Pachi Com
Encyclopedia
is one of many pachinko-themed video games released for the Family Computer
. It was released in 1985 to an exclusively Japanese market.
The game of pachinko
is hugely popular in Japan, since it involves playing pinball
with an element of slot machine
s mixed in along with gambling. There are four different gameplay modes to choose from (two of them assign a player with a pachinko machine while the other two allow players to choose their own machine). The game had an original manufacturer's suggested retail price
of 4,900 yen in Japan (approximately $30 USD).
This statement alone helps to explain why there are so many of these games on this and other systems like the Super Famicom
and the Nintendo 64
. Anyway, the game board has a layout with nails sticking out. Metal balls would either of or fall in between the holes created by the pegs in order to traverse the board. Certain compartments are added to the board. Should a metal ball find its way to one of these compartments, the player will receive points that are similar to credits on a slot machine. Players can expect to lose that ball (and a point) if it falls below the bottom of the board (similar to falling down a bottomless pit in an action
game). Initially, the player starts off with one hundred balls (points).
In Mode A, the clock goes forward from 000000 seconds until it reaches 999999 seconds (the equivalent of either 16666.65 non-real time minutes, 2777.775 non-real time hours, or 115.740625 non-real time days). Once that occurs, the game is over and any remaining points are stored in the top three score list. Mode B is the same except that the clock goes backwards from 999999 seconds all the way back to 000000 seconds. It is very easy to mash the "A" button repeatedly around with the direction pad to the right in order to accumulate mass winnings from the pachinko games and "cheat" the system.
. Almost five percent of the entire ROM
(2.05 kilobytes out of the 41 kilobyte ROM image) is taken up by this otherwise inaccessible message. The message is recorded in romaji
and reads like this:
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. It was released in 1985 to an exclusively Japanese market.
The game of pachinko
Pachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
is hugely popular in Japan, since it involves playing pinball
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
with an element of slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s mixed in along with gambling. There are four different gameplay modes to choose from (two of them assign a player with a pachinko machine while the other two allow players to choose their own machine). The game had an original manufacturer's suggested retail price
Suggested retail price
The manufacturer's suggested retail price , list price or recommended retail price of a product is the price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations...
of 4,900 yen in Japan (approximately $30 USD).
Gameplay
Pachinko is basically a vertical pinball machine which players use tiny metal balls to play. It is also a highly popular form of gambling in Japan (although it is still illegal today for pachinko parlors to convert any won balls into cash). It is also theoretically illegal for other gambling games to operate except for pachinko and betting on the horse races (along with motorcycle racing and bicycle racing) through the government-owned industries.This statement alone helps to explain why there are so many of these games on this and other systems like the Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
. Anyway, the game board has a layout with nails sticking out. Metal balls would either of or fall in between the holes created by the pegs in order to traverse the board. Certain compartments are added to the board. Should a metal ball find its way to one of these compartments, the player will receive points that are similar to credits on a slot machine. Players can expect to lose that ball (and a point) if it falls below the bottom of the board (similar to falling down a bottomless pit in an action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
game). Initially, the player starts off with one hundred balls (points).
In Mode A, the clock goes forward from 000000 seconds until it reaches 999999 seconds (the equivalent of either 16666.65 non-real time minutes, 2777.775 non-real time hours, or 115.740625 non-real time days). Once that occurs, the game is over and any remaining points are stored in the top three score list. Mode B is the same except that the clock goes backwards from 999999 seconds all the way back to 000000 seconds. It is very easy to mash the "A" button repeatedly around with the direction pad to the right in order to accumulate mass winnings from the pachinko games and "cheat" the system.
Hidden message
There is a hidden message that can be found in any hex editorHex editor
A hex editor is a type of computer program that allows a user to manipulate the fundamental binary data that makes up computer files. Note that computer files can be very small to very large...
. Almost five percent of the entire ROM
ROM image
A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board...
(2.05 kilobytes out of the 41 kilobyte ROM image) is taken up by this otherwise inaccessible message. The message is recorded in romaji
Romanization of Japanese
The romanization of Japanese is the application of the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is known as , less strictly romaji, literally "Roman letters", sometimes incorrectly transliterated as romanji or rōmanji. There are several different romanization systems...
and reads like this:
- "Mr. GOUHARA from JPM planning does absolutely nothing but gives me all sorts of crap anyway. SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT!
- "DEG/NANA/KOYA from company "T" [presumably Toshiba EMI]
- "You RETARDS say one thing, then something else later all the time. I worked ALL NIGHT working on what you told me to; don’t say to me "it was better before"! Who the hell do you think is going to play this, with its boring bonus stage and the balls that get stuck? If you use SELECT to put the JOY right, that’ll make it +1, you idiot! You’re a sound company; quit ignoring pachinko sounds and trying to put these weird sounds in instead! Do you WANT it to be this hard to hear the balls?! I’ve left the PREVIOUS sounds, so edit this if you want to hear it. Set hex address AFFC to 1FAF and AFC4 to E0EE to get decent sounds. (Tiger_V & Kugi) Company "T", you idiots! GOU, you retard! Anyone can tell you what good sound is
- "Does company "N" develop with company "I"‘s PROS80? I’m AMAZED they can make stuff on that weird (3″ floppy disk) machine! Do they trace the holes when drawing art, too? [i.e. Do they program graphic data directly without the use of any artist tools?] If you’re sick of tracing holes, I’ll sell Bear's art machine (ROM) and debugger for 5 million YEN… Tel 03-864-6880 That's cheap if you want pretty art!!!