. I was not very happy when they announced this news, still love playing the tables on Pinball Arcade, you can now only buy the Gottlieb tables and some Stern tables, but those are not very interesting for me though. Greetings
I remember this down in the gameroom of the State Park Lodge in Hocking Hills, Ohio. Burned down a couple years ago, but still lives on in my treasured childhood memories.
You were doing something which was really important on this machine, and that's to have great and relentless aim at those spinners, especially when they worth 1K per rotation.
I was wondering why the player wasn't trying to nudge the ball into the Xenon kickout hole. You're right about the spinner. The hole is only 10k, so it's better for the ball to drop and have another shot at the spinner.
I played this in the 80's... could put a dollar in for 3 games, walk away from it 3 hours later and leave 15 games (max) on it for someone else to enjoy. IIRC my high score was in the neighborhood of 17 million. I could use the Lazarus save down the left side about 75% of the time.
Such a stupidly hard game, this one. From the massive flipper gap to the gaping wide outlanes to the lower bumper that has an annoying tendency to yeet the ball straight down the middle to the saucer that seems to be up to the whim of the pinball gods as to whether or not the ball stays in to the ramp eject that deliberately chucks the ball into the slings (and an all-too-likely left outlane drain if the slings are set particularly sadistic), this is a game that punishes you for making even the slightest mistake (and sometimes even when you don't). This video really does make the game look a _lot_ friendlier than it actually is.
I remember seeing this back in 81 and being amazed by the work that has gone into making something so beatiful. I wondered what amazing themes and ideas the bakers would come up with in the future. Stern pinball in 2024 ☹️
Played it a lot in the 80’s. And eventually bought a Xenon pinball machine and played it at home. Sold it when we moved because it didn’t fit in our living room. But looking for it again. I’ve found a solution to redesign the room. Love this game.
Nice score! during and after multiball, Player favored spinner at about 20k over tube shot at 50k+. I assume because a safer shot. Tube can STDM if not shot accurately, or risk slingshot to outlane if shot accurately.
+Jim B Yea I own a Xenon and tube shot is too risky as my machine really likes to drain down the outlanes after the tube shot! This game is a total BITCH in all ways :-) Spinner when lit is only real points to go for!!
Wow...I thought it was just my Xenon that did tha with the kickout from the tube. ^_^ I've had this machine for only 6 months and some days are crap where I can't even get 300k and some days I get over a mil. Mine is inclined a little bit more than this one as I notice the ball doesn't come down very fast. I'm truly glad this was the first pin I ever bought. ^_^
Xenon is supposed to kick balls from the tube directly into the center of the right sling. this oen aims a little low, so it sends it from one sling to the other. a center hit WILL fling the ball straight towards the left inlane/outlane area! you then have to nudge to keep it out of the outlane, or nudge as it hits the first sling to change the trajectory.
Not one of his post transfers was working! Dont understand why he kept trying them when there is always the tube shot which will score nice points and you get automatic position on right flipper as well.
En 1 ;59, cuando se le va la bola, por la corredera izquierda, hay una forma de recuperarla, consiste en levantar el flipper izquierdo, para que la bola rebote en el palito ( con anillo de goma ) que se encuentra debajo de dicho flipper, para luego, sacarla con el derecho. En ese momento, puede verse como pega en la parte inferior del flipper .
Nice lazarus @ 2:49 mark of this video. By the way, was that specific part of the left outlane, from where the ball bounced back into play during multiball specifically designed to give better chance of having such event?
1,300,000 plus points. I remember playing this just before I left Detroit 35 years ago. The highest I reached was a UN-Xenon-ic 95,000 points.... and I was 10! Anyone who thinks Xenon can't give you fits,blips, and Tube Shots Cuss Central, play this with a bit of sanity. 10 is a wack age to play this, good thing I'm 45, good memories, but I would play this again, but...... I'll laugh and cuss, and CRINGED. Truly it's pinball nirvana at it's best.
I think so. The glass holds a lot of the sounds in side the machine. Also you would see a glare from the back glass if he was playing with the glass on.
the absence of screen made the sounds much more important and readables ... some machine today are a fuckin mess, voice, screen, table all contradicting each other.
