_____________ ____ _____ _____ / __ \ / \ / \ / \ | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | | | \ | | | |__| | | | | \| | | ________/ | | | |\ | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | \ | \____/ \____/ \_____/ \_____/ ______________ ______________ ____ ____ / __ \ / __ \ / \ / \ | (__) | | / \ | | | | | | / | | | | | | | | | __ <` | |__| | | | | | | | | `\ | __ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |__| | | | | | | |___ | |___ \______________/ \_____/ \_____/ \________> \________> * 1 P L A Y E R G A M E A 1 P L A Y E R G A M E B 2 P L A Y E R G A M E A 2 P L A Y E R G A M E B (c) 1 9 8 3 N I N T E N D O C O . , L T D . Pinball FAQ v1.00 by Joz [luke@joz3d.net] 1 - Intro 2 - Game Modes 3 - Terminology 4 - Table/Points Description 5 - Strategies 6 - Questions 7 - Other Versions 8 - Credit/Thanks 9 - File Info 10- Copyright Info 1 - Introduction ================ Nintendo's Pinball was released in 1983 as one of the first Famicom (Japanese Nintendo) games. In 1984 it was released in arcades running on Nintendo's VS. hardware. Finally in 1985 it was released for NES. This guide is solely for the NES version of the game. Upon first playing this game in the modern era, it looks very simple and as though it will bore quickly. Do not judge this book by it's cover. Nintendo's Pinball can be very addicting thanks to it's good design and excellent physics. It even has a bit of depth to it. If you've played your share of real pinball, you will be very satisfied to see that the programmers did a great job with recreating the physics of an actual pinball machine. This is perhaps the silent feature that makes the game. 2 - Game Modes ============== There are two modes of play, Game A and Game B. Game A is designed for beginners, Game B is designed for experts. The difference between the two modes is basically that Game B has a heavier ball (more realistic physics), whereas Game A's ball floats a bit more. Which is more fun? It's a matter of taste/mood I suppose. Game B is more realistic to an actual pinball table. Game A is more chill and relaxing. Point values are the same for both modes. 3 - Terminology =============== - There are three parts to the table. The top, bottom, and bonus screens. I will refer to them as such from here on out. - There is a ball stopper that sometimes appears in between the flippers. This is called a "block post" in the manual, and will be referred to as such from here on out. - The pink thing that moves back and forth above the slots on the top screen is called the slot target. 4 - Table Description ===================== A description of each part, it's mechanics, and point values: Global ------ - An extra ball is awarded at 50,000 points. There is no alert or indication when this happens, your ball counter on the bottom left just goes up by one. - Flippers disappear at 100,000 points, reappear at 150,000. - Flippers can be flipped in two ways. If you press the button normally they will fully flip, but if you just tap the button they will only flip halfway. Top --- Top Lanes - At the very top of the screen are three lanes, one of which the ball will fall through after launching. The two side lanes are worth 500 points and the center one is worth 1,000 (obviously as it says this on the table). There are invisible bumpers on the left and right sides up here that yield 10 points when hit. Directly below these lanes is a 100 point bumper. The Slots - The slots in the middle of the screen spin when the ball goes through the right green lane(+500pts). Each slot can be stopped by hitting the slot target when it is above the slot(+100pts ANYTIME you hit the slot target). The slots run truly random, there is never any cpu assistance. Each slot has the same three possible outcomes: 3, 7, or Penguin(+1,000pts every time you get a penguin). Getting three of any of these awards you: 3 3s - 3,330 points, and block post is raised for six seconds. 3 7s - 7,770 points, and block post is for 14 seconds. 3 Penguins - Block post is raised for unlimited time and all points are doubled while it is up. Block post will be lost if ball goes through right green lane, to bottom part of table, or when 100,000/150,000 points are earned. -- Table border areas change color to dark pink if you match any of the above three (for the duration of the award). The right green lane has a 10 point invisible bumper on it's outside. Hole Kicker - The hole on the bottom right awards you no points and just kicks the ball back out. The ball also comes out of here when leaving the bonus screen. Four Targets - There are four targets on the left side of the screen. 100 points for each one hit, knocking out all four targets gives you a 1,000 point bonus. Once the two middle targets are knocked out, there is an invisible bumper behind them that gives 10 points each time hit. If all the targets are gone, they will come back up when the ball goes through one of the upper lanes. Upper Left Lane - There are eight lights in the upper left lane. Each one you turn off gives 100 points. If you turn them all off the seals go off (bouncing balls on their noses), +100pts for each bounce. They bounce their balls 20 times for a total of 2,000 bonus points. So if you hit the ball up through a full lane you get a total of 2,800 points. Doing this will also reset the target counter (see below). Counter Target - The counter on the upper left side with the target below it starts at 100 and goes up by 100 every time you hit the target, maxing out at 1,000. Every time the target is hit, the screen flashes and you get the amount of points displayed in the counter. The counter resets when the ball turns off all the lights in the left lane causing the seals to bounce their balls. Bottom ------ The Cards - At the top of the screen are five cards, face down. Hitting the ball through a card's lane flips the card. The cards from left to right are a 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace (royal flush). It doesn't really matter though, they are each worth the same value, 500 points, when flipped. Flipping all the cards gives you a 5,000 point bonus, raises the block post between the flippers, and the table border area changes color to orange. There are three 100 point bumpers beneath the cards. Hole - Hitting the ball in the upper right hole takes you to the bonus screen. The ball will then come out in the top screen after leaving the bonus screen. Exit - The exit on the right side opens when all the targets on the left side are hit. The exit will close if you hit the ball through one of the flipper lanes. Getting the ball through the exit simply allows you to relaunch the ball to the top screen. The exit closes after you hit the ball into it. Chicks - There are three lights above the flippers. They start out as eggs, and running the ball over them will cause them to hatch into chicks. Running the ball over them again will cause them to disappear. Running the ball over them once more will cause them to turn into eggs again - this is how it loops. If you manage to get all three of the lights to be chicks at the same time, stoppers will show up in the side escape lanes. A stopper disappears if the ball hits it. Hitting the flipper bumpers gives you 10 points. Seven Targets - There are seven targets on the left side. Hitting one gives you 100 points. Knocking out all the targets awards you 1,000 points and opens the exit on the right side (see above). There are also 10 point invisible bumpers behind the targets. Bonus ----- The bonus screen consists of two 100 point bumpers, invisible bumpers on the four walls worth 10 points each, three columns of lights numbered 1-3, an exit on the left and right side, a lady (or maiden as the manual also refers to her, but this is not a princess and NOT Princess Peach Toadstool) running back and forth at the top with three pieces of floor under her, and Mario (and yes, it IS Mario) at the bottom of the screen carrying a steel rail. It basically works like this: The lights can have three possible colors, blue, pink, and orange. You have to get all the lights in a column to be the same color. Once you do that the floor above that column will shrink. You need to do this three times in order to get the corresponding piece of floor to disappear. When the floor disappears the lady will fall down through it, and you must catch her and let her walk off at one of the exits on the left or right. Doing this will give you 10,000 points and spawn another lady at the top. You can continue doing the bonus game and save the lady multiple times until you lose the ball. If you don't catch the lady when she is falling or if you drop her, you will lose your ball completely. Once the ball falls out of this screen, it will shoot out of the hole on the top screen. The colors you have changed will stay in the same state you left them in, the floor pieces will reset. 5 - Strategies ============== These are my personal stratagies: Skill Shot ---------- Launching the ball with full force will lead to it bouncing around at the top of the table and randomly going through one of the lanes. You want it to go through the 1,000 point center lane though. You can do this by pulling the plunger/striker back for just a fraction of a second and launching the ball. If you do this correctly it will swoosh into the middle lane for a thousand points. It takes a little practice and feeling it out to get it just right. For reference.. you can hit the ball so that it pathetically rolls down the first wall into the first 500 point lane - that is hitting it with the very least pressure you can and still getting the ball into play... getting it to swoosh into the thousand point lane is the next possible level up from that hit-strength. It doesn't always swoosh in, it might rattle into the 1,000 lane and you might miss it sometimes, but using this method gets the ball into the thousand lane more frequently than just randomly launching it. And as you know, once you get the ball through that 1,000 point lane, it's prone to jump back up into the 1,000 point lane off the bumper below multiple times for repeated thousands! Get a good start. Max the Counter --------------- Hit the target on the upper left side with the counter above it (top screen). Since you get the amount of points displayed in the counter every time you hit it, and it goes up by 100 every time you hit it, max it to 1,000 as fast as you can, and then hit it as frequently as you can - a thousand points for every hit from now on! Don't forget that the counter will reset when you hit the ball all the way through the left lane. Try to keep hitting the counter target as much as you can. Keep Spinning ------------- It's not too difficult to hit the ball into the right green lane (top screen) to get the slots spinning. Usually you can pull it off with a well timed shot from the left flipper when the ball is just past the halfway down point on the flipper. Keep spinning and hitting the slot target trying to get three 3s, 7s, or Penguins. You get lots of points by getting the proper slot combos, so keep spinning.. Penguin Post ------------ If you get three penguins in the top screen slots, the block post will appear between your flippers. Watch Out!! - Be careful not to hit the ball back into the right green lane, as this will reset the slots and take away your block post. The right green lane is easy to avoid when the block post is out since you can relax and control the ball more. Go for the counter target on the upper left, as well as the upper left lane for some good points.. all the better tasting since points are doubled as long as the penguins are out! Back-Hitting ------------ I find that hitting the ball fiercely as it is coming at your flipper on an angle where you will hit it to the left with the left flipper, or right with the right flipper frequently gives good results in general. This is a good method for getting the ball to go through the upper left lane (using the left flipper on the top screen), or to the Mario Bonus screen (using the right flipper on the bottom screen). Get the Cards ------------- The key to getting the most points/highest scores in this game is flipping all the cards on the bottom screen. Do not go out of your way to get the cards flipped - this is a sure way to lose balls fast. Really you want to spend minimal time on the bottom screen. But once you have three of the cards randomly flipped over, it's probably time to think about getting the last two (See 'Flipping the Cards' below). Once you get your royal flush, the block post comes out between the flippers until you lose the ball. Play it casually and carefully, as you can still lose the ball under the flippers if you play foolishly or too fast and lose control, at which point you will be embarrassed. Your new job once the block post is out is to make sure the stoppers on the side escape lanes are active (See 'Chick Protection' below). With the block post and escape lane stoppers out, you are unstoppable. Time for point-festival-83! or 2003! <--insert current year here. There is no way to lose the ball unless the side stoppers give out, which is why you have to *gasp* immediately if the ball hits one (making it disappear), and must immediately get it back in place using the chicks. No point in mucking around down here for the possibility of the stoppers going out. Once you have the block post+stoppers combo, get the ball the hell out of here and to the top screen (See 'Get Outta Here!' below). Flipping the Cards ------------------ Some cards are pretty easy to flip, mainly the Jack and King (the ones right next to the far side cards). If these are what you need to get your royal flush, or get very close to your royal flush, then use this simple method which entails sacrificing the ball from the top screen: When the ball is in the top screen, trap it on the base of the flipper (by holding the flipper up) opposite the card you want to flip. IE: If you want to flip the Jack, trap it on the right flipper. If you want to flip the King, trap it on the left flipper. Once the ball is trapped and close to not moving, let the flipper down and allow the ball to simply roll off the flipper to the bottom screen. It will then go through the Jack or King (whichever side you chose) lane, flipping the card! This works 70% of the time (otherwise it will usually bounce into the far side card lane, so this can also be used as a strategy if you need one of the far side cards, though not a very reliable strategy). The middle card lane can sometimes be hit using a weaker, felt-out version of 'Get Outta Here!' (see below). Though it is very hard to be consistent with this. Chick Protection ---------------- Not the kind you need for a stalking ex-girlfriend, but rather of the bird type. I'm talking about the three changing lights above the flippers on the bottom screen. It's good to keep an eye on them and make them all into chicks so the escape lane stoppers show up. I don't recommend going out of your way to get chicks (except for the real life female kind), but if you see that you have two chicks and one egg, or two eggs side-by-side and a chick, you might want to try to hatch that last egg or two and get yourself some escape lane stoppers. You'll thank yourself when the ball hits one of them and saves your ass ;) Get Outta Here! --------------- I'll say it again: you want to spend as little time on the bottom screen as possible. It's fairly easy to get the ball back up to the top screen: Lock the ball on your left flipper (by holding the flipper up, making the ball sit at the base of the flipper), then let it roll down to the near-end of the flipper and give it a good launch. If done correctly, the ball will bounce off the right wall, heading up. Now, raise your right flippers to make clearance for the ball so it doesn't hit the bottom of the upper right flipper, while keeping your left flippers down. The ball should land at the bottom (or higher up if it was a good shot) of your TOP left flipper, hit it immediately while lowering your right flippers at the same time and viola - you now have the ball back on the top screen! This is also possible to do off the left wall, but is far more difficult. The other obvious way to get the ball back up to the top screen is by hitting it into the bonus screen hole, but this is not very easy to do on command. Run Like a Fool --------------- On the bonus screen it can get hectic trying to keep the ball from going out of play. I recommend you stay at the center of the screen, running slightly left and right quickly when the ball chaotically bounces around above. This gives you the best opportunity to hit it back up at either side, and the constant moving keeps your alert high. Point Out the Bounce -------------------- If the ball ends up going under you on the Mario bonus screen, it may not be over yet! If the ball went under you with still some velocity, it may bounce up high enough to bounce off the underside of your steel rail - so position yourself for it to do so if you miss it on it's way down. The ball will now bounce back and forth rather quickly between the ground and your rail, building up velocity. Once you get the ball bouncing a bit (only takes a couple hits), move out of the way and let it bounce back up above you, where you can usually hit it back into play! 6 - Questions ============= Q1.) What happens when you get a million points? A1.) I don't know. I have only managed to get halfway there (537,550). I expect that the counter will just roll over back to zero, though I'm sort of hoping for the game to freeze/crash or something cool. If anybody has done it and knows, please tell me what happens. 7 - Other Versions ================== If you are aware of any other versions of Pinball not listed here, please tell me. These are listed in chronological order: Nintendo VS. ------------ Pinball was put on to Nintendo's VS. system arcade hardware. There are a very high amount of differences between the NES and the VS. version. The table is laid out the same and gameplay feels about the same, but the VS. version has different colors, different sound effects, has music, bonus tallies after every ball, different point values, a graphically improved scoreboard, hitting the ball into the hole kicker on the top screen kicks the ball out of the bonus hole on the bottom screen, etc, etc. Ball speed/number of balls can be adjusted through the operator settings. The ball runs at about a Game B speed by default and cannot be slowed down to a Game A type speed setting. The VS. version of Pinball is very much a different (arguably much better) game from the NES. Animal Crossing --------------- Pinball is in the GameCube classic, Animal Crossing. This version of Pinball is pretty much a direct port of the NES version. The only noticeable changes are that the hole kicker and bonus hole are red instead of black and your high score is also saved to the memory card so it does not reset every time you turn off the game. This feature almost makes the Animal Crossing version of Pinball more desirable. I have found no further changes from the NES version. You can get Pinball in Animal Crossing one of the following ways: - Randomly in the mail after you finish working for Tom Nook (ONLY if this is the first game/town started on the memory card THAT COMES with Animal Crossing) - Tom Nook's monthly lottery - Doing deeds for neighbors - As one of the NES Games villager buried - When Crazy Redd visits he might have it - Trade for it with somebody who already has it If you REALLY want to play Pinball you can start a new game using the player and town names below. Once you do the first 7 or 8 Tom Nook missions (should take about an hour for a first time player) and no longer work for him, give him the password listed below the appropriate town name: Name: Joz (boy) Town: DaHood bmchvNGKWJUSQ6 8znhs90eh95yAD Name: Emmie (girl) Town: Heaven n&iJnmH&T%As9z i8jWJc&la4lsPL This should get you Pinball. Once you get it you can go to your house and unwrap it, drop it, then play. You can also send it to a Gameboy Advance using the link cable. Speaking of which.. Gameboy Advance e-Reader (Pinball-e) ------------------------------------ Pinball is available as a set of five data cards for the Gameboy Advance e-Reader. Currently (2003) it retails for US$5 but it also comes with some e-Readers. This is a one-player version of the game. I do not have an e-Reader so I have not had a chance to check it out for any other differences from the NES version. Visual Pinball -------------- If you are a general pinball fan, you will probably be interested in Visual Pinball [http://www.randydavis.com/vp] This is one excellent piece of software - a freeware pinball editor that allows you to make beautiful photo-realistic pinball tables and has a huge community supporting it [http://www.vpforums.com]. There are thousands of user-made tables and just about every pinball machine that ever existed has been recreated, including full software/digital screen emulation thanks to interweaving with PinMAME (a pinball machine rom emulator) The whole thing is really quite amazing. There is a totally unofficial remake of Nintendo Pinball for Visual Pinball and it is excellent! Imagine Nintendo Pinball, except on a real pinball table! It was translated beautifully and if you love Nintendo Pinball, you are sure to love this. The physics, feel, and sounds are all there, it's great and plays very much like the NES version, but a bit harder. Go download a copy and be entertained. You can get it at http://www.irpinball.com -or- http://joz3d.net/html/NES-Pinball.html 8 - Credit/Thanks ================= Nintendo -------- For making Pinball as well as endless other life-enriching video games and systems. Emily Strange ------------- For re-igniting my love for classic NES and keeping me a kid - Thank you! :) This FAQ would not exist without you. For making everything fun, constantly enhancing my life, your comedy, your cuteness, your beauty, and your undying love. Elyse Pieper ------------ For info about the slot target, 'Run Like a Fool' strategy, Animal Crossing version, and the free laptop (that I wrote this on)! Taz --- For giving me Pinball in Animal Crossing for free on www.animalcrossingcommunity.com 9 - File Info ============= Last updated April 27, 2003. The latest version of this FAQ can always be found at: http://www.gamefaqs.com http://joz3d.net/html/NES-Pinball.html -- associated files can also be found here. 10 - Copyright Info =================== (c) 2003 Luke Jozwiak This FAQ may be used, posted, or redistributed on any site or form of media, the full version or any fraction thereof. If modified, please note any modifications made.