Pinball Tutorial· 23 min read
Combo-TRON: Explore the world of TRON in Stern’s 2011 cult-classic game, TRON: Legacy:
Photos: Colin Alsheimer
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The late 2000s-early 2010s are a bit of a dark age for pinball. Even though arcades all over were either closing down or were switching to a more redemption-heavy game selection, home collectors weren’t big enough of an audience to market to, and pinball’s second death seemed imminent, Stern remained vigilant. At the time, they really were the only manufacturers of pinball machines, as the industry really only had space for them. But times were tough - cost-cutting measures implemented in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis made for a streak of games which felt cheap, forgettable, or just plain boring.
There were several bright spots, though, and - in my opinion, at least - Tron: Legacy is the best game Stern released during this dark age. The theme is certainly an odd choice, although as long-term pinball fans will know, the worse a movie is, the better a game based on it will often end up. Which is weird, because I actually like the movie - yes, the story is garbage, but the style, special effects, action sequences, and the soundtrack - oh man, the soundtrack - make for a really entertaining experience. Good for us, since the pinball machine pretty much just strips out the story, so we end up with a game that’s one for the history books.
While the early 2000s were categorized by complex layouts to fit in all of the cool gadgets and gizmos, the late 2000s had dramatically stripped-down playfields to reduce production costs. Tron definitely fits the bill there - the most noteworthy feature on the table is the giant Recognizer (the claw-like thing) in the middle, protecting a three-bank of standup targets which cover up a spinning disc behind it. Otherwise, it’s pretty much just standard ramps, loops, bumpers, etc. But where Tron’s contemporaries can be grindy and boring, Tron shoots very well - it’s fast, full of combos, and feels awesome to play, even if it whips the ball back at you faster than you can react.
Given how fast this game can be, it’s a good idea to find a few “bailout” shots which you can hit at high speeds. The right flipper is rife with them: most notably, the left ramp (sometimes called the “Light Cycle ramp”) which you can loop indefinitely, and the left spinner (sometimes called “Quorra”) which tees up the ball over the upper left flipper. The left orbit, on the other hand, puts the ball into the bumpers. Not to say it’s a bad shot - but if the ball is moving fast, this won’t slow it down very much.
The upper left flipper gets a lot of action on this game. There are two shots available - a side ramp and an “upper orbit” often referred to as Gem. Gem is, by far, the most difficult shot at the entire table, and fortunately, is less important than the side ramp. Being dialed in on that side ramp will pay off big time. Not only does it provide access to one of the most lucrative scoring opportunities available, it also allows you to regain control from the upper left flipper. This shot, as well as Gem, do a great job of slowing things down.
The lower left flipper is borderline devoid of shots. The only real shot that you can make here is the shot through the bumpers which never really comes into play all that often, and is also pretty tough to hit cleanly. There’s also the “Flynn’s Arcade” scoop which awards mystery and is another one of those bailout shots. The center bank of standups - called the “recognizer” - accesses another multiball, and it’s easier to hit from the left than it is the right. But it’s also really dangerous to go after, as any center-aligned shot is likely to be. Unlike some other similar banks of targets (such as Attack from Mars or Spider-Man), Tron’s three-bank doesn’t ever differentiate the targets. Think of the three-bank as one extra-wide target. In any case, the most important shot from the left flipper is the scoop.
Simply put, Tron is a game that is very much about feel, if that makes sense. Being able to put the ball where you want it to be - that is, to put it onto the flipper you need to shoot with - is vital for high scores, especially considering how lucrative those combos can be.
Scores on Tron often shoot up very quickly, as there is a lot of stacking potential. 30,000,000 points is a pretty solid score on a not-super-evil Tron, but reaching nine digits is very possible. On an evil Tron (Clu, I guess?), getting 10,000,000 can be pretty remarkable.
Tron is a feature-based game, meaning that rather than aiming for one specific multiball or for a series of modes, the goal is to complete all of the assorted objectives scattered about the playfield. These objectives are all indicated in a line of inserts trailing up the center of the playfield. We’ll go over each one in due time, but just so you have an idea of what you’re trying to do, the main objective is to complete everything in that center line of inserts. That’s actually not that hard to do, provided you get a decent stack or two going, although it’s certainly not easy.
There are a couple of skill shots available. Most players attempt to soft plunge so the ball bounces off of the shooter lane gate and into the scoop, but you can also super-soft plunge and immediately shoot the left ramp instead. Alternatively, you can hold in the left flipper and full plunge the ball so that it flies around to the upper left flipper, then one-time it into the side ramp. Not only is this shot way harder, it’s also not worth as much as the scoop. So, aim for the scoop skill shot, then use the left ramp as a backup.
I’m gonna go over everything in the order that I typically aim for, but bear in mind that you’re likely to inadvertently start a whole bunch of minor scoring features as you play. We’re going to cover those eventually - since completing them is important - but Tron’s modes tend to just start unexpectedly from various target bounces. If you’ve played it before, you might know what I’m talking about; if not, just know that you might find yourself asking “how did that mode start?”
The one aspect of scoring which is universally important is the End of Line jackpot. This is a combo which is accessible by one-timing the ball into the scoop after making a side ramp shot. The value of End of Line starts at 500,000, and increases with each combo shot you make. Even at minimum value, this combo is worth aiming for. But as your ball goes on, this value will shoot up very quickly - it’s not unheard of for the jackpot to be worth well over 1,500,000 after a handful of combos. On top of that, this value doesn’t reset when you collect it - getting two End of Lines back-to-back will be worth the same value (or more, if you got some other combo along the way).
I mention this now for two reasons. First off, End of Line is always valuable. Whether you’re in a mode or not, multiball or single-ball, End of Line’s value is worth aiming for. More often than not, it’s going to be worth significantly more than anything else going on at the table. That’s not to say that you should just be aiming for End of Line all day, as there are many other lucrative scoring opportunities available. But it is definitely to say that after any side ramp shot, forget about everything other than the scoop. And, if I’m being honest, there’s some merit in doing nothing but shooting End of Line, provided you’re comfortable with making the combo.
Second, End of Line isn’t emphasized by the game at all. If you’ve read our Ghostbusters tutorial, you may remember how Super Jackpots in that game are dramatically emphasized by the game’s display and callouts, despite being pretty worthless most of the time. End of Line is the opposite - even though it’s the most valuable thing at the table, the game doesn’t prompt you to shoot the scoop after a side ramp, nor does it reward you with any light show or callout when you collect it. That’s not hyperbole, by the way - there’s no fanfare whatsoever, so you might not even realize how many points you’ve just scored.
This is the first of three major multiballs available, and is usually the one players go after first. It’s a pretty low-value multiball, but as there’s a lot of stacking potential available on Tron, actively pursuing multiballs is never a bad idea. Light Cycle is lit by hitting the various flashing Light Cycle inserts scattered around the playfield. Shooting a lit Light Cycle will turn it off, meaning you’ll have to hit the last one or two of them on a tougher shot such as Gem or the right orbit. Subsequent Light Cycles require more shots or restrict you to harder shots. Once you’ve hit enough shots, Light Cycle Multiball will light at the scoop, indicated by a flashing arrow insert.
The multiball itself is pretty typical - it’s a two-ball multiball during which all shots are lit for jackpots, indicated by the light cycle inserts. Making jackpots as combos - indicated by rapidly flashing lights - awards a Super Jackpot, which is worth significantly more. Either way, Light Cycle jackpots are very marginal in value. Not like you shouldn’t be aiming for them, but this multiball is far from an automatic payday, especially when you consider that it’s only a two-ball multiball. There’s also no add-a-ball available, so this multiball has a tendency to just flame out really quickly.
So, what is Light Cycle good for, then? Well, for one, points are points. A decent Light Cycle will be worth like, 5,000,000 or so, which is pretty good, just not exactly enormous. It’s better used when combined with some of the other minor scoring features which we’ll get into later. It’s also good for progressing towards the other two-ball multiball - Quorra - as the Quorra shot (left spinner) is likely to be lit for Light Cycle jackpots.
But, to back things up a little bit - remember that End of Line is always going to be the most valuable thing to go for. If you’re really, really good at hitting the End of Line combo, you can opt to deliberately drain every ball you have at the start of multiball when ball save is running. By doing that, all of your balls will be kicked around to the upper left flipper, lining you up for End of Line combos. It can pay out big time if you’re super comfy with that combo. If you’re not super comfy with the combo, then you should still aim for it, just don’t deliberately drain anything.
One final warning to be aware of: if you’re playing in a tournament, and Extra Balls are enabled, do not plunge your extra ball with Light Cycle lit! It is very likely that a plunged ball will end up in the scoop by accident, meaning you’ll start Light Cycle when you can’t even play it. To avoid this from happening, ask the TD to manually put the ball into the drain for you, or ask them to deliberately tilt the game. That way, you don’t risk losing out. (Obviously, this doesn’t apply to ball 3, since you won’t get to play a lit Light Cycle anyway.)
Quorra is the second of the multiballs, lit at the scoop by hitting the Quorra shot (left spinner) enough times. You might find Quorra to be trickier to start than Light Cycle - even though both multiballs require a similar number of shots, Light Cycle can be cleared with a combo or two, and Quorra requires you repeatedly hit the same shot. It takes longer, but don’t read into that as a dramatic increase in difficulty! Plus, Quorra’s shot lines you up for End of Line jackpots, which makes her shot very appealing.
Anyway, Quorra is a two-ball multiball during which Quorra’s shot will be lit for unlimited jackpots. You can also shoot Gem to award a super jackpot, which is worth the sum of the jackpots scored since the last Quorra Super, plus an extra million. But, as one might expect, Quorra Supers are tough to hit, and those End of Lines are likely to be more lucrative than the supers are. Regardless, collecting repeated regular jackpots is pretty simple enough, and line you up for a Quorra Super or an End of Line. (And in case it needs to be mentioned - End of Line is still likely to be more valuable than any Quorra jackpot or super.)
Unlike Light Cycle, Quorra has two add-a-balls available by hitting the center bank of standups enough times. Take advantage of this when you can - ideally, during the initial ball saver, as the grace period on Tron (i.e. the time you get after draining out of multiball where add-a-balls might still count) is typically very short. If you drain out of the multiball quickly, it’s pretty unlikely you’ll be able to get that add-a-ball.
You can make progress towards, light, and start Quorra while Light Cycle is running (and vice-versa). So, there’s another add-a-ball for you, if you can manage to light the other multiball. And again, the same philosophy applies to Quorra as it does Light Cycle regarding extra balls - do not plunge an extra ball if Quorra is lit at the scoop, ask a TD to drain it for you.
This is the third major multiball, and is started straight up the middle. Hitting the three-bank enough times will lower it into the table, at which point, shooting the disc behind it will progress towards - and eventually start - Disc Multiball. Disc Multiball is certainly the most difficult of the three to get going, since it requires significantly more shots than the other two, and said shots are required to the dangerous bank up the middle. On top of that, it’s unusual in that it cannot be stacked with either of the other two multiballs, nor can progress be made towards Disc while another multiball is running (and vice-versa). However, Disc has a tendency to be the most lucrative multiball of the three, so sometimes I see players focus on Disc before Quorra or Light Cycle.
Disc Multiball is very simple. All major playfield shots will be lit for jackpots, indicated by flashing blue disc inserts. The jackpot starts at a quarter million - not too bad - and increases by 25k per jackpot collected. Hitting a shot will turn it off, but hitting the spinning disc will award a fixed 100k jackpot and relight all collected jackpots. After collecting 10 jackpots - whether at shots or at the disc - the three-bank will rise up from the playfield, and can be hit three times for three double jackpots. After that, the bank will go back down, and a super jackpot will be available at the spinning disc, worth the sum of all jackpots scored since the last super. Then, you’re back to collecting regular jackpots, which will reset back to 250k.
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but there is a double playfield mode available at the T-R-O-N bank on the left. We’ll go over that in more detail soon, but keep in mind that if a jackpot is collected with double scoring enabled, that doubled jackpot will be added to the super. For example, if you score a 250k jackpot with double scoring enabled, that’ll be worth 500k. That 500k will be added to the super, whether or not you have double scoring when you collect the super. (If double scoring is running when you collect the super, the value would be doubled again - so that would translate to 1M points.)
In the (rather likely) scenario that you fail to score a super during Disc, you can restart Disc Multiball with a shot up the middle. It’s a very unusual rule for a game of this era, but it’s a great callback to the copious multiball restarts available on games throughout the 90’s. It’s also very easy to restart the multiball, which basically means that Disc is going to last a rather lengthy period of time. Another reason why it’s so appealing for players to aim for. (There is, however, no add-a-ball available.)
Personally, I tend to avoid going after Disc until I’ve played the other two multiballs. There are enough points available with those two for me to avoid risking my ball aiming at the recognizer. But, to each their own. There’s plenty of merit in going after Disc, especially if you’re in need of a massive comeback or if you’re feeling very comfortable with the three-bank.
That’s pretty much it for the major features, but there are a whole bunch of minor features available all over the table. Most of them are pretty easy to start, and as I mentioned earlier, you’ll find that a lot of these modes tend to just start at some point or another.
First off, on the left side of the playfield are the T-R-O-N targets which light three different super scoring features. There are three of them: Double Scoring, (Super) Bumpers, and (Super) Spinners. These are timed modes which double all scoring, triple the bumpers, and triple the spinners, respectively. This bank works similarly to The Walking Dead or Rush: the game will strobe between the three modes, hitting the targets will lock in your mode, and clearing the bank will start the mode. Rolling through the “Zen” lane (the one between the shooter lane and the scoop) and immediately hitting the bank anywhere will instantly start the flashing mode, which makes these modes much easier to start than it might seem. Super Bumpers and Super Spinners triple the value of the corresponding feature, which are both nice, but nothing really to write home about. Double Scoring is very strong for obvious reasons. I will say that I don’t often aim for TRON modes deliberately - off of random bounces during multiballs, you’re likely to start one or all of them just by accident, so I usually don’t even try.
Next are the C-L-U lanes, which are your inlanes. Completing C-L-U enough times lights “Terminate Clu” at the scoop. This is a hurry-up mode where four shots are lit with Clu helmets - Quorra, the two outer orbits, and the scoop - where you have to shoot all four shots as quickly as possible. You also spot helmets by rolling through C-L-U again while the mode is running, which makes the mode substantially easier.
There’s also the Z-U-S-E targets which, when completed, start the “Zuse” mode, a timed switch frenzy during which all switches award 10k. This mode is definitely the most guilty of “starting up out of nowhere.” It makes multiballs more lucrative, though, so capitalize on it when you can! During Zuse, hitting a flashing ZUSE target will increase the switch value by 1k and hitting all four will add 10 seconds to the clock and reset the ZUSE targets. So, you can keep this going for a while, provided you’re good at hitting those standups. That said, I’d advise against taking the time to prolong Zuse (or start it, for that matter) during single-ball play. Zuse will just happen anyway, whether you like it or not (although I’m not sure why you would not).
Find Flynn is a really weird mode which isn’t explained very well, but basically, rolling through that “Zen” rollover we mentioned earlier will light one roving red arrow on the playfield. Hitting it will find Flynn for a decent pile of points. It has no correlation to Flynn’s Arcade, a mystery award lit at the scoop after shooting the right orbit. That’s all there is to that.
Finally, there’s Follow Gem, a timed mode which is started by shooting the Gem shot - the sideways shot just above the side ramp - enough times. During the mode, you just have to keep shooting that same Gem shot over and over again. The first shot is worth 750k, with each subsequent shot being worth 250k more than the last. It’s kind of a lame mode, made even lamer by the difficulty of the shot.
All of these modes can be progressed towards, started, and run during any multiball. Obviously, running modes with multiballs make them easier to complete, so you should try to stack things as much as possible.
There’s also this really weird way that the display indicates the time remaining on modes. There are three bars at the bottom of where scores are displayed, indicating the time remaining on your TRON modes. The bar on the right side of the scores is also used to indicate time remaining on Zuse, Clu, and Gem from top to bottom.
This isn’t exactly vital information, but the game doesn’t indicate which bar is for which mode in any way, shape or form. So, if you’re confused as to what these meters mean, there you go. (Trons modded with Color DMDs are much easier to tell which is which, since the bars will be colored after their corresponding inserts such as the 2X playfield being yellow, or Zuse being white.)
The ladder of features leading up the middle of the playfield corresponds to the multitude of features available at the table. Starting a feature will cause the progress insert to begin flashing, completing a feature (so to speak) will have the insert light up solidly.
Generally, it’s not that hard to get everything flashing, and some modes are very easy to get solidly lit. I mean, Flynn requires a single shot, and you need to get the Recognizer solidly lit in order to get Disc flashing anyway. While getting everything solidly lit will light the final wizard mode called Portal, getting everything to at least flashing will light a mini-wizard mode called Sea of Simulation, which is started at the scoop. In short, Sea of Simulation effectively provides a second chance to get any lights you have flashing to solid, so you can actually reach Portal. Note that this is a single-ball mode, but it is untimed. So, deep breaths, take your time, and don’t do anything too hasty.
Sea of Simulation will start out at the bottom of the ladder, with Flynn. For each light, if that light is solidly lit, you’ll be awarded 1,000,000, with each insert being worth a million more than the last (so Gem will be worth 2M, Clu 3M, so on and so forth.) If the light is flashing, then you’ll be prompted to shoot shots corresponding to the missing feature. (For example, if you’re missing Clu, you’ll be prompted to shoot the four helmets.) Doing so will turn the light solid and continue you up the ladder. You won’t get the extra millions for having already completed that light, but you will continue up the chain and get the bonuses for already solid lights. (For instance, if you were missing Gem and had Clu, completing Gem won’t award you the 2M for having it already completed at the start of Sea of Simulation. It will, however, pay you 3M for having Clu completed, would pay you another 4M if you happened to have Zuse finished as well, and so on and so forth until you run into an insert you only had flashing.)
Now, reaching Sea of Simulation is better than not reaching it. Obviously, you want to get everything solidly lit if possible, but just having stuff flashing is fine! That said, the lower a mode is in the ladder, the more valuable it is to have solidly lit as far as Sea of Simulation is concerned, especially if it’s part of an unbroken chain. For example, if you have everything solidly lit but Light Cycle, starting Sea of Simulation will immediately pay off 21,000,000 points (1M Flynn, 2M Gem, 3M Clu, 4M Zuse, 5M Quorra, 6M Disc). If you have everything lit but Gem, then you’ll only get 1,000,000 guaranteed.
I mention Gem in particular because her mode is significantly harder than Flynn, Clu, and Zuse combined, so not having her solid when going into Sea of Simulation can cause you to miss out on a mountain of points. That’s not to say that starting Gem during a multiball or something warrants dropping everything to get her finished, but it is definitely worth keeping in mind that beating Gem can be worth way more than expected, provided you reach Sea of Simulation.
If you drain out of Sea of Simulation, you will retain all solidly lit lights you’ve collected up to that point, which includes any lights you made solid by therein. However, you only get to play Sea of Simulation once before Portal, so getting everything flashing after Sea of Simulation completes won’t do you any good. And, because it bears repeating: ask a TD to drain your ball for you if Sea of Simulation is lit at the start of an extra ball. You don’t want to miss out on those points.
This is the final wizard mode of the game, which is lit at the scoop after solidly completing all nine inserts. Just starting Portal awards a million points, which is pretty sweet, but that’s not what we care about here!
Portal is a four-ball multiball during which all shots are lit for several jackpots a piece. The jackpot value starts at 500k and increases by 50k per shot made. In Portal, each insert leading up to a shot indicates how many jackpots are available there. Forget about whatever else the inserts represented - all that matters is how many there are. For instance, look at the left ramp - there’s a light cycle, a disc, and an arrow (from bottom to top). If you haven’t collected a jackpot on the left ramp, the light cycle will be flashing. Hitting the left ramp will turn the light cycle solid and start the disc flashing. Again, forget about the symbols or shapes of the inserts - all that matters is that a flashing insert means a lit jackpot, a solid insert means a collected jackpot, and the total number of inserts indicate how many jackpots you can collect there.
This does mean that the number of jackpots at each shot varies. While no shot has fewer than three (i.e. a light cycle, disc, and arrow), the left and right orbits both have four (adding Clu as an insert), and Quorra has five (adding Clu and the “Advance Quorra” insert). Collecting all jackpots at a shot adds a ball into play, and collecting all jackpots lights a super jackpot worth a million plus the sum of all jackpots collected this far.
Portal does lock you out of all modes & multiballs, save for the TRON modes - which does mean that Double Scoring is available during Portal. That said, Portal is absurdly hard to complete, namely because four right orbit shots & three Gem shots is crazy hard to pull off. But if you do manage to score that super, brace for the fireworks - especially if you double it. That said, Portal is a pretty tough multiball to reach, and the effort needed to start it kinda outweighs how good it is. Again, it’s worth a lot of points, but it’s far from instant victory in most scenarios. After Portal is complete, you’re back around to the start of the game with all of your inserts off. You can try to make it around again - good luck doing that, though.
One last note - if you manage to get all nine lights solid without playing Sea of Simulation, you’ll still “play” Sea of Simulation at the scoop prior to starting Portal, but instead of being a mode, you’ll just instantly get paid 50,000,000 - 100,000,000 if you had double scoring running - which is likely to be worth way more than Portal will be. That’s not to say you should break your neck getting everything solidly lit - but if you’re almost all the way there, it’s a pretty sweet little bonus. Speaking of bonus....
Tron’s end of ball bonus can often be overlooked in terms of strategy, but it builds up very quickly and can be worth a gargantuan number of points if you’ve managed to get deep enough into the game. Bonus is based entirely on the inserts you’ve completed up the middle of the table - flashing inserts are worth 50k, solid ones are worth 250k, reaching Sea of Simulation is worth 450k, and reaching Portal is worth 2,250,000. Each shot to Gem adds +1X to your bonus multiplier, although that obviously doesn’t factor in how tough of a shot Gem can be.
It may not sound like much, but it will add up quickly. Just having two or three inserts solid will bring your bonus close to a million points, and by the time you reach Sea of Simulation it’s unlikely that your bonus will be worth less than five million. I know I said that End of Line is the most lucrative scoring opportunity at the table, and making the combo is definitely easier than hitting Gem, but consider this - if your bonus is worth 5m, that means Gem shots are functionally worth 5m, too. It takes a bit for the bonus to get there, but once it is there, don’t forget about it! Games of this era rarely have lucrative bonuses, and while there’s still more value during the ball than there is after the ball, bonus here is usually worth enough to avoid tilting. (So, seriously - ask a TD to drain an extra ball for you if you have any multiball lit at the scoop.)
This was one of the earliest Stern games to get multiple versions. So early, that the term “Pro” and “Premium” didn’t exist yet - there’s the LE version and the non-LE version of this game. Well....technically, there are about half a dozen different versions of Tron. The game went through quite a few production cycles, and - again - due to cost cuts, the game ended up getting a multitude of backglass variations, light cycle ramp toys (some games have bikes, some games have cars), and the like. But there is really an LE version of the game, which primarily features aesthetic improvements: the Tron standups are replaced with drops, the Recognizer moves around, etc. There is, however, one mode exclusive to the LE version of this game, officially called End of Line Multiball, colloquially known as “Daft Punk Multiball.”
On LE versions only, shooting the left ramp will gradually spell out “DAFT PUNK.” Completing it once will light an extra ball. Completing it twice will light End of Line Multiball at the scoop. This is a simple multiball which effectively is just the Zuse mode with a multiball attached. All switches are worth 10k, hitting the disc adds 1k to the switch value, and enough disc hits will add a ball into play. Admittedly, I’ve never seen this myself, but there are far more standard Trons than LE Trons out there. And given that it doesn’t advance you towards any inserts, it may not even be worth pursuing. But hey, it features Daft Punk, and that’s gotta count for something, right?
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