Pachinko Wars (Super Famicom) Walkthrough by SoltyD of Retro Safari December 20, 2019 Hello! Welcome to this walkthrough of the 1992 Coconuts Japan release of Pachinko Wars for the Super Famicom. If you prefer to see this guide in video format, visit the Pachinko Wars Walkthrough on the Retro Safari YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogDcSkueixM ----------------- Table of contents ----------------- 1. Basics of Pachinko [BSOP] 2. Story [PWST] 3. Operation 1 [OPE1] 4. Operation 2 [OPE2] 5. Operation 3 [OPE3] 6. Operation 4 [OPE4] 7. Cheats [CHTS] 8. Credits [CRDT] ---------------------------- 1. Basics of Pachinko [BSOP] ---------------------------- Pachinko is a popular pastime in Japan and derives from the original game of bagatelle. In bagatelle, players used a spring to launch balls onto a playfield with various pins and holes. The goal is to get these balls into holes that are worth varying numbers of points. This idea became the predecessor for pinball as well, but pachinko took the playfield and made it completely vertical. It added motorized ball launchers, tulips that could open and close, slot features, and more. The various holes that can be hit on a pachinko playfield are called gates and return several balls to the player upon being hit. Some gates may open up other gates to make easier targets or start a slot machine. Machines usually offer a fever mode that is started by matching all three reels on a slot feature or hitting a particularly well-guarded gate. During these fever modes a large gate called an attacker opens up, allowing the player to easily get many hits and accumulate balls. A pachinko machine has a fixed number of balls that it is allowed to pay out. When it reaches this number, the machine stops operation until an attendant comes by to refill it. This status is known as "uchidome" and is often the point of pachinko-based video games. Like its cousin pinball, pachinko was historically used for gambling purposes. Unlike pinball it still is today, albeit in a roundabout way due to most gambling being illegal in Japan. Japanese pachinko parlors trade bins full of balls for prizes that are taken to a storefront nearby (though the pachinko parlor cannot tell you where that is) and traded for actual money. --------------- 2. Story [PWST] --------------- The story of Pachinko Wars is simple. Although the protagonist 008 seems like an ordinary salaryman, he is actually a spy doing his work in the battlefield of pachinko parlors. An enemy spy unit is nearby, and the game revolves around thwarting their nefarious plans and ultimately destroying their base through the power of pachinko. Operations each have two pachinko parlors. The first one only serves as a speed bump and money grinding spot where 008 has to get enough money to buy a membership card to the second parlor for a cost of 20000G. The second parlor is (with one exception) where all the action for that operation takes place. Every parlor requires a single machine to be beaten before the story can be progressed. ------------------ Operation 1 [OPE1] ------------------ The chief briefs 008 on a situation developing at New World and is told to go there and meet with his contact. But first, he'll have to go to Big Delle (a callout to Coconuts' earlier pachinko games) and get a membership card to New World. 008 is given 1000G to start his journey and sent to Big Delle. Go to Big Delle, visit the counter in the back and buy 150 balls or so. For this operation only, let's talk a bit about finding the right pachinko machine to play. Part of the gameplay in games like this is examining each machine to find one that is likely to pay out. By visiting a machine and using the "LOOK" function, you can scroll around the playfield and note which way the pins are bent around gate entrances. If they're pushed towards each other, those gates are difficult to hit and balls will just bounce off of them, making the machine unlikely to pay out. What you want to see are pins pushed away from each other and making a wide entrance for these gates. There may only be one of this type in each bank, so take your time and look at them all. Big Delle's counter only sells the membership card for New World after a single machine has been beaten. Realistically it will take cleaning out three machines to have enough balls to trade in for that card (20000G). Money-grinding is a significant part of this game, but if you don't want to do that a trick down in the cheats section will help out with money problems. Once inside New World, the people inside mention an odd ticking sound. After clearing out another machine, your contact tells you that machine #21 has a bomb in it! Some guy is playing it too, and he doesn't want to get off without a bribe of some kind. Head to the vending machine in back and grab a juice (110G), then hand it over to him. He gets out of your way and lets you use machine #21. Clean out this machine to disarm the bomb and complete the operation. ------------------ Operation 2 [OPE2] ------------------ The chief now sends 008 on a mission to root out a disguised enemy spy at Parlor Castle. First, go to Super Lion and clean out at least one machine, then buy the membership card to Parlor Castle (20000G). Once inside Parlor Castle, clean out another machine and buy a reinforcing spring (6500G). Then go to the other counter in the upper right corner and buy a slingshot (52000G). People in this parlor will mention rumors of a person disguised as a woman. Give the spring to the old man in the parlor, who has been complaining about his shaking hands due to his old age. In gratitude he gives you a dirty picture book (abunai ehon, lit. "Dangerous picture book"). Find a woman walking around with a purple top and red pants and give the dirty picture book to them. Their reaction to the pictures outs them as the spy, and after a brief transition they've changed back into their normal clothes. Use the slingshot on them to bring them down and clear the operation. NOTE: The weapon shop in Parlor Castle also sells a water pistol and a real pistol. These give humorous reactions from the enemy spy but cannot be used to apprehend them - a very expensive mistake in the case of the real pistol which costs 150000G. ------------------ Operation 3 [OPE3] ------------------ Now on the attack, the chief sends 008 to find a map to the enemy spy hideout. The map, however, has been torn into four pieces and it is our job to find them all. First, go to the Golden Crab and clean out a machine and buy a membership card to Liberty Hall (20000G). Once in Liberty Hall, your contact doesn't think you're really 008! Clean out a machine, but he still won't believe you unless you have a Pachinko Pro card. It can be bought from the shop in the upper right (20000G). There is also a CD Player on sale here and at Golden Crab for 38000G. It's not a necessary item but allows you to play any music track from the game. Upon showing him the card, he finally believes that you're 008 and gives you a piece of paper describing where the map pieces are. They are spread out among all the previous pachinko parlors where men in striped hats are hanging out. They've been put into the #8 machines at Big Delle, Super Lion, Golden Crab and Liberty Hall. When clearing one of these machines out, you can check your status to make sure that you have the map pieces. Upon collecting the last map piece, the operation is clear. ------------------ Operation 4 [OPE4] ------------------ The final operation is your assault on the enemy spy base, which is now known to be at Pachinko Great. But first we have to pay a visit to Asahi Kaikan (Morning Sun Hall). As with all the others, clean out a machine and buy a membership card to Pachinko Great (20000G). Now in the enemy base, most people will not talk to you. The few people who aren't enemy spies in this operation complain about how terrible the service is. Clean out a machine and the enemy spies will hurl abuse at you if you talk to them now. A gentleman with a striped hat found a Black Badge and he'll sell it to you for 28000G. Buy it and the enemy spies will now recognize you as a friend and talk to you normally. One of the spies in the base mentions that machine #10 houses a detonator for the building. Machine #10 is occupied by a guard, however, who tells you not to use the Golden Ball on that machine. Go to the shop just above this machine and buy the Golden Ball (30000G). With the Golden Ball in your possession, the guard mistakes you as his relief and leaves the machine. Clean out machine #10 and you'll set off the self destruct, blowing up Pachinko Great and the enemy spies. Mission complete! ---------------- 7. Cheats [CHTS] ---------------- To give yourself a lot of cash: Modify the second character from the last in your password. For example, take the password "AIEKIJ7RDSG" which puts you in Golden Crab. Change the "S" on that password to another character, usually "A", and upon coming back into the game you will have a total of somewhere around 160-180k G. "A" sometimes does not work and you'll have to go through the alphabet to find a valid character. Finishing the game requires beating about a dozen machines. Grinding enough money to get the items necessary to finish the game can add another 20 or so. The extra money still allows for plenty of pachinko action while removing the money grind that just pads out the game length. ----------------- 8. Credits [CRDT] ----------------- SoltyD and Retro Safari for putting the guide together GameFAQs for hosting this guide