Which is best? | We compare Capcom's Pinball Magic With Bally's Theatre of Magic pinball machine

Theatre of Magic is a pinball machine from 1995 and manufactured by Bally. This game was designed by John Popadiuk who also designed Cirqus Voltaire, World Cup Soccer and Tales of The Arabian Nights.
In this video Gonzo and Spencer compare the Bally classic game with with another rare retro pinball machine, Pinball Magic which was manufatured by gaming company Capcom in 1995 and was designed by Bryan Hansen.
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[@tomflippermann1892]

I own all 6 Capcom machines. PM was the first machine to "break" in a market. So they put many ideas and patents in this machine. I am sure Capcom made no profit with it but was a solid competitor in the market. After PM they produced Airborne and like PM there was a straight, rigid gameplay which becomes annoying with the time. You have to love it ...or not. From the technical side is Capcom way better than any Bally Williams system up to Pinball 2000. Have a look in the menus , the fault finding and displaying. Also on most Capcom titles, expect Breakshot, there is a doubled matrix with up to 128 controlled lamps, no GI like in WPC and WPC95 games. Also the quality of the machnics, cabinet and playfield was much better on Capcom. On most TOM the lower middle inserts break with the time. TOM is a very nice machine but the sound is a no-go. At least in the german version its annoying: Triff den Koffer" "Hit the trunk". However, you have 2 very nice machines compared, with both nice theme !!

[@bartron470]

Pinball Magic hands down The Most Game Patents than any other Pinball Machine

[@chrisbcn1977]

And Twilight Zone

[@rooie16]

I have owned my TOM for about 17 years now, I don't play it as often as I used to and (apart from Christmas and Birthdays) it has become something of a large ornament! I've played Pinball Magic at various shows and really enjoyed it, I thought it made good use of the theme.

[@eddiethepizzahero]

I appreciate what PM did but TOM is clearly the winner. What a beautiful machine, and has so much flow. Both are shallow, but sometimes you just want that shooter and TOM is def the best. Cool mechs on PM, may be better than TOM but not by much. Yeah, TOM all the way.

[@Xhadp]

Had the chance to play both. Pinball magic is my take but I don't think it is a slam dunk win but it is high up there. Holy crap that is an insanely immaculate ToM! Every single one you are going to find is going to be beat up to hell and back. Even those other machines are in superb (restored?) condition with no flipper protectors and no signs of wear. For me the charm about Pinball Magic is in the variety of shots. Theatre only has one notable shot. Pinball Magic? Plenty. Take the plunger shot in Theatre I'd call it the worst of any pinball machine, not only is it a single outcome couple on the fact it isn't even a guaranteed hit everytime so it should just be a button shot like MM. I've seen some people say Pinball Magic is too linear in its theming and scoring which I'll give them that but for the time I don't think so. The hat trick skillshot is unique in its own right. Wand traversal, curtain raising act? Popup bumper? Need I continue? The shots actually feel like magic and not obvious magnet number 20 placed here. ToM only has moving the box around coupled with magnets placed here or there, I'll also give it a greater number of ramps and outlanes as well. One area Pinball Magic fails upon is naming and recognition. It is how do I say it, not that bright in its naming? Theatre of Magic has numerous ways of referencing it whereas Pinball Magic is just mashing two genre words together.

[@DriverGuy23]

Pinball Magic came out 7 months after Theatre of Magic. Although the games are completely different, Capcom took lots of cues from Bally to develop Pinball Magic in a similar theme. I’ve been informed by technicians that Capcom and Sega machines use subpar hardware which is evident under the playfield. Not sure to what extent that is, but I do know they are more difficult to work on. TOM has better flow, hands down & that’s my pick.

[@alho9231]

Thanks chaps for the comparison. I enjoyed that! 👏

[@justimagine2403]

Oh, I love both of these. The ball walk down the wand on pinball magic is just super clever. The mirror on Theater did trick me at first but then I got used to it. I miss my Theater. My wife was so bleeping mad that I got rid of it. I could whoop it so easily though and it really had very little wizard mode. My virtual pin does a SOLID job emulating it so I... well I can't lie... nothing beats the real thing. I do think a Pinball Magic 2 or Theater of Magic 2 machine with more magic wizardry would be welcome. I always think they have run out of tricks then comes Twister and that stacking spinning ball and Dracula with the wandering Mist ball. The steel cage catch on TOTAN beats the magic magnetic catch on Theater. I had working tiger saw too. Dang. I do miss my Theater.

[@GonzosPinballFlipperama]

Yeah, Totan is definitely on my wish list.

[@T88-fh9ci]

Gold plated TOM that is insane and I love it! It is stunning! Is that Johns new pin? Man what an amazing collection he has love seeing them thanks for the video good stuff as always. I want to fly over on my vacation and just play those 5 machines FT CV WW slush puppy that I love TOM and MM oh I would be in for some Elvira as well!

[@dadofducks]

I have to admit Gonz, you always find the prettiest looking examples of pins out there and this TOM is absolutely stunning, especially with the larger DMD. I love my TOM (second one I owned), but I have to admit Capcom's Pinball Magic does beat it in regards to some really cool mechs. Still, TOM shoots like butter but I would still put a couple of quarters in the PM machine because it looks like a blast to play.

[@RundlesRestos]

Gonzo is blatently the master of navigating the undulation.

[@thomasware5226]

I’ll have to try the Pinball Magic at SWL. I didn’t realise how many toys & sexual innuendos it has 😂. But I would still like to try TOM, just need to find a local one to me. Great video though! I’m going for my 2nd SWL visit tomorrow 16th June, I have the bug lol

[@rjrj4067]

Looks great! How/where did you get the large display in multicolor? I know there is the Giant Dots display but that is one color only. Did you simply take that (because it has the color capability) and add the multi-color controller and software from ColorDMD? Thanks in advance

[@GonzosPinballFlipperama]

They are not my machines but if you pop to stumblorpinball.com/ you'll find the big screens.

[@rjrj4067]

@@GonzosPinballFlipperama Thank you!

[@DDDpinball]

Both nice machines. Very cool toys/mechs on the PM but I'm afraid the will be sort of boring quite soon. I think I would choose TOM mainly because it will last longer in home-use. Plus I think TOM is way more beautifull.

[@neilderrick8484]

Hi gonzo, great video, really enjoyed it! Can inasnif you have played johnny menomic? Would zbe fret if you and Spencer could review?

[@GonzosPinballFlipperama]

Hi Neil, I have played it once mate but it was a very long time ago. We'll keep our eyes open for one to video.

[@antonvlasjuk3079]

Pinball magic has better gameplay!

[@davidcarper5411]

PM is a bad joke compared to TOM..

[@stevescoolcollectibles5182]

Great video guys. I used to have a TOM and never ever looked at the Capcom game… wow, it’s got some great moments! I never even knew about that levitation. Awesome. Feel like that is a toy tgats ubderused in modern machines. How do they compare price wise? John’s got an amazing collection 👍🏻