Second Look at TRON: Legacy

*DERK'S NOTE: After a brief hiatus, Bumper City is back up and running! Took some time to rejuvenate and get things sorted out but we're back it and ready to get posting! this is a bit of an older post, something I have had written up for some time now but just never had the chance to post it. I really like TRON so I want to get this post out to you instead of just collecting digital cobwebs! Also, there is a TRON: Legacy within city limits at Silver Snail on Yonge Street, just north of Dundas Station! I heard it is really nice so go check it out!*

After more than a year, TRON: Legacy has reappeared in Toronto! Back in 2011, before I moved to the city, I first experienced TRON at Done Right Inn and learned about Done Right Inn's infamous TILT settings. A few years later in 2013, I found TRON at Pegasus Bar and wrote a review about it! A few months and a couple of seasons later, TRON once again appeared at May Cafe. During its stint at May, I really got to sink my teeth into TRON: Legacy.

After May ditched TRON, it reappeared at Monarch Tavern.

TRON is long gone from Monarch Tavern, having been replaced by The Sopranos which has now been swapped out for The Walking Dead which has now been switched out for KISS! Geeze louise! The very same TRON made its way to Lipstick & Dynamite down in Parkdale for a good moment then over to Brass Taps on the Danforth, however, the wear and tear was certainly beginning to show. Right now, this particular TRON is no longer around but another TRON machine has popped up at Silver Snail on Yonge!

Feelin' Alright With the Crew

Bumper City is not just about pinball reviews; I try to do a lot of different pinball-related things with the blog! To name a few, I have helped promote tournaments such as 3030 and Kensington Brewing Company’s Pinball Sundays, curated an pinball art show (Bumper City: A Pinball Exposition), and also formed a group of like-minded folks that go out and play pinball together in Toronto. I founded Toronto Pinball Crew in the summer of 2014 so anybody living in Toronto could find some other pinball enthusiasts to play a few games with. Not only that but we also post our latest high scores and any recent finds!

The reason I made this group is I felt that Toronto didn’t exactly have a solid pinball community in the downtown core. I have met a lot of people through pinball and I wanted something where all these pinball fans could get together and build a better pinball community in the city.  So, I made a facebook group where someone could post when and where they were going to play and others could post if they were going to join in. We also organize trips to events, like the release parties at Wacky Wings and to some of the Toronto Pinball League events.

Due to the weather and general laziness on my behalf, I haven’t been playing as much pinball as I used to. I get out at least once a week to play a few games but for the most part, I’ve been sticking around at California Sandwiches and Monarch Tavern. But one cold night in January, I felt like going out on a big pinball tour, hunting down a few machines I have had my eyes on. Before I hit the road though, I posted a note to the Toronto Pinball Crew Facebook Group saying I was going out to play some pinball and wanted to see if there was any interest for people to join in. I got a few responses but it looked like I would be flying solo till later in the night.

I stopped by Boo Radley’s first as it is close to my home and I have been meaning to snap some pictures of AC/DC!

Stern's Harley Davidson

DERK'S NOTE: This is quite an old review that I wrote about a year ago and had to put on the sidelines because I didn't have enough pictures from when Harley-Davidson was at Euro Sports Bar. HOWEVER, May Cafe had recently switched out their TRON Legacy for an H-D table so I took advantage of the opportunity, got some pics and revived this review! BUT... Harley is already gone so this review had no chance.

WARNING! NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHING!

A new machine has been spotted in Toronto at Lansdowne and College at Euro Sports Bar. It is...

STERN'S HARLEY-DAVIDSON!

And what a machine it is... or was... Needless to say, I was pleasently surprised by Harley-Davidson on my first go. This table is available through Farsight's Pinball Arcade but the virtual version of this table does not do it justice. This a SOLID table all around. Everything from the playfield design to the sound is top notch. I spoke in my last post about how I was getting tired of reviewing Stern tables but I may have to eat my words because Harley has changed my opinion.

Harley-Davidson is one of Stern's earliest entries into pinball, coming out in 1999 during their transition from Sega to Stern. In fact, it was the first table to be released under the Stern banner as well as their first licensed table. John Borg was the designer for Harley's playfield and became a Stern mainstay in the early 2000's, having designed the playfields for Austin Powers, High Roller Casino, and Sharkey's Shootout.

Pinball Update for October

There has been quite a bit of shakeup to the pinball lineup here in Toronto so I think it is time to get around to an update!

Stern's latest table is Star Trek, I spoke about it in a post when the table was first announced.

The first of the Pro tables have been shipped out and a few Star Trek tables have been reported in the wild around North America. I would also like to report that I've located a Star Trek table right here in the city!

DANG DOES THAT THING GLOW OR WHAT? Star Trek is the first table where the Pro version is completely outfitted with LEDs and boy is it beautiful! Another innovation by Stern is that the backglass is somewhat tilted as to reduce the glare on the playfield from the backglass. I like it most because it makes taking pictures that much easier!

Oh yeah, I suppose I should mention where this table is located. OK it is now residing at California Sandwiches! That's on Claremont just off of Dundas West. The table was recently placed on location and is in near-new condition. Go check it out!

Not only is Star Trek now at California Sandwiches, The Sopranos has taken the place of Batman! I had a strange feeling about this table when I returned to California Sandwiches and saw the new line-up. I got a bit of deja vu... that's because this table used to be at Leisure Lanes in Whitby!

I was hoping that since the table got shuffled, it was going to get fixed up but it's the same as it was when it was back at Leisure Lanes; the saucer hole that is for the mystery award, extra ball and episode mode is still as finicky as before and rarely activates, the playfield is still pretty dirty and the safe sometimes doesn't acknowledge hits... All that and MJS is the Grand Champion. Shane and I have a feeling it is just MJB with different initials but who knows.
 
During my trip to California Sandwiches to grab some photos of Star Trek, I happened to catch sight of these two tables sitting in a bar on Dundas West....

YEP! Stern's TRON Legacy and Duotron have taken up residence at Mây!