1981 · Bally
Medusa
Known for Upper playfield, Upper flippers, Upper left saucer and Top drop targets. Carved stone temple interior, purple-black ornate pillars, dark red radiating glow and stone rubble at base.
- Year
- 1981
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- upper playfield
Upper playfield
- extra flippers
Upper flippers
- saucer
Upper left saucer
- Drop target
Top drop targets
- post
Shield of the Gods
- Goal
Olympus Bonus
- Goal
Colossus Bonus
- Mode
Extended Play
On the playfield
Extra level 1
- Upper playfield upper playfield
Hole 1
- Upper left saucer saucer
Drop targets 2
- Top drop targets
- Lower right drop targets
Targets 3
- Green standup targets
- Red standup target
- 1-2-3 targets
Lane 1
- Star rollovers rollovers
Flippers 2
- Upper flippers extra flippers
- Transparent flippers
Post or gate 1
- Shield of the Gods post
Lights 1
- Ready, Aim, Fire
Display 1
- Extra ball number
On the backglass
Who and what
- woman Giant disembodied head, red and pink skin, orange slit eyes, heavy black lashes, arched brows, open mouth with fangs and a long blue forked tongue dripping downward; fills the centre
- woman Screaming figure in flowing gold gown, snakes for hair, arms flung wide, at upper right
- man Golden-armoured warrior with crested corinthian helmet at left, thrusting a scimitar forward, other hand splayed open toward viewer
- monster Dark purple-skinned bearded figure in a horned headdress at right, one arm raised with hand open
- other Pale blue-grey moon or skull sphere resting on rubble at bottom centre
- other Two red four-pronged flames on a stone plinth at bottom centre
Setting
- Carved stone temple interior
- Purple-black ornate pillars
- Dark red radiating glow
- Stone rubble at base
Text on it
- Bally
- Medusa
- BALLY REPLAY
- CREDIT
- GAME OVER
- Kevin O'Connor
How it plays
-
Modes 1
- Extended Play
-
Goals 2
- Olympus Bonus
- Colossus Bonus
Made by
- Design
- Wally Welch
- Art
- Kevin O'Connor
The cast
- Medusa
Reference
Linked terms
- Upper flippers also called Zipper flippers
- Upper left saucer also called Upper saucer
- Top drop targets also called Seven-target bank also called Upper target bank
- Star rollovers also called Moving star rollover
- 1-2-3 targets also called Left 1-2-3
- Lower right drop targets also called Right four-bank
- Shield of the Gods also called Shield
- Olympus Bonus also called Olympus
- Colossus Bonus also called Colossus
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- red
- cream
- gold
- black
Fingerprint: Grey rocket blasting straight up from mustard-yellow launch gantry at top, three large round bumpers with caps reading 1000 1000 1090, two pink twin-boom jet fighters with starburst exhaust facing inward from lower corners around five-disc ORBIT of yellow circles, row of four red hexagonal drop targets at upper right, vivid flat cartoon art
A huge green Medusa head with snakes for hair forms the centrepiece of the lower playfield, with a crowd of smaller myth heads stacked above and around it. Four fat red pop-bumper caps in a tight 2x2 square dominate the middle of the field. A golden-armoured archer beside a rearing winged horse is painted across the arch at the top. The cream apron keeps its original 1980 copyright block with the cursive Bally script logo and the rarity text RIFT FOR EACH SCORE OF 600,000 POINTS.
Setting
- Painted greek temple architecture with columns and stone arches
- Arched top section with a gold sky and classical figures
- Lower maroon field with painted flame and cloud swirls
Symbols
- Red diamond playing-card suit in a white diamond panel at centre
- Gold horseshoe motifs
- Eight-pointed star bursts
- Snakes
- Flames
- Grey stone column and arch drawings
Notable shapes
- Cream oval leaf-shaped one-shot plastics
- Red diamond card-suit panel in a white square
- Arched top playfield with a printed stone arch
- Triangular maroon-and-gold apron chevron
Art motifs
- Greek temple columns and stonework
- Curved gold banners carrying character names
- Painted flame and cloud swirls
- Medallion portraits
Themes
- Greek mythology
- Gorgons
- Winged horses
- Knights
- Archery
Title on it
- Medusa
Text on it
- Bally
- MEDUSA
- PINBALL DIVISION
- MCMLXXX
- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
- For Amusement Only
- 5 BALLS PER GAME
- EXTRA FLIPPER BUTTON ACTIVATES SHIELD POST
- INSTRUCTIONS
- RIFT FOR EACH SCORE OF 600,000 POINTS
- RIFT FOR EACH SCORE OF 8,000,000 POINTS
- RANDOM DROP TARGETS ADVANCE TO TOP
- EJECTION PLAY
- BONUS MULTIPLIER
- SHIELD POST
- TIME UNITS
- AWARD EXTRA BALL
- BONUS
- GORGON
- PEGASUS
- CENTAUR
- CYCLOPS
- EXTRA BALL
- JACKPOT
- ARCHER
- 1 PLAY 1 QUARTER
- 5 PLAY 1 QUARTER
- 2 & 4 DOLLAR PLAYS
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Golden-armoured archer at the top arch, drawing a bow, bare muscular arms, winged helmet, facing left |
| Animal | Rearing winged horse with gold wings at the upper right of the arch |
| Woman | Pale reclining classical female figures with flowing robes around the arch scene |
| Creature | Large green snake-haired gorgon head in the centre of the lower field, staring forward |
| Monster | A horned monster face looming at the very top centre above the arch |
| Other | Small painted head medallions and masks scattered across the maroon field |
A solid-state playfield shot from above, dark and heavily shadowed, with a cream-and-maroon Greek-mythology scheme. At the top is a painted scene of a golden-armoured archer figure drawing a bow beside a rearing winged horse and other pale classical figures, under an arch of lettering that reads as a knight/archer title with smaller names either side of it. Below that sit four large red translucent pop-bumper caps arranged in a square, then a grey rectangular instruction panel in the centre of the field printed with EJECTION PLAY, BONUS MULTIPLIER and SHIELD POST above three dark windows labelled TIME UNITS, AWARD EXTRA BALL and BONUS. The lower half is dominated by a maroon field with a green snake-haired Gorgon head in the middle, flanked by two cream leaf-shaped one-shot plastics, with gold text such as GORGON, PEGASUS, CENTAUR, CYCLOPS and SHIELD POST repeated in curved banners. The cream apron below carries the cursive Bally logo, a MEDUSA label, PINBALL DIVISION copyright text and 5 BALLS PER GAME, plus a yellow callout reading EXTRA FLIPPER BUTTON ACTIVATES SHIELD POST.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- red
- yellow
- purple
- black
Fingerprint: Giant red-skinned Medusa head center with slit orange eyes blue forked tongue, screaming gold-dressed woman snake hair upper right, golden-armored warrior Corinthian helmet left, yellow omega M monogram, purple-black carved pillars, Greek meander border, airbrushed fantasy mythology
The centrepiece is a gigantic floating female head, red-skinned with orange slit-pupil eyes and a blue forked tongue hanging from her fanged mouth. Immediately above and right of it a woman in a gold dress with a head full of writhing snakes screams with both arms spread. The title is spelled with a yellow omega-shaped M standing in for the first letter, so it reads Medusa but the M is a Greek symbol. Two red four-flamed torches burn at the bottom centre flanking a pale moon-like sphere.
Setting
- Carved stone temple interior
- Purple-black ornate pillars
- Dark red radiating glow
- Stone rubble at base
Symbols
- Yellow omega m monogram
- Greek meander border
- Carved spiral volutes
- Scimitar
- Laurel branches
- Corinthian helmet
- Horned headdress
- Snake hair
- Fanged mouth
- Blue forked tongue
Lettering
- Large yellow lowercase serif letters with red and black outline for the title, a red flowing cursive script word above it, white-outlined lit insert lettering on the replay arrow and game over panel
Themes
- Greek mythology
- Snakes
- Skull
- Treasure
- Demons
- Warrior
- Score windows
Title on it
- Medusa
Text on it
- Bally
- Medusa
- BALLY REPLAY
- CREDIT
- GAME OVER
- Kevin O'Connor
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Giant disembodied head, red and pink skin, orange slit eyes, heavy black lashes, arched brows, open mouth with fangs and a long blue forked tongue dripping downward; fills the centre |
| Woman | Screaming figure in flowing gold gown, snakes for hair, arms flung wide, at upper right |
| Man | Golden-armoured warrior with crested corinthian helmet at left, thrusting a scimitar forward, other hand splayed open toward viewer |
| Monster | Dark purple-skinned bearded figure in a horned headdress at right, one arm raised with hand open |
| Other | Pale blue-grey moon or skull sphere resting on rubble at bottom centre |
| Other | Two red four-pronged flames on a stone plinth at bottom centre |
| Other | Twin golden-armoured warrior faces glimpsed in the dark upper-left corner carving |
A vertically framed airbrushed-fantasy backglass on a dark red and black ground, bordered by carved-looking purple-black stone pillars with Greek meander and spiral carving. Top left carries a fat yellow omega-shaped M monogram followed by large yellow lowercase letters edged in red and black reading edusa, with a red cursive word above it. Across the top a stone ribbon of carved pseudo-Greek lettering runs behind the logo. The centre is dominated by a colossal disembodied woman's face in red and pink tones: orange-red slit eyes with heavy lashes, arched brows, and open fanged lips from which a long blue forked tongue or stream of saliva drips. Four smaller figures surround her: at left a golden-armoured warrior with a crested Corinthian helmet and a scimitar thrust forward, hand splayed wide; above right a screaming woman in a flowing gold gown with snakes for hair, both arms flung out; at right a dark purple-skinned bearded figure in a horned headdress raising a hand; at the bottom centre a pale blue-grey moon or skull-like sphere resting on rubble. Two red four-pronged flames burn at the bottom centre, gold laurel branches rise either side of the moon, and stone plinths flank the lower corners. Rectangular windows are cut into the art: two upper score windows, a black-bordered instruction window at upper left, an arrow-shaped insert at upper right reading REPLAY, and three lower windows.