Son of Zeus

> "I am the most powerful mortal in this world!"
>
> - Hercules

***Son of Zeus*** is one of two original pinball tables in the *Carnivals and Legends* pack, the first add-on pack for *Pinball FX 3*. The table is based on the Greek myth of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, depicting demigod Hercules being challenged by his deranged mother Hera, queen of the Greek gods, to take on the labors and earn his place in the Greek pantheon.

An earlier pinball adaptation of the Hercules legend was released by Atari in 1979, simply titled *Hercules*; the table is notable for being the largest physical pinball machine.

## Objective

Help Hercules survive the wrath of his deranged true mother Hera, queen of the gods, and prove himself to be a worthy god in the Greek pantheon through six missions and two multiball modes - each collecting a letter in HERCULES, which will light the final **God Mode** multiball when completed. Once a mission is completed, it cannot be repeated again until God Mode is started, and shooting lanes that would start an already attempted / finished mission will progress towards starting a **labor** side mode. All single ball missions except for **Birds** have time limits of 60 seconds, and award either 250,000 or 1 million points for making flashing shots. Missions can be started during **Olympus Multiball**, but **Cronos Multiball** prevents missions from being started; missions can't be stacked otherwise.

On the first run through the single-ball missions, the player must attempt every mission at least once to unlock the wizard mode, and modes will carry over between balls; on later attempts, all modes with completion requirements have to be completed, and will end when the ball drains.

### Missions & Multiballs

The following missions and multiball modes must be started (or completed on subsequent playthroughs in the same game) to qualify **God Mode**:

* *H -* **Snake**: When Hercules was just a child, Hera sought to kill him with two snakes; as an adult, Hercules must now take on a giant snake similar to the ones Hera sent. If the player spells SNAKE with 5 shots up the center ramp, a battle between Hercules and the giant snake will begin. The giant snake will start out on the offensive, and Hercules can fend it off if the player can hit the snake three times as it comes to life and sends the ball flying back to the flippers. After these three hits, the player must help Hercules fight back and finish off the giant snake by making a shot to each of the orbits and ramps.
* *E -* **Medusa**: The Medusa is a Gorgon with snakelike hair, armed with a petrifying gaze. After 6 shots are made to the left entrance of the spindisk, with each shot adding a letter to MEDUSA, the spindisk will rise to reveal a rotating cylindrical stone structure with green, glowing eyes representing those of the Medusa. The green gaze will sweep across the playfield from side to side. At the start of the mission and whenever the ball hits the green gaze, Hercules and the ball will be petrified and the only way to reverse the spell is to hit either slingshot or any bumper. The player must defeat the Medusa by completing a 2-shot sequence five times: first hitting the Medusa structure, then shooting a random flashing lane.
* *R -* **Hydra**: The second labor of Hercules requires him to defeat the Lernaean Hydra, a nine-headed snake monster. Shooting the right entrance of the spindisk 5 times to spell HYDRA will raise the disk to reveal three of the Hydra's nine heads. To defeat each head, the player must hit one head and shoot a randomly lit lane within 10 seconds to permanently destroy it. After all three smaller heads are defeated, the main head will emerge and the player must defeat the Hydra for good by hitting it with the ball in three different positions.
* *C -* **Birds**: Hercules has to defend himself while attacking the Stymphalian Birds, man-eating birds with tough beaks. Each orbit shot will add a letter to BIRDS; when five total orbit shots are made, the mode will start, where Hercules will battle five of these dangerous birds. To defeat each one, the player must first shoot a lit lane marked with a sword to summon the sword spinner, then hit the spinner to finish off one bird. If 15 seconds expire without hitting the sword, Hercules will go on the defensive and whatever shots were lit during the offensive phase will all have to be made to prevent being damaged by the birds. To defeat all five birds, the spinner must be shot a total of five times.
* *U -* **Hades**: Hercules' final labor requires him to defeat the Cerberus and bring it out of the underworld. Shooting the sinkhole from either lower flipper will collect a letter in HADES; once the word is spelled, the ball will be sent to the mini-playfield, where the player has to defeat the Cerberus with 3 hits to its left and right heads and 2 hits to its center head. The player must then escape the underworld by shooting any of the 5 lanes behind the drop targets a total of 10 times. The center lane must be hit to finish the mission in success, as it acts as the exit of the mini-playfield. Should the ball drain, the player can shoot the Hades sinkhole or the orbits, which feed the bumpers during this mission, to return to the mini-playfield.
* *L -* **Olympus Multiball**: Many gods reside in Olympus, who can help Hercules in his time of need. Every time the player shoots the ball into the sinkhole behind the GODS target bank, the player will collect a random god. After two are collected, the player can choose to immediately start the multiball mode, or collect up to a total of 10. Each god collected is a ball for the ensuing Olympus Multiball, to a maximum of 8 balls. The **column ball saver** will remain active for the first 20 seconds of Olympus Multiball, where the left and right ramps will award **jackpots** based on the number of locked balls, and the center ramp will award a **super jackpot** worth double after the two ramp jackpots have been collected. If the player spells GODS again on the target bank and locks the ball into the sinkhole behind it, a ball will be added to the multiball if one has drained, or the column ball saver will activate again.
* *E -* **Cronus Multiball**: Hercules comes across Cronus, the god of time, who resides in a volcano. 5 shots to the left ramp during normal play will spell TITAN, and divert further shots up the ramp to Cronus' mini-playfield, where the player must shoot the spiral ramp a total of four times to clear out the targets blocking the way to its end. Once the ball reaches the top on the fifth shot, the head of Cronus will rise, and the player must hit its mouth 3 times before he opens his mouth for a ball to be locked inside (*his mouth will only be open for about 5 seconds*). This process must be repeated two more times to lock 3 balls for Cronus Multiball. Cronus will then spit out the 3 locked balls to start the mode, and the left ramp, which will divert all balls to Cronus' mini-playfield as long as the multiball is active, will award **jackpots** starting at 1 million that increase by 10,000 points if the player hits the targets or orbit on the mini-playfield at any time during normal play. Cronus' head will remain on the mini-playfield for the duration of this Multiball; the player can hit his head for a **super jackpot** worth double the jackpot value, or feed him the ball for a **titan jackpot** worth 4x the jackpot value and a lit **extra ball**.
* *S -* **Storm**: Hera frequently unleashes storms to test Hercules' survival skills. 5 shots to the right ramp during normal play will spell STORM, and cause Hera to unleash a storm across the entire table. The player must help Hercules find shelter by shooting a single shot from a set of three flashing lanes that move to different spots on the playfield with every shot; to complete the mission, the player must make 10 flashing shots. Strong winds that manipulate the ball spawn every 10 seconds, to make shooting the lanes more difficult.

### Final shot hurry-up

During the first wave of single-ball missions, if the player fails to complete the mission in time, a "final shot" bonus round will start where the player can shoot a lit lane as soon as possible to score a hurry-up value worth at most 1 million points; failure of this round after running out of time or losing the ball will still give credit for finishing the mission, but award the smallest points possible.

### God Mode

**God Mode** will be lit to start at the sinkhole as soon as all 8 letters in HERCULES are solidly lit. This is an 2-minute long 8-ball multiball, where Hera realizes Hercules' strength and revives all the foes Hercules faced to try and kill him for good. The player has to complete all seven of the listed, simultaneously active tasks to help Hercules achieve victory and become worthy of being a god:

* Defeat the Medusa by hitting the Medusa structure at the spindisk 6 times.
* Hit the giant snake 6 times.
* Hit Cronus' head on his mini-playfield 10 times.
* Defeat Cerberus again with the required target and lane hits on the lower playfield.
* Shoot the right ramp 6 times to calm the storm.
* Shoot either orbit a total of 6 times to kill the Stymphalian Birds.
* Defeat the Hydra by hitting all 6 of its head positions with the ball (*after defeating the Medusa*).

Each lit shot during God Mode scores 1 million points, and completing God Mode successfully will award a massive bonus worth 79 million points. The player is only allowed one attempt at this wizard mode, and it will fail if the player runs out of time or loses all 8 balls. Subsequent attempts at God Mode will require all 8 missions and multiball modes to be successfully completed rather than started.

## Side modes

* **Labors of Hercules**: Three of the main missions involve completing one of the 12 labors of Hercules. There are nine other labors to tackle, and one of them will start if the player shoots any lane that would start an already completed mission a total of 5 times. These labors are identical in structure: the player must shoot lit lanes within a time limit for 250,000 points each, with the lit lanes and the time limit changing depending on each mode and a bonus of 3 million points being awarded on the final shot. The nine other labors are: **Nemean Lion**, **Ceryneian Hind**, **Erymanthian Boar**, **Augean Stables**, **Cretan Bull**, **Mares of Diomedes**, **Girdle of Hippolyta**, **Cattle of Geryon**, and **Golden Apples of the Hesperides**.
* **Mortal Feats**: Hercules is capable of great feats as a demigod. If the player spells MORTAL on the return lanes and shoots the sinkhole, there is a chance that one of the following six 30-second side modes may start at random; these can activate at any time, even during the main **missions**. Once a side mode is started, it cannot be activated again until all of the Mortal Awards have been collected:
	+ **Wrath of the Gods**: Any of the four targets in the GODS target bank will award points starting at 100k and increasing by 100k per target. Spelling GODS will also open the target bank for about 5 seconds, for a chance to hit the hidden sinkhole behind the targets for a jackpot worth 10x the most recently scored value.
	+ **Power Bumpers**: The bumpers award 200,000 points per hit, and the orbit gates will force orbit shots into the bumpers.
	+ **Magic Sword**: If the player is not working on **Hydra** or **Medusa**, this side mode may be chosen and the sword spinner will raise; it can be spun for 100,000 points per spin, increasing by 50,000 for each spinner shot, and balls that pass through the spinner will be diverted to the left orbit.
	+ **Underworld Madness**: The orbits and the sinkhole will take the ball to the lower playfield, where any of the five targets can be shot for 30,000 + 30,000 points per shot.
	+ **Volcano Conquest**: Only awarded if **Cronus** isn't currently active at the left ramp. All shots up the left ramp will divert the ball to Cronus' mini-playfield, where the player can unblock the spiral ramp and eventually reach its terminus for 100,000 + 100,000 points per shot.
	+ **Snake Frenzy**: The petrified snake on the center ramp will close its mouth, becoming a target that can be hit for 50,000 + 50,000 points per shot.
* **Brawler Multiball**: This 2-ball multiball mode starts when the player makes 30 bumper hits (+10 per attempt), and locks a ball at the left orbit's magnetic trap. The player can then earn a **jackpot** worth a hurry-up value starting at 2 million by knocking the captured ball off its trap with another ball that is ejected into play. The player must then collect 10 bumper hits to activate the magnetic trap for another jackpot, worth 1 million points more than the previous jackpot. **Missions** can be started and continue to run during Brawler Multiball.

## Perks

* **Skill Shot**: The goal of the skill shot is to plunge the ball with enough strength to hit any of the targets in the GODS target bank for 1 million, increasing by 250,000 per skill shot. Alternately, the player can hold the left flipper button to close off the normal diagonal plunger exit and open the alternate plunger route that brings the ball up the right orbit, then shoot the ball into play for a chance to shoot any of the three right lanes within 5 seconds to earn a **super skill shot** worth double the value (with the sword spinner scoring 1 million per spin). A **hidden skill shot** worth 5 million can also be achieved, if the player plunges the ball (with the diagonal plunger exit active) straight into the left outlane.
* **Ball Saver**: At the start of each ball and multiball mode, a 15-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it cannot normally be reactivated.
* **Kickbacks**: Kickbacks can be activated at either outlane if the player spells HERO on the bumper rollovers, then shoots either orbit. The kickback activates depends on the orbit that was shot. Kickbacks carry over across balls.
* **Column Saver**: Completing the **kickback** activation process while both kickbacks are already lit will activate the column saver between the flippers, which acts as a center post that lowers when the ball physically hits it. The column saver also automatically activates at the beginning of **Olympus Multiball**.
* **Bonus Multiplier**: If the player hits both standup targets to the left of the center ramp, the next shot up the center ramp will advance the bonus multiplier by +1x up to 10x, which is only good for the current ball.
* **Mortal Awards**: Spelling MORTAL on the return lanes and shooting the sinkhole will either start one of the **Mortal Feats** described in **side modes**, or score a random award from the following: +1x bonus multiplier, activation of either **kickback** or the **column saver**, random point values between 5 and 10 million, 3 seconds of **extra time**, or a lit **extra ball**.
* **Extra Time**: Shooting either entrance to the spindisk enough times will add 3 seconds of extra time to missions started on the current ball.
* **Combos**: Shooting lit shots quickly will score combo points - 50,000 points + 50,000 per combo made in the current sequence. Scoring a 10-way combo will light an **extra ball**.
* **Extra Ball**: Extra balls can be lit at the sinkhole by starting **Olympus Multiball** with all 10 gods collected, starting 3 **missions**, making a 10-way **combo,** scoring a **titan jackpot** in **Cronus Multiball**, or from one of the **Mortal Awards**. Extra balls can only be lit once per method.

## Tips

* Always have the kickbacks lit, and it wouldn't help to have the column saver active during single-ball play. Missions might carry over between balls, but they can still be rather difficult to finish.
* Reaching God Mode isn't too difficult at first, as you only need to start missions to progress to it; but later attempts at reaching God Mode will require missions to be properly completed, making missions like Medusa and Storm potential road blocks for less experienced players. Remember that Olympus Multiball and Brawler Multiball can be started during any single-ball missions to make them easier to complete; use this to your advantage if the missions are giving you a hard time.
* During God Mode, keep track of which shots are currently required to complete the mode by periodically looking at the display. The right ramp and the Hydra heads will often be the last shots you need to make due to their difficulty, so try and take care of these during the initial multiball phase.
* The Mortal Award and Olympus Multiball lock animations don't freeze currently active mission timers, so these can be a bit of a detriment during later playthroughs of the missions. Avoid making these shots unless you're in non-mission play, or you want to start Olympus Multiball right at the start of a mission.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin