RollerCoaster Tycoon is a 2002 pinball machine released by Stern, designed by Pat Lawlor and based on the PC game that started the franchise. Themed around an amusement park, the game allows you to build rides and stalls, activate some of the game's modes, and accumulate enough guests to become a Park Tycoon. Notable features on this game include a talking dummy in the upper left corner of the playfield, as well as colored habitrails on the ramps to resemble roller coaster rides.
This game is considered to be mediocre by some fans because of the repetitive (and sometimes annoying) nature of the game and it's generally considered to be Lawlor's worst table. Part of this can be attributed to the recovery from the fall of Williams Electronics and Bally at the Turn of the Millennium. However, this game can still be enjoyed if you set your standards accordingly.
"It's time to play: Name the Trope!"
- Announcer Chatter: The Dummy, throughout certain gameplay features.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Despite its relevance to the title, Monopoly actually used "Be a Tycoon" first.
- Licensed Pinball Table
- Match Sequence: Four numbers appear from four popped balloons that a kid is holding.
- Mythology Gag: As with Pat Lawlor's other games:
- The elephant seen during the Power Ride is dancing the Mamushka.
- The dummy snarks at the player sometimes during certain modes.Dummy: "I'm not very happy with you now!"
- Multiball can be started on a ramp shot, similar to Twilight Zone, in that the ball is diverted to part of the plunger lane and in a hole or scoop, where the ball is kicked back out into play.
- Off-the-Shelf FX: The dummy is a Troll doll.
- Pinball Scoring: Averted. Great scores are usually 20 million or more.
- Pinball Spin-Off
- Shout-Out: Many of them, of which some are noted above.
- Failing to score on certain modes gets a "You missed everything!" from the Dummy.
- The giant yellow habitrail that goes around the flippers is a nod to Williams' last theme park table, Hurricane. The Dunk the Dummy mode also refers back to this and Comet.
- Skill Shot: Plunge the ball to the upper right hole for one, starting at 100K and increasing by 50K.
- Spelling Bonus: The E-A-T targets light a Food Stall, the R-&-D targets lights a feature or mode, and the A-B-C lanes advance the Bonus Multipliers.
- Wizard Mode: Park Tycoon. All four rides are lit "Yellow" as the mode starts out; the goal is to light and collect Jackpots from each of those rides. Then, the Super Jackpot lights at the Rocket, determined by how many Jackpots are collected before cashing in. The rides, no matter what state they're in, go back to "Red" and the sequence must be repeated again. This 4-ball multiball mode lasts about one minute.
