Nudge Circle of Honor: Corvette
My two previous Circle of Honor nominations (World Cup Soccer, and Jack*Bot) are also golden era Bally/Williams picks. I’m just now realizing, writing this intro, that my three choices thus far are games that came out within an 18 month span. But hey, they’re darlings for a reason. What are you gonna do (in a bad Tony Soprano impression).
And, the nuances of 90s games are probably more interesting than me writing a 5000 word love story on Stern’s Jurassic Park. (Pretty sure Doc would just block my email address on the spot if I sent that in.) But everyone loves JP. I don’t think Corvette is making many people’s top 5 lists.
What (my) dreams are made of.
Corvette goes hard. I feel like this is a more common Euro game. You definitely see it there more than you do stateside, and I wish I was smart enough to use the Pinball Map API to back up that claim. (Anyone got a Corvettes per capita stat handy?) Prior to a few months ago, I’d spend hours ignoring 109 other machines at District 82, cranking out upper loop/ramp combos with the joy of a kid playing Mario Kart 64 for the first time on Christmas morning. Thankfully, I now have one at a brewery 15 minutes from my house. Thanks, Darryl! Good looking out for me. Corvette and Jaws Pro at Elm Creek Brewing is literally all I need in this old life. As for the rest of the lineup? I will continue to not play, and look disapprovingly at, the copies of Venom and Wick that Jaws is sandwiched between.
Pulling up to Elm Creek and finding (live, mind you) Bond being replaced with John Wick… heartbreak. Wondering why the backbox isn't folded down? I am too.
Okay, but why does Corvette go so hard? It’s not a deep game, regardless of your skill level. There’s nothing groundbreaking here. It’s rarely mentioned in the top golden era Bally games. But goddamn, it goes hard. Let me break it down.
You want pinball flow. This is pinball flow.
The upper loop to upper ramp combo. The left ramp to either upper flipper shot. The left loop, loop pass, and hitting either the kickback target or backhanding the ZR-1 ramp. It feels so, so good. Also, pro tip: other than the scoop, this is all you need to do to blow this game up. If I hit anything on the right side of the playfield other than the kickback target, I missed. Once you get into a rhythm of your left loops and left ramps for locks, and your upper flipper shots in multilball, you’ll get it. I get into a state where I don’t care what my score is, and I don’t know if I’m on a new game or ball 3 with a good score. It’s the same deal, it’s the same flow, and it doesn’t get old.
Rules even a caveman can learn
Nothing against cavemen, but let’s be real the rules ain’t crazy. There are two strats to blow this game up: multiball, and something I like to call the thing. Multiball is pretty simple, left loop to light lock and left ramp for lock. (It’s easier the first time around, just one left loop.) Upper ramp and upper loop, any order, are your jackpots. Hit both, and they both relight. That’s… kinda it. Do that as much as you can until you die, like any other good thing in life. There’s some quirky stuff, like a flipper code before plunging to activate the upper flipper skill shot (LLRLL), and the fact you only get one ball save per game. There are deep cuts to learn. But unless you’re competing at high levels, I wouldn’t say any of those are critical.
The Start Challenge scoop is less innocuous than it may seem.
The other thing is… the thing. The mode exploit. This isn’t really a secret anymore, but when I learned about it last summer at D82, my mind was blown.
The thing? Yeah, the thing.
Start a mode at the scoop. Find a way to get control, and wait for about 5 seconds. As soon as the red Pit In light goes on, hit the scoop again. The game tells you to hit both flippers to rev and speed up. Don’t! Sip your drink, check your phone, chill for a second, and wait for it to time out. The display won’t say it, but you’ll get a quick 300m.
Why does this work? Shitty software! I still don’t have a good understanding or explanation of what is happening here, but the points are real. We probably need a custom ROM to fix this, because I’m definitely trying to play Corvette in future tourneys, and I don’t wanna see it yanked for this reason. Hey Soren, can I formally submit a request? The people want it!
My recent trip overseas gave me some inside info on the origins of this exploit, previously unknown to me, and at perfect timing as I was wrapping up this article. This was originally a Danish thing, known about for a few years in small circles via a player named Bo Mertins. My newfound friend Ian Hawkesworth let the Swedish kids and others know about it, and it spread from there, garnering a bit of friendly backlash for letting the cat out of the bag. This story was corroborated by Emil Droidberg at Pinlab as well: he quickly threw Ian under the bus and confirmed this account. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were similar stories in other communities, given this game has been out in the wild for 30 years. All I know is that it’s well enough known at this point. If Josh Sharpe is talking publicly about setup changes to account for it, don’t blame me for blowing it up.
It’s… the best racing game?
Yes, there are some other good ones. Indy 500: another potential Circle of Honor nominee (and also in my beloved 18 month release window). (Editor’s note: Are we just letting anything in now?) Stern’s Mustang… definitely will not be nominated, or written about, or even acknowledged other than this moment here. NASCAR? Not for me. Getaway II? Good. Very good, but not quite there. High Speed? Not quite it. Hot Wheels? No idea. I know there’s more out there, but I challenge you to submit a better racing game nomination. And, again: they all go to Doc, so I get off scot-free and he gets all the shit. His favorite! Until they make a Mario Kart pinball machine, this is in my top spot. (Can you tell I’m obsessed with MK64 right now? I’m sorry, everyone.)
Hit this about three dozen times a game. Also, like Godzilla, you don’t have to use it! Let it dead bounce over to a trap on the right flipper. You’re welcome.
Go find one, if you can!
As soon as I found out I had a Corvette at a local brewery, I became a local. My copy has a direct eyeline to the bar from where I stand and play; this garners some mild encouragement during my drink orders. This is later contrasted against a feeling I’m being stared at in an aquarium while I play, like a zookeeper looking on disapprovingly as I slap the cabinet like a big dumb seal. But I can’t get enough upper ramps and loop passes. And software cheats. And ignoring the right ramp & loop. Go throw up some billions.
