No Fear (thing)

There was actually a No Fear pinball machine around 1995 or so.

It was one of the mode-based games common in the 1990s, and featured modes based on extreme sports. As such, there was a strong emphasis on making loop and ramp shots. It was full of slogans like on the T-shirts.

"Second Place is the First Loser!"

This game suffers from some of the most extreme score inflation, so scores in the billions are common, tens of billions achievable, and even 100 billion is known. Because of this, most major shots are scored in millions, which are abbreviated M in the text below.

The game does not display (maybe doesn't have room to display) the hundred-billions digit, but it keeps track of it, and displays leading zeroes when the score is over 100 billion (e.g., 00,123,456,780).

This writeup is based on the No Fear rulesheet written by myself and Adrian Donati.

Playfield

The lower playfield is pretty much standard. Inlanes, outlanes, kickback. There is no rubber on the posts dividing the inlanes from the outlanes, making them somewhat tricky and fast. There is a ball return which drops the ball into the right inlane from various places where it can go below the playfield; the game normally holds an extra ball here to speed up the game, spitting this ball out before the other ball makes it here from elsewhere.

The Tube saucer is at the end of a low, short lane on the left, similar to targets in several other games. Normally, it gives random awards, but some modes disable it or make it give mode-specific awards.

The Screamer orbit is a broad loop with a spinner at the entrance on the left. It feeds to the right flipper.

The Jumps ramp is just to the right of the Screamer entrance. It feeds to the Jumps loop. The Jumps ramp has a tricky feature; once the ball makes it about halfway up the ramp, a set of electromagnets comes on and slings the ball the rest of the way up into the Jumps loop. In some modes when the loop is disabled, the magnets are instead used to stop the ball and then drop it down to the left inlane. The Jumps loop is a vaguely circular loop suspended above the playfield, with a flipper on the right side, set up for you to shoot repeated loops.

Back on the playfield, the next major feature is the Skydive, a scoop with a short lane in front of it sometimes blocked by a drop target. This is one of the main shots used in the challenges, and it also lights for jackpots and locks.

The Track is a short, tight loop like the U-turn on Black Knight 2000, though in a different location. It wraps around behind the Skull, one of the main No Fear logos, which laughs and yells at you during the game, but otherwise does not participate. A scoop just below the Skull can be lit for various awards.

The Hairpin ramp is to the right of the Track/Skull. It can be lit for various awards. This ramp and the jump ramp can give awards for repeated, alternating shots, similar to the two somewhat similar ramps in Terminator 2, even leading to Payback Time after hitting enough shots.

The Summit orbit is the other end of the Screamer. A ball exiting this loop heads for the left flipper.

The Cliff standup targets are just above the exit from the plunger lane. Shoot these to light the kickback and advance toward Jump This.

"Skill shot"

Not exactly much skill required here; just launch the ball at a time to choose one of up to five awards which cycle through the display:

• Start Challenge
• Super Cross level
• Advance Raceway
• Ball lock
• Flipper skill shot

Start Challenge will not be available to give one of the last three challenges or give a challenge when multiball is lit. Ball lock will not be available to lock the third ball for multiball.

Challenges

First you must complete five minor challenges; these modes can be started at the Skull scoop or from the skill shot. The Skull scoop is always lit for starting challenges except when you're in a challange and when it is lit for starting multiball instead. These modes can be played in any order; the slingshots change the lit mode.

Dirt Challenge

Off-road racing.
For 30 seconds, shoot the ramps and jump loop for points. The value starts at 5M and increases by 5M (to a maximum of 20M) each time a major shot (ramps, loops, etc.) is hit, though only the ramps and jump loop award the points. Each ramp/jump brings an animation of a truck crashing through a gate labeled "Checkpoint X" where X is the number of ramps you have hit in this challenge. The jumps count for their usual 5/10/15/20/25M scoring as well as the extra points from this mode.

Asphalt Challenge

NASCAR racing, "with Robbie Gordon".
Shoot the track or the skull scoop three times within 30 seconds, to score 50, 75, and 100M. These shots are accompanied by displays calling them 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place. After the 2nd place award, Skull often says "Second place is the first loser!" The normal Steering Wheel awards are inactive during this mode. If you shoot the jump ramp, the magnets divert the ball to the left flipper.

Water Challenge

Water skiing "with Sammy Duvall".
This mode is similar to Time Rift from Star Trek: The Next Generation. While the timer counts down, shoot the flashing arrows for points, and shoot the Tube saucer up to 4 times to increase the point value and add more time. Shots are initially worth 10M each, increasing 5M per Tube shot up to 30M. The time increases 10 seconds per tube shot but will never exceed 30 seconds.

Snow Challenge

Extreme skiing "with Glenn Plake".
Shoot the downhill (lit on the hairpin ramp) within 30 seconds to collect the bonus and end the mode. The bonus starts at 50M. Each shot to the jump ramp or the summit scores 10M and adds 10M to the bonus. The magnets on the jump ramp divert the ball to the left flipper during this mode to set up the shot.

Air Challenge

Skydiving.
Very similar to Asteroid Threat on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Initially the skydive is lit for a hurry-up which starts at 25M (for long enough for you to have one chance to hit it at this value) and then counts down to 10M. When you hit it, the 7 main shots are lit on a 30-second timer; each one scores the same amount you got for the hurry-up. Complete all 7 within the time limit and score a 75M bonus.

The 7 shots are Tube, Screamer and Summit orbits, Jump and Hairpin ramps, Skydive, Skull, and Track (from either direction counts as only one shot).

There is a bizarre cross-platform easter egg involving this mode and the video game Mortal Kombat 3. One of the secret moves in MK3 doesn't do anything, but displays the message "NO FEAR - EB BUTTON, SKYDIVE, MAX COUNTDOWN." If you hold down the extra ball button on the front of the cabinet as this mode begins, and hit the skydive while it is still at 25M, you get 50M instead, and an MK3 hint.

Major Challenges

Once you have completed all five minor challenges, there are three more challenges to play. You cannot start these challenges from the skill shot, and you must play them in order.

No Limits

"No limits. Everything is lit."
Multiball with 3 balls initially, and a 15-second ball-saver on all balls. The major shots are all lit for 20M, increasing by 1M per shot up to a maximum of 70M. (So yes, there is a limit to No Limits, although you can keep hitting shots as long as you keep two balls in play.)

Once this mode ends, you have to spell "No Fear" by hitting ramps and loops before the next challenge is lit.

Fear Fest

3-ball multiball again, with 25-second ball saver. This time the skull and skydive scoops are lit for a jackpot that starts at 80M and each major shot adds 20M to the jackpot. When the jackpot is collected, it resets to 20M and you must hit 4 major shots (raising it to 100M) before the jackpot can be collected again. There is no apparent limit to the number or size of jackpots.

Once this mode ends, you have to spell "No Fear" by hitting ramps and loops before the next challenge is lit.

Meet Your Maker

The final challenge, the wizard mode for those who can make it this far.

For this one mode, the fourth ball normally stored in the return lane is put into play to make a four-ball multiball with a 20-second ball saver. All switches are worth 250,000. Skull is lit for a 50M jackpot; jump loops are at 200M; extra ball is initially lit, super spinner is lit, start hurry-up is lit on the right inlane (collected on the screamer orbit), and the raceway award on the screamer orbit is maxed at 25M.

Payback time is not started, but the first two supercross levels are completed so you can start payback time with just one more shot on each ramp.

The 200M jackpot on the jump loops is the most lucrative award here; if you can catch one or more balls on the left flipper and shoot loops with the left flipper, some quick billions are possible.

Like normal multiballs, this continues until fewer than two balls are in play.

After this mode ends, the first time you hit the skull or skydive scoop, a new ball will be plunged into play in order to hold the other ball in the return lane.

Other Game Features

These awards are independent of the challenges although some of them are not available during some challenges.

Super Cross Ramps

Shoot alternating jumps and hairpin ramps to start Payback Time. Shooting both ramps as a combo scores 15M, and if the jump ramp was shot second, the magnets will return the ball to the left flipper so you can start the combo again. It takes three shots on each ramp to start Payback Time.

Payback Time

All the major shots are lit for 25M for 25 seconds.

Tube

Gives a random award, including:

• Advance Raceway (like a single shot on the left orbit)
• Autofire (30 second ball saver)
• Extra ball
• Kickback lit
• Light extra ball
• Light return lanes (inlanes)
• Lock awarded
• Lock lit
• MK3 Hint (rare; in some ROMs there is an "all of the above" in its place which gives several other awards, but this proved to be too good and caused problems with certain things starting at the same time so it was changed back)
• Multiball (see below)
• Over the edge (see below)
• Start challenge (can start the last 3 modes, if Start Challenge is lit at the Skull)
• Start hurry up
• Summit award (see below)
• Supercross level (like a two-ramp combo)
• Video mode start
• 20 million
• 200 meters (see Climber, below)

Summit loop

Each time you shoot the Summit, except during a challenge or multiball, a counter is incremented. At certain levels, awards are given:

• 5 million
• Light video mode
• Super spinner
• 10 million (10 million for each shot after this point)

The counter and awards reset at the start of each ball.

Raceway

This is exactly like the Freeway on High Speed 2: The Getaway. Five consecutive shots to the Screamer are worth 5M, 10M, 15M, 20M, and light extra ball at Skull. Subsequent shots are worth 25M each.

Once you complete this once, it requires more shots to advance the raceway on later balls. The second time, it takes two shots per level; the third time, three shots per level, and so on. You can only get one extra ball per ball this way.

The raceway value starts at 10M, 15M, or 20M on each ball (adjusted depending on how often players are getting extra balls) until the first time you get the extra ball. After this, it starts each ball at 5M.

Climber

Hitting 2 cliff standups (the same one twice or each one once) awards 100 meters. Some other things can add meters as well. Once you reach 400 meters, you have climbed the first mountain. Climbing a mountain gives 30M points and lights Jump This in an outlane, and resets the altitude.

The second mountain is 900 meters tall, and each subsequent mountain increases by 500 meters, until (starting with the 9th mountain) they top out at 4000 meters.

The meters also count as part of your end-of-ball bonus. This figure is the total of all you meters climbed for the game, not just your progress on the current mountain.

Jump This awards don't stack; if Jump This is already lit when you finish a mountain, you only get the 30M.

Jump This

This award is lit in the outlanes by the Climber. When collected, a ball is launched into play and the jump ramp and jump loops are worth 30M each for 30 seconds. This is effectively a ball saver for outlane drains; if the ball is saved anyway by the kickback, then this is a 2-ball multiball.

Nothing else in the game runs during Jump This!

Over the Edge

A two-ball multiball in which the jump ramp and hairpin ramp score 25M each, increasing by 10M for each ramp made to a maximum of 75M per shot. This mode is started when you reach 1st place (see below) for the third time or as a random Tube award. This can be worth quite a lot of points. The magnets divert jump ramp shots back to the left flipper, so you cannot shoot jump loops.

3rd, 2nd, 1st place

Shooting the track gives various awards:

3rd Place

15M

2nd Place

25M

1st Place

Different awards each time:

1. Light Return Lanes (inlanes; for hurry-up)
2. Light Extra Ball
3. Over the Edge
4. 30 million points

Subsequent 1st place awards vary. Some machines give this sequence of awards, starting with the fifth 1st place: Light Return Lanes, 40M, 40M, 40M, Light Return Lanes, 50M, 50M, 50M, Light Return Lanes, 60M, 60M, 60M, Light Return Lanes, 70M, 70M, 100M. Other machines seem to give 30 million repeatedly; this may be a harder difficulty setting. After 20 1st place awards, the track shuts down, staying at 3rd place for the rest of the game.

Video Mode

A motorcyclist travels along a track with various jumps and point values floating above them. You can steer him left or right with the flippers and collect the point awards by steering through them. There is a 25M bonus for completing the course.

There are different courses, to make this harder. At the start of video mode, you are told which track you'll be on, including Daytona, Anaheim, and Silverstone.

End-of-ball bonus

The bonus is calculated as follows, based on cumulative features completed throughout the game:

• 5M for each jump loop (up to 200)
• 10M for each challenge started (no limit?)
• 1M for each 100 meters climbed (no limit?)

Multiball

Shoot the skydive drop target during normal play to light the lock at both the Skull and the Skydive. If you select Ball lock from the skill shot at the start of a ball, the drop target drops and the autolauncher automatically fires the ball into the skydive.

After you lock the third ball, the balls come out and jackpots are lit in the following order:

• Skull scoop: 50M
• Skydive scoop: 100M
• Jump loop: 200M

If you complete all three, they start over at the skull scoop again, repeatedly, until you have fewer than 2 balls in play. Jump loops during multiball score 25M (instead of the usual 5/10/15...) when they don't give the 200M super jackpot.

If you get down to 1 ball without even hitting the first skull jackpot, there is a Last Chance in which all three jackpots are lit for 10 to 20 seconds or until hit. I have seen each one stay lit independently of the others until hit, but some people have reported all three going out when one is hit; maybe this is a difficulty setting.

For the second multiball, you have to hit the drop target to light lock for each ball instead of just once. For the third multiball, the same applies but you can only lock at the skydive.

When lock 3 is lit, you cannot start challenges; the skull starts multiball instead (maybe not when lock 3 is lit for third multiball). You can start multiball during a challenge; if you do, the timer for the challenge stops and continues when multiball is over.