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I talk about music and video games a fair bit on this site, but I don’t really think I’ve ever discussed another great love of mine; Pinball. I’m hardly a Tommy in the making, but it’s easily one of my favourite forms of parlour game, entirely because of how deceptively complex it is. Common misconception holds it that Pinball is entirely a game of chance, and that high scores are the result of luck rather then skill. That misconception lead to a very nasty connotation being tied to the game during a significant period of the 20th century- that it was played only by delinquents, gamblers, and even gangsters- leading to Pinball being outlawed entirely in a number of cities in the US. New York City infamously outlawed it between 1940 and 1976, due to then-mayor of the city Fiorello La Guardia’s belief that it “robbed schoolchildren of their hard earned nickels and dimes”. Without wishing to sound too preachy (or to weigh the article down with too much rambling), Pinball comes down to a lot more then mere chance; getting good at Pinball is entirely possible, and relies largely on an instinctual understanding of how physics work, as they pertain to the game.
Today, I’d like to talk to you about two Pinball tales that shaped my childhood- one physical, one virtual, and both very Booky. First of all, I’d like to talk about the officially licenced Bram Stoker’s Dracula pinball table.
So, full disclosure, I haven’t seen the Dracula adaptation that this table is based on. I didn’t even know it had Keanu Reeves in it for years, because his likeness appears nowhere on the table or the backglass; therefore, my love for the table doesn't come from any mental connection with the movie. The table was put out in 1993 by Williams, one of the premier producers of Pinball tables back during it’s heyday, and a household name even among casual fans due to their table based on the Addams Family licence (which is still the best selling Pinball Table of all time even today). You can check the following link for a full list of Dracula's designer credits, and further information about the technical aspects of the table itself. My own personal attachment to the machine goes all the way back to my very early childhood; during it’s more fiscally lucrative years, the low-key pub sat at the end of my road had a Bram Stoker’s Dracula machine in their lounge, which hooked young-me immediately because hey, spooky stuff is cool. It was the first proper pinball machine I had ever played, so far as I can recall, and it certainly left an impression. The blood-red Dot Matrix display, imposing backglass, grim sounding FM Synth music provided by Paul Heitsch, and Dracula’s dry quip of “Aren’t you forgetting something?” when hitting the ball-launch mechanism without any credits inserted all stuck out in my memory for years before I rediscovered the machine in my late teens, and it still holds a very special place in my heart. Shit, I’d still probably name it as my favourite pin machine of all time, if only for the memories alone.
Regarding how it plays, though, I need to waffle on a little more about Pinball in general (and shatter another preconception in the process). A lot of folks think Pinball- all Pinball- is simple, consisting of not much more then “shoot the ball in the holes, get points, sometimes a Jackpot happens, and I dunno, multi-ball or something”. Certainly a number of the machines produced during the early era of Pinball as we know it would fall into that category, but around about the mid to late 80s, the rule sets for pinball gradually began to grow incredibly complicated. In addition to the growing complexity, defining definite “end” states to a Pinball machine also became a thing, meaning Pinball shifted towards being a game you could “win” rather then an endless “play for points” affair. By the time the 90s had rolled in, Pinball machines that didn’t ship with multi-page rule sets were considered either average at best, or
even outright bad amongst the hardcore crowd. Dracula itself wasn’t an especially popular machine, seen as a step down in terms of complexity- and therefor customer satisfaction- from Williams’ previous effort with Addams Family, and it hasn’t grown that much more popular as time’s gone on. With that in mind, here’s a fan-compiled rule set for Bram Stoker’s Dracula in full. The length of the page itself is already probably a bit overwhelming for some of you.Said rule set defines the games’ goals as based on the various modes you can enter in game, but arguably one of the main draws of the machine- certainly one that was pushed by Williams in their marketing- is the fact it has three different Multiball modes, all of which can be stacked in any combination. In fact, if you’re playing for points, this is arguably the goal of the machine for you; when two modes are stacked, Jackpots as doubled, and when all three modes are active, they’re tripled. Unfortunately the machine only has four balls, so only four balls will be in play during stacked multiball modes, but hey. Castle and Coffin are both based on Locks- I.E., the balls are locked, another is put into play, and when all Locks are activated the balls are released back into play (both of these modes also put out 3 balls as Standard, although according to the above rule set Castle Multiball can be a bit finicky with its ball output). Mist, however, is easily the most interesting Multiball mode on the table- and one of the most interesting I’ve seen in general- entirely due to how it functions: there’s a green trail of mist that runs along the middle of the lower portion of the playfield. When Mist Multiball is triggered, a magnet actually pulls a single ball along the trail (backed by Dracula’s ghostly wailing and wind noises, for ambiance). To activate it, you have to knock the ball from the trail before it moves from the right side of the machine to the other. The end result is a very fast, and often very hectic game that kinda runs away from the established modes of completion, but it definitely makes for a fun, if difficult experience. Trying to achieve stacked multiballs alongside all the other goals the game outlines- completing the Bat and Rat modes, destroying Dracula’s concubines etc.- it can become downright maddening. The playfield itself is also pretty cool, from it’s bright colours to the various toys and models adorning it- the Coffin prop featuring the titular bloodsucker himself is an especially nice touch.The Video Mode is also kinda neat as well. For those unfamiliar, Video Mode is a form of play where action on the table ceases, and the player engages in a minigame that takes place entirely in the display window. The games are always fairly simple, but are often deceptively challenging. Dracula’s video mode features werewolves running towards the player across six rows- three on the left, three on the right- starting fairly slow and growing faster as the game progresses. All you need to do is hit the left or right flipper to shoot at the oncoming werewolves, although you do have limited ammunition and it’s entirely possible to miss by shooting in the wrong direction. The closer the werewolf, the higher the score it gives you, and surviving the mode gives you a base value of 5 million points along with additional payouts for any remaining bullets you have (and by default, you have five more bullets then there are werewolves in any given round of the mode). Letting the wolves get too close, however, results in you being eaten, and the mode ending without any bonus at all.
Due to the machine’s relative unpopularity, it appears to be somewhat scarce; I’ve only ever seen the one machine myself, and apparently only 6,801 units were produced in total. However, there is a silver lining; as of this writing, it is currently one of the many machines that have been digitally recreated as part of The Pinball Arcade project by Farsight Studios. Specifically, it’s part of their “Season 3” table pack. Though it’s not going to be an exact one-for-one experience, the Pinball Arcade recreations are consistently as true-to-life as they can possibly be, and are well worth trying out if you’re interested in getting into Pinball! If you’d like to see a video of the game in action (with commentary from someone who’s far more knowledgeable about high-level Pinball play then I am), then you can check that out below.
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If Dracula is a table I’m fond of largely for personal nostalgia, then the following is one I’m fond of almost entirely due to familiarity with it (and maybe a little nostalgia, too).
Psycho Pinball is a pinball simulator put out by the infamous UK studio Codemasters. The studio is known as much for it’s successes- the locally-ultra-popular Dizzy series, for example- as it is flops- The Sword And The Rose, which is... let’s say “deeply flawed”. Thankfully, Psycho Pinball is at the “great” end of the Codemasters Spectrum. Hell, I’d go so far as to say it ranks as one of the greatest achievements, alongside the aforementioned Dizzy titles and their Micro Machines games, and that it should be held in the same regard as the pinball games by Digital Illusions.
The main draw of Psycho Pinball is that it features 4 tables, and each of them bring something slightly different to the... erm, table. For example, the Wild West table features a tall layout with a high skill floor (making scoring quite difficult unless you’re an expert), and The Abyss is the only table of the four to feature an upper playfield with an additional set of flippers. The titular table- Psycho- is arguably the most interesting; in addition to it’s bright Carnival theming and fast-paced gameplay, it actually connects to all three of the other tables by way of shots that can be lit. Hitting these shots will take the ball to another table for a round. When you lose the ball in one of the other tables, it returns to Psycho with no other penalty, and the status of all the tables elements remains intact the next time you visit it, so you can pick up right where you left off. It’s a really cool feature, and not one I’ve encountered in any other pin sim I’ve played.
The fourth table is the one I’d like to focus on, though; Trick Or Treat. How does it differ from the others? Firstly, it’s the smallest and most compact of all of them, meaning all the shots are fairly close together, and it’s easier to rack up points in quick succession. It’s also very easy to lose balls too, however, so it’s not as easy at it may initially seem. Another major difference is that it is the only table to feature true Multiball; The Abyss has some multiball features, but it only allows for two balls in play at once. The third difference- and arguably a downer- is that it is the only table not to feature a fully fledged minigame; each of the other tables features a shot that takes the player to a fleshed out challenge featuring the game’s mascot (an Armadillo also called Psycho) having to overcome some sort of challenge, such as taking out bandits on a train in Wild West or escaping a whales’ stomach in The Abyss. They’re essentially expansions on the basic Video Mode concept (although the game doesn't feature traditional Video Modes by way of the in-game Dot Matrix display). A minigame was intended to feature in Trick Or Treat, but didn’t make it due to time constraints. A damn shame, for sure.
Overall, how does the table stack up? Really, it depends on the individual; I’ve seen retrospectives on the game from people who didn’t rate it highly as an individual table, or even at all, and I’ve seen people- much like me- who really like it. I consider it my favourite of the tables in the game, and often play it in solo mode play over any other. Partially this is down to the theming; all the tables are very strongly themed, and Trick Or Treat is no exception. It perfectly captures that very specific “Halloween” vibe, from the stereotypical Witch featured on the playfield, the
Pumpkin your balls fires out of when launched, the horrifying tree fixture that serves as the Ball Lock for multiball, and even the little black cat and spider adorning the two flipper bumpers. A good chunk of the playfield is also taken up by a multi-tiered haunted house, with the lower level featuring hidden bumpers and the upper one being lavishly decorated with decrepit fixtures- and even a knife lain aside a splash of blood. Very booky indeed. This theming even extends to the modes themselves, with one that activates after collecting a number of standard magic potion ingredients- Tail Of Newt, Tongue Of Toad etc.- that makes the ball glow(!) and causes every shot to dish out higher point payloads. The ingredients can be tracked on the playfield, as a neat touch, by way of what’s lit on the rack beneath the Witch. Special mention has to go to the music, composed by Tim Bartlett. All of the game’s music is phenomenal both compositionally and technically- the main theme especially rocks hard- but in terms of really capturing the tone and feel of the table, Trick Or Treat’s Main Theme rates as the best for me personally. I put it down to the combo of the melodies themselves (particularly the bassline and the second section's leading melody), as well as little touches like Tim’s attempts at emulating Woodblocks and Bells using the YM2612 sound chip. Perhaps I’m biassed, but the song just sounds like how I imagine October 31st would sound if, y’know, it was a song instead of a date.If I had to be impartial, however, the table does have some drawbacks. The worst is easily the fact that, due to the angle of the Pit Shot flipper on the left hand side of the playfield, drains down that outlane are fairly common. The lack of a minigame, whilst ultimately superfluous, does leave the table feeling a little lacking- that it’s much smaller and there’s arguably less to do in it probably doesn't help with that. I make the argument that it’s still a very solid table to play for points on, and that the strong theming and absolutely solid gameplay of Psycho Pinball as a whole- seriously, top notch ball physics here- make it a real charmer. It’s probably the pinball table, virtual or otherwise, that I’ve sunk the most time into- although don’t take that to mean I’m any good at it.
It’s worth noting that all my comments relate to the Mega Drive version of the game; Psycho Pinball was also released on DOS in 1995 with souped up graphics, arranged music, and entirely new minigames for each table (except for Trick Or Treat, which still doesn't have one for some baffling reason). I’ve never played that version, so I’ve no idea how it compares, but I’ve heard good things about it. If you’d like to see gameplay footage of solely the Trick Or Treat table, then check out the video below. The Mega Drive version of the game, sadly, is European exclusive, so bare that in mind if you intend to purchase a copy. The DOS version, however, did recieve an American release- although how easy that'll be to play on modern hardware/using DOSBox, I have no idea.
~ Decon (07/10/16)
images sourced from pinside.com, pinballbulbs.com, castleclassicarcade.com, warosu.org/vr/, and blimeyboyo.wordpress.com
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