"We got the goods and took a bite out of the Empire. That's all that matters."
- Hera Syndulla
Star Wars Rebels is a pinball adaptation of the 2014 animated television series of the same name, as one of a multitude of Star Wars Zen Pinball tables that can be played on Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3 and as one of two tables in the Unsung Heroes pack. Based primarily on the series' first season and the four shorts released to promote it, this table recounts the humble beginnings of a small band of rebels on the backwater planet of Lothal as they resist the tyranny of the Galactic Empire, which supplanted the Galactic Republic, persecuted the Jedi and oppressed many across the galaxy during and after the events of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Table overview[]
The upper half of the table and mini-playfield[]
A large, hexagonal landing pad dominates much of the table's back left corner, which is usually occupied by the Ghost, a covert cargo ship piloted by Hera Syndulla, the leader of Lothal's rebel cell and the daughter of Twi'lek freedom fighter Cham Syndulla. It is also the base of operations for the cell's entire six-person crew. However, the landing pad also functions as a mini-playfield, with 14 targets studding its rear 3 walls. Next to this landing pad is a large, thin, flat transparent platform where figures of Kanan Jarrus, the cell's Jedi leader and his eventually new apprentice, the young Ezra Bridger, stand.
A long ramp from the left side of the table, gated by a spinner, travels under this landing pad/mini-playfield as it rises, then crests right and runs behind the figure platform and into a straight habitrail that threads through a building in the table's right wall, which represents a typical street front of any of Lothal's cities. That habitrail eventually leads to the right inlane, and a short walkway small enough for figures to stand is installed at the back right corner of the table behind it. There is also a hidden sinkhole under the landing pad/mini-playfield midway through this long ramp that will catch balls that are not shot through the ramp strongly enough, sending them to the right inlane via a one-way exit VUK near it. To the right of that ramp is another ramp that makes an immediate U-turn directly in front of the landing pad, before leading down to a short, branching habitrail with a magnetic trap midway through it, which converges with another habitrail path right beside it into a single habitrail that's ultimately destined for the leftmost inlane. This ramp makes direct contact with the landing pad as it turns, with a flap gate linking the base of the mini-playfield with this habitrail. It can act as a kicker, or softly drop a ball draining from the mini-playfield back onto this habitrail. The other branching habitrail is part of a crossramp placed right next to that ramp, with two bonus multiplier targets placed in between the entrances to these two ramps.
To the right of that crossramp is a small left orbit, primarily accessed with a cross shot, that takes the ball to a bumper area that's directly under the figure platform. Balls that fall into it will pass through one of either 4 rollovers that spell EZRA. Inside it are 3 bumpers shaped like one of the sides of a cube-like holocron, kept by Kanan to record crucial data, including a message from Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi warning about the fall of the Republic and the Jedi. Once a ball drops into the bumper area, it can only exit right down from the left side of the opposite orbit, which also normally leads to the bumper area as well. A mini-flipper is placed to the right of this right orbit's entry, used for cross shots up the crossramp or left orbit.
In between the orbits are three lanes. The first, leftmost one is a short one leading into a hidden spindisk pattered after one of the thruster engines of the Ghost and placed under the figure platform area. The lane can also function as a pop-up jump ramp to launch the ball onto the figure platform in certain situations. The second lane is a wide, magnetic target marked with some graffiti tags sprayed by Sabine Wren, a young Mandalorian and the cell's most artistic explosives expert. This target can also collapse to reveal a sinkhole, which can also be blocked by three small bullseye drop targets in a row. A figure of Chopper stands on a small platform behind the target. The third and rightmost lane is a short ramp shaped into an upside-down V that sharply turns the ball around and drops it to the mini-flipper. In front of the spindisk lane are 3 drop target tracks that may show pop-up cardboard targets of Imperial Stormtroopers.
To the right of the right orbit and the mini-flipper is another short lane containing a magnetic saucer that can catch the ball and drop it down towards the right inlane. There are also 8 target posts placed throughout the table, two for each of the front corners of the entries to the U-turning ramp, the crossramp, the spindisk lane and the short upside-down V-shaped ramp.
The lower half of the table[]
To the left of the long ramp is a sinkhole, and there is a small platform to the left of it where a figure of the Grand Inquisitor, the leader of the Imperial Inquisitorius commissioned to hunt down and kill Jedi, stands. On the other side of the table, to the right of the rightmost saucer lane, is another small platform containing the abovementioned exit VUK that can pop a ball back right near the end of the long ramp's habitrail, which takes it to the right inlane. The left front quadrant of the table is designed to resemble the Imperial facilities established on Lothal after the Empire took it over, including a non-operational blast door on the left table wall near the Inquisitor figure. There is also a large Imperial recruitment advertisement plastered on the walls of the right table wall's model Lothal street front, particularly near the plunger, which would sometimes be vandalized with a rebel emblem by Sabine herself.
There are 5 lanes that spell GHOST, two outlanes and three inlanes. There are two rebounds that each contain a battle turret installed on the Ghost to blast the Empire's TIE fighters, which may sometimes appear over the table. Each outlane contains a high-power spring-loaded kickback implemented by Ezra's personal energy slingshots installed on the back edges of the apron that catch the ball and shoot it back into play. Lamps indicating the current bonus multiplier level are placed near the flippers. A replica of the control panel of the Phantom, the Ghost's small detachment shuttle, is placed over the outhole. A stationary model of a TIE fighter is hung on the front end of the table's left wall. The right apron contains a few crates that the rebels stole from the Empire in the series premiere "Spark of Rebellion" and the first season episode "Droids in Distress".
The plunger[]
The plunger is a straight shaft leading up into a straight, short habitrail that drops the ball down the right orbit. The front cannons of the Phantom provide the plunger force to propel the ball into play, with 10 possible power settings as indicated by a series of red lamps on the left side of the plunger. A few baskets of jogans, a kind of fruit, are placed to the right of the plunger at the street front forming the table's right wall.
To perform a skill shot, the player can apply high power to the plunger to shoot the ball up the right orbit, but must apply a specific amount of strength so that the ball drops into a lit bumper rollover en route to the bumper area. A clean drop through the correct rollover would award at least 1 million points, and the overall skill shot reward will increase by 500,000 points after each successful iteration. Alternatively, the player can apply moderate power to the plunger so that it takes the ball up the habitrail, but without enough power to take it up to the bumper area so that it drops down the right orbit to the mini-flipper for a chance to perform a super skill shot with a clean cross-shot to the crossramp. Shots to the left orbit that precede the super skill shot will increase the value of the successful super skill shot by 500,000.
Objective and missions[]
The goal of this table is to help the rebel cell in Lothal win a series of small battles against the Imperial oppression and presence on the planet and eventually inspire its citizens, as well as other people across the galaxy, to take up arms against it, while being wary of the sinister Grand Inquisitor, who is strong in the dark side of the Force and commissioned by the Empire to eliminate any remaining Jedi and stifle rebel opposition, across six missions.
To start a mission, the player must shoot the U-turning "mission" ramp between the long ramp and the crossramp at least once, with the number of required ramp shots incrementing for each fully attempted mission and resetting back to 1 after a ball drain. After the required number of ramp shots are made, the ball will stop at a magnetic trap near the habitrail junction and the player will be prompted to choose which mission to start, and once the chosen mission begins, the player can clear it by keeping the ball in play until the mission is completed successfully or time runs out. Draining the ball during a mission will cancel it, and once a mission is fully "attempted" as progress towards the wizard mode, it cannot be repeated until the wizard mode is started.
The following 6 missions must be attempted in order to unlock the wizard mode:
- Hero of Lothal: Kanan is being bottled up by a detachment of stormtroopers and he needs Ezra's help to fend them off. Within 1 minute, the player needs to rapidly hit lit lanes to help Ezra disrupt the stormtroopers' attacks with his energy slingshot so that Kanan can defeat the stormtroopers, but every time a lit lane is hit, about half of the lit lanes will go out, making it a little harder to make a quick, follow-through shot. If such lanes are hit before all lanes are lit again, the other half of lanes will become lit in their place, alternating as long as a combo is made through the lit lanes. If the player fails to make quick lane hits or combos, stormtrooper reinforcements will arrive, making the battle more difficult and increasing the number of lit lanes that must be hit to finish the mission, which starts at 6.
- Ghost Smuggling: Based on the first episode of the first season, "Droids in Distress", this mission details Hera’s attempt to smuggle T-7 ion disruptors, powerful weapons outlawed by the Republic and used by the Empire, to arms dealer Cikatro Vizago while evading the Imperial forces determined to confiscate them. The player has 30 seconds to load the ion disruptors onboard the Ghost while it's docked at a spaceport on the planet Garel by shooting the spindisk, the left sinkhole, the right saucer and the sinkhole unblocked by the graffiti target all at least once. Then, the Ghost will take off from Garel and TIE fighters will pursue it in an effort to shoot it down. The player must then shoot any of the multiple lit lanes that change after each correct shot to help the Ghost dodge the TIE fighters and hold them off long enough, as Hera and Chopper need one full minute to calculate a jump to hyperspace back to Lothal so that Cikatro will have a chance to buy them. Hitting either cross shot from the upper flipper will temporarily prevent damage from being done for about 10 seconds. The TIE fighters will repeatedly fire on the Ghost, weakening its deflector shields rapidly until a lit lane is shot, causing them to briefly cease fire as it changes position. If the Ghost's shields fully deplete before the hyperspace jump is made and the damage percentage shown on the scoring display reaches 100%, the TIE fighters will disable the Ghost's shield, resulting in mission failure.
- Entanglement: Based on the third prelude short used to promote the series, this mission is about the Lasat cell member Zeb, its toughest fighter, dealing with stormtroopers in the streets of Lothal while trying to meet Kanan for a mission. To help Zeb fight off the troopers, the player must use his brute strength by hitting a figure of a stormtrooper commander with the ball by rolling it up a pop-up jump ramp in the spindisk lane, but up to three stormtroopers will block the way as drop targets. The drop targets can be knocked down for extra time, but more reinforcements will arrive after several seconds. The player must hit the stormtrooper commander by getting past the drop targets three times before time runs out to help Zeb escape.
- Art Attack: Based on the second prelude short used to promote the series, this mission follows Sabine's efforts to outwit stormtroopers while using explosives to draw Imperial forces away and allow the Ghost to escape. To help her create the diversion needed, the player must set and detonate three bombs within a time limit. A bomb can be set up by shooting any of a few lit lanes, but the number of lanes that need to be hit will depend on which bomb is being set (1 for the first, 2 for the second or 3 for the third). After a bomb is set up, the player must detonate the bomb by hitting the saucer on the right side of the table, which must be done before any more bombs are set, as only one bomb can be set and detonated at a time.
- Chopper on Duty: Based on the first prelude short used to promote the series, "The Machine in the Ghost", this mission focuses on Chopper's urgent mission to repair the Ghost's shields after the ship is attacked by TIE fighters shortly following a raid on an Imperial supply convoy. The player has one minute to get the shields back online by hitting all 14 targets on the mini-playfield, but the player must get it there by shooting the graffiti target, which will hold the ball in place with a magnet as the Chopper figure picks up the ball, flies to the mini-playfield and drops the ball there, and the player must use the flipper buttons to move him sideways to bat and bounce the ball across the field and hit the targets. If the ball is drained in the mini-playfield, it will go down the habitrail junction and the player must hit the graffiti target again to take the ball back to the mini-playfield.
- It's a Trap!: Based on the third episode of the first season, "Rise of the Old Masters", this mission is about helping the rebels survive their first encounter with the dangerous Grand Inquisitor after their efforts to free Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, said to be kept prisoner in Stygeon Prime, become all for naught when they discover that she's already dead and the Inquisitor is using her body as bait for a trap. Sabine has three grenades available to help the rebels outwit him. The first one is used to blow open Luminara's prison cell, so that Kanan and Ezra can get away from the Inquisitor. The second one is put on a turbolift to thwart a detachment of stormtroopers looking for the rebels and the last one is used to get rid of one last group of stormtroopers blocking their escape. To blow up each detonator, the player must set one up by shooting either the left sinkhole, the right saucer or the sinkhole in the opened graffiti target, using each target once per detonator, then shoot the pop-up ramp at the spindisk lane to throw the detonator at the figure of the Inquisitor as he deflects blaster bolts from the rebounds' turrets. Once three detonators are blown up in this manner within a time limit, the rebels can escape and the mission is completed. (If the ball is shot into an already used up lane, it will pop back out of the VUK and roll to the right inlane.)
Once all six mission are attempted, the player will gain access to the wizard mode, Fire Across the Galaxy, based on the first season's final episode, where Kanan and Ezra use their Jedi abilities to finally confront the Inquisitor inside the engine room of Grand Moff Tarkin's Imperial Star Destroyer, the Sovereign. This mode begins by shooting the left sinkhole, and is divided into two parts:
- In the first phase, Ezra takes on the Inquisitor by himself with his new lightsaber blaster crafted at the end of the tenth episode of the first season, "Path of the Jedi". To help him hold his own against the Inquisitor, the player must shoot a lit lane three times, but until the second time a lit lane is hit, the target lane that must be hit will change every several seconds, requiring good timing. The final lit lane will always be the sinkhole behind the graffiti target.
- In the second phase, after the Inquisitor knocks out Ezra and sends him tumbling down a lower walkway, Kanan will then use both his lightsaber and Ezra's lightsaber to fight and eventually defeat the Inquisitor. (The exact details of the duel in the episode will not be reflected by the figure animations on the table.) To help him achieve victory, the player must shoot all 10 major lanes exactly once and reduce the Inquisitor's health from 10 to 0 as shown on the scoring display. Every time the player shoots a lane that wasn't shot before, Kanan will land a blow on the Inquisitor, decreasing his health by 1 point. If the player shoots a lane that was already shot before, the Inquisitor will attack Kanan and take away 1 point of his health, which also starts at 10 and is shown on the scoring display. Thus, the player needs to shoot all 10 major lanes exactly once without repeating a lane 10 times to finally defeat the Inquisitor and win the wizard mode.
The player will only be allowed one attempt at the wizard mode, and it will fail if the ball is drained or if Kanan loses to the Inquisitor in the second phase.
Side modes[]
The following side modes can be activated:
- Final Shot Hurry-Up: If the player fails a mission, a hurry-up side mode will start where the player will have a chance to earn a fraction of the points one would earn for completing a mission successfully by simply making a clean shot through any lane as a score pool shown on the scoring display dwindles rapidly. The amount that remains is immediately awarded when the shot is made.
- The Collector: Based on the fourth prelude short released to promote the series, "Property of Ezra Bridger", this side mode is about Ezra collecting an Imperial helmet so that he can wear it as personalized apparel with some help from Sabine. This mode begins when his name is spelled on the bumper rollovers when no modes are running and it is a timed mode where the player must shoot different lanes to find the helmet he's looking for. The mode ends if the player happens to shoot the lane that has it or if time runs out, whichever one comes first, with the former awarding extra points.
- Imperial Sabotage: The rebels of Lothal go on various exploits to frustrate Imperials. If the player shoots the left sinkhole several times, one of the following three optional mini-missions may start for a chance to earn bonus points:
- Stormtrooper Rendezvous: Defeat as many stormtroopers within 30 seconds by hitting drop targets of them as they pop up in front of the spindisk lane.
- Agent Chopper: Chopper is a handy astromech droid who specializes in hacking Imperial technology and computer systems. Within a time limit, take the ball to the mini-playfield by locking the ball to the graffiti target's magnet so that Chopper will pick up the ball and fly to the mini-playfield, then the player must bounce the ball and hit the four back targets there with Chopper before time runs out. If the ball drops past Chopper, the mini-playfield's drain gate will kick the ball back up the mini-playfield, meaning that it will not drain until the mini-mission is over.
- Steal the Crates: The rebels rob Imperial supplies so that they can give them freely to poor, suffering citizens. The player collects crates by hitting them throughout the playfield, then hides them by shooting the left sinkhole, all within a time limit.
- Cowboy Jedi: During a mission to rescue Wookiees who are enslaved in the spice mines of Kessel in the climax of the series premiere "Spark of Rebellion", Kanan comes across the Imperial Security Bureau agent Alexsandr Kallus, a ruthless rival of Zeb, who then confronts him in one final bid to thwart the Wookiee rescue. The player can start this mode by hitting each bumper 10 times to take out his stormtroopers, which will then replace the graffiti target with three bullseye drop targets in a row that must be knocked down with the ball to expose the sinkhole behind them, which must be shot to finally overpower Kallus and escape, all within a time limit. Completing this side mode successfully will award a score bonus.
- TIE Ambush: The Empire has a huge fleet of nimble but expendable TIE fighters to enforce its reign across the galaxy. If the player hits the right saucer several times, TIE fighters will assault the table and the player must fire back at them by operating the flippers rapidly to fire the rebounds' turrets, while keeping the ball in play. The goal here is to shoot down as many TIE fighters as possible for extra points until they overwhelm the turrets, causing their damage percentage to eventually reach 100% on the scoring display.
Multiball[]
The following multiball modes can be activated:
- Ghost Multiball: The Ghost is a ship that houses the rebel cell's six members, all working together to fight the Empire. If the player spells GHOST on the rollovers, three locks throughout the table will be temporarily lit for a chance to lock one of three balls for a multiball. Each of the three locks, which are the left sinkhole, the right saucer and the crossramp, can only be used once and only one ball can be locked at a time. Once all three locks are collecter, the multiball will begin as the Ghost will take off from the landing pad and drop the three locked balls into play from its front hatch. Jackpots can be collected by shooting any of 6 lit lanes, but each lane can only be used once, and once all jackpots are collected, a new wave of jackpots can be made available again when GHOST is spelled on the rollovers again. Shooting the sinkhole at the opened graffiti target will also raise the jackpots.
- Force Multiball: Reliance on the Force, the mystical energy force that binds all life, is crucial for any Jedi determined to survive the Empire's persecution, as well as Ezra's training to become a Jedi. If the player hits the spinner at the long ramp enough times to fill up the word "FORCE" on the scoring display, a time-limited opportunity to start a multiball will begin, where Ezra will use the Force to catch and levitate any ball that is shot up the spindisk lane. Once up to four balls are caught or when time expires, Ezra will drop the balls back into play and jackpot lanes are lit. The more balls the mode started with, the higher the jackpots will be.
- Thruster Multiball: The Ghost uses powerful thrusters to stay one step ahead of the Empire. If the thruster spindisk is hit enough times, the player can lock one ball in a secret sinkhole behind the spindisk. This needs to be repeated for each ball locked, but the player can choose to start the multiball immediately once 2 balls are locked, or wait until up to 4 balls are locked, allowing players to choose how many balls they want to play with. Once the mode begins, the locked balls will come out of the thruster spindisk and the player can shoot balls back inside the spindisk for jackpots, whose value depends on how many balls were locked. Note that if Thruster Multiball was activated during another Multiball, it will simply begin with the number of balls that were locked before starting it.
Perks[]
The following perks can be collected during a session:
- Ball Saver: A 30-second ball saver is granted at the start of each ball, with a shorter one available when a multiball begins. Once the ball saver expires, it can be reactivated by hitting all 8 target posts with both kickbacks turned on, or by getting it as a random prize from Sabine's graffiti award.
- Slingshot Kickbacks: Ezra's energy slingshots can come in handy to elude tough opponents. Hitting all 8 yellow target posts throughout the table will light a kickback, with the left one turning on first and then the right one after all the target posts are hit again. Each kickback is a high-power spring-loaded kickback with Ezra's energy slingshots shooting the ball back into play. Kickbacks will persist until they are used.
- Score Multiplier: Hitting both multiplier targets will raise the bonus multiplier, which is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is earned from Sabine's graffiti award. Maxing out the multiplier will light an extra ball.
- Sabine's Graffiti Award: Sabine specializes in spraying artistic graffiti to express her defiance of the oppressive Empire. She can paint up a random award if the player spells GRAFFITI by hitting the graffiti target 4 times (with each hit granting 2 letters) to open the sinkhole it blocks, then locks the ball inside that hole. After some time or when the player presses the launch button, a random award is selected and dispensed. Prizes may include kickbacks, one of three super modes, multiplier raise, multiplier hold, points, ball saver, extra time for modes and lighting an extra ball.
- Star Wars Jackpot: Shooting both orbits and the upside-down V-shaped ramp once will collect a letter for STAR WARS. Once all 8 letters are collected, the player can then collect a jackpot from each of these three lanes. Every time STAR WARS is spelled, the amount of points earned for ramp shots will permanently increase.
- Combos: To stay one step ahead of the Empire, the rebels must master elusion and evasion, which can be accomplished by shooting combos. To extend and continue combos, particular lanes with flashing, pale blue arrows must be shot after a combo begins. The first time a 10-way combo is collected, an extra ball will be lit.
- Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit by attempting half of the main missions, earning ”Light Extra Ball” as a random prize from Sabine's graffiti award, maxing out the bonus multiplier, attempting all 3 Imperial Sabotage side modes or executing a 10-way combo for the first time. Each lit extra ball is claimed by shooting the right saucer.
Tips[]
- Since draining the ball during a mission will cancel it, resulting in an unfortunate setback towards getting to the wizard mode, it is absolutely imperative that you take advantage of various ways to extend the ball's survivability to make good progress towards the wizard mode, which include getting the kickbacks turned on and the ball saver reactivated, preferably by going for Sabine's graffiti award instead of the tedious method of hitting all 8 yellow target posts, as well as starting multiball modes. You should also take advantage of some easy extra balls this table offers, since you'll probably need them to endure through the 6 missions and get to the wizard mode. Alternatively, modes can be timed out in case you find certain ones risky or not worth the points for completing them.
- The asymmetrical design of the table can make it difficult to shoot particular lanes. Use trial and error to determine the proper flipper timing to shoot particular lanes, especially the U-turn mission ramp that you'll need to make a clean shot through to start missions, as this can help you develop the skill of making precise shots to quickly clear most missions that call for shooting particular lanes (like It's A Trap! and the first half of Ghost Smuggling), as opposed to randomly chosen ones.
- There are some lanes and targets on this table that might lead to unwanted drains if you are not careful with shooting them. In particular, a straight-down-the-middle drain can happen from shooting stormtrooper drop targets and in a few instances, the thruster spindisk at the middle of the table. There is also a chance that a full counter-clockwise shot through the right orbit and down the left may throw the ball into the right outlane. Be cautious and prepared to make corrective nudges if necessary to prevent such drains from occurring.
External links[]
- Official table trailer
- Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
- Official table soundtrack on Bandcamp