Kabuki

Kabuki is one of the rarest pinball machines in existence -- only two were ever made, and it was never intended to be a production game at all. Built by Data East, the machine was created as a personal gift to lift the spirits of Namco's chairman, who was battling an aggressive and painful form of cancer. Data East produced two playfields and two translites for the project; the first complete machine was sent to Japan and remains at Namco's headquarters, while the second was assembled later by collector Herb Silvers from the leftover parts, with Data East's (by then Sega's) permission.

Mechanically, Kabuki was built from a Data East 1994 'The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard', repurposed with a Kabuki theme, art, and sound package rather than an all-new design. The artwork is by Markus Rothkranz, as confirmed by former Data East executive Joe Kaminkow at the 2012 Chicago Expo, and the sound and music were composed by Brian Schmidt, including a lengthy sampled piece of traditional Kabuki music alongside a set of shorter sound effects.

With only two units in existence -- one held privately by Herb Silvers and one at Namco's Japanese headquarters -- Kabuki stands as one of the most unique and personal machines in pinball history: a heartfelt tribute built on the bones of an existing production title, rather than a game ever meant for wide release.