A grand celebration in silverball — Big Together is a solid-state single-player from Sega’s earlier era of coin-op manufacturing, carrying an alphanumeric display and a genuinely feature-rich playfield that rewards a player who learns its many shots. It’s an intriguing machine from a company that would go on to become a major force in the industry.
The layout is a busy, well-appointed spread with several distinctive touches: two flippers, two pop bumpers, a five-bank of drop targets, a kick-out hole, an aerial spinning disk, a horseshoe lane, a left drop lane, a left-outlane kickback, a left-lane ball-diverting gate, and a right-outlane ball return gate. That’s a lot to work with — the five-bank of drops gives a clear objective to clear, the aerial spinning disk adds a dynamic, kinetic element, and the horseshoe lane offers a satisfying flowing shot. Best of all, the machine is generous with ball saves: the left-outlane kickback, the diverting gate, and the right-outlane return gate all give a player real tools to fend off the drain and keep the ball alive.
Big Together is a fine, feature-packed example of Sega’s early pinball work, pairing a busy, engaging layout with a genuinely player-friendly set of ball-saving mechanisms. That aerial spinning disk and horseshoe lane give it real character, and the array of gates and kickbacks rewards an alert player. For the collector who appreciates the deeper cuts of the era and a machine with plenty going on, it’s a worthy find. Clear that five-bank, ride the spinning disk and horseshoe, and lean on those gates to survive. Some machines simply give you a lot to do, and this Sega title keeps a player busy from plunge to drain. Drop a coin and dig in.