Metallica Meltdown Headlines Level 1’s Bonus Bash

On a perfectly clear 66-degree evening in Mesa, Arizona, the competitive sparks flew hotter than the spring pavement outside as 16 players packed into Level 1 Arcade Bar for the seventh week (and bonus round!) of the Level One-March tournament series. With only four single-game rounds on the schedule, every flipper flip counted—and in just an hour and a half, fortunes rose, fell, and tilted their way into the record books.

Organized by Scott Goldsmith, the event moved briskly through its format, with fast action, fierce competition, and one heck of a barnburner match on Metallica Remastered sealing the night with a bang louder than Lars Ulrich’s snare drum.

A Mesa Mainstay with Real Arcade Vibes

Tucked into downtown Mesa’s historic strip, Level 1 Arcade Bar does not mess around when it comes to pinball. The bar serves up a heavy pour of nostalgia with a well-kept fleet of coin-op machines—many of them straight from pinball’s ‘90s golden age. No half-lit playfields or busted slingshots here; the lineup runs smooth and strong, with just the right mix of vintage classics and flashy modern titles.

The Mesa location consistently earns praise for maintenance, and with a rotating selection that mixes ‘90s legends like Fish Tales and Addams Family with heavy-hitting moderns like Godzilla and Stranger Things, it’s a prime playground for both precision flippers and chaos enjoyers alike.

Multiball Mayhem and Metal Madness on Metallica Remastered

The final round that took place on Metallica Remastered (Premium) was turned up to eleven, Stern’s September 2024 release that brought a fan-favorite back into the limelight with new polish, pumped-up features, and the same savage edge that made the original a top-tier tournament staple.

Originally designed by John Borg in 2013, the first Metallica was part of Stern’s early 2010s renaissance—alongside AC/DC and Tron—where rulesets got deeper, layout flow got faster, and music integration went from afterthought to full-blown audio experience. The remastered 2024 version keeps the soul of the original but modernizes its aesthetics and audio with an upgraded LCD package, a rebalanced light show, and richer sound fidelity that actually does the band’s catalog justice. For players who always felt the original Spike system didn’t quite rock hard enough—this version answers back.

Gameplay-wise, Metallica is all about stacking chaos: stacking multiballs, stacking modes, stacking jackpots until your ball inevitably finds a drain that feels just a little bit personal. The key toys remain intact in the Remastered Premium: the bashable Sparky figure, the physical ball-locking Coffin, the Snake scoop, and the Grave Marker bank—all of which contribute to one of the more balanced layouts in Borg’s catalog. The game punishes sloppiness but rewards players who can control their multiballs and exploit the subtle mode layering built into the code. It’s especially satisfying for flow-focused players who can keep rhythm with the combo-laced ramps and loops.

Now for the Round 4 action: Colin Taylor brought the hammer down early with a calculated multiball strategy. He locked into Sparky, stacked it with a coffin mode, and capitalized on a grave marker double jackpot with a calm confidence that completely shook the table’s tempo. His ability to control chaos—especially when both upper lanes were lit and ball returns came in hot—gave him an edge his opponents couldn’t match. Pamela Campbell had solid early progression through “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and managed to trigger her own multiball but couldn’t close the loop into consistent jackpots. Jorge Estrada showed promise, getting into “Fade to Black,” but struggled with the snake scoop, which was playing tight. Gregg Hopwood never quite found a groove—Snake, Sparky, and left orbit all refused to play nice.

Pinball Lineup with Some Serious Pedigree

With 15 machines in rotation, the Level 1 tournament lineup leaned hard into that sweet spot between ’90s legends and modern chaos-makers. While Metallica Remastered stole the show in Round 4 (and got its own writeup above), there were plenty of other titles worth geeking out over.

Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure – Williams’ 1993 epic, designed by Mark Ritchie, is an Indiana Jones love letter packed into a widebody playfield. From the Path of Adventure—a physically tilting mini-playfield—to the idol lock and four-ball multiball, it’s a sprawling game that brings all three original films to life. This was one of the last games to use Williams’ DCS sound system before the WPC-95 hardware era began, and it shows—it’s loud, cinematic, and still a crowd favorite.

The Addams Family – Pat Lawlor’s masterpiece from 1992 is not just the best-selling pinball machine of all time—it’s also a case study in player-friendly design. The power magnets under the playfield add unpredictable ball motion, while the Mansion mini-modes give both beginners and experts something to chase. This game also introduced the “Thing” flipper coil—a mechanical hand that reaches out of a box and grabs the ball. It’s weird, wild, and endlessly replayable.

Godzilla (Premium/LE) – Keith Elwin’s 2021 monsterpiece is still gobbling up tournament play. The collapsing building, the rotating magnetic bridge, and the ridiculously deep ruleset make it a high-skill game with almost no ceiling. The Premium/LE version adds the Mechagodzilla spinner mech and the bridge breakaway toy, giving it an extra layer of tactile drama. And the soundtrack? Equal parts vintage Toho and full-on adrenaline.

Creature from the Black Lagoon – A campy classic from Bally’s heyday, this 1992 table channels the vibe of a drive-in movie theater—complete with snack bar callouts, a movie trailer-style skill shot, and one of the more visually unique toys in pinball history: a holographic creature that appears beneath the playfield. The main goal is simple—“find the girl, rescue the girl”—but executing that path with clean combo play is a real test of finesse.

Fish Tales – This one’s all about speed. Designed by Mark Ritchie and released in 1992, Fish Tales is famous for its snappy cross-playfield loops, lightning-fast ramp returns, and one of the most dangerous center shots in all of pinball. The game’s comically aggressive fisherman theme is paired with tough multiball locks and a wild motorized fish topper that thrashes around like it’s trying to escape. Bonus fact: this machine is one of the shortest cabinets ever made, a design tweak intended to better accommodate barroom placements.

Stranger Things (Premium) – A bold title from Stern in 2019, this one gained a cult following not just because of the Netflix tie-in, but for its ambitious projection feature. The Premium version maps interactive images directly onto the playfield, transforming it during gameplay. The telekinetic ball lock using a magnet is a fantastic toy when it’s dialed in, and the “Demogorgon Battle” is one of the most satisfying mode openers of any modern Stern. But beware: flippers out of alignment will turn this into a drain monster.

The Uncanny X-Men (Pro) – This one deserves a redemption arc. Stern’s original X-Men release in 2012 suffered from confusing rules and a bloated playfield, but the 2024 Uncanny reboot pares it back and dials it in. With cleaned-up modes, more intuitive progression, and sharper callouts, it finally feels like the superhero table fans were hoping for over a decade ago. The Pro version may lack some of the extra toys, but it’s fast, flowing, and built to showcase character-specific play strategies—especially Magneto’s dangerous center scoop.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Premium) – A high-energy, multi-ball-heavy modern game with sharp art and sound that throws players into the mayhem from ball one. Released in 2020 and designed by John Borg, it features individual character selection (Leonardo, Donatello, etc.), each with distinct perks. The co-op team mode makes this a party hit, but in tournament play, it’s unforgiving. Miss your shots and you’ll find yourself pizza’d out in no time.

Top Dogs Take the Podium

Let’s give it up for the night’s top four finishers, each proving their flipper finesse in style:

1. Shawn Barnett took first place, showcasing the kind of experience that comes from 185 IFPA events. Ranked 118th in Arizona and 2267th globally, he played with cool confidence and smart ball control all night. When the machines throw curveballs, Shawn stays straight down the middle.
2. Jason Barre earned a hard-fought second on home turf. With a top 15 state ranking and over 500 tournaments under his belt, he’s a seasoned threat in any format. That local Mesa edge didn’t hurt either—he’s clearly no stranger to Level 1’s quirks.
3. Colin Taylor, who stole the spotlight in the final round, rounded out the podium in third. With only 44 IFPA events so far and a ranking just inside the top 125 in Arizona, Colin is clearly a player on the rise.
4. Pamela Campbell locked in fourth place with consistent play throughout. She’s competed in 66 IFPA events and showed poise on the more technical games.

Arizona IFPA Pinball Top 10 Standings:

Only four Arizona players in Arizona’s Top 10? At this point we might need to check if the Grand Canyon is letting in bonus WPPRs with no passport control. Someone get statehood back on the leaderboard, please.

And That’s a Wrap from Main Street Mesa

That’s a close on another charged-up Tuesday night at Level 1 Mesa—where the games were tuned, the competition was fierce, and the flippers were doing all the talking. Big thanks to Scott Goldsmith for running a smooth and sharp tournament, and to Level 1 Arcade Bar for providing a lineup that could go toe-to-toe with any major event in the state.

Congratulations again to the night’s top finishers, especially Shawn Barnett, who showed what 185 tournaments of experience looks like when it counts. And Colin Taylor? That final-round assault on Metallica Remastered will be ringing in our ears for a while.

As for the Arizona Top 10… well, shoutout to the four locals still holding the fort. The rest of the list looks like a cross-country pinball Airbnb—someone pass Mesa a few extra WPPRs next time.

Until next time, keep your balls out of the outlanes and your eyes on the bonus. Stay connected for more tournament recaps, machine spotlights, and all the multiball mayhem we can fit into one blog post.