versailles rose or saint maria

[droopy]

looking into getting one of these two. recommendations and opinions on the two if can only purchase one would be greatly appreciated.
1- looks
2- lcd screen size
3- bonus theme
4- face design
5- entertainment
6-less japan voice or theme- anything else to guide me

[arbycoffee]

I like versailles rose best
I rate it a 9

[droopy]

thanks arb.

[bf_of_pf]

We currently have Rose of Versailles, and will be receiving Saint Maria on Friday. We love R.o.V. Excellent look; lights; music; sounds; play. I reviewed it in the museum and gave it a 10 (of course, I don't have Arby's perspective, but a 9 from him is pretty good nonetheless). We're really looking forward to Saint Maria, though. One of the members here said it was his favorite, and the videos that Abry posted in the museum look and sound fascinating. I'll be glad to post an update after Friday, so we'll have the same two machines you're inquiring about.

[droopy]

Thanks bf. I like them both. let me know your opinion. is rose a right side play only? i believe mozart is both sides. are the lcd on both the same size? is there alot of japanese writing on the screen during bonus or other and also alot of japanese spoken as well?

[bf_of_pf]

You're welcome, droopy. R.o.V. has primarily a left-sided playfield, as the rose display occupies a fair amount of space on the right. But the balls can go down the right side, and there are some bonus pockets that I have seen some balls enter, which I assume came down from the right side, and didn't bounce over from the left. I don't know the exact size of the video screen, but it's very clear and the images and sound are very dynamic. There are four main reach scenes, each with its own music. The dialogue is all in Japanese, and there is some Japanese writing I believe, but that has not been a factor at all in our enjoyment of the machine. Again, all this only applies to R.o.V. The only thing I know about Saint Maria comes from the videos and the member comments.

[droopy]

good thing! enjoy the rose.

[SChaos]

Go theme all the way here I say...

If you like beethoven then Santa Maria is for you. If you prefer beauty and elegance then ROSE would be a great choice. I think its all about theme as all of the modern pachinkos are amazing.

IM serious, my brother has Fever King... I have Lord of the Rings... BOTH amazing... BOTH very different yet both fantastic....

I haven't played either of the units you are considering but I did do a bunch of homework on santa maria and it really looks fantastic to me.... That would be my choice between the two.

My final advice... don't pinch pennies... don't let money sway your decision at all. By the time you buy balls and trays and cabinets the machine will be no more expensive than anything else you purchase for it, so might as well buy one you LOVE even if it costs a lil more money!

[droopy]

you are right about that

[bf_of_pf]

Well, the Saint Maria arrived today. It's a beautiful machine with great sound and a generous size LCD. All I can say at this point is that I played it for over 3 hours, hit a zillion spins, and haven't gotten one single solitary bonus/fever round yet. That puts it in a category all its own, well apart from Rose of Versailles, E.T., & Fever Queen. At this point, that's really all I can say.

[droopy]

that is a dry spell. how does the non bonus rounds play compared to rose and what about right and left play? I guess the lcd is a bit larger? without counting the bonus play , how would you compare it with the rose. I am undecided on which one and i want to get one this week . I know either one would prob. be a good choice, but live play input is always better. enjoy the machine.

[bf_of_pf]

that is a dry spell. how does the non bonus rounds play compared to rose and what about right and left play? I guess the lcd is a bit larger? without counting the bonus play , how would you compare it with the rose. I am undecided on which one and i want to get one this week . I know either one would prob. be a good choice, but live play input is always better. enjoy the machine.

I played it a couple more hours last night and STILL no bonus/fever round. Based on play so far, I'd have to go with Rose of Versailles. I don't want to put in an unfair bias, and obviously my experience is very different than everybody else's for this machine; it's also very different than my experience from any of our other machines. But I'm just telling it like it is.

I played E.T. after getting frustrated with Saint Maria and hit a bonus round in 5 minutes. That's the way it's been for every other machine except Saint Maria. The only other post I read where someone hadn't hit a bonus round in a long time was from Tulsa, I believe. I have no idea what's going on. Maybe somebody else who has Saint Maria and really likes it can post; that way, you'd have a better pool of input to help you make your decision.

[droopy]

keep playing it. it will hook you sooner or later. keep us updated. thanks again.

[bf_of_pf]

keep playing it. it will hook you sooner or later. keep us updated. thanks again.

Y/W. And I'd have to think so. We have Don Don King & Giga Fever pachislots, and the big front light on Saint Maria is like the lights on those machines. It looks kind of plain til it lights up; then you get all the colors of the rainbow. Totally awesome! Really, the whole machine looks awesome. It must just really be in some sort of a major dry spell. Over the 5 hours I've played it, I've seen most of the reaches, and they're pretty cool. But so far, every single reach has ended up not leading to any bonus/fever round.

[bf_of_pf]

Well, the jury is definitely in - ROSE OF VERSAILLES. And that's not just because it took 7 hours to hit a bonus/fever round on Saint Maria; it's because after having finally hit the bonus/fever round, I concluded I am DEFINITELY NOT into Japanese Hip Hop, courtesy of Mic Bank (featuring Clair). Man...talk about a shocker. After hours of listening to classical, it seemed as if the machine, now finally in the bonus/fever round, had suddenly become possessed. It was, uh, interesting, to say the least. At least I was able to see that the machine was capable of reaching a bonus round. But the question that kept circling in my brain was: "WHY?" (i.e. Why this music, after all the classical music; why did it take so long to get to this; and why, after having taken so long to get to this level, was the machine now playing THIS HORRIBLE MUSIC?). I mean, it's one thing to get hip hop on the Fire Drift pachislo bonus after lots of engine revving and kick but action. But after all that classical music and stained glass windows on Saint Maria? Come on. No way.

Rose of Versailles, HANDS DOWN!

(If there is a Saint Maria, I pray that she intervenes and performs another miracle: make the machine named after her play classical music during the bonus round!!)

[droopy]

wow! never thought it would be that way. on another thread reviewing this machine, I do not recall any information on that type of bonus round music. Disappointing it is.

[vespacar]

Wow, what a suprise ending, kind of makes you think what they were thinking when they designed/made this machine. Guess you'll play it until you get to the fever round then run for the hills, unless you are young. Sorry to hear about it.

Cheers,
James

[bf_of_pf]

wow! never thought it would be that way. on another thread reviewing this machine, I do not recall any information on that type of bonus round music. Disappointing it is.

Yep. There is a different routine/scheme where the music is just a nice Clair song, and no hip hop. But it seems to be split 50/50 as far as which song you'll get. Even the Clair song is not super, but it's better than the hip hop.

And even though it might work against my own interests, I think there's actually a machine that's better than both of these; and it's currently being auctioned by Arby - New Masterpiece. It depends on how much you were thinking about spending, but that machine has a great look AND great music throughout. Plus, it's cyclic, so you won't need more than 100 balls to play it. I would imagine that the winning bid will end up being at least twice what Rose of Versailles would cost, but given the quality advantages of Arby's machines, it'd be worth it for anyone looking for something really classy, well prepped, well shipped, and well supported. Here's the link to the 4 NR machines he has up for auction today:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZarbycoffeeQQhtZ-1

[vespacar]

I'am highest bidder on robocop, but not by much and since the bid on the new masterpeice is still so low I'am thinking about changing if I get outbid on the robocop. That's the thing about a arbycoffee machine, I don't mind paying a premium on bidding on one of his machines, you know that you are getting the best. The only question is that hopefully I can afford the premium or someone out bids me. I can only go so high, well I'll know in a couple of hours and maybe I'll have my first pachinko machine.

Cheers,
James

[bf_of_pf]

Well, I really liked this machine, and am definitely lookin forward to gettin an Arby Auction creation!!