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Crystal Castles has nine levels with four castles each, and a tenth level which features a single castle — the clearing of which ends the game. Each of the 37 trimetric-projected castles consists of a maze of hallways filled with gems and bonus objects, and also includes stairs, elevators and tunnels that the player can use as shortcuts. The three-letter initials of the player with the highest score are used to form the first level’s castle structure. When all gems in a castle have been collected, the player moves on to the next castle. The player can also skip some castles and acquire additional lives and points by using secret warps activated by making Bentley Bear jump at special locations. A trackball and “jump” button are used for controlling Bentley Bear’s motions. Gems are collected by simply walking over them, and a bonus is given upon collection of the last gem. While collecting gems, there are a number of enemies that try to stop Bentley and/or collect the gems for themselves. With two exceptions, if touched by the enemies he will lose one of his lives. Any gems collected by the enemies also result in a lower obtainable score for that screen. Likewise, if the last available gem is collected by the enemy, the player also loses the last gem bonus. Enemies can be avoided by use of the maze and its constructs, or by making Bentley jump over opponents with the jump button, in some cases also allowing him to stun them. Some types of enemies will track Bentley’s movements in certain ways, while others move at random. If Bentley is touched, he “cries out” in a distinctive manner with the use of a cartoonish word balloons. If 3 or more lives remain, he says “BYE!”; if 2 lives still remain, the quotation is “OH NO!”; if 1 life is left, it is “OUCH!”; and finally, for the last lost life (which ends the game), he says “#?!”, so as to imitate an obscenity. At the beginning of every maze, gems are worth 1 point each; this value increases by 1 for every gem Bentley picks up, to a maximum of 99. Each maze also randomly includes a hat or honey pot, which serve the dual purpose of awarding points and providing Bentley with the ability to defeat specific enemies. The hat is worth 500 points and will make Bentley invulnerable for a few seconds and allow him to eliminate Berthilda the witch, who appears in the last maze of each level. The honey pot is worth 1,000 points, and picking it up can delay the landing of a swarm of bees. Other villains present in the game include: “Nasty Trees” which become more ornery as levels progress, a ghost that will usually appear in the Hidden Spiral levels, dancing skeletons, “Gem Eaters” who Bentley Bear can defeat if he catches them while eating a gem, and also the devilish “Crystal Balls” creatures that in later levels tend to follow Bentley Bear persistently as he collects gems. The Nasty Trees and Crystal Balls can also pick up gems. Crystal Castles contains two notable easter eggs. Jumping 100 times or more in the southeast corner of level 1?1 and clearing the maze of all gems will make ATARI appear on level 1?2.[2] On level 5?4, if the player kills Berthilda and goes to the corner of the area where she was and jumps, “FXL” will appear in the southeast corner of the screen. These are the initials for Franz X. Lanzinger, a designer of Crystal Castles. -
The player controls Mario throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario’s abilities can be changed by picking up certain items; for example, Mario is able to shoot fireballs if he picks up a Fire Flower. The player takes on the role of the main protagonist of the series, Mario. Mario’s slightly younger brother, Luigi, is only playable by the second player in the game’s multiplayer mode, and assumes the same plot role as Mario. The objective is to race through the Mushroom Kingdom, survive the main antagonist Bowser?s forces and save Princess Toadstool. The player moves from the left side of the screen to the right side in order to reach the flag pole at the end of each level. A prevalent rumor that it is possible to jump over the flag pole was later confirmed by GameTrailers. The game world has coins scattered around it for Mario to collect, and special bricks marked with a question mark (“?”), which when hit from below by Mario, may reveal more coins or a special item. Other “secret” (often invisible) bricks may contain more coins or rare items. If the player gains a red and yellow Super Mushroom, Mario grows to double his size and can take one extra hit from most enemies and obstacles, in addition to being able to break bricks above him. Players are given a certain number of lives (and may gain additional lives by picking up green and orange ‘1-Up’ mushrooms, collecting 100 coins, or defeating several enemies in a row with a Koopa shell), which are lost when Mario takes too much damage, falls in a pit, or runs out of time; the game ends when all lives are lost. Mario’s primary attack is jumping on top of enemies, though many enemies have differing responses to this. For example, a Goomba will flatten and be defeated, while a Koopa Troopa will temporarily retract into its shell, allowing Mario to use it as a projectile. These shells may be deflected off a wall to destroy other enemies, though they can also bounce back against Mario, which will hurt or kill him. An alternate way to damage enemies is with the Fire Flower, an item which, when picked up, changes the color of Mario’s outfit (or only increases his size if a red and yellow mushroom had not been used previously) and allows him to shoot fireballs. A less common item is the Starman, which often appears from concealed or otherwise invisible blocks. This makes Mario temporarily invincible to most hazards and capable of defeating enemies on contact. The game consists of eight worlds with four sub-levels called “stages” in each world. The final stage of each world takes place in a castle where Bowser or one of his decoys are fought. The game also includes some stages taking place underwater, which contain different enemies. In addition, there are bonuses and secret areas in the game. Most secret areas contain more coins for Mario to collect, but others may contain “warp pipes” which allow Mario to advance to later worlds in the game, skipping over earlier ones. -
This machine was a big hit for Williams with 12,000 machines created. A skill shot starts your adventure with different point values. A three-bank drop target or single right target advances the planets lit in the playfield. If you advance to the lit planet, a free game is your reward. The light grid, if hit when a solo target is lit, opens the visor. Otherwise, hitting all the lights opens the visor. Locking two balls in the “eyes” of the robot starts two-ball multiball. Lock one ball in one eye and shoot for the left solar ramp. Advance the bonus value by making the left ramp loop when the visor is down. This game is fun, challenging and the vocals egg you on throughout your adventure. -
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This machine is one in a trilogy that Williams produced with an amusement park theme. 9,400 were made with design accolades going to Barry Oursler and art by Python Anghelo. Ronald and Nancy Reagan appear on the backglass. The Comet and Cyclone are two roller coasters from the Coney Island era. If you ride the Comet ramp six times, a million-point shot is possible. The Cyclone ramp in the upper right awards the accumulated jackpot on the backglass if hit three times. Hitting the spook house drop target exposes a gobble hole which spins the backglass wheel for a point award or extra ball. A ferris wheel bonus a shooting gallery bonus and a bonus multiplier shot in the lower left complete this impressive package. “You pay your money, you take your chances” in this classic machine. -
This unique game has the distinction of having the first mechanical head on a pinball machine. His name is Rudy, and he not only follows the ball during play with his eyes but harasses you with a flurry of comments as the game proceeds. This game was designed by Pat Lawlor and Larry Demar with art accolades going to John Youssi. 10,750 games were made. The object of the game is to advance the clock to midnight. This makes Rudy fall asleep. If you’re skillful enough to shoot the ball into Rudy’s mouth, he wakes up, spits the ball out, and your next goal is to shoot the ball into the trap door for a jackpot. The mystery mirror contains different objectives to achieve. Completing the mirror awards “super frenzy” where all contacts award higher points. Another unique feature of the game is the left plunger, which shoots the “steps” when activated for various awards. The best part of the game is Rudy, though. He taunts you through the whole game. -
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This machine was produced in january and 7300 copies of it were bolted together. Pat lawlor designed the game with john youssi penning the artwork. The earliest machines in the production run had the chicago cubs logo on the child’s baseball cap but the cubs disallowed its use so the logo was changed. The early examples had a williams logo sticker over the cubs logo. The object of the game is to advance the compass to the north, south , east and west positions. Doing so starts ball lock ..And the “power of the wind” through the use of a dedicated fan on top of the machine to recreate a new physical dimension to your gameplay. Once three balls are locked, the left ramp awards increasing million awards. By earning enough tolls, extra balls may be had. The super cellar value changes via the spinner. Dropping into the cellar awards its value. Another “twist“ in the game’s design is the spinning discs. Tornado action. -
The table is the first Williams WPC machine designed to feature a dot-matrix display. But due to the long design phase, Gilligan’s Island was the first manufactured with a DMD. Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the first game to feature an autoplunger (replacing the traditional plunger), as well as a ball-firing cannon (dubbed, “Gun Grip Ball Launcher”). Finally, T2 was the first game to feature a video mode, a mini video game featured on the DMD. Arnold Schwarzenegger provided voices for the game. Some playfield design elements were based on Ritchie’s 1980 classic, Firepower. T-1000 was not included in the artwork of the table, with the exception of a small image of actor Robert Patrick because of pre-release secrecy of the movie. The character was only included in the display animation because when the DMD programming was finalizing the liquid metal character was already public knowledge.- Release date: July 1991
- System: Williams WPC (Dot Matrix)
- Design: Steve Ritchie
- Programming: Dwight Sullivan
- Artwork: Doug Watson
- Mechanics: Carl Biagi
- Music: Chris Granner
- Sound: Chris Granner
- Production run: 15,202
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There are 7 Doctors, as one can plainly see from the backglass… quite conveniently, they are numbered 1-7. Each Doctor has the effect of changing the rules of one area of the Playfield, making a list of the rules all the more annoying and probably confusing. First some general information about the Doctors… there are many ways to “spot” doctors throughout the game – one is awarded at the start of any ball, and can be spotted through the Transmat target or Video Mode. At the start of a ball (or when a ball has been locked), you get to choose the “current” doctor – his picture will flash on the backglass. When a doctor- spotting shot is made, the current doctor will become solidly lit (so his attributes are carried over for the rest of the game), and the “current” doctor becomes the previously unlit doctor directly to the left of the previous one. There are 2 ways to spot all seven doctors – either go through them all one-by-one, or shoot the Emperor Daleks jackpot. Either way, all of them will be lit for the rest of the game, and you receive an additional bonus of 2OM, as well as a small animation, which plays even after a tilt! After all 7 doctors are spotted, they can be spotted a second (third, etc) time, and running through all 7 a second time awards another 2OM bonus. Also, each doctor spotted in the game (this count may be more than 7) is worth a 1M bonus at the end of the last ball (so don’t tilt it!), and this bonus (unlike the regular bonus) is multiplied by the Playfield X. -
12,716 of these Mark Ritchie-designed games were produced in wide-body format. This machine has a lot of the action associated with the first three Indiana Jones adventures produced by Lucas and Spielberg and is rated in the top 10 machines of the ‘90s. Four multiball modes grace this machine as well as a ton of video clips designed by Brian Eddy. Twelve different scenes from the movies are represented. Completing these scenes awards a six-ball multiball sequence. A three-ball multiball sequence may be had by hitting the center drop targets and popping a ball into the drop hole behind them. The path of adventure is lit by hitting the letters in the word “adventure.” Doing so opens the path up the right ramp to the tilt-a-matic playfield in the upper left. The object here is to use the flipper buttons to guide the ball to glory. -
Star Trek: The Next Generation is a widebody pinball game, designed by Steve Ritchie and released in November 1993 by Williams Electronics. It was part of WMS’ SuperPin series (see also The Twilight Zone and Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure), and was based on the TV series. It is the only pinball machine that features three separate highscore-lists. Apart from the regular highscore-list and the buy-in-list, it also features a reminiscence to The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot billionaires club. It is also the third pinball game overall based on the Star Trek franchise, following the 1979 pinball game by Bally, and the 1991 game by Data East (both based on the original series). Launch options When a new ball is launched into the plunger, the player is given one of five launch awards, which is selected when the ball is fired. Unless otherwise noted, the ball is launched through the spiral ramp and into the lock hole (above the pop bumpers). Another ball is popped from the left scoop and onto the left inlanes. Start Mission: Starts lit mission. Flipper Skill Shot: The player has to shoot the ball up the right ramp (the Beta Quadrant) for a random award. Launch Probe: The ball will be loaded into one of the two cannons, located on top of the slings. Shoot the lit target for a random award. If the player misses, Data will say, “The probe has discovered nothing, sir”. Light Lock / Light Holodeck: Lights the ball lock, and the ball gets locked for multiball. When this option is selected twice, “Light Lock” changes to “Light Holodeck”. Warp Factor: Starts the ball at Warp Factor 4. After the player reaches Warp 9, (depending on the ROM version), the award changes to Warp 9.1, up to 9.9 (the player has only a limited amount of time to make either the left circle or Delta ramp for each point), then changes to “Warp Factor 2″. The ball is sent to the pop bumpers. Scoring and Game Modes There are several ways to score points outside of the missions as well as unlocking certain game modes. The following modes are available: Explosive Millions – Shooting the Alpha Quadrant or Beta Quadrant ramps unlocks Explosive Millions. Shooting the same or opposite ramp awards 5 million points, followed by 10 million for another shot, which cumuliates by 10 million every shot. The player has ten seconds to hit the ramp to score or the mode ends. Bonus Multipliers – Hitting all three rollover lanes above the bumpers will increase the bonus multiplier for that ball. The first completion raises it to 2X, and subsequent steps raise it 2X at a time to a maximum of 10X. When the 8X is achieved, the Extra Ball light is lit in the “Start Mission” pocket. When the multiplier is maxed, completing the rollovers again awards 10 million, with the value increasing by 10 million every time afterward Holodeck – The player has two choices. Score 25 million points, or play the “video mode” shuttle cavern. If the player selects the video mode, the player has to go through the caverns in a shuttle, picking up 10 million point cards while avoiding mines and cavern walls. There is an extra ball card somewhere in the caverns, as well as artifact (see below). Reaching the Extra Ball is achieved by alternating Left, Left, Right, Right turns until cavern 7. Depending on how many Extra Balls have already been earned and the games Extra Ball probability configuration it may end up either an Extra Ball or a 10 million point card. Once an Extra Ball has been earned in the Holodeck all subsequent Holodeck runs will not award any Extra Balls, regardless of the path chosen. Collecting the artifact, clearing all caverns, or crashing into a mine or wall immediately ends the video mode scoring the points collected in the mode. A maximum score of 159 million points is possible for a flawless run. At the start of the Holodeck mode, pressing a flipper button along with pulling the launch trigger starts a “Riker’s Poker Night” video mode. Kickback – Shooting the three left yellow targets lights Kickback, which saves the ball from draining from the left outlane. If the game is in tournament mode this must initially be earned. Otherwise the game starts out with the Kickback lit. The Kickback can be recharged unlimited times by hitting the appropriate targets after it had been depleted. Shuttle Ramp – Each shot at the Beta Quadrant Ramp launches a shuttle which a certain number of launched shuttles can reward a player. Rewards could be Light Holodeck, Command Decision, or Extra Balls. Between the ramps are two small targets when hit, adds two times the shuttle to the counter.