Not to be confused with other pinball games based on the Star Wars franchise, such as Star Wars (Data East, 1992), Star Wars Episode I (Bally Williams, 1999), or Star Wars (Stern Pinball, 2017).
The best source of scoring is Star Wars Multiball, which is achieved by hitting each of the four drop targets 4 times, then shooting the left ramp, then pressing the launch button to fire the pinball from the X-Wing toy through the gap in the drop targets. During multiball, the jackpot sequence is left ramp -> all five Force targets -> left ramp to load the X-Wing -> shoot the gap in the drop targets again. Outside of Star Wars Multiball, shoot the left ramp repeatedly for Falcon Multiball; complete Force targets to light hurry-ups at the big hole on the right; start modes at the top kicker saucer.
Press the launch button to receive 400,000 points. There is no skill shot further than that. The game makes it seem like a timing-based skill shot is present based on where Darth Vader is looking on the DMD- similar to the skill shot on Bram Stoker's Dracula (Bally Williams, 1993)- but nothing is different based on when you plunge.
At the beginning of the game prior to any drop targets being hit, the rows of inserts in front of the four drop targets will light, one entire row at a time, rotating every few seconds. If you hit the drop target whose row is lit, the left ramp is immediately lit for Load X-Wing. If you do not hit the correct target, or if you have already played Star Wars Multiball, all 16 inserts will flash. Hit any drop target to unlight one insert. Drop targets automatically re-raise a couple seconds after being hit. Knock out all 16 inserts with four shots to each drop target, and the left ramp and top saucer will be lit for Load X-Wing. When you shoot either of these, the ball will be sent to the X-Wing toy in the center left of the game. The X-Wing will rotate back and forth, and the center two drop targets will lower. Press the game's launch button to fire the X-Wing. If you shoot into the gap made by the drop targets, Star Wars Multiball begins.
There is absolutely no ball save at the start of Star Wars Multiball. The jackpot starts at 500,000 points. It is raised by 10,000 points each time a drop target is hit, or 2,000 points by hitting any other switch. The first jackpot is at the left ramp. After making this jackpot, you must collect five more jackpots at the Force standup targets- F and O flank the left ramp, R is in front of the bumpers, and C and E flank the top saucer. After collecting all 6 jackpots, the top saucer and left ramp are lit for Load X-Wing again, and you must shoot from the X-Wing toy through the hole in the drop targets to score the super jackpot, just the same way as you did to start multiball. Super Jackpot is equal to the sum of the 6 collected jackpots. The entire sequence restarts, including resetting the jackpot to 500,000 points, after a super jackpot is collected. Earning a super jackpot is one of the 6 requirements for qualifying Darth Vader Redemption wizard mode.
If Star Wars Multiball ends before a single jackpot is made, the ramp and top saucer will be lit for a restart for 15 seconds. You must shoot through the drop target gap again to activate the restart. Restarted multiball has just 2 balls instead of 3.
When it is not lit for anything else, shoot the left ramp to light a letter in Falcon. Falcon letters do go away on their own if you wait long enough; about 30 seconds per letter if Falcon Multiball has not been played yet, and only about 6 seconds per letter if it has. A very quiet chime noise can be heard counting off the time remaining. If you spell Falcon at the ramp, Falcon Multiball immediately begins.
Falcon Multiball is a 4-ball multiball. The base jackpot value is 200,000 points. Hit 40 switches anywhere in the game to light the ramp for jackpot. Once the jackpot is lit, any switches hit will add 2,000 to the jackpot until it is collected. After a jackpot is collected, one ball will be added to the playfield (unless all 4 are still in play); 400,000 points is added to the jackpot; and the switch-hits sequence restarts, with 20 more switches needed to light jackpot than were required the previous time. This continues with no limit that I have encountered until the multiball ends. There is no restart for Falcon Multiball if a jackpot is not collected, but there is a rather generous ball save at the beginning. Collecting one Falcon Jackpot is one of the 6 requirements for Darth Vader Redemption wizard mode.
Hitting the 5 Force standup targets around the playfield when no mode or multiball is running lights the big hole on the right for a hurry-up. There are 5 hurry-up modes.
The exact order these are played seems to be somewhat random, but I have always seen the first one be either Cantina or Extra Ball, and Special always seems to wait to come up until after Extra Ball.
Completing one hurry-up mode is one of the 6 requirements for Darth Vader Redemption wizard mode. For Cantina, Extra Ball, and Special, this means making the hurry-up shot once; for Bounty Hunter, this means surviving to the end of video mode: for Probe Droid, this means collecting one jackpot.
When no mode or multiball is running, shoot the top saucer to start a Heroic mode. There are 6 in total. Play all 6 to light the top saucer for an extra ball. Starting any mode scores 100,000 points.
Modes seem to be played in random order. Completing any one mode is one of the 6 requirements for Darth Vader Redemption wizard mode.
Going through either in lane lights the opposite orbit. Shooting an unlit orbit lights the same orbit. Shooting a lit orbit advances toward the next Landspeeder award. The first award is at 4 lit orbits; the second award requires 5 further lit orbits; the third requires 6 further lit orbits; etc. All Landspeeder awards are 300,000 points, except for the second one, which is an extra ball. Collecting a Landspeeder award is one of the 6 requirements for Darth Vader Redemption wizard mode.
When it is not lit for anything else, 3 shots to the big right hole scores 300,000 points and thaws Han Solo. You will then get a chance to answer a Star Wars trivia question for an additional 300,000 points. Further Thaw Han Solos require one additional shot to the hole each time. Thawing Han Solo is one of the 6 requirements for Darth Vader Redemption wizard mode.
The game's wizard mode is lit at the top saucer after completing the 6 tasks outlined by the isnert lights between the flippers: a multiball super jackpot, a collected hurry-up, a Falcon jackpot, one completed Heroic mode, one thawed Han Solo, and one Landspeeder award. Darth Vader Redemption is a 2-ball multiball with unlimited ball save for 50 seconds. The left ramp and top saucer load the X-Wing. Shots through the hole in the drop targets score 3,000,000 points each. The catch, though, is that the game does not lower any drop targets for you, and you must use the second ball to hit drop targets to make a hole for yourself while the first ball is in the X-Wing. When time expires, all balls are allowed to drain.
When no mode or multiball is running, hit all three targets to light Light Saber Saver. This is a one-time ball save on one of the out lanes, alternating which out lane is lit with slingshot hits.
There is a somewhat hidden lane on the far left behind the Light Saber Saver targets. In normal gameplay, this lane increases the bonus multiplier by 1x, up to a maximum of 6x. The first time through this lane after reaching 6x bonus lights an extra ball at the top saucer. Any other trips through this lane when bonus is at 6x score 200,000 points. When Special Hurry-up is running, this lane scores a special.
Star Wars Trilogy has a conventional in/out lane setup. In lanes light the opposite orbit for Landspeeder progress. Out lanes can be lit one at a time for Light Saber Saver ball save at the lower left standup targets.
Bonus is calculated as 10,000 points per Landspeeder shot, plus 10,000 points per left ramp, plus 30,000 points per Heroic mode started, plus 30,000 points for each of the wizard mode requirements lit. The bonus only looks at totals for the current ball, not over the entire game. Bonus multiplier is increased by the secret left lane behind the standup targets up to a maximum of 6x. The bonus is only valuable if you get a lot of multipliers- usually at least 4x. Bonus and bonus multiplier can never be carried from ball to ball and there is no mid-ball bonus collect.
The game manual does not list point value alternatives for extra balls and specials.
There are 5 difficulty settings for how long the Landspeeder lights are on. On Extra Easy, the orbits are always lit no matter what. On Easy, the orbits stay on until collected after going through an in lane. Medium, Hard, and Extra Hard just determine how quickly a lit orbit will turn itself off.
The time it takes for Falcon letters to unlight can be adjusted.
The X-Wing toy can be disabled entirely. If it is, any shot to the X-Wing will go to the left in lane instead, and you will be expected to make all "through the gap in the drop targets" shots from a flipper, which is much more difficult.
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