Episode 15 - Die on this Hill: No Fear

Hosts defend Steve Ritchie's No Fear as underrated 1995 Williams masterpiece with killer theme and innovative design.

Synopsis

Wedgehead Pinball Podcast 'Die on this Hill' segment defends Williams' No Fear (1995), Steve Ritchie final Williams design. The hosts praise its extreme sports theme, phenomenal art by Greg Freres, innovative jump ramp mechanic, straightforward but engaging rules, and fast-paced gameplay, while addressing common criticisms about theme appeal, playfield flow, and punishing drain difficulty. They counter negative Pinside reviews dismissing claims of limited shots, poor theme execution, and excessive post-heavy gameplay.

Highlights

• No Fear is Steve Ritchie's last pinball design for Williams after an ~20 year partnership, released May 1995
• No Fear sold 4,450 units, making it the second-highest selling game of Williams' nine releases in 1995
• No Fear currently ranks #183 on Pinside's Top 100 list
• Steve Ritchie didn't design another pinball game for 8 years until Stern's Terminator 3 in 2003
• The game features a jump ramp designed by Ritchie that is superior to Robocop and Jurassic Park jump ramps
• No Fear's art package ranks in top 10 game art packages of all time

Entities

• Capcom· company
• Stern Pinball· company
• Williams Electronics· company
• Attack from Mars· game
• Black Knight: Sword of Rage· game
• Jurassic Park Home Edition· game
• No Fear· game
• Robocop· game
• Terminator 3· game
• Theater of Magic· game
• Ultraman· game
• No Fear (brand)· organization
• Pinside Top 100· organization
• Alex· person
• Chris Roads· person
• Greg Freres· person
• Jeremy McGrath· person
• Mark Ritchie· person
• Sammy Duvall· person
• Steve Ritchie· person