Farfalla Retro (Zaccaria Table Review)

FARFALLA RETRO

KICKBACK – Matt: The original Farfalla is one of my favorites in Zaccaria Pinball. Knocking down all of the sets of targets is addicting. This Farfalla kept none of that appeal, and it only has two flippers. I like rollover targets as a feature, but the flowers here are so boring in three nice lines, and trying to shoot up the center is far more valuable than not doing so. The changing lane values from 10 to 1000 makes this table feel like a luck box for high scores as the only lanes away from the bumpers are the three drains (which are hungry). Why not take the backwards flippers from the original and create two “butterflies” with the flippers? Then you can trap the ball using back-to-back flippers. Then add some targets and change the scoring.

Awww. Doesn’t it look sweet? So tranquil. So serene. Oh, it’s totally not. Farfalla Retro is a brutal, punishing table that also is one of the better tables in the Zaccaria Retro pack. Two open outlanes are guarded by slingshots angled right at the outlanes. If the ball catches the sling too low, the slings don’t activate and the ball could roll right down the drain. If it triggers the sling, it could be launched right into the opposite outlane. This is a table of pure, unadulterated hatred. It’s also one of the few tables in the retro pack to offer burst scoring. It’s not entirely done like a modern table. Those flowers you see are each roll-over targets that score between 10 and 500 points and it’s possible to score big, record setting points with just a few slap shots. Okay, so defense in the modern sense is basically impossible. But in terms of satisfying shooting? Farfalla Retro stands out among its peers. Oscar and Angela would have gone higher if not for the value of the rollovers and spot targets changing with every bang off every sling and bumper. They thought it was too much randomness in an already chaotic pin. Sasha the Kid apparently agrees. “I would have thought of going MASTERPIECE on it if not for that. I probably still wouldn’t have gone that far, but I would have thought about it.”
Set: Zaccaria – 40 Retro Tables
Model: Zaccaria EM
Table Type: Woodrail
Cathy: GOOD (3 out of 5)
Sasha The Kid: GREAT– (4 out of 5)
Angela: GOOD
Oscar: GOOD
Jordi: GOOD
Dave: GOOD
Matt: BAD (2 out of 5)
Dash: THE PITS (1 out of 5)
Scoring Average: 2.75 – GOOD
Final Average: 2.83 – GOOD
Sasha the Kid ranks #10 in 3 Ball Arcade – Post Update Highest Score
Sasha the Kid ranks #11 in 5 Ball Arcade – Post Update Highest Score

Combat Retro (Zaccaria Pinball Table Review)

COMBAT RETRO

Matt on Combat Retro: The flipper gap is still just a bit too wide, even with a helpful center post, making play for the targets and saucer too dangerous. Escaping to the safety of the bumper area makes building a good score a bit of a luck box. It might make more sense to be sinking ships like in battleship, so what about some drop targets in the lower playfield, and the saucer can increase the value of each hit?

Well, at least Combat Retro has one thing going for it: it joins tables such as Theatre of Magic and Zen Studios’ Knight Rider table in that a friendly debate in the Vice Household on its merits and flaws turned into a shouting match. This is one of the other retro tables we already have a review up for, though it’s called “Battle Retro” on AtGames. Our thoughts haven’t really changed all that much. As noted above, this table triggered a fairly heated argument between Angela and Oscar, specifically related to the spot targets. First off, don’t listen to the table art itself. The spot targets say, quote with uppercase/lowercase, “10 points OR 100 points when all red lamp lit.” Well, it’s just a lie. They don’t all have to be lit. You get 100 points for converting any shot on a spot target when the lamp is lit, period, and the rule sheet provided in the game’s menu gets it correct. It’s actually hilarious that they updated the artwork but left the incorrect word bubble on the playfield. As for the argument, Angela says that two bumps of the top bumper gives you the same amount as a spot target, which takes two shots: one to light it, and one to hit it, which also turns off the light. There’s no bonus for lighting all four. Oscar insists he’s not overrating this and that the spot targets work because you can aim at them and don’t have to rely on chaos to score points. Sasha The Kid chimed in that it was still chaos due to the slingshots guarding the flippers, which are VERY bouncy and very dangerous due to a wide flipper gap with a fairly unreliable post. Oscar again said that you can use nudging to prevent the slings from firing. Cathy and Jordi thought there were too many satisfying angles to go BAD while Dave, Angela, Matt and Sasha think Combat Retro’s gap is too big and too bouncy for its own good. Once upon a time, this was the second best table in the Retro Pack by scoring average. Times have changed, but at least Combat Retro remains interesting enough to trigger a shouting match.
Set: Zaccaria – 40 Retro Tables
Table Type: Woodrail
Model: Zaccaria EM
Reworking of World Champ (1957 Gottlieb)
Cathy: GOOD (3 out of 5)
Sasha The Kid: BAD (2 out of 5)
Angela: BAD+
Oscar: GREAT (4 out of 5)
Jordi: GOOD+
Dave: GOOD
Matt: BAD+
Dash: BAD
Scoring Average: 2.75
Final Average: 2.66 – OKAY
A Pinball Chick Team 🥶Polarizing Table🥶
Cathy ranks #3 in Time Loop Mode
Jordi ranks #6 in Time Loop Mode

Circus Retro (Zaccaria Pinball Table Review)

CIRCUS RETRO

During our final run-through before posting this review, we each took a turn over-clocking the rollover, which after a value of 90 resets to 10 points. It would be nice if there were bonus points attached to this and not just a penalty for keeping the ball alive long enough to hit the target nine times. “Why not go wild and change the flippers to the seesaw kind from the lower playfield of Zen’s Ant Man?” asked Matt. Because that sounds too fun to Zacretros.

Circus Retro and Blackbelt Retro are cousins, though Circus takes a hard stance against trapping. Say what you will about Blackbelt, but rebounding is possible on it. Because the corner flippers have bumpers right on them, there’s no potential for defense. The ball is a hot coal that you’re tossing back and forth until you’re able to pop it up into the bumper field. Dave and Angela’s argument against THE PITS is that, unlike Blackbelt, there’s actual shooting angles that allow you to get the ball up above the bumpers to start a scoring sequence, and Angela adds that charging the bumper value with the central rollover target isn’t impossible. “The middle flippers have a safe backhand angle to charge the bumpers, so this isn’t COMPLETELY Plinko” was her sole argument against THE PITS, plus the fact that we played this more than any other table that scored under a 2.0. Meanwhile, Matt apparently found a safe pop-up angle, but none of the rest of us were able to locate it. Angela and Matt stunned us (especially Oscar, who’s beside himself) by defending this just enough to block it from all-time dumpster fire status, but the rest of us think the Circus left town.
Set: Zaccaria – 40 Retro Tables
Model: Zaccaria EM
Table Type: Woodrail
Cathy: THE PITS (1 out of 5)
Sasha The Kid: THE PITS+
Angela: BAD (2 out of 5)
Oscar: THE PITS
Jordi: THE PITS+
Dave: THE PITS
Matt: BAD
Dash: THE PITS
Scoring Average: 1.25
Final Average: 1.16
💩Certified a Turd💩 by The Pinball Chick Team
Cathy ranks #3 in 3 Ball Arcade – Post Update Highest Score
Cathy ranks #5 in 5 Ball Arcade
Oscar ranks #5 in 5 Ball Simulation – Post Update Highest Score
Cathy ranks #2 in 90 Second Mode – Post Update Highest Score
Cathy ranks #1 in Time Loop Mode – Undisputed World Champion