Donatello

Cowabunga! With the latest release of Stern Pinball’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball machines going gangbusters, we grabbed ourselves a deep-dish Chicago-style cheesy pizza to tempt John Borg, Lead Designer of this bodacious new pinball title, to have a quick virtual chat with us about his creation and to give us some delicious behind the scenes scoops!

Ready, set, here we go!

AUSRETROGAMER: How long did it take to design and make TMNT (from concept to finished product)?
John Borg [JB]: I started the layout last year (February 2019) around the time The Munsters LE was running down the line.

ARG: Do you have a favourite feature (or features) from the TMNT Pinball machine?
JB: I love the underlying features, like the 123 combo challenge – Training – Weapon – and of course Pizza Multiball!

ARG: What was the biggest challenge in designing/making TMNT Pinball?
JB: Everything was hard! Speech was the scariest thing late in the project. Mike and Tom (The Super Kyzivat Bros.) pulled off the Krang and Shredder speech. Best in the game. I scripted so many lines through so many episodes. I loved it like I loved Speed Racer as a kid.

Dwight Sullivan’s hand did not make the final cut!

ARG: We need your complete honesty here – who is your favourite Turtle and your favourite villain from the TMNT series?
JB: Donatello – I love that he’s a tech driven mad scientist. Krang is my favourite villain. I practised his voice for weeks, but Tom Kyzivat sounded so much like Krang, it absolutely floored me.

ARG: Lastly, since you are a big BMX fan, we wanted to ask – there is a famous Australian movie from the 80s with a young Nicole Kidman called BMX Bandits, would this ever make the cut as a pinball machine in the future? Hypothetically speaking, if you did make such a machine, what would be the first is the first feature you would include in the game?
JB: BMX is awesome, but It won’t be a pinball in the near future. Watch the Youtube videos of the BMX in the Olympics – it is so amazing!

And just like that, we polish off our pizza, wipe our mouth clean and thank John Borg from afar for taking time out from his busy schedule to talk to us about some of his experience in making TMNT Pinball.

Whiteboarding TMNT with John Borg and the team!

Old Yeller!

Old Yeller in full mutliball glory!

Spin that wheel!

You spin me right round, baby
image source: Stern Pinball Inc.

Oh wow, we finally have a good reason to unleash all of the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles quotes we’ve had in our head over the last 30 years! Let’s see how many we can sprinkle in this righteous announcement then! COWABUNGA Dudes!

If you haven’t yet worked out what we are talking about then let’s just cut to the chase, the cool folks at Stern Pinball have just announced their latest cornerstone title, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) pinball! This new machine oozes everything that is great and iconic about the TMNT cartoon series, from the heroes (our fave is Michelangelo – he is such a cool dude), their sensi, Master Splinter, their NYC sewer lair, their tough friends, the villains (yep, we are looking at you Krang, Shredder and the Foot Clan!), lots of pizza and of course, their ultra gnarly vehicles – these machines have captured it all!

Stern Pinball – TMNT Pinball Game Trailer

For those of you that are too excited to read more and just want to check out how the three TMNT pinball models (Pro, Premium and Limited Edition (LE)) look like, scroll down now (and then scroll back here)! Oh yeah, check out the videos too (above) and just a tad further below to whet your Ninja Turtles appetite.

Right, for those of you that are a tad more patient, let’s talk about what we have seen in the press kit, including videos of the different models in action, features list and of course, the hi-res photos of the three models.

Zombie Yeti’s gorgeous playfield artwork (Premium model)

The first thing you notice is the eye popping hand-drawn art by Zombie Yeti (aka: Jeremy Packer) – just check out the pic above (from the Premium model), it’s so bodacious! Each model has a distinct and unique art package, with Zombie Yeti nailing the cartoon aesthetics of this iconic series, and just like Michelangelo drooling over a pizza, we reckon you will be doing the same with the look of these machines – all three are gorgeous!

The design of the game is by none other than John Borg, who brought us The Munsters, Guardians of the Galaxy, Kiss, The Walking Dead, Metallica and Tron: Legacy to name just a few. With a design pedigree like that, you know John will give us all a heart racing and fun shooting machine in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball. From the software side, Dwight Sullivan is in charge of code, so we can expect a game that is both deep and easy to get into – perfect for all player skills, from the novice to the pinball wizard.

Stern Pinball – TMNT Pinball Premium / LE game features

Stern Pinball – TMNT Pinball Pro game features

Once we get past the beautiful artwork, we are immediately greeted (and gobsmacked) by the playfield – it’s packed with Turtle Power! There is the obvious differences between the entry (street) level Pro model when compared with the Premium and Limited Edition (LE) – more on this in a bit, however the differences won’t make you feel like you are missing out too much.

All three models are powered by Stern’s SPIKE 2 system and feature three flippers, with the third flipper positioned in the upper left side of the playfield. Other common traits include:

a high-speed magnetic spinning pizza disc, capable of holding and throwing 3 balls during pizza multiball mayhem
3 high-speed ramps
3 pop bumpers
foot spinning target
turtles van
hidden ninja training ball lock area
17 RGB software controlled LEDs
6 balls (Pro) / 8 balls (Prem/LE)

For the complete list of features, check out the TMNT Feature Matrix here.

The Premium and LE models up the ante with an interactive custom sculpted Turtles Van, equipped to lock up to 4 balls inside with a mechanical opening/closing side door, ready to unleash multiball havoc. They also feature the iconic TMNT Glider, a custom-sculpted, player-controlled diverter assembly stationed above both ramps, giving players the ability to control and transport the ball to the flipper of their choice. In addition, a custom-sculpted mechanical Krang toy hovers over the pop bumpers, jumping up and down while taunting players throughout game action.

As it’s model name suggests, the Limited Edition will be limited to 500 machines globally. The LE oozes additional unique features such as an exclusive mirrored backglass, exclusive custom themed cabinet artwork, a custom autographed bottom arch, exclusive custom art blades that compliment the playfield, upgraded audio system, anti-reflection pinball glass, a shaker motor, and a sequentially numbered plaque.

To spice up the player experience, Stern have implemented a 4-player co-op mode, just like the old Konami TMNT 4-player arcade machine – so the only problem you’ll have is picking which turtle you’ll play as! Completing the theme integration is the audio and video, with the original 1987 theme music, plus 80s tracks complementing the action with speech call outs from 17 characters and custom video scenes and events created exclusively for a complete TMNT immersive pinball experience.

We like what we see in the initial photos and videos of these machines, so to say we can’t wait to flip this would be a gross understatement. Right, it’s time to order some pizza. COWABUNGA!

Pricing (in $US / $AU)*

TMNT Pro Model: $US 6,099 / $AU 9,450
TMNT Premium Model: $US 7,699 / $AU 12,250
TMNT Limited Edition Model: $US 9,099 / $AU 14,250

*pricing correct as at time of publishing.

For those of you radical dudes and dudettes that skipped the wall of words above, feast your peepers on Stern’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pinball machines; starting with the Pro, followed by the Premium and LE models. Be warned – scroll slowly, as you may miss something really cool! These are definitely better than cheesy pizza (well, almost) 😉