Metroid Prime Pinball Guide
v.0.1 - November 2nd, 2005
(c) Copyright 2005 Heffenfeffer
The latest in the increasingly-new-ground-treading Metroid series, this sucker
holds its own as both an entertaining pinball game and Metroid game. Perhaps
even Prime game, too.
Not only that, but it even comes with a Rumble Pak. Now let's talk strategy! Tip
#1 - dressing like Elton John, surprisingly, has no bearing on your score.
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Table of Contents
I: General Guidance (for all tables)
Ia: The HUD
Ib: Bounty Bonus
II: Multi-Mission
IIa: Overview
IIb: Space Pirate Frigate
IIc: Tallon Overworld
IId: Phendrana Drifts
IIe: Phazon Mines
IIf: Artifact Temple
IIg: Impact Crater
III: Fun with Features
IIIa: Expert Mode
IIIb: Single Mission Mode
IIIc: Internet Ranking
IIId: Multiplayer (and Magmoor Caverns)
IV: Miscellany
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Part I: General Guidance (for all tables)
"Follow my instructions, or die horribly."
- Myth: The Fallen Lords Guide
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Part Ia: The HUD
"Three words: Heads. Up. Display."
- IGN.com
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The HUD is something that appears nearly identically in all but one table, and
I'll deal with what's on that table a bit later on. From top to bottom and then
left to right, here's what you've got cluttering up the screen.
SAMUS letters - There are five letters here, spelling out our favorite
bounty hunter's first name. You'll have to check each table's section for
how to light these suckers up, but when they're all lit up, you can enter
combat using the saucer directly under these letters.
Score - In general, you want this amount to be as high as possible. However,
in a few circumstances, you may see something besides your score here. So as
not to bring on any strokes during gameplay, I'll talk about what might be
here instead:
A time, with colons - When you enter the holodeck and start a mode,
you'll have a limited amount of time to complete it. This is said time.
Worry not, however - you'll get your score back once you complete the
mission or die horribly.
A decreasing score - You've started a 'hurry up' - but once you complete
said 'hurry up', you'll get the score listed here added to your already
undoubtedly ginormous amount of points. Or if you die horribly, you'll
get your score back, too. Oddly enough, you'll also get your score back
should you start Wall Jump or lock a ball for multiball. Note that in
the above two cases, however, the score listed in Hurry Up won't be
added to your current score.
A Yorkshire Terrier - You've screwed up and put Nintendogs in the DS
instead.
Missile Readout - This sucker shows you if you've got anywhere from zero to
four missiles - though it'll be stuck at zero in Multi Mission until you get
your rear over to Phazon Mines and collect the missile launcher. As well,
you can't even use them unless you're in combat mode. Once you're there,
however, press X to fire off one missile against a boss or a spread of all
your missiles against a wave of normal enemies.
Force Ball Indicator - Got force? You'll see a green flashing here if you
do. While it's nice to have, you've got to schlep all the way down to the
Impact Crater to get it in Multi Mission. Whilist powered by force, you can
smash into any non-boss enemy, slaying it with a single hit, without even
slowing down. Quite nice for poetic justice after hitting a Metroid causes
an SDTM.
Energy Indicator - These eight LED's arranged in a circle show Samus's
current energy level. Should they ever all disappear, Samus will finally
make enough from bounty hunting to live a life of peace. Or explode. Either
way, she's not working for you anymore.
Combat Saucer - Normally, this circle is rather spare, but when stuff
appears here, its to your advantage to snatch it. If you should get an
artifact, extra ball, or special as a reward from an event, you can roll
over it here to collect it. As well, lighting up SAMUS letters and rolling
over the S emblem will allow you to bail out of the headache-incuding Morph
ball and into arm-cannoned bounty hunter form. While here, you can shoot any
enemy that pops up on the table - which is a lot easier to do here than
knocking against them in Morph Ball form. Get rid of those pesky Metroids
with ease!
Power Bomb Readout - Power Bombs are cool, and by cool, I mean totally
sweet. This tactical nuke-level weapon will devestate, evicerate, immolate,
and even defenstrate every visible enemy on the screen (top or bottom) in
which you drop the bomb. Every non-boss enemy makes peace with their chosen
diety and bosses take a severe beating. Two minor problems present
themselves, though. First off, you can only carry one. Secondly, you can't
even use these puppies in Multi Mission until you visit the parka-necessary
climes of Phendrana Drifts.
Bomb Readout - The lone power-up that you'll recieve at the start and
(almost) always have access to, you can store up to three bombs and drop one
at any Morph-Ball time by tapping B. After dropping one, you'll receive
another after three seconds. Note that if you're in some sort of multiball,
each of your Samuses (or is it Samusi?) will drop a bomb when you hit B -
which can completely drain your reserve in one button tap.
Balls Remaining - How many spare Samusi understudies you've got beneath the
flippers ready to jet out should you lose the one you're currently
controlling. Generally only a worrisome indicator should it read '0'.
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Part Ib: Bounty Bonus
"Who says you can't take it with you?!!"
- Raul Julia, Addams Family Pinball
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All tables use the same bonus pool should your morph ball eventually shuffle off
this mortal coil, and it concentrates exclusively on results. Specifically, how
many kills (and specials) you've recieved so far, on every table which you've
played. The bonus also does *not* reset after each ball - meaning that if you
kill Metroid Prime on your very first ball, that's a guarnteed 100,000 points
(for all bosses) for that and every ball afterwards!
Note that the points listed are per kill (erm, and per special) - thus, you'll
undoubtely have at least 20 or so Shriekbat kills if you have any (for 200
points instead of 10) - or you could end up with a bounty of zero should you be
a pacifist. (And not very special.)
Furthermore, every table has a way to increase your bounty multiplier - giving
you up to 10x your current bonus. A 10x multiplier can give bonuses of over a
million points ("Great Bounty!") or, again, zero. Ouch.
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Part II: Multi-Mission
"Well, if there's one thing us rabbits know how to do, it's multiply."
- Bugs Bunny
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Part IIa: Overview
"Oh, you remind me of Tommy. Deaf, dumb, and blind."
- Windoze 98
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The goal in Multi-Mission is to get as high a score as possible. Oh, wait,
that's the goal of every pinball game. Story-line wise, the goal is to find and
defeat the Metroid Prime. (By an astonishing coincidence, doing so will give you
the greatest single point award in the game!)
The road to Metroid Prime, however, is fraught with peril. First off, you'll
have to collect 12 Artifacts - two of which are in the hands of large, nasty
bosses. Then you'll have to insert these Artifacts inside their proper slots at
the Artifact Temple. Finally, you will gain access to the Impact Crater, the
inner sanctum of Metroid Prime.
So let's have a brief chat about what you can do to get there...
- Artifacts -
Collecting Artifacts can be done by completing challenges of all shapes and
sizes. Here's a quick list of what you can do to snag them.
- Pirate Frigate -
Complete Parasite Purge
Complete Space Pirate Panic
Complete Metroid Mania
Complete Shriekbat Shootout
Complete Phazon Frenzy
Complete Wall Jump
Collect Super Jackpot in Clone Multiball (once per multiball)
Collect Super Jackpot in Phazon Multiball (once per multiball)
- Tallon Overworld -
Complete Burrower Blast
Complete Triclops Terror
Complete Metroid Mania
Complete Beetle Blast
Complete Phazon Frenzy
Complete Wall Jump
Collect Super Jackpot in Gunship Multiball (once per multiball)
Collect Super Jackpot in Phazon Multiball (once per multiball)
- Phendrana Drifts -
* Defeat Thardus
Smash the Flashing Icebergs
- Phazon Mines -
* Defeat the Omega Pirate
Power up the Omega Pirate Loop
The kicker is, in addition to those, you can also collect several 'spotter'
Artifacts. These artifacts only appear once per game, but they'll make getting
into the Artifact Temple quite a bit easier should you happen to fail one of the
above.
* - The star refers not to the introductory 0.0% APR on your credit card rising
to 36.5% after three months, but that to get to the Artifact Temple, you've have
got to collect these two Artifacts. These suckers can't be spotted by one of the
one-timers listed below.
---
1st 4-Way Combo (Super Combo) - To do this, make four different blue arrow shots
in a row. Generally this means going up a ramp, then through a loop, then up
another ramp, and finally, through one last loop. Only possible on Pirate
Frigate and Tallon Overworld.
1st Max Bounty (10x Bounty) - Every table has some lanes with X's over them -
should you light all the X's at once, your bonus multiplier will increase. If
you get the bonus multiplier to 10x, the game will declare 'Max Bounty', and
you'll get an artifact for your trouble. Possible on every non-Artifact Temple
table, but easiest on Pirate Frigate and Tallon Overworld.
1st Max Hurry-Up Award Collected - To light Hurry-Up, hit the five small post
targets on Pirate Frigate or the six on Tallon Overworld and then shoot the
indicated loop (but only one direction works to collect the award - follow the
arrow and direction of flashing lights.) Should you collect the lit Hurry-Up in
the five seconds or so before the score starts dropping, you'll get an artifact
out of the deal, too!
---
Another fact about Artifacts is that you can only carry twelve at a time. Should
you trigger collecting another artifact (either a one-timer or one of the solid
twelve listed above) when you've already got all of them, it will turn into a
Special - the mysterious Samus Emblem which until now was just giving you a zero
bounty bonus.
- Extra Balls -
I know you're having fun storming the castle, kids, but you may want to have a
few backup Samusi in reserve in case something goes wrong. Fortunately, you can
collect quite a few Extra Balls in this game - take a look.
---
2nd Successful Wall Jump (Pirate Frigate) - After the first Wall Jump, you can
trigger another Wall Jump - only this time there'll be an Extra Ball on top.
2nd Successful Wall Jump (Tallon Overworld) - Same deal when you're on the
planet too. Note that you've gotta get to level 2 on a particular Wall Jump to
get the Extra Ball - getting one Wall Jump on each table will give you two
Artifacts/Specials and no Extra Balls. D'oh!
Random Scanner Bonus - Each table's scanner can award you one Extra Ball,
seemingly at random. (Although if you're on your final ball, odds that you'll
get an Extra Ball from the scanner are much higher.) And since it's on each
table that has a scanner, that's five Extra Balls you can collect! Here's a list
for posterity:
- Pirate Frigate
- Tallon Overworld
- Phendrana Drifts
- Phazon Mines
- Impact Crater
Complete the Artifact Temple - To compensate for the fact that you can't get an
Extra Ball from the one table with no scanner, you'll get an Extra Ball each
time you clear the Artifact Temple.
Smash the Icebergs in Phendrana Drifts - There's something pseudo-random with
this one. See, one of the icebergs on this table (picked at random) will flash.
Hit it with your ball and you'll get a free gift. Normally, it's a Force Field,
but the first non-FF gift you can snag is an Artifact/Special. Number Two on the
non-FF list, though, is a highly coveted Gratis Samusi.
Power up the Omega Pirate Loop Twice - The first time you do, Artifact/Special.
The second? Extra Ball. Huh. I'm sensing a trend here.
Score 2,000,000 points - A helpful reminder for this and the next three Extra
Balls will pop up at the beginning of each ball. Should you reach the points
needed for this one and the next three
Score 5,000,000 points - Pretty much the same deal here, I think.
Score 10,000,000 points - You can figure the next one out. I'm gonna go get a
chicken sandwich.
Score 50,000,000 points - ...and I'd like a little lettuce, and some spinach
leaves. Hold the mayo.
---
Oh yeah, one minor thing here - even though you can collect at least a whopping
19 balls a game (the sixteen here and the three you start with), this only
applies to normal mode. For Expert Mode, just replace all mentioning of "Extra
Ball" here with "Special", 'cause they're all you're gonna get.
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Part IIb: Pirate Frigate
"Interesting Quote goes here..."
- Place Holder
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First things first - let's go on a table tour! Starting from the bottom left and
going around clockwise, here's what you'll find in the Space Pirate Frigate.
---- Table Tour ----
Left Slingshot - Awards 330 points, and also knocks Samus around more than Bobby
Brown.
Left Inlane - Awards 100 points. As well, should your right kickback be gone,
this will light the right kickback target so you can get it back.
Left Outlane/Kickback - The kickback awards 700 points, but hitting it will
cause it to pop down after five seconds. Not even a token point award if you put
the ball down the side without the kickback!
Left Kickback Target - Awards 100 points. Also, if it's flashing, hitting it
will pop up the left Kickback and turn on the Force Field for about five
seconds.
Outer Loop (left) - There are six lights in this loop - each worth 100 points.
Holodeck left post - This post is one of five that have to be hit and lit to
start Hurry Up.
Holodeck - See my extensive notes below on this very topic. I make learning FUN!
Holodeck right post - This post is one of five that have to be lit and hit to
start Hurry Up.
Inner Loop (left) - Shooting this loop will give a Loop Combo bonus - this can
be done indefinately if you're extremely bored.
Wall Jump Ramp post - This post is one of five that...oh, you know.
Wall Jump Ramp - This side ramp will light a Wall Jump light, unless all of them
are lit, in which case shooting it will divert the ball to start the Wall Jump.
If you're in single table mode or way, way into Multi Mission, shooting this
ramp with hostiles on the table will light force ball, which you can energize
with by shooting the Samus Ramp.
Clone Targets - These three targets will start Clone Multiball - for more
details, see the Multiball section below.
Multipliers - These three "X" targets at the top of the key will increase your
bounty multiplier when they're all lit. As well, you can hit the flippers to
move all three lights left or right - that way you can put an unlit target
directly under a falling ball and such. On this table, your bounty will increase
(by these or by the Scanner Bounty Multiplier award) from 1x to 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x,
and 10x (Max Bounty).
Jet Bumpers - These suckers increase the jackpot by 130 points - from 10,000 on
up. The jackpot will never go down - even when you leave the table and come back
later, the jackpot will be right where you left it. It's pretty tricky to get
out of here as well - the exit is above a pocket, so the ball has to bounce out
instead of rolling out.
Samus Ramp left post - This post is one of five Hurry Up posts. Or is it Seven
of Nine?
Samus Ramp - This ramp will award a Samus letter when used. As well, the Force
Ball will appear here once you shoot the Wall Jump ramp (if there are hostiles
in the area.)
Samus Ramp right post - The last one of five that need to be struck to start
Hurry Up. (Well, not really the last, since they can be hit in any order.)
Outer Loop (right)/Hurry Up Loop - The other entrance to the outer loop, this
entrance is more important than the left for a number of reasons. First off,
it's where you can collect Hurry Up when it's lit. Secondly, if you shoot this
loop twice in a row, it will be blocked on top, letting you spend a little
quality time with the multipliers and jackpot-increasing jet bumpers.
Right Top Flipper - The lone extra flipper on a main board, this sucker provides
a straight shot to both the inner loop and wall jump ramp.
Scanner - Shoot the scanner once to prime (ha!) it, and then shoot it again to
get a random bonus. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to what you
get - even attempting to stop with B isn't consistent, leading me to believe
that the game awards you what it darn well pleases.
Right Kickback Target - Awards 100 points. Also, if it's flashing, hitting it
will pop up the right Kickback and turn on the Force Field for about five
seconds.
Right Outlane/kickback - The kickback awards 700 points, but hitting it will
cause it to pop down after five seconds. Not even a token point award if you put
the ball down the side without the kickback!
Right Inlane - Awards 100 points. As well, should your left kickback be gone,
this will light the left kickback target so you can get it back.
Right Slingshot - Awards 330 points, and also knocks Samus around more than
Leona Helmsey.
---- Holodeck Hijinks ----
So what does that holodeck do? Glad you asked. It starts one of these here,
depending on what's pictured. You'll have 60 seconds to complete each of these
modes - but you'll get a five second extension every time you hit the now-closed
holodeck once you start a mode. If time runs out or the ball drains, you'll fail
whatever mode you were playing at the time. Sadly, you're barred from multiball
or starting Hurry Up while one of these is in session - but you can still
collect Hurry Up if you triggered it before you started a Holodeck mode.
Generally, completing a mode will give you an Artifact or Special, depending on
circumstances. Okie doke, on to what's what...
Parasite Purge - 8 parasites will decend onto the top screen, and then crawl
around a loop. Thus, parasites may be in the jet bumper area, around the outer
loop, or next to the holodeck. Your goal, as the exterminator, is to destroy
them all. Rolling over them works, and doesn't even slow you down. If they're
lagging behind you, a well-placed bomb works wonders as well. The kicker is that
the ones you ran over will respawn (erm, well, redrop) if you don't eliminate
them all. Each one has a their own particular timer attached - thus seven may
drop down at once, or just a couple spaced over a few seconds. How long they
take to do so depends on level...
Level 1 - The little buggers won't respawn until 30 seconds have passed, which
should be more than enough time to get rid of the lof of them.
Level 2 - They're a little quicker now, taking 20 seconds to return.
Level 3 - These especially prolific parasites come back after a mere 10 seconds
- here, you almost certainly need to clear them all out in one combo.
Each parasite is worth 1,000 points - but that gets doubled, tripled, etc. if
you should happen to kill more than one before you touch a flipper. Getting rid
of all eight completes the mode, and awards both 25,000 points and an
Artifact/Special.
Space Pirate Panic - Here, you're being besieged by waves of Space Pirates.
These nasty things are equipped with homing missiles - getting hit by one will
knock off 1 unit of energy and propel you very quickly in the direction the
missile came from. (Amusingly, they can even send you back down ramps you were
climbing.
You can slay a Space Pirate by rolling into them once, provided you've got
enough speed. However, you'll bounce back, as these guys are quite sturdy.
Rolling towards them at an anemic speed will usually make them jump out of the
way and into another area. Don't forget that bombs work on these guys too - if
you do roll slowly towards them, try dropping a bomb when you get close. 90% of
the time, they'll jump out of the way - but if you aim for them in their new
spot, they'll leap back to the old one...sometimes just in time to get immolated
by an explosive bomb.
How many Space Pirates come after you is dependent on level...
Level 1 - 1 wave of three pirates attacks.
Level 2 - 2 waves of three pirates each attack - you'll have to down all three
pirates in the first wave to get the reinforcements to show up.
Level 3 - 3 waves of three pirates each attack - try to roll over dropped energy
whenever you can here.
Each Space Pirate is worth 5,000 points - but that can be doubled or tripled if
you can somehow down two or three of them between touching flippers. Getting rid
of all of them completes the mode, awards 25,000 points, and an
Artifact/Special.
Metroid Mania - When you get this one, some Metroids will sashay onto the bottom
screen. (If you happen to have one on the screen when starting the mode, it
counts as one of the Metroids you've gotta kill.) Metroids are especially nasty
- they'll grab any slow moving Samusi and drain one energy point from it.
Furthermore, since hitting one is like hitting a brick wall, there's a huge risk
of draining the ball anytime you want to hit a Metroid.
Metroids can be killed by rolling or bombs - and you can drop a bomb for a
guarnteed hit on a Metroid whenever you get grabbed by one. As well, the bomb
has a bit of a blast radius, so there's a chance that you can damage other close
Metroids on the screen as well. Either way, rolling or bombing, takes three hits
per Metroid - though as consolation, you get 1,000 points a hit and 10,000
points a kill (which can be doubled if a lucky bomb blast takes out two at
once.)
So what're the differences between levels of Metroid Mania?
Level 1 - 2 Metroids enter, and hopefully one Samus will leave.
Level 2 - 2 Metroids enter the screen again, but this time, they have some
friends. You'll need to take out 4 Metroids in total, 2 of which can be onscreen
at any one time.
Level 3 - Break out the bombs for this one - now 3 Metroids can be onscreen at
any one time, and they now draw from a pool of 6 Metroids. Watch your bombs and
energy here. For the former, remember that it takes three seconds to reload a
bomb when you drop one, and for the latter, hope and pray that they 1: Drop
energy or a Power Bomb and 2: You can somehow collect it.
Phazon Frenzy - This special Holodeck mode is lit as a reward for completing all
three Holodeck modes (that is, not failing a single one) as well as both
Shriekbat Shootout and the Wall Jump for a particular level. Here, all the
lights on the entire playfield will become blurred as if Samus is about to be
pulled over for a DUI. Not only that, but the screen will also become flooded
with Phazon balls. Touching any of them will award 10,000 points and bounce you
around like a superball. Fortunately, both kickbacks are readied and you have a
force field for the entire 60-second duration.
About the only way that you can lose here is if your ball goes down an outlane
with no kickback. Surprisingly, that's a problem, since the kickbacks disappear
once hit just like during normal gameplay. However, the kickbacks can be relit
if need be - just roll down the inlane and hit the opposite kickback target,
just like normal. (Yep, even though the screen looks like how Robert Downey Jr.
normally plays pinball.) In fact, the multipliers still work too, just in case
you need to get to Max Bounty.
Hitting the Holodeck here won't buy you any more time, however - this is just a
straight up 60-second thing. Surviving for 60 seconds will get you 25,000 points
and an Artifact/Special, in addition to the couple hundred thousand points
you'll likely get from that mode.
Up Arrow - The Up Arrow appears when you've attempted all Holodeck modes
(including Phazon Frenzy if conditions are met.) This baby lets you "Select
Destination". You can go to your choice of table, including Pirate Frigate.
Should you pick Pirate Frigate again, it will start one of the first three
Pirate Frigate modes. (If you've completed the mode it picks, then it'll go up a
level.)
---- Video-Like Modes ----
If you play a modern non-Pat Lawlor pinball table these days, odds are you'll
get a video mode - something that plays entirely on the LCD screen under the
backglass. In that tradition, here are the most blantantly non-pinball features
in this pinball game. On this table. Yeah.
Shriekbat Shootout - This sucker pops up when you spell out the name on the
table using the right ramp, one lonely letter at a time. Once you do, hit the
center saucer (which is near-impossible to avoid doing - that sucker's a
localized black hole) you'll instantly be besiged by hordes of bats.
Be careful - if they slip by your gunfire, you'll take a hit. Take four, and the
mode will end in failure. Luckily, each of them will buckle under a single shot
- the problem is that there are too many of them. How many? Well...
Each of them are worth a hundred points - but after ten are down, they'll be
worth double, then triple...up to ten times as much if you get enough bats in
there. Completion will give you 25,000 points and an Artifact/Special - but
should you not take a single hit, you'll get 50,000 points instead.
Wall Jump - Samus will leap off the board and onto the backglass in this
extravaganza. Just tap L to get started, and tap R as soon as you hit the other
wall. Then hit L again - repeat for seven button taps and you'll reach the top,
collect an Artifact/Special, and fall onto the table atop the multipliers and
jet bumpers. Should you not jump in time, you'll fall in the same spot, only
without said Artifact/Special. There are some Puffers on the way there, but
you'll rip them all up with the Screw Attack for 1,000...2,000...etc. points.
The tricky part of Wall Jump once you get up to the top a couple times is
triggering it...here's what you have to do to trigger each one.
Level 1 - Shoot the Wall Jump Ramp once - the next time you ride up it, you'll
start a'jumping past four puffers.
Level 2 - Shoot the Wall Jump Ramp thrice - the fourth time 'tis shot, you'll
jump, jive, and wail past six puffers.
Level 3 - Shoot the Wall Jump Ramp three times, but the problem is that you've
got to shoot up the ramp within twenty seconds each time - after twenty seconds,
one of the indicator lights on the ramp will flicker and then turn off. Drag,
man. It's tough to rip up eight puffers, isn't it?
---- Combo City ----
There are several combo shots that you can make on this table - add in the fact
that the first is worth 5,000, the second 10,000, the third 15,000, and all
subsequent ones 20,000, and you can make some serious points on combos. As well,
don't forget that the first 4-way combo you pull off nets you an
Artifact/Special along with the points.
Two basic ways to make combos on this table. First off, you can use the inner
loop over and over again - netting you 5, 10, 15, and 20 thousand points (but
doesn't trigger the 4-way combo Artifact/Special.) For good measure, you can
then send the ball up the Wall Jump Ramp to cap off your now 'Special' combo.
Number two is to start anywhere in this handy flowchart and keep going down
until you miss a shot - eventually, you won't have a choice to miss, though, as
you'll eventually trigger climbing the walls or shooting everything that moves.
Samus Ramp
|
V
Left Loop
/ or |
V |
Inner Loop |
\ |
\ |
V V
Left Ramp
/ |
/ or |
/ |
Outer Loop (R) |
\ |
\ |
V V
Samus Ramp
(combo loop repeats)
---- Multiball(s) ----
There are two ways to end up controlling more than one Samus at once on this
table, and both are rather tricky to get to.
Phazon Multiball - Oddly enough, you can only get this two-ball multiball on
this table via one extremely random way - get it as a reward from the scanner.
Once you do, your yellow morph ball will become a blue Phazon ball and a red
Something-or-other ball. (Never fear, draining either ball will turn whatever
ball's left back to normal.) Along with said balls are four red and four blue
targets. (Which also disappear should a ball be drained.)
Hitting a red target with a red ball or a blue target with a blue ball gives you
10,000 points, and makes absorbs said target into your ball. However, different
colored targets will knock your differently-colored ball away. Collect all of
one color to make a colored square appear - shoot it with your like-colored ball
for a 50,000 point Jackpot. You can do this with both red and blue for quite a
few points...
..'cause if you shoot both squares, a double square target will light up on the
side ramp - which you can shoot with either ball for a 250,000 point Super
Jackpot. Not only that, but you also get an Artifact/Special out of the deal,
and the multiball targets appear anew. Of course, it's a bit tricky to get to
this point, what with phazon knocking your Samusi out of alignment.
Oddly enough, while in this multiball you can play a holodeck mode or collect a
Hurry Up. How progressive!
Clone Multiball - This three ball multiball is rather tricky to get, but quite
fulfilling. First off, to activate it, you'll need to hit the three drop targets
in the center. If this is your first time doing this multiball, you can hit them
in any order. The second and subsequent time, however, you'll have to hit them
in a set order - left, right, and finally, center. Once you do, your ball will
split into three, all of which end up in the jet bumpers.
As long as there's more than one ball on the table (unfortunately, you can't
replace them if they drain) you can collect the following Jackpots:
Jackpot - shoot the Samus Ramp to collect the undoubtely-increased by Jet Bumper
(single) Jackpot.
Double Jackpot - Shooting the Wall Jump Ramp will give you a Double Jackpot. Not
too shabby for this tricky shot.
Super Jackpot - First off, you have to light the darn thing before you can
collect it. To do so, do the exact thing you did to light the lock (shoot the
three drop targets left-right-center on your second multiball onward, or in any
order for your first multiball) and the lock will re-appear, glowing this time.
Lock a ball in there for a Super Jackpot worth five times your ordinary measly
Jackpot! The icing on the cake is the Artifact/Special that the first Super
Jackpot you collect makes appear. Be careful, though - this time the lock will
release almost straight down, the dreaded SDTM.
One final note - Holodecks will be disabled while multiball's in play (and
conversely, you can't start Clone Multiball while you're in a Holodeck mode.)
You can't start Hurry Up, but you can collect it if you've activated it
beforehand.
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Parts IIb-g: Coming soon!
"Interesting Quote goes here..."
- Place Holder
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Part III: Fun with Features
"Normal people think that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers
think that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet."
- Scott Adams, The Dilbert Principle
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Part IIIa: Expert Mode
"When did 'hardcore' go from a porno term to a gaming term?"
- PC Accelerator
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Expert Mode is by and large the same as normal mode, save for a couple minor
differences. First off, all holodeck modes (and tables if you're playing on
Multi Mission) start off at level 2 instead of level 1. Secondly, Extra Balls
are nigh impossible to come by. I don't believe you can get an Extra Ball in
Multi Mission on Expert at all, and the only way to come across one on Single
Mission is to complete Phazon Frenzy. Doing something which would merit an Extra
Ball on Normal will instead net you a Special. Finally, selecting Expert Mode
will get you a cool X on the title screen and on your brand-new high score
table, now with significantly lower scores!
Other than that, not too much of a difference.
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Part IIIb: Single Mission Mode
"One is the lonliest number that you'll ever do. Nine is the most
crowded number that you'll ever do, without going into double digits."
- Fortune Cookie
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Single Mission Mode restricts you to one table - hence, the up-arrow-symbolized
Select Destination just won't appear on either of the two main tables. As well,
there are no longer any Artifacts at all on the main tables - they've all been
replaced by Specials (much to the delight of you Max Bounty folks.) Also,
picking a boss table will replace your score with the time you took to wipe the
floor with said boss. This mode leads to a third high score table, and combining
this with Expert Mode leads to a fourth.
One final nice touch is that this starting a Single Mission will set you up with
a full compliment of Missiles, a Power Bomb, and the ability to take more off of
defeated enemies. Heck, you can even get Force Ball working if you play your
cards right on each table.
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Part IIIc: Internet Ranking
"i beat the internet...the end boss is hard"
- www.bash.org
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Thanks to Zeep on the GameFAQs forums for pointing this out - by pressing Select
on the "Last Bounty" screen (which you can get to from the title screen by
pressing B), you'll get a 32-character code that looks something like this:
JUST INBA ILEY -STE
AMIE RTHA NHOT COFE
Sometime soon, you can surf on over to www.metroidprimepinball.com and add your
score to the database. See how you stack up and all that. At the moment, though,
adding your score is still 'Coming Soon.'
The kicker here is that you can only get your code right after you complete a
game - you can't even start a new one or turn off the DS or you'll lose it.
(Putting the DS to sleep will still let you keep your code, though.) Thus, if
you have a killer score that you want to keep, best carry around some paper and
a pencil so that you can write it down when you've got it.
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Part IIId: Multiplayer
"Interesting Quote goes here..."
- Place Holder
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Playing pinball with your friends gives you a whole new table to play on! While
I've yet to play with my DS-ing friends, watch this space for a guide on how to
win bets at your next wi-fi get together.
Also worth noting is that if no one's around, you can 'practice' on this table
by yourself, helpful to friendless beings and FAQ-writers alike.
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Part IV: Miscellany
"Interesting Quote goes here..."
- Place Holder
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Once again, stubbornness has triumphed over common sense and you've read all the
way to the end of the guide! Time for just about everything that doesn't fit the
outline.
Sexiest Men and Women in the known universe (i.e. - Contributors)
No one's contributed so far, since this is the first online revision, but
you can send any tips or positive missives to this addy:
quizmaster (at) zianet.com
As well, please put "Metroid Prime Pinball Guide", or something similar as
the subject line, because if you send a tip with the subject "Improve your Home
Mortgage!" I'll probably throw it away. Well, perhaps not. Is it fixed below 4%?
And of course, I'd like to thank you all for bearing with me and hope that
even if this FAQ taught you nothing, it at least put a smile on your face. So,
thank you. No, not you, you. Yes, you. Thanks.
This guide is (c) Copyright 2005 T.C. Chavez (alias Heffenfeffer)
Metroid Prime Pinball is (c) Copyright 2005 Nintendo/Fuse Studios.
T.C. Chavez has no affiliation with Nintendo or Fuse Studios.
Any other copyrighted terms are (c) Copyright their respective owners.
Guide not meant to be taken internally.
Void where prohibited. Void where void. Void to the Dallas Cowboys. Void to
George Latzenby. Void to anyone that called G.I. Joe a doll instead of an action
figure. Void to the couple that hangs out at the coffee shop in excess of 20
hours a week. Void to Branson, Missouri. Void to whoever took the last piece of
pizza. Void if you do not find glasses sexy. Void to basic cable subscribers.
Void to anyone that reads this message.
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