Phineas and Ferb Wiki
Phineas and Ferb Wiki
Phineas and Ferb Wiki
3,443
pages
in: Real World Articles, Real World games, P

Phinball Wizard

View source
This article is written from the Real World Perspective.

Phinball Wizard is a downloadable pinball game based on Phineas and Ferb that was available on the Disney UK website in 2009.

Gameplay[]

The player has four tries to get as many points as possible. To begin a round, the plunger has to be regulated with the down key so that the ball can be launched into the board. Using the left and right keys to control the flippers, the player can maintain the ball's momentum to hit spots for score and bonuses. Pressing spacebar shakes the board as a failsafe measure, in case the ball gets stuck.

In addition to a ramp to the top, there are two others that lead to extras; a Doofenshmirtz minigame, and a mission. The former is a race against time to deactivate a firewall in order to stop the doctor before losing too many points, and the latter involves hitting certain places a specified number of times for more points.

Bonuses[]

  • Candace: Passing by the three dots next to her symbol grants a score multiplier. Doing this repeatedly doubles the bonus up to 16x.
  • Fedora: Passing by the three dots next to its symbol activates the Doofenshmirtz minigame.
  • Rebound: Passing by the dot in either side of the flipper lane opens a rebound spot at the respective edge. Landing in it kicks the ball back into the field.
  • WWW: Passing by the three "W"s turns on a shield above the hole between the flippers. Hitting it once deactivates it.

Missions[]

  • Friends: To make new contacts, hit the mission ramp 3 times!
  • Phinball Wizard: Hit 6 switches to add Phinball Wizard to more download sites!
  • Satellites: Move the satellites by hitting the control bumpers 15 times!
  • Website: Upgrade website by completing 3 re-entries at the top!

Gallery[]

Background Information[]

Phinball Wizard Initial

The initial version of the overlay

  • The game's title is a play on "Pinball Wizard", a the Who song, and "Phineas".
  • The main menu has three options besides the actual game; a "Web" link to the Phineas and Ferb supersite on the Disney UK website, a "Clips" video player for four snips of episodes, and "Customise"[1] instructions for the player to personalize the board.
  • Pressing spacebar in the main menu loads the game directly.
  • The game's interface features a clock that displays the time and date as defined in the settings of the player's computer. In the initial version of the game, the overlay included a message showing what program would air on Disney Channel UK next.
  • The tutorial and character commentary are provided through an instant messaging chat box reminiscent to that of MSN Messenger.
  • When the game was available, there was a cheat codes subpage on its download site.[2] It is unknown what exactly these were, but it is likely that they had to be typed in the chat box, as it is the only writable place in the menu.
  • Several voice lines can be heard in the game:
    • Beginning the game: "Check it out." by Phineas, from "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror"
    • Starting the satellites mission: "We set up a satellite up-link." by Phineas, from "Mom's Birthday"
    • Starting the website mission: "5,000,000 hits already?!" by Phineas, from "Lights, Candace, Action!"
    • Activating the minigame: Chortle by Perry
    • Beginning the Doofenshmirtz minigame: "This should be fun." by Doofenshmirtz, from "Comet Kermillian"
    • Deactivating the firewall: "Oh, this used to be more fun." by Doofenshmirtz, from "S'Winter"
  • The image for the satellites mission is a render from "Out to Launch".
  • Losing the ball during a mission or the minigame results in it ending. Entering the latter while doing the former does not have the same effect.
  • Doofenshmirtz's name is misspelled as "Doofenschmirtz".
  • It is possible to defeat Doofenshmirtz without removing the firewall by passing through its small opening. This can lead to a softlock scenario where the ball stays inside the wall, but doesn't touch the mainframe, eventually semi-freezing the game.
  • Upon beating the minigame, a biology homework with questions about the platypus is shown. It claims that platypi can only hold their breath for up to two minutes; this is true if they are actively swimming, but if they don't move, platypi can stay underwater for as long as eleven minutes.[3]
  • The firewall in the Doofenshmirtz minigame is a play on the literal definition of the word, a barrier of fire.
  • The loading screen has a "v[ersion].42" icon, and a line stating "Calculating answers to everything". These are allusions to the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is said to be "42". This is also a nod to the developers, 4T2, who named themselves after the Douglas Adams quote.[4]
  • The three "W"s that can be hit for a bonus are a nod to the World Wide Web, the system of pages on the internet.

References[]

  1. ↑ Note: British English spelling of "customize".
  2. ↑ Phinball Wizard cheat codes
  3. ↑ Some FAQs - Australian Platypus Conservancy
  4. ↑ About Us | 4T2

External links[]

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.