It can get pretty annoying
Sonic Frontiers has some wacky puzzles, and this callback to Sonic’s pinball days is easily near the top of the list.
Here’s how to finish the somewhat confusing sequence.
Sonic Frontiers: Clear the pinball game and solve the puzzle of the Ancients’ gate
Your goal is to achieve the confusingly named “get” score (at the top right hand corner of the screen). You have control over the left and right flippers, but nothing else, and there’s no “shake” button. Try not to ever hit the “cease operation” button, or you’ll have to start over from scratch again.
Prioritize red rings
So you’ll want to aim for the red rings as soon as they appear, as they grant instant score multipliers. No matter where they are, it’s important to try and grab them fast, so you can clear the puzzle quicker without wasting lives and time.
One of the best tips I can give is to “hold” the ball in place with a flipper until a red ring appears, then specifically aim for those. That way you aren’t risking a dropped ball for menial gains.
Keep aiming for the clear shot around the top loop
Just like in the screenshot above, one of the easiest and quickest ways to clear this puzzle is to aim for an arc that takes your ball across the entire top side of the board.
Arc a diagonal shot on each side, and your ball will loop around and gather all of the rings at the top. It’s a good shot to aim for when there are no red rings present (if you want to keep active and not wait for them to appear).
If you lose a ball near the very start, consider quitting
After you lose a ball, your multiplier will be completely reset to x1.
It’s important, then, to note that if you lose a ball immediately, you should probably just hit “cease operation” and start all over again with a completely refreshed life count.
Once you actually get the clear score, don’t quit
When the “get” number reaches zero, you still need to actually finish the puzzle. As you can see in the image above, the center top of the screen will change and glow bright blue: flip the ball into that hole.
