Space Jam (pinball)
Space Jam is a 1996 pinball machine released by Sega Pinball. It is based on the film of the same name.
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| Manufacturer | Sega Pinball |
|---|---|
| Release date | December 1996 |
| System | Sega WhiteStar |
| Design | Joe Kaminkow, Orin Day, Lonnie D. Ropp |
| Programming | Lonnie D. Ropp, Orin Day |
| Artwork | Morgan Weistling |
| Music | Brian Schmidt |
| Sound | Brian Schmidt |
| Production run | 7,019 |
Features
The Space Jam pinball machine has many noteworthy features that make up its pinball experience. On the main playfield, there are six red arrows pointing to critical targets. From left to right, they are as follows: Left Loop, Captive Ball, Basket, Jump Ball, Ramp, and Right Loop. These targets help players complete some of the seven planets surrounding Michael Jordan as well as score jackpots in Multiball mode.
There is also a basket at the end of the launch ramp for skill shot opportunities. Before launching the ball with the plunger, players can choose an award to receive upon a successful skill shot into the launch basket: 300,000 points, Lite Lock / Lock Ball (advances one level up in the Jump Ball), Wabbit Hole (randomly selects a mystery prize or minigame to be played), or Super Pops (increases the bumper threshold's strength). If the player does not make the basket, 50,000 points will still be awarded. However, if the player does make the basket and had selected 300,000 points, Lite Lock / Lock Ball, or Super Pops, he/she will be given a few seconds to earn a super skill shot by shooting the left basket ramp for 10 basketball points.
The coin lock door has 3 buttons. Two of them control the volume, while the third opens the Settings Menu. The menu allows players to adjust various settings such as the level of difficulty, frequency of extra ball awards, tilt sensitivity, and lighting. Changing the level of difficulty affects the requirements to unlock certain minigames as well as the time limit to complete certain tasks.
Objectives
One of the main objectives of Space Jam, like any other pinball game, is to score a lot of points by manipulating the ball's movements on the playfield with the flippers to hit various targets. A second but important objective of the game is to enter Final Jam mode, which helps increase players' scores significantly. In order to lite Final Jam, players must complete the seven planets that surround Michael Jordan in the middle of the playfield: Fast Break, Fire, In Yer Face, Rebounds, Slam, Space Jam, and Super Jackpot. As soon as all 7 planets are lit, the Final Jam light will blink, signaling players to shoot the basket to play Final Jam. After Final Jam is over, players can attempt to go through this cycle as many times as they can until Ball 3 ends.
Fast Break (Fast Break Minigame)
To lite the Fast Break planet, players must shoot the Left and Right Loops to complete each of their series of lights. The Left Loop features Road Runner whose famous phrase "Beep! Beep!" is inscribed on the 4 yellow lights. The Right Loop has the Tasmanian Devil; rather than words, random symbols particularly used to censor inappropriate language are written on the 4 yellow lights. When the final light is complete, the Fast Break minigame will begin.
The Fast Break minigame requires players to shoot the Ramp as many times as possible within a certain amount of time, which is indicated not by seconds but by the jackpot counter. The jackpot starts at 200,000 and works its way up to 700,000. The game ends 5 seconds after the jackpot stops at 700,000.
Fire (On Fire Minigame)
To lite the Fire planet, players must shoot the Ramp four times to spell F-I-R-E. As soon as the E is complete, the Basket arrow will flash, and the sirens will indicate the beginning of the On Fire minigame.
The objective of On Fire is to shoot the Basket as many times as possible within 24 seconds. The first shot is worth 50,000 points, the second is worth 150,000, the third is worth 250,000, and so on. In addition to these points, players can earn 10 basketball points for each shot made and advance closer toward the 300,000 and Extra Ball Lit bonuses.
The requirements to get another On Fire increase in difficulty each time the minigame is played. The player has a limited time to spell F-I-R-E before each letter disappears. The letters disappear more quickly after the player has played On Fire multiple times.
In Yer Face (In Yer Face Minigame)
There are two ways to lite the In Yer Face planet. The first is shooting the Captive Ball 3 times during regular play to complete the In-Yer-Face lights. The second way is playing the In Yer Face minigame. To enter this game, players can hit the three drop targets near the Pop Bumpers; they have pictures of Sylvester, Tweety Bird, and Lola. Hitting all 3 of them will make a Monstar appear. Initially, players must make 2 Monstars appear to play the minigame. After the minigame is over, players must make 1 additional Monstar appear in order to play the game again.
The objective of the In Yer Face minigame is to shoot the Captive Ball 3 times within 30 seconds. The first shot is worth 200,000 points, the second is worth 300,000, and the last is worth 400,000 points. Unlike the On Fire minigame, players cannot earn basketball points for each Captive Ball shot. However, if the player can shoot the Captive Ball 3 times before time is up, an Extra Ball Lit will be awarded. Afterwards, he/she can shoot the back of the Jump Ball to activate the Extra Ball.
Rebounds (Super Pops)
To lite the Rebounds planet, players must hit the Pop Bumpers a certain number of times. Players can increase their chances of getting Rebounds by selecting Super Pops prior to launching the ball. Super Pops enhances the strength of the bumpers, which will usually keep the ball inside the threshold for a longer period of time than under normal conditions. During Super Pops, the orange lights on top of the 3 bumpers will blink.
The first Rebounds award is worth 100,000. Each successive award adds 100,000 to the previous amount. Players will know they have achieved the award when they see a large piece of metal fall on Daffy Duck's head on the screen and hear him say, "You're despicable!"
Slam (Bonus Multiplier)
To lite the Slam planet, players must lite the S-L-A-M lanes located near the flippers. Players can rotate the configuration of the lights with the flipper buttons in order to allow the ball to pass over an unlit lane. When the fourth light is complete, the End-of-Ball Bonus will be doubled. Each successive completion will increase the multiplier by 1 until the multiplier reaches its maximum of 6. An Extra Ball Lit will be awarded to the player who can get the multiplier to 6 within one ball of play. Even if a player can get the multiplier to 6 in another ball, the Extra Ball Lit will not be awarded again; it occurs only once per game. After the maximum multiplier is attained, each successive Slam completion will add 200,000 points to the player's score. The multiplier resets to 1 for the next ball or extra ball.
Space Jam (Super Jam Minigame)
To lite the Space Jam planet, players must hit the tiny basketball targets on the side of the playfield to spell S-P-A-C-E J-A-M. Once the final target is hit, all 6 red arrows will flash, and the player thus enters the Super Jam minigame.
In Super Jam, players have to complete the 6 shots in any order within 30 seconds. The first shot is worth 50,000 points, the second is 150,000, the third 250,000, the fourth, 350,000, the fifth 450,000, and the sixth 550,000. In all the timed minigames, the clock pauses whenever the ball hits the Pop Bumper threshold.
Super Jackpot (Multiball Mode)
To lite the Super Jackpot planet, players must enter Multiball mode and complete the series of jackpots. To enter Multiball, players can shoot the Wabbit Hole where Bugs Bunny randomly chooses from a list of 3 events, or they can lock all 3 balls in the Jump Ball. When Multiball begins, there will be a total of 3 balls on the playfield. In order to keep playing Multiball, players must keep at least 2 of the balls on the playfield at all times. As soon as 1 ball remains, Multiball ends. Each Multiball attempt increases the number of times a player must shoot the Jump Ball to lock 3 balls and activate Multiball.
The jackpot starts at 500,000 points and increases by 2,000 for any target the balls hit on the playfield. The jackpot also increases by the same amount each time a ball passes over the lane sensors. The first target players must shoot is either the Ramp (for a regular jackpot) or the Basket (for a doubled jackpot). If the player loses 2 of the 3 balls prior to clearing either shot, there will be a timed opportunity to shoot the Jump Ball for a Multiball Restart. During the restart, players will have only 2 balls instead of 3 to make it easier. Failing to shoot the Jump Ball before time expires will end Multiball. Note: harder difficulty levels (as adjusted in the pinball's settings) do not have Multiball Restart.
After either the Basket or the Ramp is cleared, the arrows will change their configuration and flash toward the Left Loop, Jump Ball, and Right Loop. Once these shots are cleared, an arrow will flash toward the Captive Ball for the Super Jackpot. The Super Jackpot is double the value of the jackpot last attained (from either the Left Loop, Jump Ball, or Right Loop). If the player successfully shoots the Captive Ball, the Super Jackpot will be awarded, and the corresponding planet will be complete, advancing the player one step closer to Final Jam. Interestingly, if Multiball ends during the Super Jackpot attempt, the blue "Super Jackpot" arrow pointing toward the Captive Ball will flash for 4 seconds, giving players a chance to get the Super Jackpot despite not being in Multiball.
There is yet another jackpot after Super Jackpot. Players must shoot the Ramp to lite Super Duper Jackpot, which is triple the value of the Super Jackpot earned. Upon shooting the Ramp, players will be given a certain amount of time (depending on the pinball's difficulty settings) to shoot the Super Duper Jackpot target, which is a small red square behind the Pop Bumpers in the back of the playfield. If the player fails to achieve the Super Duper Jackpot in the allotted time, he/she can shoot the Ramp again to lite the Super Duper Jackpot target. There is no limit to the number of times a player can lite Super Duper Jackpot as long as 2 or 3 balls are still on the playfield. Moreover, the value of the Super Duper Jackpot increases with each failed attempt. Like Super Jackpot, if Multiball ends while Super Duper Jackpot is lit, players have 4 seconds to shoot the target as indicated by the flashing purple "Super Duper Jackpot" arrow. During Multiball, once the Super Duper Jackpot is earned, another cycle of Multiball begins from the initial jackpot targets (the Basket and the Ramp) valued at 500,000 points. Unlike the first Multiball cycle, where players could shoot either the Basket or the Ramp to advance to the next set of jackpot targets, subsequent cycles require players to shoot both the Basket and the Ramp to continue. Afterwards, the order of the jackpot target configurations is the same as in the first cycle. A player can theoretically play an unlimited number of Multiball cycles and rack up millions of points until he/she only has 1 ball remaining.
At the very beginning of Multiball, players will notice that the shot clock displays a certain amount of time depending on the pinball's difficulty settings. If the player shoots the Basket before time expires, all subsequent jackpots for the first cycle of Multiball will be doubled in value, and the shot clock resets. Shooting the Ramp as the first target, however, will prevent the player from being able to double the jackpot. After successfully doubling the jackpot, the player can now shoot either the Basket or the Ramp before time expires in order to triple the value of all subsequent jackpots. If the player is successful, the shot clock resets once more for a chance to quadruple the value of all subsequent jackpots by shooting either the Basket or the Ramp in the allotted time. It is important to note that when the Left Loop, Jump Ball, and Right Loop are activated after the first successful Basket shot, players must be careful not to shoot these 3 targets while the shot clock is running. Doing so will turn off the shot clock and prevent the player from being able to triple, and subsequently quadruple, the jackpot. Shooting any of the 3 targets after the second successful Basket shot will only prevent the player from being able to quadruple the jackpot. The opportunity to double, triple, and quadruple the jackpot is only found at the beginning of the first cycle of Multiball. It is not available when a player gets a Multiball Restart or begins the next cycle of Multiball following a Super Duper Jackpot.
Final Jam
After the 7 planets have been lit, players will be allowed to shoot the Basket during regular play to enter Final Jam mode. The objective of Final Jam is to shoot the Basket as many times as possible within 60 seconds to earn points. All 5 balls continuously enter the playfield upon drainage, so the game keeps going until the time runs out. The jackpot starts at 100,000 and increases whenever the balls hit other targets or pass over the lane sensors. Players can double the jackpot for a limited time by shooting either the Wabbit Hole or the Jump Ball. If the Basket is cleared before the shot clock expires, the doubled jackpot will be awarded, the jackpot will return to its previous value, and the ball will exit the Wabbit Hole or Jump Ball. If the player does not shoot the Basket but manages to get a second ball in the unoccupied Wabbit Hole or Jump Ball before the shot clock expires, the jackpot will triple, and there will be extra time on the shot clock. If the player cannot shoot the Basket in time for the doubled or tripled jackpot, the jackpot will return to its previous value, and the balls will be released from the Wabbit Hole and Jump Ball.
After the 60 seconds are up, the pinball will temporarily deactivate the flippers, bumpers, and slingshots until all 5 balls have drained. Regular play resumes with all 7 planets reset.
Other Wabbit Hole Features
In addition to the minigames associated with some of the Final Jam planets, the Wabbit Hole has plenty of other surprises.
1 on 1 Minigame
In this minigame, players must try to complete one of four permutations of the 6 main targets within 30 seconds. The first shot is worth 250,000, and each subsequent shot is 100,000 more points. The 4 possible permutations are as follows:
1. Ramp --> Basket --> Right Loop --> Jump Ball --> Left Loop --> Captive Ball
2. Jump Ball --> Basket --> Right Loop --> Ramp --> Left Loop --> Captive Ball
3. Left Loop --> Basket --> Right Loop --> Ramp --> Jump Ball --> Captive Ball
4. Right Loop --> Jump Ball --> Ramp --> Left Loop --> Basket --> Captive Ball
2 on 2 Minigame
This minigame starts off with 2 balls on the playfield. The game ends when only 1 ball remains. To begin, players must shoot either the Jump Ball or the Ramp for 100,000 points. When one of these is cleared, players must shoot the Basket within 11 seconds, as shown on the shot clock. If the Basket is not cleared within the time limit, players must shoot the Jump Ball or Ramp again for 100,000 to activate the Basket. If the Basket is cleared, 200,000 points will be earned, and a third ball will come out if the original two are still in play. Players must continue this cycle for as long as they can. All Jump Ball or Ramp shots are 100,000, while each Basket shot increases by 50,000 from the base value of 200,000 to the maximum of 500,000 and releases another ball onto the playfield. There can be a maximum of 5 balls in play at the same time for an extreme challenge.
300,000
If Bugs Bunny selects the 300,000 option, he will award 300,000 points to the player's score. This prize is awarded frequently after most of the other features have already been awarded at least once.
Defense Minigame
This minigame has 2 phases. In the first, players must shoot at least one of the 3 drop targets located next to the Monstars lights for a set jackpot. The jackpot starts at 420,000 and decreases to 100,000. If none of the drop targets are hit 5 seconds after the 100,000 appears, the minigame ends.
If the drop targets are hit in time, all 6 red arrows will flash, triggering the second phase of the minigame. Players have 20 seconds to shoot any of the 6 targets multiple times. Each shot is worth whatever jackpot was earned when the drop targets were hit.
Extra Ball Lit
This feature lites the Extra Ball in the back of the Jump Ball for an opportunity to earn an Extra Ball.
Free Game
A replay is awarded when Bugs Bunny chooses this feature, and an animation plays on the screen.
Full Court Frenzy Minigame
This minigame is a hybrid of Multiball and Defense. Players will start with 5 balls on the playfield, and they must shoot any of the 6 main targets as indicated by the flashing red arrows to earn points. The game ends when only 1 ball remains. The jackpot starts at 200,000 and increases by 2,500 whenever a ball hits any target on the playfield or passes over the lane sensors. The maximum jackpot is 500,000, and there is no time limit.
Trivia Game
Unlike most of the other minigames, the Trivia Game is played on the screen. Players must answer one question by selecting one of the two answer choices with the left or right flipper button. Wile E. Coyote awards 300,000 points for the correct answer. Getting the incorrect answer does not affect anything. Questions cover many topics about Michael Jordan such as his height, baseball career, and various achievements.
Video Mode
Like the Trivia Game, Video Mode is played on the screen. Players must move the basketball hoop with the flipper buttons to the Looney Tunes character making a throw. From left to right, the order is Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Michael Jordan, Sylvester the Cat, and Lola Bunny. The characters take shots slowly at the beginning but start to increase speed as the game continues. Getting all 16 shots is worth 1,000,000 points. Each missed shot costs 250,000 from the million total. A perfect run also plays an animation on the screen where Michael Jordan says, "Nuthin' but net!" The combination of shots is always the same and is as follows:
Daffy --> Michael --> Bugs --> Sylvester --> Lola --> Michael --> Daffy --> Bugs --> Michael --> Sylvester --> Lola --> Bugs --> Michael --> Daffy --> Lola --> Sylvester.