Shoot orbits all day as long as they are not lit purple for combos. Orbits increase the pop bumper value up to a maximum of 1,000,000 and lead to the top lanes. 10x bonus can be massive on this game, and additional completions of the top lanes past 10x give the safest set of 50,000,000 points in the game. To really blow this strategy through the roof, complete the F-18 targets in the table center to start a hurry-up that can be repeatedly collected at the left orbit, and whose starting value is increased by pop bumper hits from all those top lanes trips. Multiball (started by repeated shots to the center alien head toy) and Red Alert (started by making enough shots to the two ramps) are also viable strategies but tend to be less efficient or less safe.
The skill shot is a timed press of the plunge button when the alien ship on the DMD is aligned with the crosshairs. Successful shots score 20,000,000 points, unsuccessful ones score 1,000,000. Plunges always go around to the top lanes. If you are impatient at the beginning of the game, pressing the button while the opening cinematic is running and before you even see the crosshairs will usually give credit for a successful skill shot anyway.
Roll through an unlit top lane to light it. Lane change is available in both directions with the flipper buttons. Light all three lanes to spell ID4 and increase the bonus multiplier in the sequence 2x-4x-6x-8x-10x. Any completion of the top lanes beyond 10x bonus scores 50,000,000 points. This should absolutely be done as many times as possible since the orbits are the safest shots in this game.
Bumpers start each ball at a value of 250,000 points. Any orbit shot that is not lit for a combo increases the bumper value by 50,000, up to a maximum of 1,000,000 points. Each bumper hit scores the current bumper value, but also adds the bumper value to the F-18 Jackpot, which starts at 20,000,000 and has no upper limit that I've ever found.
Alien Frenzy, one of the awards from the Alien targets in the lower left, awards 1,000,000 per pop bumper for the rest of the ball after it is started. That runs separately and on top of the regular bumper value; it does not simply increase the bumper value to the maximum of 1,000,000 points. Alien Frenzy-specific points are awarded as an unmultiplied portion of the end of ball bonus.
Hitting all three standup targets that are in the center of the table and face to the right qualifies the F-18 hurry-up. Starting this hurry-up the first time only requires 1 completion of the target bank, while additional hurry-ups require 1 more completion than the previous one each. The starting value of the F-18 hurry-up is 20,000,000 plus the sum of all bumper values scored since the last hurry-up was played. I have seen this hurry-up go as high as 150,000,000 points, but other accounts say it can be more than 500,000,000. The hurry-up always seems to count down at the same speed, so you get more time if the hurry-up starts at a higher value. Shooting the left orbit scores whatever is left in the hurry-up, and locks that value in. Now, for 15 seconds, you can repeatedly shoot the left orbit to repeatedly collect the locked in value. With good shooting and ball control, you can pick off a value well into the 9 figures four or five times! This is a gateway to absolutely ridiculous scoring and serves as another notch in favor of an orbit-all-day strategy, since all those trips to the bumpers will be constantly building the hurry-up value (at an increasing rate, no less).
When a hurry-up is started, regardless of if or how many times it is collected, the value will reset to 20,000,000 points after it ends (via time out or ball drain).
Shoot the alien head toy in the back center of the table or the lower right scoop to make progress toward locks. Locks are always lit one at a time, and once qualified, shoot the open alien head or the scoop again to lock a ball. For the first multiball, just one shot is required to light each lock, but this increases by one more shot for each subsequent time through multiball. Lock three balls to start multiball.
Independence multiball is a 4-ball multiball with four stages. In stage 1, there is one jackpot, collected at the open alien head or the lower right scoop. This jackpot starts at 40,000,000 points, and is increased by 5,000,000 for each right orbit shot before it is collected. Earning the sole jackpot of stage 1 locks in that jackpot value for the rest of the progression and starts stage 2. In stage 2, there are two double jackpots worth twice as much as the base jackpot, collectible at the left and right orbits. The right orbit jackpot is deceptively difficult to get since holding up the right flipper, which you would usually want to do to cradle one or more balls, blocks the right orbit entirely. Collecting both jackpots starts stage 3, in which there are three triple jackpots: one at each ramp. During stage 3, each of the Area 51 targets in the lower left will add a ball to the playfield one time, unless all 4 balls are already in play. Making all three triple jackpots starts stage 4, which is a super jackpot collectible at the upper dead end lane. The super jackpot is just a quadruple jackpot. Earning the super jackpot resets the entire sequence at stage 1. If you get back to stage 3 a second (or more) time within a single multiball, the add-a-ball at the Area 51 targets will be unavailable.
If the final ball of the game begins and you have not played Independence Multiball yet, the alien toy will be open for multiball start straight away.
Hit all three lower left standup target to light the bank for Alien Scan, then hit any target in that bank again to receive a random award from the following list.
There are two shots accessible from the upper flipper: the loop shot and a dead-end lane. They are roughly similar in location to the Trainwreck and side ramp shots on Addams Family.
The target at the end of the dead-end lane removes one alien from a picture on the display. Removing all of the aliens reveals the text "50 Million", and scores that value.
Going through an in lane lights the opposite orbit purple for a combo. The first shot in a combo scores 5,000,000 points, then subsequent shots score 6,000,000, then 7,000,000, and so on, up to a max of 10,000,000. In addition to scoring the combo value at each level, the combo value is added to the combo jackpot (which starts at 10,000,000, maxes out at 99,000,000, and resets between balls). Ending a combo at the dead-end target scores the current combo jackpot and resets that jackpot back to 10,000,000 points.
The upper loop shot scores 5,000,000 points. Unlike an orbit shot, the upper loop shot will come back to the upper flipper rather than stopping at the top lanes. If you make the upper loop shot repeatedly, the next shots score 10,000,000, then 15,000,000, etc., up to a max of 30,000,000 points each. An extra ball is also available the first time you make at least 3 consecutive upper loop shots.
If the random award received from the Alien Scan was Light Area 51 Multiball, that multiball will be started by making this upper loop. This is a 2-ball quick multiball where shots to the upper loop score a jackpot. The jackpot starts at 50,000,000 points, is increased by 1,000,000 with each hit to any of the yellow standup targets that flank the center and right ramps, and maxes out at 90,000,000 points. If the yellow targets are flashing, hitting that target will also add a ball to the playfield- this only occurs on the first hit to each target, and is unavailable if all 4 balls are already in play.
Between the dead-end lane and upper loop is a standup target that, when hit, spots one top lane for free. This can be used an infinite number of times and can even complete the top lanes for you.
The three shots to each of these ramps score 5,000,000, then 10,000,000, then 20,000,000 points. Completing both ramps by making three shots to each starts Red Alert, where both ramps are worth a repeatable 50,000,000 points for 30 seconds. Left ramp shots must go all the way up the ramp to count for both qualifying this mode and scoring in it. Points here are okay, but there's just too much inherent risk in the ramp shots on this game.
A ball that goes about halfway up the left ramp may fall down a side trail and fall into the scoop behind the alien head. If this happens, you get credit for whatever is currently at the alien head, which can include progress toward a lock, a lit lock, multiball start, or a jackpot. Also, when this happens, the in-game date will advance, from July 1 -> July 2 -> July 3 -> July 4 -> July 4 (Later) -> July 5. Reaching July 5 scores 25,000,000 points and puts you back at July 1.
Making the center ramp collects and Alien. 5 Aliens lights the center ramp for extra ball. Every 5th alien starting with the 10th will give an award equal to 1,000,000 points times the number of aliens. It's not really worth trying to go beyond the extra ball with this due to the difficulty of the center ramp and the sheer number of points elsewhere in the game (which is in direct contrast to Data East Star Wars, where a nearly identical center ramp rule was so strong that it was game-breaking).
Three yellow standup targets on either side of the center and right ramps. At any time other than Area 51 Multiball, hitting all three targets to light them scores 10,000,000 points.
Making this scoop when lock is NOT lit will advance Computer virus by 20%. When it reaches 100%, the next shot to the right orbit will score 100,000,000 points.
Independence Day has a conventional in/out lane setup. In lanes light the opposite orbits for Combos. Out lanes can only be lit for special, which I have only ever seen be lit on the final ball of a particularly poor game. Unlike many other Sega games, there is no left out lane kickback and no center peg between the flippers.
Bonus appears to be calculated as 1,000,000 per shot to the center alien toy, plus 1,000,000 per shot to the Area 51 targets, plus 1,000,000 for each ID4 top lane, all multiplied by the bonus multiplier. Orbit shots and upper loop shots may also contribute to the ID4 part of the bonus. If Alien Frenzy was started on the ball, you will also receive 1,000,000 points for each bumper hit between the start of Alien Frenzy and the end of the ball, which is not multiplied by the bonus X. Bonus multiplier is advanced by a random Alien Scan award or by completing the top lanes, and goes in the order 2x-4x-6x-8x-10x. Bonus is absolutely massive if you get it up to 10x so do not tilt after a ball with a lot of orbit shots. Hold Bonus is a possible random award from Alien Scan; this carries your base bonus over to the next ball, but not the bonus multiplier and not any Alien Frenzy scoring. Bonus multiplier can never be carried from ball to ball. There is no mid-ball bonus collect.
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