Big Ichigeki! Pachi-Slot Taikouryku Universal Museum

"Comprehensive:- for the hardcore slots fan"

This game emulates PachiSlot machines; the Japanese equivalent of the
one-armed bandit (also called fruit machines in the UK). With a
pachislot machine you enter 1 to 3 coins, pull on a small lever
and 3 reels start spinning. There are 3 stop buttons that when
pressed stop the associated reel from spinning. The window in
which the reels appear shows 3 symbols on each reel at a time.
How you win depends on the number of coins you have deposited.

Reel 1 2 3
--------------------
Row1 A B C
Row2 D E F
Row3 G H I
--------------------

1 coin - win on D,E,F only
2 coins - win on A,B,C D,E,F G,H,I
3 coins - as for 2 coins plus A,E,I and G,E,C

(This setup is similar to Vegas slots but there you must enter up
to 5 coins usually)

There is no single jackpot payout on Pachislot machines. Instead
you get what is called a 'BIG WIN'. When this activated, the machine
goes into what I call 'automatic win' mode where every spin is
guaranteed a win. This will carry on for a few minutes.The machine
goes mad at this point with flashing lights and making a fair
amount of noise!

Universal Museum emulates 12 different machines. From what I can
see it only really amounts to slightly different graphics but from
looking at the manual (in Japanese)there is some text associated
with each machine name so they must have differences.

There are 3 save slots for saving your progress. When starting a
new game you select a difficulty level 1 - 6 (default 3) with 1
being the most difficult.

In the option mode you can :-

Music on/off

Set reel spin speed (8 levels!)

Toggle ''Show all reel'' - when on; you see the whole reel contents
beside its matching window with a pointer showing where the window is.

Toggle display of last big win (I think!)

Show stats : displays REAMS of stats screens. Have worked out what
some of them mean (basic coins in - out and percantages etc.) But there
are other screens I haven't a clue about.

You can also 'save' the current contents of the reel window for some
reason (??!!)) and there's a facilty to mark the current symbols in
the window so you can see them as they go by in subsequent spins.

There is also an option that when activated sometimes shows winning
combinations at the top right corner of the screen while the reels
are spinning. Haven't a clue what its all about ! Must get the manual
converted.

Auto play option (!)

Option mode can be accessed during play.

Graphics: Fairly straightforward. Nice and clear and get the job done (4/10)

Sound : Japanese muzak which can be switched off and the usual sound effects you
would expect. (4/10)

Gameplay: If you like this sort of thing then its great as you can twiddle with
the machine setup in the options section and there are reams of statistics produced
as well.
If you REALLY like this type of thing (9/10) as its quite comprehensive.
Otherwise its (1/10). Its hard to get excited when its not real money!)

Buy or rent. If you really like this type of game then get it otherwise don't bother.

Overall: Again, it depends if you like this type of thing. Fan (8/10); Otherwise (4/10)
Presentation is excellent overall and seems to be for the hardcore slots fan.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/01, Updated 06/04/01