Last Action Hero

Last Action Hero, released by Data East Pinball in August 1993, is based on the Arnold Schwarzenegger action-comedy film of the same year. A large design team, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., Tim Seckel, Joe Kaminkow, Ed Cebula, and John Borg, packed the game with mechanical gadgets, with artwork by Markus Rothkranz and music and sound by Brian Schmidt. A confirmed 5,505 units were built between August and October of 1993.

The feature list is a showcase of early-1990s Data East excess in the best sense. Three game-controlled electromagnets under the playfield alter ball movement when energized, a motorized crane target physically moves the ball from one ramp to another, and the Ripper target fires the ball back at high speed when struck. A Smart Missile button on the cabinet awards the current award when pressed, and the ball shooter is a pistol grip. Add three scoops, two captive balls, a five-bank of drop targets, a vertical up-kicker, a spinning target, a shaker motor, an automatic plunger, and a six-ball multiball mode, and there is a great deal happening on every ball.

The machine is substantial in every way, with an actual measured weight of 256 pounds including legs. One bit of trivia for restorers: the flyer shows yellow Ripper light caps and a red Smart Missile cap, while the manual's parts list says the opposite; production games appear to match the flyer, suggesting the manual is in error.