Galactic Pinball

******************************************************************************* Galactic Pinball for Virtual Boy FAQ by BHodges Version 1.1 Created 07/13/02 Updated 02/21/05 This document Copyright 2002-2005 by Brian Hodges. This FAQ is not to be posted without explicit permission by me. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. ******************************************************************************* Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Adjusting the Virtual Boy III. Automatic Pause and Low Battery IV. Game Basics A. Intro from the Instruction Book B. Pinball Terminology C. Controls D. Two Moves That You MUST Master!! V. The Tables A. Cosmic B. Colony C. UFO D. Alien VI. My High Scores VII. Beating the Game VIII. Game Review IX. Version History X. Contact Information ******************************************************************************* I. Introduction This is a FAQ for the Virtual Boy game Galactic Pinball. It contains a list of controls, a description of each table, and a game review. ******************************************************************************* II. Adjusting the Virtual Boy If you have never used a Virtual Boy before, here is how to adjust the screen. On the screen that says 'Virtual Boy' and has squares in the corners, turn the dial on top until you can see all four squares. Then use the sliding bar until the screen is in focus. ******************************************************************************* III. Automatic Pause and Low Battery If you leave this option on, the game will pause automatically every 20 minutes to remind you to rest your eyes. When you resume play, there will be a five second delay before the puck starts moving again. If you see a flashing battery on screen then the batteries are low and need to be replaced. ******************************************************************************* IV. Game Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Intro from the Instruction Book Cosmic History, 2100 AD The vast expanse of the Milky Way Galaxy is unfathomable. It has seen empires rise and fall, wars rage and peace reign. Many of its mysteries have been discovered only to slip back into obscurity. And now, from the very depths of the galaxy comes the news of a very strange world ... Welcome to the space world, Lets Go!! You can choose between four different tables to play. Each one is unique. You begin with five pucks. Complete objectives to score major points. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Pinball Terminology Flipper The triangles that you hit the puck with. Plunger Any hole you can put the puck into. Bumpers Objects that, when hit by your puck, will cause the puck to bounce off and earn you some points. Center Post You may earn one of these while playing. It will appear in between the bottom two flippers to help keep your puck from falling through. It will disappear once it is hit. Kickback Like a center post except will appear in the lanes to the far left or right to block your puck from falling. These will also disappear after they are hit. A superkickback is the same except you get three instead of one. Drop Target Look like Scrabble squares that are located in different places. Hit all of them in a group to do various things. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C. Controls Note: CP stands for control pad Right CP Controls right flippers Left CP Controls left flippers R button Controls right flippers L button Controls left flippers Note: I find it easier to use the R and L buttons than the CPs. Start Pause A button Launch puck, stop roulette wheel, fire in mini-games B button Shake table, be careful not to cause a Tilt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D. Two Moves That You MUST Master!! Cradling the Puck To cradle the puck, hold down the respective flippers button and catch the puck at the bottom of the 'V' allowing you to keep the puck still and plan your next move. Passing the Puck Passing the puck between the two bottom flippers is essential for racking up the big scores. To pass the puck, cradle it in one of the bottom flippers. Then let go of the button and let the flipper straighten out. As soon as the puck begins to move, hit the button again and hold it down. This should cause the puck bounce off the object in front of the flipper and head softly towards the other flipper. Then cradle the puck in this flipper. This technique makes it much easier to hit specific targets. ******************************************************************************* V. The Tables ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Cosmic Background story from the instruction book: "You are the pilot in the Space Federation investigating the mysteries of the Milky Way. Many dangers await you including space pirates. Use your pinball skills to solve the mysteries." Table Description This table has three flippers, the two at the bottom and the extra one at the top left. In front of the bottom flippers there are three rocks. Your puck will go through these. In the middle of the screen there is a meteor moving back and forth. This will stop your puck. In the middle of the right side of the table are four drop targets. At the top left there is a planet with a hole in it. At the top right are three bumpers. Kickback Bonus If you hit one of the rocks in front of the flippers it will turn into what looks like a kickback. If you hit it again it will disappear. Hit it again to turn it back into a rock. Make all three look like kickbacks to get a kickback for the left and right far lanes. Bonus Game Collect three bonus tokens (they look like circles with stars inside) to enter the bonus game or get 500,000 points instantly. In the bonus game you have to hit stars with your puck. Each star is worth 5,000 points. There are four waves of stars. Hit all the stars in a wave to get a 1,000,000 point bonus. Bonus Chance Hit the plunger located in the middle of the right side of the table for a chance at a 1,000,000 point bonus. You will have 20 seconds to get the puck inside of the planet. The timer is located on the left side of the screen. If you manage to get the puck into the planet before time expires, then you get the million points. Bonus Roulette Hit the plunger located in the middle left of the table to play bonus roulette. Stop the wheel with A. Prizes - Center Post - Meteor Clash (Destroys the meteor moving around the middle of the table) - Super Kickback - A C-O-S-M-I-C letter - 2X Bonus (Multiplies your next Lost Bonus by two) Lane Change Hit all four drop targets to make the lane change at the top left change. There are four different lengths. If you hit all four drop targets while the lane is at the fourth length, it will shrink back to its original length. Please note that at all four lengths, there is an opening at the end of length one, which is located at the middle of the top of the screen. At length three (after you hit all the targets twice), it is very easy to get the Metroid mini-game. At length four, if the puck travels all the way down to the right flipper, you will get a target token. Get five target tokens for a chance at the jackpot, which is worth 7,000,000 points. To get the jackpot, shoot the puck over the ramp that the blinking arrow is pointing to. Lane Point Values: (Get these by traveling the entire length starting at the left. Length 1: 20,000 points Length 2: 60,000 points Length 3: 80,000 points Length 4: 120,000 points Spell C-O-S-M-I-C Spell COSMIC to get 1,000,000 bonus points. You get letters by hitting the plunger in the top right of the table or from bonus roulette. Metroid Mini-Game The Metroid mini-game is my favorite part of Galactic Pinball. In the mini-game, you are Samus Aran, a bounty hunter fighting space pirates. You control her ship in a Galaga style battle against the pirates. There are a total of 50 enemies. Get this by first hitting the plunger that is underneath the three bumpers at the top right of the screen. You will get a message that says Bumper Clash. During this time, after a bumper has been hit a certain number of times it will explode. Destroy all three bumpers to make a Metroid icon appear (it looks like a S). Hit the icon with your puck to enter the Metroid mini-game. Use the left CP to control the ship and A to shoot. Each enemy you kill is worth 5,000 points. If you get hit once, the mini-game ends. If you make it to the end of the mission, you get a Mission Complete message. If you hit every enemy and complete the mission, you get a Perfect. Your prize for a perfect is an extra puck. UFO There is a UFO hovering around the middle of the table each time you launch a puck. If you hit it when you launch the puck, the puck will go into the planet hole and you will get a bonus token. Extra Puck Bonus Get a Perfect in the Metroid mini-game to get an extra puck. Jackpot The jackpot here is worth 7,000,000 points. You get a chance at it after the you get the five target tokens after the fourth lane change. Shoot the puck over the ramp the blinking arrow is pointing at to send your puck flying off the table and get the jackpot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Colony Background story from the instruction book: "This pinball table represents a large, deep-space colony adrift in the cosmos. Enter the special game to protect the colony from collisions with asteriods." Table description This table only has two flippers. You start out with kickbacks in the lanes to the far left and right. The main points of interest are the five plungers with arrows in front of them. Hit them with pucks to complete target formations. The object in the middle of the table has a plunger in the top. The radar screen on the left shows how far away the next comets are. Bonus Roulette Hit the puck into the plunger at the top of the object in the middle of the table to play Bonus Roulette. Press A to stop the wheel. Prizes: A chance to win 1,000,000 bonus points A center post Two super kickbacks A C-O-L-O-N-Y letter Bonus Game Collect five bonus tokens (they look like circles with a star inside) to either play a bonus game or get 500,000 points right away. You get tokens by shooting the puck into a plunger that can be reached by shooting the puck to the very top right. In the Bonus Game, you must hit stars with your puck. You get three pucks and there are four waves of stars. Each star you hit is worth 5,000 points Hit all the stars in a group for a 1,000,000 point bonus. Spell R-E-S-C-U-E Spell this to make a UFO appear that will catch your puck if it gets close enough. The puck will then orbit the UFO. Press A to make the UFO fire the puck. Use this to hit those hard to reach places. You get these letters when you shoot the puck into a target plunger that doesn't have its arrows flashing. Spell C-O-L-O-N-Y Spell the word COLONY to receive 500,000 bonus points, You get letters from bonus roulette. Comets Every few minutes comets will threaten the colony. You can see how close they are by checking the radar screen on the far left. When they get too close an alarm will sound for several seconds. Then the puck will turn into a gun. Gun Controls Up on left CP Aim lower Down on left CP Aim higher Left on left CP Aim to the left Right on left CP Aim to the right A button Fire There will be six comets in each wave. You get bonus points based on how much shields are left and how many of your shots hit comets. Max bonus is 120,000 points. Target Formations This is where the big points are on this table. The seven target formations are listed right above the flippers. The name of the current target formation will be flashing. To complete each one, hit a puck into all the plungers that have flashing arrows in front of them. You may have to hit plungers more than one time. After you hit the last one, you will get bonus points and move on to the next formation. After you finish Ganymede, you will get a chance for the jackpot. After this the formation goes back to Orion for 100,000 points again and so on. Point Values: Orion 100,000 Mercury 200,000 Andromeda 300,000 Mars 500,000 Europa 1,000,000 Callisto 2,000,000 Ganymede 3,000,000 Jackpot 6,000,000 Extra Puck Bonus Unknown Jackpot The jackpot here is worth 6,000,000 points. You get a chance for the jackpot after completing target formation Ganymede. Shoot the puck into the plunger that the blinking arrow is pointing at to get the jackpot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C. UFO Background story from the instruction book: "In this pinball challenge, you will be called upon to remote control a UFO in order to defeat the Evil Skeleton and cash in on the jackpot." Table Description This is the simplest table. When you start out there is a UFO at the top. It will take off after 10 seconds. There are two plungers on the sides that can be opened by hitting the flashing symbols at the top. Flying Bonus At the start of the game, you have 10 seconds to get the puck into the plunger on the right before the UFO takes off. The time remaining when you hit the plunger will be multiplied by one of the three multipliers to determine the point bonus. Bonus Bumper Above the arches are four dark triangles. Hit them to light them up. Light up all four for a Bonus Bumper, a red dot under the middle arch. Hit it with the puck to make the UFO return. Skeleton When the UFO returns, it will leave a skull behind. Shoot the puck into its mouth for 2,000,000 points or the bones at its sides for 300,000 points. Shoot the puck into its mouth three times to receive the 9,000,000 point jackpot. Target Chance Hit the left flashy thingy at the top of the screen to open the plunger on the right for a Target Chance. There should be a flashing arrow pointing to the plunger. Shoot the puck into the right plunger to receive a letter. Spell U-F-O Spell the word UFO for a 500,000 point bonus. You get letters from Target Chance. Bonus Chance Hit the right flashy thingy at the top of the screen to open up the plunger on the right for a Bonus Chance. There should be a flashing arrow pointing to the plunger on the right. Shoot the puck into it to receive a bonus token. Bonus Game Collect three bonus tokens (they look like circles with stars inside) to enter the bonus game or get 500,000 points instantly. In the bonus game you have to hit stars with your puck. Each star is worth 5,000 points. There are four waves of stars. Hit all the stars in a wave to get a 1,000,000 point bonus. Arrows Hit a puck through the left and right arches at the top to make arrows appear at the top right and left. If you hit your puck into these. It will bounce back and forth between them allowing you to rack up points. Bonus Roulette Send the puck through the middle arch at the top of the table for a chance at bonus roulette. Hit the puck into the plunger at the left, there should be an arrow pointing to it. Prizes: Center Post Super Kickback Lucky Star game (2) Lucky Star Games The two star balls on the roulette are the two lucky star games. The first one has ten stars and the second eight. The object is to hit all of the stars with your puck within the time limit. Ten star is very tricky because you can only it the stars when they are on the far right or left. Eight Star Bonus: 1,000,000 Ten Star Bonus: 2,000,000 Extra Puck Bonus Unknown Jackpot Hit the puck into the skeleton's mouth three times to get the jackpot. It is worth 9,000,000 points. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D. Alien Background story from the instruction book: "There are wicked aliens out there in the galaxy! Make them appear, destroy them, and collect the jackpot." Table Description This table has four flippers. There is a group of three bumpers in the center of the table. At the center of the top is a plunger labeled "Alien's Lair". Aliens Hit the puck into the plunger marked "Alien's Lair" to make the three bumpers in the middle turn into an alien. There are four different aliens. Hit the alien with your puck a few times to make the bonus chance appear. You will then have two opportunities to get bonus points. First you must hit the puck into the plunger on the right for some points. Then you will have to hit the puck into the alien's lair for more. After the third alien where you get an extra puck chance. After the fourth alien you will have a chance for the jackpot. Hit the puck into the Alien's Lair while an alien is out to receive a center post. Alien 1 - First Bonus: 500,000 - Second Bonus: 1,000,000 Alien 2 - First Bonus: 1,000,000 - Second Bonus: 2,000,000 Alien 3 - First Bonus: 2,000,000 - Second Bonus: Extra Puck Alien 4 - First Bonus: 3,000,000 - Jackpot: 10,000,000 Paths Hit the paths that start at the top left or right and lead to the flippers for 150,000 points. Spell A-L-I-E-N Spell ALIEN to get a 500,000 point bonus. You get letters by hitting the plunger in the middle of the right side. Bonus Game Collect five bonus tokens (they look like circles with stars inside) to enter the bonus game or get 500,000 points instantly. The bonus tokens are received by putting the puck into the plunger in the upper left. In the bonus game you have to hit stars with your puck. Each star is worth 5,000 points. There are four waves of stars. Hit all the stars in a wave to get a 1,000,000 point bonus. Drop Targets Hit all the drop targets to make extra paths appear for a short time. Shoot the puck into the plunger at the top of the path for a 300,000 point bonus. Extra Puck Bonus After you get the initial bonus from the third alien, you will have a chance to hit the puck in the top left plunger to earn an extra puck. Jackpot You get a chance for the jackpot after the fourth alien. It is worth 10,000,000 points. ******************************************************************************* VI. My High Scores These are my personal best scores for each table. Note: Please don't email me your scores, I am sure there are a lot of you who can do much better than this. Cosmic 50,582,500 Colony 44,567,800 UFO 147,537,500 Alien 44,598,000 ******************************************************************************* VII. Beating the Game To see the credits get a score of at least 50,000,000. ******************************************************************************* VIII. Game Review This is one of the best games available for the Virtual Boy. Definitely pick this one up if you get the opportunity. Pros - Excellent pinball gameplay. - Good variety of play. - Four tables to choose from. - Finally, a VB game that saves your high scores. - Excellent audio, it really showcases the VB's audio capabilities. A good deal of digitized voice, especially for an 8 meg cartridge. Try playing with headphones to get the full 3D effect. - The auto pause is set for a more reasonable amount of time. - The Metroid mini-game is awesome. - Unlike most pinball video games, the entire table fits on one screen, so there is no annoying scrolling to deal with. Cons - No two player mode, you will have to settle for taking turns and trying to beat each other's high scores. - Even when in focus, the pinball tables look a little fuzzy. - Why don't UFO and Alien have fun mini-games like Colony and Cosmic? ******************************************************************************* IX. Version History 1.0 07/13/02 Created FAQ, Cosmic and Alien are complete, Colony needs extra puck bonus, UFO needs extra puck bonus and the point bonus for completing the ten star Lucky Star. 1.1 02/21/05 Updated My High Scores. Updated contact info. Updated UFO ten star Lucky Star. Added some more legal stuff to the header. Expanded the Table of Contents and section labels. Made some formatting changes. ******************************************************************************* X. Contact Information You can contact me at Bhodges080@aol.com I would appreciate hearing what you thought of this guide and any thoughts you have for improving it. The only thing missing now are the extra puck bonuses for UFO and colony, any info on getting those or on anything I have missed would be great. Please don't send me emails about high scores. ******************************************************************************* End