Together Retro: Pinball Arcade

[Ivo]

On the tablet it works pretty well, but I'm still like 2x better on the keyboard and mouse controls (mouse for plunger). I think the tablet can be better for nudging but I haven't pulled off a single bang back on this table. I also like it when tables have center pins to mitigate SDTM.

In my preference tables would be better off designed for no nudging and built into a rock-solid encasing that wouldn't allow shaking the playing field. Maybe that is because I suck at nudging but I recently discovered some pinball competitions forbid several nudge techniques.

[retrosportsgamer]

I managed to pull off a Death Save on Big Shot! So that was cool.

I have no idea how the "shake" nudging works. Side to side? I feel like that would be the most natural and still can't pull it off on the iPhone.

[ExedExes]

Got another Wizard Goal on Whodunnit (Penthouse Party, something that's easy to do for real!), but only got half my best score.

I also started Taxi today. I last played that when it was new in the late 80s. Simple design but somewhat frustrating thanks to the inlane/outlane design. 4/5 standard goals complete.

Which leads me to why I hate plunger lane skill shot goals on TPA. Taxi doesn't have one per se, but the goals like "Get 200K on skill shot" on The Machine Bride of Pin-Bot or the skill shot goal on Roadshow for example. Taxi has the Spinout, but it always seems to go its own way, no matter how much virtual power you apply to the plunger. Do it a little, get the maximum 100K, pull all the way back, manage only 50K.

[ejamer]

I said earlier that I tend to be anti-nudge when playing pinball, but getting the best possible result from the Taxi skill shot is much easier that way. You just have to figure out the right timing, and can exert a lot of control over how fast/long the ball spins.

[ExedExes]

I said earlier that I tend to be anti-nudge when playing pinball, but getting the best possible result from the Taxi skill shot is much easier that way. You just have to figure out the right timing, and can exert a lot of control over how fast/long the ball spins.

I was trying that, if only to get the 25K/spot Pinbot out of the way. Nice to have him appear there, but you best pick him up fast so he won't ANNOY YOU the rest of the current ball you're on. Nevermind his drop targets are in a really bad spot on the table, they bounce off and go straight down those short, thin rails separating the inlane & outlane.

[retrosportsgamer]

I like Taxi a good bit. Definitely one of my favorite older tables. My best score is 4,670,620
and i've got 3 of the 5 Wizard goals thanks to a run earlier tonight. Still need the Crossover bonus and million point shot.

[ExedExes]

I like Taxi a good bit. Definitely one of my favorite older tables. My best score is 4,670,620
and i've got 3 of the 5 Wizard goals thanks to a run earlier tonight. Still need the Crossover bonus and million point shot.

Just before press time, I tried it again only to find those 4/5 standard goals I had ERASED. Yay for TPA bugs. Then I had the game of my life. Re-acquired all the goals this time, and because only *I* can get Wizard Goals during a playthough in which I get all the standard goals, happened to also get 5x bonus, 300k express lane bonus, jackpot, crossover bonus (the latter 2 are now Wizard Goals, of course ) and a score of 4.4 million.

This means it's time to get those wizard goals.

Interesting note to end on: The real Taxi machine I played circa late-1989 had the Marilyn Monroe character as a passenger. The story goes (from IPDB.org):

The first games in production were made with a blonde 'Marilyn' taxi passenger, a likeness of Marilyn Monroe. This was changed during production to be a darker-haired 'Lola', ostensibly a likeness of no one famous.

We asked Roger Sharpe about the reason for this change. He replies:

Suffice it to say that we did have some limited run of machines featuring a 'blonde Marilyn' — and I don’t know if these were for international only. However, we were informed that there were rights that needed to be secured in order to use Marilyn and the decision was made to just alter the artwork so that the female character was renamed ‘Lola’ for the main production run. If memory serves, and I can’t say with certainty—there might be games that were manufactured with a brunette Lola and then a redheaded Lola.

The changes needed to introduce 'Lola' include backglass art, playfield art, game software, and instruction card.

According to Mark Ritchie, as explained in the book The Pinball Compendium 1982 to Present, at least 200 sample games were in the process of being shipped with 'Marilyn' before the change had to be made. He also explained the name 'Lola' was taken from a 1970s song about a transvestite, chosen to befit her muscular arms as depicted on the backglass.

[ExedExes]

After I got off here, I went back to Taxi, easily got 4 wizard goals, but couldn't get that crossover bonus again. I did however manage to hit a few million shots.

[ejamer]

Taxi
Although I haven't played Taxi recently, it was also one of my favorites from the Wii version of Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection and I had unlocked everything there. (Are they the same goals? Are there any meaningful differences between those older games and more recent releases via The Pinball Arcade?)

Tales of the Arabian Nights
Still plugging away at Tales of the Arabian Nights, and had a pretty solid game today. Saved the princess, "completed" all Wizard goals (of course, still haven't gotten a Harem Multi-ball so it doesn't count), and ended with a nice - still not awesome - 120 million points.

Even though it's quite easy, this is a fun table. The missions are quick and always give you something to do. There are tons of ways to score points, so you can pick and choose what kind of strategy you want to use. And it's just got a sense of fun and silliness in the theme that appeals to me.

What a relief to actually save the princess this time instead of getting all the gems required then promptly losing all remaining balls without activating the mission. Does anyone know exactly what the goals are once you enter that princess multi-ball mode though? I just kept launching everything and banging away until the genie was defeated without even really knowing what I was supposed to do.

I'll come back and keep playing Tales going forward, but today's game convinced me that I've seen enough of the table to branch out and try some others without feeling like it's gotten short shrift.


Not yet sure where to go to next. I've thought about a licensed table - Star Trek or Twilight Zone maybe - although Champion Pub, Black Knight, and PinBot are all tempting me also. I'll probably just jump around for a bit and sample different tables until finding something that grabs me.

Got another Wizard Goal on Whodunnit (Penthouse Party, something that's easy to do for real!), but only got half my best score.

What do you think about Whodunnit? This looked like an interesting table, and I love the theme. Is it fun to play? I've only bought the first two seasons of tables so far, but expect to pick out a few appealing tables from later seasons as well. Just not sure which ones yet.

[ExedExes]

(Are they the same goals? Are there any meaningful differences between those older games and more recent releases via The Pinball Arcade?)

I haven't played the Williams collection, but the Gottlieb collections all had one goal per table. The differences with the re-releases on TPA could possibly be improved tables and bugfixes, because even those tables get updates in newer versions.

Does anyone know exactly what the goals are once you enter that princess multi-ball mode though? I just kept launching everything and banging away until the genie was defeated without even really knowing what I was supposed to do.

Defeat 8 skeletons by making the flashing shots, then complete more flashing shots to get the bottle to your side, that's it.

What do you think about Whodunnit? This looked like an interesting table, and I love the theme. Is it fun to play? I've only bought the first two seasons of tables so far, but expect to pick out a few appealing tables from later seasons as well. Just not sure which ones yet.

I've played it for real a bunch of times, so I already knew it and liked it. The murder mysteries was a feature that you'd not see in a regular straightforward pinball game, so there was that extra interactive element. The elevator and slot machine also make it fun. If you know what you're doing (and get some nice roulette bets won), you can get many points here.