Paranormal

"You have nothing to fear... for now."

-Paranormal investigator

Paranormal is one of the early Zen Pinball original tables, first released in Zen Pinball for the PlayStation 3, and is also part of the 3-table Sci-Fi pack. It is a pinball table themed around various popular paranormal phenomena and efforts to ascertain their veracity.

Table overview[]

The haunted mansion backglass[]

This table features a tall backglass that contains a mini-playfield in of itself, with the scoring display installed to the top left corner of the backglass. The mini-playfield is broken down into two levels, each representing one story of the two-story haunted mansion that is believed to have ghosts. The main playfield of the upper level consists of a crudely oval-like area, with two flippers guarding an outhole at its bottom area. A miniloop protrudes from the top right portion of the main area of the upper floor playfield, cutting through one part of the mansion's attic. A three-target target bank lies between the miniloop's two entrances, each representing one candle in a candlebra found in the upper story.

To the left of the miniloop's left entry is the smokestack of the house's chimney, and directly left of it is a another lane that curves away oppositely to the left, also cutting through the mansion's attic before leading to the mansion's balcony, whose wooden floor has rotted to the point where no one can safely stand on it, cratering to open a dropdown that leads to a sinkhole that takes the ball down the abovementioned chimney between the two lanes in the upper story play area. Right before the hole in the balcony is a single right flipper that can propel the ball up a short hairpin lane that takes a sharp right turn into a hidden ball locker that activates a machine on the mansion's roof that would fire a blue laser that cleanses it of malevolent phantoms, before dropping the ball down the chimney.

The lower play area represents the first, lower story of the mansion and has a larger open area than that of the second, upper floor. At the sides of this play area are two miniloops that each wrap around a single target representing a lamp in the mansion. Next to the right entry of the left miniloop is a bank of twin targets each representing lights in the mansion. Right next to this target bank is a shaft that links the upper and lower floors. It visually intersects the path of the mansion's stairway and is blocked by a captive ball that can be pushed into the upper floor and freed while trapping the ball that hit it in its place. The top of this shaft is guarded by the upper level's main flippers.

To the left of the right miniloop's main entrance is an alternate, curving pathway to the upper story. A small replica of a flying saucer is placed to the right side of this mini-playfield, which the ball will pass through while going through this lane. The bottom area of the lower play area contain its two main flippers. Balls that enter the haunted mansion mini-playfield enter through a sinkhole at the bottom left corner of the lower floor playfield that brings the ball to the left flipper. Both flippers guard an outhole that returns the ball to the main play area and are placed in front of a mysterious door inside the mansion leading to a portal.

The upper half of the table and rotating cube micro-playfield[]

Against the table's back wall is an thin, elongated and oddly-shaped elevated platform, with its left end being a small blob-like micro-playfield of its own. The back area of the blob-like area features three lanes. The leftmost lane is the terminus of the table's main ramp, which is a one-way inaccessible exit lane that balls use to enter this area; the center lane is the front steps leading to the door to the haunted mansion mini-playfield described above and the right lane leads to the rest of the elongated, narrow portion of the elevated back platform. The ball can also enter the blob-like area of the platform through the haunted mansion's mailbox after exiting its mini-playfield.

Balls that drain down the blob-like portion of the elevated back area would travel down a habitrail destined for the table's left inlane. The elongated, narrow portion of the elevated back platform takes the ball right across the table and towards a habitrail that runs along the table's right wall and dropping it near the film reel ball locker, although there is a pop-up spike early into the path that briefly holds the ball before it can continue further across. This narrow portion is lined by a series of four pushers that can knock the ball into each of four lanes of a rotating cube micro-playfield, with the left flipper button operating the leftmost and center-right pushers and the right flipper button operating the center-left and rightmost pushers. Balls that do not fall into a sinkhole there will eventually drain down to a habitrail destined for the right inlane. The cube is rotated via six large mechanical skeleton fingers, three on each side, exposing one of four different sides at any given time, with each side having a unique series of holes and paths.

The four possible playfields that the ball can enter on the rotating cube correspond to each of the table's four missions and are described in list form below:

Levitation Side: When the Levitation mission is selected, the cube will rotate to reveal a micro-playfield with four lanes that the ball can enter through via the four pushers behind the cube. The center-left and rightmost lanes directly take the ball from the back side of the cube to the front. The center-right lane leads to a sinkhole at the front side of the cube. Two low walls separate these three lanes from each other, while leaving out a gap near the middle of the cube to allow balls to cross between any of the three lanes. The leftmost lane is the shortest, as it is blocked off halfway down the cube by a low wall that slants right, causing it to merge into the center-left lane, while allowing for the possibility that the ball can cut into the center-right lane and drop into the sinkhole. The rightmost drain exit of this micro-playfield can be hit to claim extra balls awarded from the Clairvoyance Awards.
Doppelgänger Side: When the Doppelgänger mission is selected, the cube will rotate to reveal a micro-playfield with four lanes that are each accessed by their respective pushers, with the left-center lane being the only one to provide a clear straight path to the cube drain's exit habitrail. The rightmost lane is the shortest, as a curving low wall diverts the ball to a central area in the cube. The low walls that separate the four lanes at their rear entrances are very short, with the one between the left and central-left lane being the longest wall and the other two walls becoming progressively shorter towards the right side of the cube. The left-center drain exit of this cube play area is flanked by two low walls that curve towards it, blocking off the left and center-right drain exits of this cube micro-playfield. Towards the front-central area of this micro playfield that can move the ball sideways into a sinkhole on the right side of the cube, behind the curving low wall blocking off the rightmost lane and in front of a largely inaccessible second cube drain exit. The entrance of the center-left lane can be hit to claim extra balls awarded from the Clairvoyance Awards.
Fourth Dimension Side: When the Fourth Dimension mission is selected, the cube will rotate to reveal a micro playfield with four lanes that are each accessed by their respective pushers. The leftmost and rightmost lanes each have two sinkholes, one midway through and one towards the cube's front end. Three low walls at the cube's back portion separate the four lanes from each other by their entrances, and another three low walls, much shorter than those three, appear at the cube's front portion to distinguish the ends of these four lanes. In the middle of the two central lanes are four small diverter gates, with two gates per lane, that diagonally slant the ball's motion across the micro-playfield and rotate 90 degrees clockwise whenever the flipper buttons are pressed, which are key to bringing the ball to the sinkholes. The rear gates are rotated with every press of the left flipper button and the front gates are rotated with every press of the right flipper button. The center-left drain exit of this micro-playfield can be hit to claim extra balls awarded from the Clairvoyance Awards.
Spontaneous Combustion Side: When the Spontaneous Combustion mission is selected, the cube will rotate to reveal a symmetrical micro-playfield with four lanes that are each accessed by their respective pushers. A very short low wall separates the entrances of the left and right lanes, with a longer low wall running down the middle of all the lanes before stopping short of the cube's center. On each side is a wavy low wall that travels diagonally towards the front center-part of the playfield. All of these low walls cause all four lanes to converge towards the center and front of the cube. At the front end of the cube, in front of where the four lanes converge, is a parabolic passageway with each end leading to a sinkhole behind the diagonal, curvy low walls that cause the four lanes to merge. Each side of this passageway features a magnet that can be activated with whichever flipper button the magnet is closer to (i.e., the left magnet is powered by the left flipper button and vice versa), used to rock the ball across and along the parabolic passageway with the intent of dropping it into a lit sinkhole. The top and bottom of its middle portion are open, allowing the ball to enter the parabolic passageway through any of the four lanes as well as drain out of the micro-playfield to the exit habitrail. The entrance of the center-right lane can be hit to claim extra balls awarded from the Clairvoyance Awards.

To the left of the cube micro-playfields is a bumper area that can only be accessed through one particular lane further down the table, with a spinner gating the entrance of the bumper area. The path of the table's primary ramp curves along the right of the cube micro-playfields, traveling underneath the base of the haunted mansion mini-playfield and leading to the small blob-shaped elevated platform described earlier. A figure of a Jersey Devil, a legendary American monster, stands behind the ramp as it curves towards the back table wall. Right beside where the ramp begins to curve is a large reverse scoop serving as the terminus of the table's rightmost lane. Blocked by three drop targets that can be knocked down, this lane takes the ball down a long diagonal habitrail that leads to an elevated play area at the table's apron.

Further down the table, in front of the bumper area and to the left of the only lane that acn access it is an enclosed area representing the face of the chupacabra, another legendary creature. This area cannot be accessed with the ball itself, but there are two saucers in its eyes that can receive captive balls locked towards the bottom of this enclosed area that are struck by the ball and pushed further up the area towards the saucers. To the right of the bumper access lane is a short, looping side ramp that merges with the diagonal habitrail that started from the reverse scoop. As it rises to connect with it, it wraps around a sinkhole. One of the two targets used to activate the left kickback is installed between the bumper lane and this side ramp entrance.

Right below where the side ramp merges with the diagonal habitrail is the entrance to a mini-orbit that curves right under the main ramp as it rises, before merging into and dropping into the reverse scoop lane. Right next to this crossramp is a sinkhole used to collect extra balls, as well as the entrance to the table's primary ramp, whose two corners each have a target. The abovementioned reverse scoop lane is right next to this important ramp, and to the right of that lane is a mini-flipper that can be used to access the side ramp.

The lower half of the table and apron platform[]

To the left of the captive balls locked at the bottom of the enclosed chupacabra area is a sinkhole associated with such creature and one of the two targets used to activate the left kickback. Right behind the upper flipper is a ball locker shaped into a vintage film reel, the form of media that the paranormal investigators intend to use to capture the paranormal phenomena they investigate. This reel has two ball-locking saucers that can only be accessible when the reel is rotated such that they face the open main table area. While the saucers are inaccessible and at least one ball lock is unused, the curved wall behind them forms the entrance of a special, looping lane that must be shot to rotate the reel into locking position; this lane loops across the right outlane and pushes the ball into the right inlane's elbow through a diverter gate separating the two return lanes. Locked balls in the reel are released into play through the end of this loop.

Directly above this reel is a structure known as Newton's cradle, a structure used to demonstrate the conservation of momentum and energy. It is activated whenever a ball travels down a habitrail originating from the elongated portion of the aforementioned raised platform at the back of the table (that is, from a failed attempt to use the pushers there to knock the ball into the currently active cube micro-playfield). When the reel's sinkholes are rotated to be available for a ball lock, they can be accessed either from the main flippers, or through the cube habitrail.

There are four return lanes that spell FEAR, two slingshots and two lower flippers. Each slingshot has a toy model of a vehicle that normally falls victim to the Bermuda Triangle (a boat on the left slingshot and a plane on the right slingshot), and there is a transparent subway passage shaped into a triangle (resembling the Bermuda Triangle itself) that balls can enter and be shuttled through in a repeating circuit via powerful magnets. The magnets in the circuit are also used for the table's magna-save.

The left outlane is guarded by a standard kickback, while the right outlane has a subway below it that can start a video mode when lit. Unlike most pinball tables, this table's apron is part of the play area, as a large elevated platform is installed directly over it, covering much of its area. It is accessed via the long diagonal habitrail originating from the reverse scoop and joined by the side ramp. The habitrail ends on a straight, short ramp along the front end of the table's left wall.

Balls that exit that ramp would then drop down to the elevated apron platform, which is sloped towards the back of the table unlike the rest of the table. The entrance to this platform leads to a flipper above the table's left apron that can be used to bring the ball across the apron platform towards its right exit, which drains the ball at the elbow portion of the right inlane, skipping its rollover. Along the turn to this exit and just near the plunger is a spinner that can be spun to take pictures of Nessie.

Early into the path to the right exit of the apron platform, there is a target bank off to the right, towards the bottom part of the left apron used to activate the right kickback's video mode. If the player fails to make a good shot with the apron platform's flipper to bring the ball to its right exit, the ball will drain down the apron platform's left exit, which is the elbow of the left inlane, skipping its rollover. Between the pathway to the apron platform's left exit and the pathway to the platform's entrance lies the head and neck of a figure of the Loch Ness Monster, whose body is positioned further back up the table, forming the left wall of the main play area. The monster can occasionally move its head to partly block the entry to the apron platform.

The plunger[]

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a habitrail running straight along the table's right wall. It usually drops the ball just short of the reverse scoop in the lane used to access it, but there is also a very short branching drop-off midway through this habitrail that quickly feeds the ball to the upper flipper. The goal of the skill shot is to drop the ball into any branching dropdown of the habitrail and quickly shoot the side ramp for a double skill shot. A successful double skill shot will take the ball to the apron platform for a chance to shoot the spinner off to the right side of the pathway to the apron platform's right exit for a final super skill shot. The skill shot is worth 500,000 points, the double skill shot is worth twice the regular skill shot and the super skill shot is worth 2 million points. If the ball is plunged too strong, the player can still execute a skill shot by hitting the side ramp with the upper flipper, as the original end of the plunger habitrail and its branching skill shot dropdown both take the ball to the upper flipper.

Objective and Multiball missions[]

The goal of this table is to reproduce and assess the existence of four different unusual phenomena through four multiball modes. To start a multiball, the player must lock at least one ball in the film reel ball locker by shooting it once, then shoot one of the saucers behind it within 30 seconds (either directly, from one of the Triangle Trouble saucers, or from a cube shot without using the kickers); once the ball has been locked, the player can then choose which multiball mode will be qualified with the flippers and launch button. Multiball can then be started by shooting the main ramp, using the mini-flipper to flip the ball onto the cube, and making all the flashing hole shots by using the flipper-activated coils. Magnets will be activated on certain sides of the cube, and can be used by holding either flipper.

The amount of balls that need to be locked to start shooting for the cube holes depends on the multiball; Levitation and Doppelgänger only require one lock, but 4th Dimension and Spontaneous Combustion require two.

To complete a multiball successfully, the player must score at least one regular jackpot before draining out of multiball; if the player fails to collect any jackpots, a 20-second "second chance" will be given to instantly retry the mission by shooting into the flashing hole on the cube. Multiballs can be repeated as many times as desired, and all four must be completed to start the Wizard Cube wizard mode.

The jackpot values in each mode start at 500,000; super jackpots are worth 2x, and mega jackpots are worth 4x. Shooting the spinner on the apron platform will increase the base jackpot value for the current mode by 1,000 points per spin.

Multiballs[]

The following four multiball missions must be completed successfully to fill the dossier:

Levitation: An investigation of unseen forces that might cause objects to levitate. This 2-ball multiball starts with the ball that was shot into the flashing hole on the cube floating back out onto the main playfield, and continuing to float while moving from the left to right side of the playfield. A second ball will automatically be ejected, and the player must knock the floating ball with this ball within 40 seconds to score a super jackpot. The player can relight the super jackpot by shooting a ball back into the flashing hole on the cube to score a jackpot; this process of collecting and relighting the super jackpot repeats until multiball ends.
Doppelgänger: The investigator is on the hunt for someone who looks and behaves identically to them. 2 balls will be sent into play at the start of this multiball, and all three of the Triangle Trouble eject saucers will be lit to score a jackpot. Once the jackpot is collected, the ball will be diverted into the Bermuda triangle subway circuit, where magnets will slowly move the ball and only two of the three ejects will be flashing; shooting either flashing eject will score a super jackpot and continue the multiball, but shooting the unlit eject will score a pity super jackpot and end the multiball instantly - even if the player didn't drain either ball.
4th Dimension: A dimensional shift wreaks havoc across the playfield in this 3-ball multiball. At the start of this mode, two portals will be lit: one will be in front of the main ramp, and the other will be in front of a random shot on the playfield, flashing different colors. Shooting the flashing portal will score a jackpot and send the ball up the main ramp for a shot at a super jackpot, or a mega jackpot if all four holes on the cube are shot. Shooting the other portal will send the ball towards the apron platform for a spinner shot. Multiball ends when the player drains down to a single ball.
Spontaneous Combustion: Determine the mystery behind objects setting on fire with no apparent source of heat. The jackpots in this multiball are collected at the main ramp and reverse scoop, followed by the side ramp for the super jackpot. One of the 3 balls in this multiball will constantly have a black smoke trail behind it; jackpots collected with the smoking ball will be one level higher than normal, meaning a super jackpot collected with the smoking ball will be a mega jackpot instead. If the smoking ball drains, the smoke will transfer to one of the two balls in play; the multiball ends if the player drains down to single-ball play.

Wizard Cube[]

Once all four multiball missions end with at least one jackpot collected during each of them, Wizard Cube will start immediately. This is a two-minute long, single-ball mode with the same jackpot rules as the multiball modes, where the player has to shoot flashing cube holes to score jackpots or super jackpots. Only one side of the cube will be flashing at a time; pressing the launch button will slowly stop the cube's rotation (generally, pressing the button on the side right before the flashing cube side will guarantee super jackpots). The cube will only remain motionless until the ball exits the cube coil area. After two minutes, the wizard mode will end and the progress towards filling the dossier will reset, requiring the player to play through all four multiball modes again.

Side modes[]

The following side modes can be started:

Video Mode: Hunt for a mutant crocodile in the sewers of a city. If the player completes the standup target bank on the apron platform, the right outlane will light to start the video mode (and save the ball); a shot to the unlit film reel lock will also start this video mode. The player must watch the crocodile as the investigator pursues it in a first-person perspective in the sewers, and quickly press either flipper button to follow it wherever it turns until the crocodile is cornered at a dead end. 8 successful turns are required for the first video mode, increasing by 1 for each video mode played on the current ball. Each turn scores 500,000 points, and the value scored at the end increases with every few video modes played until the current ball drains (the first two score 5 million, video modes 3 - 5 score 10 million, 6th video mode onwards scores 20 million).
Haunted Mansion: If the player opens the door near the mini-flipper, either by hitting it directly once or by hitting the two standup targets flanking the main ramp, shooting behind the door will send the ball to the haunted mansion mini-playfield to start a side mode. The player must hit at least one of the nine standup targets inside the mansion to unveil a ghost. Once at least one ghost is found, the player must activate the anti-ghost blaster positioned on the roof by bringing the ball to the upper floor, shooting the left curving lane to bring it near the house balcony and then using the flipper there to shoot the ball to the anti-ghost blaster to pulverize the ghosts for 1 million points times the number of ghosts defeated.
- Finding and eliminating all nine ghosts, saving the ghost blaster shot for last, will score 20 million points instead and light an extra ball for collection on the upper floor of the mini-playfield.
Devil's Playground: The Jersey Devil is a territorial menace that threatens whoever trespasses its property. If the player knocks down all 3 drop targets blocking the reverse scoop, the reverse scoop will light to score 200,000 points for 15 seconds; once the reverse scoop is shot, the ball will be sent to the apron platform, where the spinner can be shot to multiply the collected value by +1x per spin. (The drop targets will pop back up at the end of the side mode.)
Dizzy Hurry-Up: The chupacabra is a quadruped carnivorous creature rumored to devour other animals. If the player shoots both captive balls in the Chupacabra area so that both balls lock into the saucers in the chupacabra's eyes, a 30-second hurry-up mode will begin where the main ramp will light to score a value starting at 5 million points and decreasing to 100,000 points.
- Shooting the ramp three times within 5 seconds of each shot during this mode will end it instantly, and light an easy jackpot worth 500,000 points that can be claimed at the reverse scoop ramp during this mode, which can be raised by 2,500 points per bumper hit. After the easy jackpot is collected, the spinner on the apron platform will briefly light to score up to 3 super jackpots, 1 per spin.

Perks[]

The following perks can be activated during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball mode, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated by spelling FEAR at the return lanes, whose letters cycle with the flippers, or with a specific Clairvoyance Award.
Kickback: The kickback at the left outlane can be activated by hitting the two standup targets that flank the Chupacabra captive balls and bumper lane to earn one use of the left kickback; up to three uses of the kickback can be stacked, which are only good for the current ball.
Magna Save: If the player shoots all three Triangle Trouble ejects once, a magna-save will be available to activate at the dead space above the flippers, operated with the launch button.
Ball Lightning & Bonus Multiplier: Every time the ball enters the bumper area, bumper hits will add around 5,000 points to a total score value seen on the scoring display, awarded when the ball exits the bumpers. If 300,000 points are scored in one shot to the bumper area, the bonus multiplier will increase by +2x up to 10x, lighting the extra ball when 10x bonus is reached. A bonus hold that carries the bonus multipliers between balls can be earned from the Clairvoyance Award.
Clairvoyance Awards: Shooting into an unlit sinkhole on the cube will begin a random award roulette on the display, where an award can be selected within 5 seconds by using the flippers. Possible rewards include points (very small values from 10-100 points, but 1 million and 2 million occasionally), increasing or holding the bonus multiplier, lighting the lock at the film reel, 30 or 60-second ball savers, or lighting an extra ball on one of the exits of the cube.
Nessie: Every spin of the spinner on the apron platform will score 20,000 points and flash a camera to attempt to draw out Nessie, causing its figure to move its head partly onto the path towards the apron platform's entrance for about ten seconds. Shooting the side ramp while Nessie is in front of the apron platform will cause the ball to hit Nessie's nose for 100,000 points, with every 3 nose hits lighting an extra ball.
Extra Ball: There are four ways to light extra balls, and any of them can be accomplished multiple times, up to a maximum of five total extra balls per ball number. Lighting an extra ball will require the player to shoot a certain lane or sinkhole to claim it, according to the table listed below:

Extra ball method	How to claim the extra ball after lighting it
Find and eliminate all nine ghosts in one visit to the Haunted Mansion mini-playfield	Shoot the upper floor mini-loop on the mini-playfield
Earn the Extra Ball award from Clairvoyance Awards	Roll the ball through the lit extra ball light on the cube
Max out the bonus multiplier	Shoot the extra ball sinkhole
Hit Nessie's nose three times	Shoot the extra ball sinkhole

Tips[]

Paranormal is a very long playing table with plenty of forms of outlane protection. Spelling FEAR on the return lanes will constantly reactivate the ball saver, the magna-save can be lit in three eject shots, and the right outlane can save balls if it's lit for video mode or if the player nudges the game at the right time. Bang backs are also relatively easier to accomplish on this table than most, due to the way that the center drain is designed on this table.
For the Fourth Dimension cube micro-playfield, the key to reaching the front sinkholes is to remember that any use of the coils will cause either the front or rear diverter gates on the micro-playfield to turn 90 degrees clockwise. The ideal diverter gate formation you should use to hit the front (bottom) sinkholes is to have the rear (top) diverter gates slant right to resemble backslashes ("\") and the front (bottom) diverter gates slant left to resemble forward slashes ("/"), so that the gates altogether form two right-facing chevrons ("> >"). Once the gates are in those positions, you can hit the front left sinkhole by knocking the ball with the center-right pusher, which will turn the rear diverter gates clockwise at the same time to make the ball move diagonally down-left into that sinkhole, or hit the front right sinkhole by knocking the ball with the center-left pusher, which will turn the front diverter gates clockwise at the same time to make the ball move diagonally down-right into that sinkhole.

External links[]

Zen Originals

Adventure Land · Biolab · CastleStorm · Earth Defense · El Dorado · Epic Quest · Excalibur · Mars · Paranormal · Pasha · Rome · Secrets of the Deep · Shaman · Son of Zeus · Sorcerer's Lair · Tesla · V12 · Wild West Rampage · Curse of the Mummy · Pinball Noir · Sky Pirates: Treasures of the Clouds · Grimm Tales · Wrath of the Elder Gods · Verne's Mysterious Island · A Samurai's Vengeance