Pinbot FAQ
Pinbot - copyrighted by Rare 1988
Dates Written July 20th to 22nd, 2002
Written By - Brian P. Sulpher
Version 2.1
E-mail -
[email protected]
This dedication goes to my parents who bought me this incredible game for
the Christmas of awesomeness (7 games in one year for me and my bro). I
have always enjoyed this game, and only recently did I beat it, which put to
rest the game which has plagued me the longest as unfinished. Thanks Mom
and Dad! I appreciate it!
Also, for Cougar. I miss you, and I hope you are living it up in the
afterlife as you did in this world. You will always be in my memories, and
you will never be forgotten.
-----------
Version 1.0
-----------
-submitted guide
-----------
Version 1.1
-----------
-added previously unknown way to pause the game
-----------
Version 1.3
-----------
-added in info on level 6
-added info on level looping
-added in info on level five monsters
-thanks to John A. Packey for contribution of above three points. Any
inquiries for him can be sent to
[email protected].
-----------
Version 1.5
-----------
-corrected info on pausing the game.
-added in info on an options menu.
-Thanks to Mathieu Tremblay for the above two points.
-----------
Version 2.0
-----------
-Corrected Advanced Techniques Part f) to containt he absolute proper
information
-Corrected Enemy Patterns & Solutions
-Added in Advanced Technique Part h), which is something I forgot about!
-Thanks to tst4eko for all of the above contributions, as well as Julia West
who sent an e-mail about the Enemy Patterns & Solutions hours after
tst4eko.
-Next update should be the final one, as I feel this game has little left to
reveal
-----------
Version 2.1
-----------
-Submitted guide on 16th of October, 2005
-I added in Retronintendo and Honestgamers as sites allowed to use my FAQs
-Altered the format to make it easier on the eyes of the reader
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------Table of Contents-----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Introduction
2) Controls
3) Points
4) Advanced Techniques
5) Planet Hopping
6) Game Map
7) Enemy Patterns & Solutions
8) High Scores
9) Final Word
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------Introduction--------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) This is a game of pinball, but it is unlike any pinball game I have ever
seen. The main goal of the game is to break the high score in the game
so you can have bragging rights over your friends, and to see the ending.
This FAQ will review all aspects of the game, and give some techniques
for winning a better finishing high score. This game is made by RARE,
and it has a couple of fellows you may heard of before worked on it by
the names of Chris Stamper and Tim Stamper.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------Controls-----------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) This section will look at the controls of the game. Refer to these when
looking at how pull special tricks off in the Advanced Techniques
section.
D-Pad ====> moves left flipper
A Button => moves right flipper
B Button => powers plunger
SELECT ===> shakes machine to the right
START ====> shakes machine to the left
B Button => on controller 2, this will pause the game during play. This
will allow you to remove sound/music in an options menu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------Points-------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) This section will view points for every action, and will explain how to
collect the compound totals as well as how points are decided on the
playing field.
Any score with an asterisk adds 1,000 points (up to 99,000) towards
the end of round bonus. The Solar Ramp adds another multiplier (up to
x5) for the end of round bonus.
________________ ____________________________________________________
| Name | Points |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Bumpers |10 |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Inside Slots |*5,000 (x2 with double ball) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Outside Slots |*10,000 (x2 with double ball) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Planet |10,000 (x2 with double ball) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Planet Slot |*5,000 (x2 with double ball) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Planet Targets |*1,000 per target |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Bonus |*25,000 => 50,000 => 75,000 => Extra Ball => 75,000 |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Vortex Hole #1 |5,000 (multiplied by plunger shots awarded) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Vortex Hole #2 |100,000 (multiplied by plunger shots awarded) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Vortex Hole #3 |20,000 (multiplied by plunger shots awarded) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Solar Bumpers |2,000 per hit |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Solar Value Cave|Solar Bumpers build the value (up to 500,000) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
|Solar Ramp |100,000 + (50,000 x number of ramp shots) before |
| |double ball shot on solar ramp (move to next level) |
|________________|____________________________________________________|
This may seem like a small amount of scoring opportunities, but your
score can go up very fast. The ramp is the most important part of
scoring because of: bonus multipliers, vortex multipliers, solar value
cave, and solar ramp.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------Advanced Techniques---------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) This section will deal with ways of increasing your score, prolonging
your play, and gaining extra balls.
a) Using SELECT and START to shake the table can allow for better bounces,
save the ball from loss, and prolong time the ball is in a scoring spot.
The best example of a scoring spot yielding more points than usual is in
the slots by the flippers. If the ball is slowed sufficiently by the
shifting of the table, instead of one score, a player can get as many as
four (1 x 5,000 or 4 x 5,000?). This also will allow a slower roll to
the flippers for an easier time moving the ball where you want it to be.
The real danger in this strategy is utilizing at the wrong time, so it
will cause more damage than help. Also, tilting the table is a distinct
possibility.
b) When a ball goes down the right slot (by the right flipper), a bonus will
light up near the solar ramp. The original value is 25,000, and after
re-activating it again, 50,000. The cycle continues (going to value of
75,000, and then an extra ball light-up). This will put a yellow circle
over the 4 slots at the bottom of the machine (near the flippers). You
can change the position of the extra ball light by pressing a flipper
button (moves one to the right per press). The cycle then reverts to
$75,000 prize each time. This can make for a large source of points
very easily.
c) The planets score you 10,000 for every one you collect in game play, and
20,000 for every one counted as visited on the current visit of the
path in this galaxy (it starts out on Pluto and goes to the Sun). The
first time through the rotation of the planets, there will be a flashing
planet in the middle that is a target (when reached, an extra ball
light). From there, when the sun is reached, another extra ball light.
When the sun is reached again, another extra ball light, plus a prize
that will help protect your ball form being lost (random piece). The
very next planet reached will change your ball to a triangle (two more
full trips will make them cubes). The result with each change makes a
faster moving ball that bounces slightly different than the others.
There are two methods to get a new planet: hitting the green light above
the right slots (triggered by the left slot), and the three targets on
the left side also garner a planet. Planets are important to your
success in this game, mainly because they are the best source of extra
balls.
d) The Vortex is the spiral that the plunger shoots the ball at. There are
three different values on the vortex, and the one the player should be
aiming for is the second of three holes (as you know, it is worth 100,000
points), so the key is to hit the ball hard enough you make it past
5,000, but not far enough to go past to the 20,000. This can really
take off in value if you keep getting balls back to the plunger by use of
the ramp, and getting a second ball in play.
e) The Solar Ramp starts at a value of 100,000, and each time a player
shoots the ramp, it adds another 50,000 to the value. It is collected
by getting two balls in play, and then returning one to the ball hold.
Then, the player must shoot the ramp (while the ball is contained), and
it will award the value to your score, and reset to 100,000 stock value.
An interesting note is if you build the value up during a game, but do
not collect, then on the next game (provided the game is not reset/turned
off) the value remains! This means if you are going to score high as you
can, you might want to spend a few games just shooting the ramp to build
the value for your real attempt at a large score. Shooting the ramp also
gives a multiplier for your bonus (up to x5), and when it lands on the
plunger, the vortex multiplier value increases by x1. This is a very
important part of scoring well, so practice shooting the ramp!
f) The Solar Value starts at around 80,000 and can build to a maximum value
of 500,000. It is built up by hitting the bumpers directly below the
Vortex. To collect the value, you must hit 1 or 2 of the planet targets
on the left. This will cause the ramp to rise, and the cave will be lit
so you can shoot in for the collect. This value goes up fairly fast, so
it can help your score greatly.
g) Getting two balls in play, is not too hard, putting one away for a bit is
even easier, but keeping both out is hard. However, keeping both in play
allows for a very high score, since the double ball means every board
value (except the right slot bonus light) is doubled. With two balls in
play means a x4 scoring! Plus, with both balls out, shooting the ramp
can still be done, and might lead to many vortex shots (many
multipliers).
h) Once a fresh board of lights is empty, you will see that the lights are
moving in lines, left to right, and bottom to top. If you mabage to hit
a trigger that is connected to that line at the same moment, all the
lights will be turned on, revealing the eye sockets! This is a "skill
shot", which will get the Double Ball that much sooner for you!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------Planet Hopping-------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) This games begins with your planet counter sitting as just beyond our
galaxy. Each time you collect a planet, you move closer to the Sun. The
Planet Order Is:
Pluto => Neptune => Uranus => Saturn => Jupiter => Mars => Earth =>
Venus => Mercury => Sun => back to outside solar system.
This fun little ride scores good points, and gives many extra balls
(usually at the end of a circuit). It is good to try to get them
whenever possible.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------Game Map---------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6) First off, I apologize for this map, I will fix it in the future, but it
should give you an idea of what to expect when utilizing the above listed
strategies.
R => solar ramp X => plunger
P => pathways V => vortex
F => flippers S => slots
T => targets G => green planet target
DB => double ball field SB => Solar bumpers
NP => not part of game O => planets
W => walls B => bumper
L => sun C => rocket
BS => ball storage
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|NP NP NP NP R NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP RRRRRRRRRRRR |
|NP NP NP RRR NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP RRRRRRRRR NP |
|NP NP NP RRRR NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP VVVVVRRRRR |
|NP NP RRRR NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP VVVVVVVRRRRR |
|NP NP RRRR NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP VVVVVVVVVRRRRR|
|NP NP RRRR NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP VVVVVVVVVRRRRR|
|NP NP RRRR NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP VVVVVVVRRRRRR|
|NP NP RRRR NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP VVVVVVV WPP|
|NP RRRR BS BS BS BS SB WPP|
|NP RRRR SB SB WPP|
|NP RRRR SB SB SB WPP|
|NP RRRR SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP RRRR SB SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP RRRR DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB SB SB SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP RRR DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB WW SB SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP RRRR DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB WW SB SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP RRRR DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB W SB SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP NP RRR DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB WW SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP NP RRRR DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB WW SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP NP NP DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB SB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP NP T DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP NP T DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB SB SB SB WPP|
|NP NP T DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB WPP|
|NP WPP|
|NP NP G WPP|
|NP NP O GGG WPP|
|NP NP NP O O GGG WPP|
|NP NP G WPP|
| LLL O CCC WPP|
| O LLLLL CCC WPP|
| O LLLLLLL CCCC WPP|
| LLLLL CCCC WPP|
| B O LLL CCCC B WPP|
| W B O B W WPP|
| W BB O BB W WPP|
| W BB BB W WPP|
| W BBB BBB W WPP|
| W BBB BBB W WPP|
| WW BBBB BBBB WW WPP|
| WW BBBB BBBB WW WPP|
| WW BBB BBB WW WPP|
| WWW BB BB WWW WPP|
| WWW B B WWW WPP|
| WWW WWW WPP|
| WWW WWW WPP|
|NP FFFFFF FFFFFF NP NP WPP|
|NP NP FFFFFF FFFFFF NP NP NP WPP|
|NP NP NP FFFFFF FFFFFF NP NP NP NP WPP|
|NP NP NP NP FFFFFF FFFFFF NP NP NP NP NP WPP|
|NP NP NP NP NP FFFFF FFFFF NP NP NP NP NP NP WPP|
|NP NP NP NP NP NP FFFFF FFFFF NP NP NP NP NP NP NP WPP|
|NP NP NP NP NP NP NP FFFF FFFF NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP WPP|
|NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP FF FF NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP WXX|
|NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP WXX|
|NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP NP WXX|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------Enemy Patterns & Solutions------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) This section is going to view what monsters threaten you, and how to deal
with these incredibly nasty characters in a level by level guide.
Level 1 => There are no monsters here, so be glad and frolic totally unaware
of the terrible dangers that lie ahead of you!
Level 2 => There is a ball muncher on this level. He starts way out on
Pluto, but moves fairly quickly around the planet order until he
gets to the Sun, when he starts to try to grab your ball with his
incredible vacuum mouth. When he does grab your ball, he will
rapidly chew your ball, and then spit it down the middle and your
turn will end (unless you have double ball, and he will retreat
to a planet farther down the orbital order). To get your ball
back, you must rapidly press SELECT/START to shake the ball
loose, and the monster will go to a planet farther back. Be
careful to not be too fast on the shaking or the table can TILT.
Level 3 => There are flies on this level, which harmlessly fly around.
However, some of these "harmless" flies drop missiles when hit,
or when they make an exit from the level. If these missiles hit
your flipper, the flipper turns grey, which will slow the
movement response of your flipper. If a missile hits a grey
flipper, it will explode. To beat the flies, just hit them with
your ball. The same rule applies to the bombs, but they are
quite hard to hit. If you have grey flippers, moving to the next
level will repair the damage.
Level 4 => Same guys, same rules apply. There is one exception though, and
that is the flies with no missiles grab your ball in an attempt
to take it off the board. Use SELECT/START to shake it loose,
and keep in mind it is quite easy to TILT when doing this.
Level 5 => Snakes appear on the right and left slots, trying to eat your
ball. You can shake your way loose from their grip, but it
requires an immense amount of shaking in an extremely short
amount of time. You will likely be unable to do so properly.
Level 6 => Snakes appear on the right and left slots, trying to eat your
ball. You can shake your way loose from their grip, but it
requires an immense amount of shaking in an extremely short
amount of time. You will likely be unable to do so properly,
and it is that much harder on this more advanced level.
From this point on, you will revert back o the start of the list (you
will have level one situation of no monsters). As you progress through
the levels, you will see the same order of enemies. Use this to your
advantage so you can get to a level that you play rather well.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------High Scores--------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8) This section will list the high scores that are programmed into the game,
and it will explain the significance of this.
________ _________
| Name | Score |
|________|_________|
| 1. TDJ |9,983,270|
|________|_________|
| 2. CLS |8,236,120|
|________|_________|
| 3. PP |6,741,930|
|________|_________|
| 4. KEV |3,482,140|
|________|_________|
| 5. CTJ |2,149,700|
|________|_________|
| 6. SMS |1,973,320|
|________|_________|
| 7. HUW | 993,450|
|________|_________|
| 8. MB | 357,840|
|________|_________|
| 9. SAM | 282,230|
|________|_________|
|10. SIM | 87,450|
|________|_________|
The purpose of beating the high scores is that whenever you top the
first place score, you have won the game. You get the credits of this
game form a then modest little gaming company. Names such as
Chris Stamper, Tim Stamper, and Ken Lobb are all contained within. A
truly mind-blowing experience for any new age gamer (the youngins I like
to call 'em) or someone who grew up never playing this and knows about
RARE's more famous NES game Battletoads.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------Final Words-------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
9) As is the usual, this walkthrough is copyright property of Brian P.
Sulpher, 2003. The only website, group, person, etc. to have access to
post it is www.gamefaqs.com, www.ign.com, www.retronintendo.com, and
www.honestgamers.com. You must ask for permission before posting this,
as doing so without consent is a violation of international copyright
law.
If you liked it, hated it, have anything to add, then please E-mail me at
[email protected]. You can also contact me through MSN messenger
through the same E-mail address.
Hopefully this helped you, and have a good day now! Seriously, that is
it... time to go... now, I really mena it this time, so get going! ;)
