"WWF Royal Rumble" rules sheet, version 3.0 (July 10, 1994)
===========================================================
by Michael Dunn
===============
a540mrd@pic.ucla.edu on the Internet
"DDS" on the high score boards at UCLA
Changes from version 2.0
========================
LOTS of info has been added and corrected in just about every section,
with major changes in the Skill Shot, Modes, and Miscellaneous sections. I
also added another strategy on collecting the Light EB mode.
Orin Day (lobster@netcom.com) helped greatly, providing info about some
modes that only he would know. :> Also, thanx to Keith Johnson
(keefer@rahul.net), Michael Field (field@cae.wisc.edu), and <name withheld by
request> for help in earlier versions.
Preliminaries
=============
This rules sheet is based on version 1.03 of WWF Royal Rumble, not 1.01 as
I had thought before.
WWF Royal Rumble is the latest Data East machine. Two things are strange
about it: first, it's a widebody; and second, there aren't any
easily-breakable toys. In fact, there aren't any toys at all! There is an
upper playfield which is integrated nicely into the gameplay. The reason it
seems wierd being a widebody is that there is so much wasted space on the sides
of the playfield that I think it could have been squeezed into a regular width
cabinet without any loss of gameplay.
Overall, the gameplay is pretty straightforward. There are some bugs in
the software and a few problems that I'd like to see corrected. I've listed
the bugs in the descriptions of the parts of the game that they affect. The
bugs aren't detremental to gameplay, but they do affect a few of the modes.
For now, keeping in mind all common r.g.p abbreviations, let's get to the
playfield description.
General Playfield Layout
========================
-- Lower Playfield Description --
Left outlane: No kickback. It can be lit for a Special.
Left inlane: Rolling down this lane lights a green "Lite Macho" light at the
top of the lane for a short time. But gameplay doesn't seem to be affected
by whether the light is on or off.
Left lane: This lane runs behind the Left Drop targets. It scores the "Get
Back in the Ring" jackpot when lit.
Left Drop targets (D-E-A-D): These 4 targets face right. There are 2 globe
lights above: the red light is on during Multiball and when the RIP jackpot
is available, and the yellow light is on during the Raise the Undertaker
mode.
Left Start Mode sinkhole: Starts the currently lit mode when lit (duh!). It is
lit at the start of each ball, and is relit by the Center Ramp. The Right
Inlane also lights this hole, but only for a short time. Balls hit in this
hole are kicked out of the Center Start Mode hole.
Left Ramp: This is the ObDESuperSteepRamp. It has a very wide entrance, but at
the top it narrows suddenly, causing the ball to bounce back down more often
than not. The ball can hit the switch that registers a hit to the Ramp and
fall back down. It's one of the three wrestler shots. Yokozuna, Doink, and
Tatanka are collected here. 2 globe lights are above the entrance: the red
light indicates when the Ramp will feed the Upper Playfield, and the yellow
lights is on during the Banzai mode. If both are lit, Banzai takes
precedence. Two diverters can feed the ball to the Upper Playfield, or to
either Inlane.
Rollover Lanes: Three lanes placed just above the bumpers. The lanes can be
reached from the Plunger and the Right Orbit. The lit lanes can be rotated
to the right by pressing either flipper button.
Bumpers: Three bumpers arranged in a triangle. The ball leaves the bumpers
down the left side of the playfield, and often rolls down the Left Lane.
Center Start Mode sinkhole: This is a very narrow scoop that can only be hit
directly from the left flipper. You need to flip very early to hit it. The
ball is usually kicked onto the left flipper for an easy catch.
Center Ramp: This is the second wrestler shot. Bret Hart, Hacksaw Jim Duggan,
and Lex Luger are collected here. This ramp also relights the Start Mode
holes; the first shot lights the left hole, and the second shot lights the
center hole. It can be hit easily by either flipper, and balls are fed to
the Left Inlane.
T-A-G Standups: There are two banks of three targets each, flanking the
entrance to the Right Orbit. They are used in the Tag Team Millions mode.
Captive Ball: This is located just above the left-side 'G' standup. There is a
rollover switch just behind the ball. You need to knock the ball onto that
switch to get credit for a hit. If you hit the ball hard enough, it will
score a hit on the right Bumper. It's pretty tough to hit this ball, even
when you're trying.
Right Orbit: This is the third wrestler shot. Crush, Big Boss Man, and Shawn
Michaels are collected here. It's more like a half-orbit, since it leads to
the Rollover Lanes. If a ball is plunged weakly, it can fall back down this
lane.
Right Lane: This lane is at the far right of the board, at a very low angle.
It leads to a VUK, which you must hit to get credit for a shot. The kicker
sends the ball to the Upper Playfield. Multiball and Macho Madness can be
started by this shot, and it is also used in the Search for Doink mode. If
the VUK gets weak, complain, since if the kicker can't reliably make it to
the upper playfield, many modes are ruined.
Right Inlane: Rolling through this lane lights the Left Start Mode hole for a
short time if it's not already lit.
Right outlane: Can be lit for a special.
Plunger: An auto plunger. It sends the ball to the Rollover Lanes. If the
plunger is weak, the ball can fall down the Right Orbit.
TAG Button: This is in the same place as the FIRE! button on R&B. It fires the
autoplunger and is also used in the middle-of-the-ball video modes.
-- Upper Playfield Description --
Flippers: 2 small Thing-size flippers. When the ball drains between them, it
is fed to the Right Inlane.
Top Drop Targets: A bank of three targets that can be hit from either flipper.
They are used in several modes, Multiball, and are worth shooting for in
one-ball play as well.
Top Hole: This isn't really a hole, but a depression in the metal at the end of
a lane. It can only be hit from the right flipper. It's used in the Search
for Doink and Pandemonium modes.
Loop: The loop can be hit by either flipper. The ball goes behind the Top
Drops and returns to the flippers. Holding up the left flipper will cause
the ball to bounce nicely to the right flipper for an easy catch.
Exit: Collecting an award on the upper playfield opens a diverter in the Loop.
Shooting the Loop sends the ball off the playfield into a groove in the
wood, which feeds the ball to the Right Inlane.
Skill Shot
==========
This is a bit confusing. When the ball is at the plunger, three awards
are shown in the display, with Hulk Hogan pointing at the awards in order (like
DNA Man in JP). When you launch the ball, the display says "The Hulkster
selects <the award he was pointing at>"
Here's where it gets weird. The instruction card says you should nudge
the ball into the flashing Rollover Lane to collect the award. However, the
award, along with 10M points, is awarded immediately after launching the ball,
regardless of which lane is hit. The award remains in effect for the entire
ball.
If you hit the flashing lane (which you can lane-change, btw) you get 10M
the first and second times, and 20M each subsequent time. If you hit the
flashing lane, all three lanes will be unlit. But, if you hit some other lane,
both that lane and the lane that was flashing will be lit.
The awards are:
3x Bonus: Starts you off with the bonus multiplier at 3x.
Pop Bonus: Bumpers are worth 100K per hit. If the ball hits all 3 bumpers, the
value increases to 1M per hit until the ball leaves the bumpers.
Long Freeze: Makes the ball saver last longer. There's no light to indicate
that the ball saver is on, but trust me, it's longer -- up to 45(!) seconds.
2x Banzai: increases the value of the Banzai mode shots.
Video Bonus: Makes No Holds Brawl (the video mode) easier to win.
Belt Bonus: Increases the value of the Championship Belt Round awards.
3-Ball Pand.: Pandemonium will start with three balls in play.
Long Timers: All mode timers start at 35 seconds, instead of 25.
10 Mil: 10M points just for hitting a button! Wow!
M-Ball Ready: All the Multiball start shots are immediately lit. This only
appears when you buy an EB.
Get Back in the Ring
====================
During one-ball play, rolling *down* the Left Lane when it's not lit
starts a 15-second timer. Shooting the ball *up* the lane awards a jackpot.
This is a real jackpot, you know, it carries over between players and games? :>
The value varies greatly. I've seen it as low as 11.5M and as high as 99.65M
(yowza!).
Chair Bashing Round
===================
During one-ball play, shooting the ball *up* the Left Lane when it's not
lit starts a video mode. There are two wrestlers, each holding a chair. Hit
the TAG button as fast as you can to bash the other wrestler with your chair.
The first 5 hits are worth 1M each, and each hit after that is worth 500K.
But, if you hold up a flipper, you only get 50K per hit. Don't be too overly
preoccupied with this round, but if it looks like the ball is going to be in
the bumpers for a while, by all means, bash away!
T-A-G Targets
=============
Anytime during play except when the Tag Team Millions mode is running,
completing a bank of targets starts a video mode. Hit the TAG button a few
times within 3 seconds for a 5M bonus. The targets do not reset until you
complete both banks and then hit the Captive Ball.
Captive Ball
============
When you hit all 6 T-A-G targets, the "Collect Tag" light in front of the
captive ball lights. Hitting the ball resets the T-A-G targets and awards
something. Awards I've seen are: 10M, 20M, Hold Bonus. Awards others have
reported are: Light EB, Light Special, M-ball Ready.
When you hit the ball at other times during play, the display reads, "Next
Captive Ball Award: <something>" Actually, the display shows the *last* award;
the award you get isn't chosen until you actually hit the lit Captive Ball.
Upper Playfield
===============
Several awards are available during one-ball play. When a mode involving
the Upper Playfield is running, the mode takes precedence over everything else.
The Top Hole spots a letter in MACHO MAN, and opens the Exit. Completing
the Top Drop targets advances the bonus multiplier and opens the Exit.
Shooting the Loop awards 1M the first time, 2M the second time, and so on until
the 5th shot, which awards 5M and opens the Exit. Hitting 5 loops also raises
the base value of Multiball jackpots to 20M the first time, 25M the second
time, and so on.
All awards (except the Loop of course) are still available while the Exit
is open. Shooting the Exit awards 5M and returns the ball to the Right Inlane.
Macho Madness
=============
Spelling MACHO MAN lights the Right Lane and Top Hole to start Macho
Madness. You spot letters during one-ball play by shooting the Left or Center
Ramp when it's not lit for a wrestler or a mode, or the Right Lane when it's
not lit, or the Top Hole when a mode isn't running.
This round is really complex. The object is to complete the Top Drops 3
times, for 15M each time. Then, a 20M hurry-up at the Loop is lit. Hitting
the Loop ends the round and opens the Exit.
Hitting one target in the bank starts a 3-second timer. If the timer runs
out, the targets reset and you move on to the next belt.
Problems occur in the timer and the counter that keeps track of how many
times you complete the Drops. First, the 3 second timer doesn't always count
time accurately -- it can run out before you even get a chance to shoot the
Drops. Also, it sometimes resets when you complete the Drops, but not always.
Further, the hurry-up may light after you complete the Drops twice.
In any case, the round ends when you hit the hurry-up, the hurry-up counts
down (it times out at 5M), or the timer runs out.
RIP Jackpot
===========
Each time you complete the Left Drop targets during one-ball non-mode
play, a letter in R-I-P is spotted. Spelling RIP awards the RIP Jackpot
(another "real" jackpot) which starts at 11M and change. The letters are kept
for each player separately.
Multiball
=========
Multiball is started by collecting all 9 wrestlers, then shooting one of
the following shots: Left Ramp, Right Lane, Loop, or the Top Hole. The first
time, you can collect the wrestlers in any order. The second time, you collect
them in groups of three, one wrestler at each wrestler shot, and you must
collect one entire group of three before moving on to the next group.
Subsequent times, you collect them in the order: Left Ramp, Center Ramp, Right
Orbit.
If, at the start of ball 3, you haven't lit Mutiball during the game, it
will be lit for you. If you start Multiball on ball 1, you get a 10M bonus.
During Multiball, one wrestler shot will be lit for a jackpot. The
jackpots start at 15M (unless you increased that amount by shooting 5 Loops),
and go up by 5M when you collect one or complete the Top Drops.
Each jackpot has a 20 second timer. If the timer expires, another jackpot
is lit (but it might be at the same wrestler shot) and *another ball is
launched into play*. The jackpot value goes down by 5M if the timer runs out
(not sure about this though).
The wrestlers are lit during Multiball in groups of three. The jackpot
will be lit at a wrestler that you have not collected yet. You can shoot the
other wrestler shots, but that will only mean fewer jackpots.
If you collect all 9 wrestlers (whether they were jackpots or not) the
super jackpot is lit at the Top Hole. It starts at 100M, and increases in
value while you keep balls in play, and decreases if you hold the flippers up.
(This scoring scheme was used on DE games in the past, I think "The Simpsons"
was one of them.)
If you drain two balls without shooting any jackpots, you can restart
Multiball by hitting any of the four Multiball start shots within 15 seconds.
Restarted Multiball begins with only two balls.
Later Multiballs have harder rules. You must hit either the Loop or Top
Hole to start Multiball, and only one wrestler is lit at a time, in the order
Left Ramp, Center Ramp, Right Orbit.
How to Play the Modes
=====================
WWF has 9 modes. They are arranged on the board as follows:
Light EB ! Search for ! Tag Team
! Doink ! Millions
----------+-----------------+---------------
No holds ! Sleeper Hold ! Championship
Brawl ! Super Pops ! Belt Round
----------+-----------------+---------------
Pande- ! Raise the ! Banzai
monium ! Undertaker !
The lit mode is changed by shooting wrestler shots. Each column
corresponds to a wrestler shot: Left Ramp for the left column, Center Ramp for
the center column, and Right Orbit for the right column. Shooting a wrestler
shot moves the lit mode to the corresponding column, or, if the lit mode is
already in that column, moves it up one row. Once you complete a column,
shooting the corresponding shot does not affect the lit mode. The lit mode
does not change during Multiball.
You start a mode by hitting a lit Start Mode sinkhole, or by spotting the
"O" in MACHO MAN. Both Start Mode holes are lit at the start of each ball.
Both turn off when either is hit. One shot to the Center Ramp lights the Left
sinkhole, and the second shot lights the Center hole.
At the start of balls 2 and 3, the Light EB mode will be lit automatically
for you (if you haven't already collected it, of course) if the amount of EB's
awarded recently is below the operator's set percentage.
You can have more than one mode running at the same time. As far as I can
tell, the software handles multiple modes just fine, although only one mode's
running display will be shown in the DMD.
When you start Multiball, all modes in progress immediately END. This can
have several consequences. In all modes, you'll get credit for the shots
you're already hit during the mode. If you haven't hit anything yet, you may
get some token points (usually 5M). However it is possible to get exactly ZERO
points from a mode (especially Belt Bonus, which never gives out free points).
All modes that are timed last for 25 seconds unless you pick Long Timers
from the Skill Shot, which bumps the timer up to 35 seconds. The points you
earn during modes are awarded immediately, and the total you score during a
mode is displayed at the end of the mode.
So, without further ado, here are the modes:
-- Light Extra Ball --
The Left Start Mode hole is lit for an EB, which stays lit until
collected.
-- No Holds Brawl --
This is a copy of one of LW3's video modes. The display shows two
wrestlers. Hit the flippers quickly to fill up an energy bar on the left side
of the display. If your bar fills up before the computer's, you win!
It's pretty tough not to win this mode. When you do, you get an
inordinate amount of points -- 17.9M (yowza!). If you start this mode by
spotting the "O" in MACHO MAN, you don't have to do anything! :> You
immediately get about 12M.
In addition to the points for winning the fight, you get a "pin bonus"
which will be larger the faster you win the fight. It can be as high as 11M,
or as low as nothing (if you win this mode by spotting the "O").
Picking Video Bonus from the Skill Shot will help you win. You'll only
need half as many flipper presses.
When the ball is kicked out, hit the TAG button 3 times for a quick 5M
bonus. Be very careful on the kickout! The flippers are dead during this
mode, and are not reactivated until the ball is on its way up the scoop.
-- Pandemonium --
This is my favorite mode. It's a Frenzy with a twist. The value of the
targets depends on how many balls are in play:
# balls target value
------- ------------
1 250K
2 350K
3 500K
4 750K
5 1M
6 2M
When the mode starts, one ball will be in play, and the 25 second timer starts.
Hitting the Top Hole before the timer runs out launches another ball into
play. The first time you hit the Top Hole, 5 seconds are added to the timer.
Once the timer runs out, you can no longer add balls, but the target value
will not decrease when balls drain.
You get 5M just for starting the mode, and the mode ends when the timer
has expired and only one ball remains in play.
If you collected the "3-ball Pand." skill shot at the start of the ball,
two balls will be autoplunged when you start the mode.
The mode total counter will max at 99.9M, but I don't know if the Frenzy
points stop being awarded at that point. I would think not, since mode points
are awarded immediately.
-- Search for Doink --
Doink is hiding in one of the following shots: Left Start Mode hole,
Center Start Mode hole, Right Lane, Top Hole. The shot he hides in is chosen
randomly. Hitting the shot he's hiding in awards 25M, and the other shots
award 6M per hit.
-- Sleeper Hold Super Pops --
A bumper mode. Hitting 14 bumpers awards 30M. Even though the display
says you need 15 hits, only 14 are necessary.
If this mode is running when you start Multiball, you get the full 30M.
-- Raise the Undertaker --
Shoot for the Left Drop targets. The first target awards 2M, then 3M for
the second, and so on up to a max of 10M. The targets reset after each hit.
If you hit two targets at once, you get credit for both of 'em.
Sometimes, one of the letters D-E-A-D is highlighted in the display, but
hitting the corresponding target doesn't do anything special -- it's a leftover
from an earlier scoring scheme, and was left in because it looked nice. :>
-- Tag Team Millions --
The TAG Standups are worth 5M each, and you get 5M just for starting the
mode. If the ball hits an unlit target on one bank and then ricochets and hits
an unlit target on the other bank, you get an additional 5M bonus. There's a
bonus for hitting all 6 targets and then the TAG Button, although I don't know
its value at this time.
I tend to ignore this mode, since the TAG targets tend to lead to left
outlane drains.
-- Championship Belt Round --
Complete the Upper Playfield Drop Targets three times to win the
Heavyweight, Tag Team, and Intercontinental belts.
The timer starts at 25 seconds, but resets to 20 when you get the ball on
to the Upper Playfield. Then, each belt is worth 20M, but that decreases 1M
each second until you complete the drop targets. Collecting one belt resets
the timer to 20 seconds for the next belt.
Bugs: Sometimes, the timer will not reset between belts, and sometimes
the round will end after you collect two belts. Also, when you collect the
first belt, the Top Hole starts flashing. But hitting the Hole doesn't seem to
do anything. Lastly, only the first belt's timer is extended by the Long
Timers skill shot.
If this mode is cancelled by starting Multiball, you will never get some
token points, ever.
-- Banzai --
Hit the left ramp for 5M the first time, 10M the second time, then 15M,
and finally 20M
Collecting the "2x Banzai" skill shot makes the ramp worth 20M for the
first hit and 40M for the second (and final) hit. Seems like it should have
been called "4x Banzai".
Royal Rumble (Wizard Bonus)
===========================
After completing all 9 modes, both Start Mode holes will be flashing. Hit
either hole and then all 3 wrestler shots to start this 6-ball Multiball mode.
The goal is to eliminate all 9 wrestlers. You eliminate a wrestler by
hitting 20 bumpers or completing the Top Drop targets. The two shots are
independent, that is, eliminating a wrestler by one of those shots does not
reset the counter for the other shot.
Eliminating all 9 wrestlers lights all 3 wrestler shots. The first shot
scores 30M, the second 40M, and the third 50M. Hitting a shot unlights it.
After hitting all 3, all 3 relight, and their values are 40M, 50M, and 60M.
This keeps going to a max of 90M.
The mode ends when one ball remains in play. There is no ball-saver.
After this mode ends, the Center Ramp will NOT relight the Start Mode
holes for the rest of the ball. The Right Inlane will still light the Left
Hole, though.
Miscellaneous Stuff
===================
Bonus Multiplier: Completing the Rollover Lanes or the Top Drops advances the
multiplier. The multiplier maxes at 9x. If you complete either of the
advance shots again on the same ball, Bonus Hold is awarded. Completing a
shot again lights EB at the Left Start Mode hole. After that, those advance
shots score 5M per completion.
Bonus Hold: You can get Bonus Hold from the Captive Ball or the advance
multiplier shots (see above). If you get this on your last ball, your last
ball's bonus is awarded twice. Your bonus is held across any extra balls
you collect on the current ball.
Fun with Bonus: You get a "Switch Bonus" which is just points for hitting
stuff, and 1M for each wrestler you collected during the ball. The sum of
those two amounts is multiplied by the bonus multiplier.
Random bonuses: Sometimes, you'll get a "Goose Egg" bonus of 10M at the end of
No Holds Brawl (this is awarded at random times). Hitting a Start Mode
scoop will sometimes award a "Happy Face Bonus" of 20M (this is NOT random,
but the conditions that give the award are unknown).
Combo Shot: Shooting the Left Ramp, then the Center Ramp, and then the Right
Orbit awards 10M.
EB Buy-In: You can buy an EB only once. When you do, one of the Skill Shot
choices will be "M-Ball Ready." If you collect an EB during your bought
ball, "M-Ball Ready" will again be a Skill Shot choice. Cancel the Buy-in
by pressing both flippers or the start button.
Outlane Specials: Both outlanes are lit at the same time, and stay lit for the
duration of the ball. The outlanes are lit by either a Captive Ball award,
or by having a low score at the start of ball 3. (But just last week I had
291M at the start of ball 3, and the Specials were lit. *shrug*)
Matches and high scores: The current settings on the WWF here are 3 credits
for the #1 score, one credit for #2, and none for #3-#6. Beware of the
match sequence. If you see that you have matched, wait for the *thwack*.
The credit isn't awarded until the match animation finishes.
Strategies
==========
-- Multiball --
When Multiball starts, you should be able to complete the Upper Drop
targets once or twice before the autoplunged balls make their way to the lower
flippers.
The toughest shot is the Left Ramp. It's hard enough hitting it when one
ball is out, so hitting it during Multiball for a jackpot is nearly impossible.
If you feel confident, you might want to let one ball drain and catch the
remaining two, one on each flipper. That should set up at least 2 clear
jackpot shots.
If you have time to glance up at the display during multiball, do so and
check the timer. If it's about to run out, you can wait and let another ball
be plunged. But if you hold the flippers up, the timer will stop counting
down, so you must keep the balls moving.
-- Getting the Extra Ball mode --
The first thing I go for is the Light EB mode. The easiest way is to hit
the center ramp until Search for Doink is lit, then pass the ball to the right
flipper and go for the Left Ramp. That will move the lit mode to Light EB.
Now, you should have the ball coming to an inlane. If the Start Mode hole
reachable from that flipper is lit, just shoot it. If not, you have more work
to do. You can't hit the Center Ramp to relight the holes, since that would
unlight Light EB. So, shoot the Right Lane, fool around on the Upper Playfield
for a while, and when the ball drains it will go to the Right Inlane, which
lights the Left Start Mode hole! Presto!
This strategy will change if you've already completed the center column of
modes. To get to Light EB, you'll have to hit one of the other two wrestler
shots repeatedly, but you can hit the Center Ramp to relight the Start Mode
holes if necessary.
****New Strategy!**** If you haven't collected the "O" in MACHO MAN yet,
proceed as above to get the Light EB mode lit, and get the ball on the Upper
Playfield. Then just keep hitting the Top Hole until the O is spotted. When
the ball drains from the Upper Playfield, it'll be fed to the Right Inlane for
a clear shot at the EB.
-- Upper Playfield --
The Loop is tremendously easy to hit. You can keep shooting it with the
left flipper without catching the ball, but for me at least, it's easier to
pass the ball and use the right flipper. If you can get the hang of shooting
the Loop repeatedly, do so for an easy 15M and bigger jackpots.
The Drop Targets are easy also, but the trick is to be able to hit them
without accidentally shooting the Exit. If you get good at them, hit them
repeatedly for a 9x multiplier and an EB lit at the Left Start Mode hole.
-- Raping --
When the Exit is open, the Loop (which is the easiest shot) is not
available. Hold onto the ball. The Exit diverter will overheat after a while,
and it will move back to its resting position. When it does, resume shooting
the Loop. When the Exit diverter opens again, repeat.
On all but the earliest versions, this has been fixed. The Exit diverter
resets when you hold the ball, and it opens the Exit again as soon as you flip
or lower either flipper.
If the diverter breaks, you can continue shooting the Loop for the normal
awards. and raises the jackpot value.
Bug Reports & Opinions Section
==============================
Aside from the software bugs I've mentioned above, there are a couple of
others that I've run across. Once, the game froze during the EB Buy-in
countdown. Nothing short of a power-cycle helped. Also, if you happen to
tilt at just the wrong time, the machine will go into infinite ball search
mode, which will eventually end, but it takes a good 20 or 30 seconds.
Once, when I had completed all 9 modes but not yet hit a Start Mode hole,
I managed to get the Left Mode Start lit solidly (not flashing as they usually
are after all 9 modes are over). Of course, I was curious and shot the hole.
Well, the Banzai mode started, but all the GI was off and the ramp didn't award
points. Even more, I couldn't start the Wizard Bonus round! :( I wish I knew
how I got that Start Mode lit, so I could warn you about it.
If you spot the "O" in MACHO MAN after completing all 9 modes but before
starting the Wizard Bonus, the display will act like it's starting a new mode,
but in reality nothing will happen.
The VUK in the Right Lane, after about a week of play, has become too weak
to reliably kick the ball to the upper playfield. This ruins any mode that
runs on the Upper Playfield, like Macho Madness.
The kicker in the Center Mode Start hole is erratic. Once I saw a ball
kicked straight into the Left Outlane!
Balls rolling slowly down the Left Lane bounce off the top of the left
slingshot, and so lots of nudging is required to move the ball away from the
outlane.
The hardware in WWF needs to be working well for the game to be good. The
bumpers especially MUST be maintained. If they get weak, or fail to kick when
hit lightly, the Wizard Bonus is ruined. One weak flipper will make play very
difficult.
Why why why is the Wizard Bonus a bumper mode? Why do bumper modes
exist?
On a positive note, neither ramp seems to lead to SDTM drains. Balls
coming down the Center Ramp can usually be caught, but balls coming off the
Left Ramp will be moving too quickly to be controlled.
All in all, when nothing's weak or broken, WWF is a pretty decent DE pin.
I hope the hardware problems I described are particular to the machine here at
UCLA. It's at least a good (and cheaper) distraction when TNG and WCS are
occupied. :>
