Which Pachinko and Pachislot Machines are Surprisingly Good Reputation with Foreigners?

長北真 Pachinko the WORLD！海外と外国人とジャパニーズパチンコ事情

Hello, Makoto from Global Pachinko Inc here. After dropping a big topic last time, I've been pondering over what to discuss next, such as:

"Next time, I plan to talk about 'Models popular with foreigners,' 'Gambling situations overseas/Pachinko is quite special,' 'Pachinko situations abroad,' etc."
"⑤ (For those who have played pachinko) What are your thoughts on playing pachinko? (Omitted)"
"⑥ (For those who haven't played pachinko) What are the reasons you haven't played pachinko? (Omitted)"

I've been thinking about how to cover these topics, but for now, I'll pick up from where we left off last time and write a bit about "Thoughts on playing pachinko" and "Reasons for not entering a pachinko parlor/not playing."

So, let's talk about "Foreigners' Thoughts on Playing Pachinko."

You might imagine they had an exciting time! However, the reception is actually somewhat lackluster.

It makes sense, doesn't it? How interesting can pachinko be when you don't understand any of the display patterns?

Moreover, most of the displays are in Japanese. I end up making comments like "This is a hot moment!" or "That's probably not going to hit..." next to someone who doesn't understand what's happening. I have to explain the general rules, like red is hot and green is not, every time they appear.

Furthermore, the tours are basically two hours long, with maybe an extra hour of extension. The average number of spins per hour in pachinko is typically 200-250, so if you let them play a middle-spec machine, it tends to end with just continuously putting money in for two hours! In a business where reviews are everything, it takes handling about ten groups before you might get one review. Such a dismal outcome must be prevented at all costs.

Also, for those slightly familiar with pachinko or who have seen it in some media, there's a common misconception that "pachinko allows for skill intervention." However, once they try it, they find it's basically just setting the handle at a certain position and watching the LCD, which can feel a bit dull. Especially those who come in with an image of pinball in mind.

What could be said to "click" are visually engaging machines like Fever Queen or Tairyō, and even Sea Story seems to be somewhat enjoyed. Babel was also quite a hit.

▲Analog ore Retro styled machines are more familiar to foreigners？

Especially with Babel, 'Put it in this hole, and you'll get 5000 shots out. This means there's a high probability of shooting more than 5000 shots' — the explanation is completely finished with that. Plus, its flashy appearance makes it highly compatible.

On the other hand, with so-called LCD machines, explaining things like the probability for each machine or the expected payout for a big hit becomes a bottleneck without first delving into details, especially when discussing budget.

★So Pachislot is better for foreigners？

As a pattern, we might spend about an hour playing 1-yen pachinko, specifically the easier machines.

Personally, I prefer pachislot, and it tends to have fewer idle moments. If played smoothly, you can spin 700-800 times in an hour with a pachislot. Even in a short time, some sort of event happens, so for a tour of about 2 hours, it works out better.

Now, the question is what type of machine to let them play. This is pretty much the same as "what to let a beginner play when you take them to pachislot." If anything, we might slightly avoid the most popular machines. Due to the basic stance of standing back or playing leisurely next to someone, it's difficult to manage when it's crowded.

Ultimately, we go for AT machines.

Why not a Juggler? You might ask. I think the gameplay of Juggler is something that the player decides. Whether it's casually pressing for grapes, counting regs, continuously aiming for certain visual cues, chasing the waves of hits on a slump machine, or perfecting the lever hit.

There's a production every game, but it's more of an inner thing, I believe. Zen, that's right, Zen. Juggler is like Zen.

Asking a beginner who came looking for the Japanese exciting slot experience to adopt this mentality is quite harsh. It's ideal for explaining the rules, but perhaps it's kinder to present the game's nature from our side for their first experience.

Specifically？

Sirius.

▲Japanese people, do you guys even know him? Serius..

For the minority who might ask, 'What's that machine?' here's a detailed explanation:

・It's an AT machine (with about 4 coins increment per game).
・You can get about 300 coins from a BIG bonus and about 100 coins from a REG bonus.
・The ceiling is at 777G.
・After the first hit, there's a 1/3 chance of entering a series of wins (Sirius) mode.
・The series mode continues 82% of the time (actually, 66% for 2 sets of bonuses to chain = effectively an 82% continuation).
・If it lights up, you've hit (the notice sound is so loud that if it's max volume, you might fall off your chair).

That's about it.

...Well, it's about 30% a joke and 70% serious.

As I mentioned before, the gameplay is necessary, but overly complex ones are a no-go. I'd love to let them play Kabaneri, but can you explain the gameplay of Kabaneri in 5 minutes? And in English? I can't (one defeat).

I thought about translating the entire analysis of Kabaneri into English and posting it, but I think the editor might faint, so I'll spare them today.

Q. But why Sirius, wouldn't Okidoki or something be better?
A. Well, it has an advantageous period ceiling... I don't want to make them lose too much..

Q. Then why not just go with Juggler?
A. No, Juggler and Sirius are entirely different in terms of gameplay. If Juggler is Zen, then Sirius is prayer. The only issue is that the mode transition timing isn't disclosed, but it's probably the moment you align the first hit bonus, so your fate is decided then and there, but through prayer, the outcome is (omitted)... The 100G consumption after the bonus is precisely prayer (omitted)... So it's totally different. Plus, no need for precise timing with the eyes.

I might go on too much about my love for Sirius, but curiously, its installations have mostly disappeared. So, as alternatives, we often end up having participants play "Elite Salaryman Kagami," "The Rising of the Shield Hero," and "Another God Hades - Unleashed Spear ver.-" These are surprisingly simple when laid out in text. Let's talk a bit about each machine:

▲Foreigner-familiar machines following Serius

"HEY! Elite Salaryman Kagami"
・Usually hits by 100G or more likely around 250-280G.
・If you go to something like an office, it ultimately leads to a production. If the production succeeds, you get a bonus.
・If you line up 7s during the bonus, it enters AT. AT adds on with rare roles.
・Occasionally hits from a rare role or goes into a CZ.

The end.

Although it has its complex elements here and there, upon closer inspection, it's actually a very orthodox machine. Also, it's fairly popular among Americans. Everyone loves Ninja Slayer, right? From an American's perspective, it has a similar vibe. Domo, Kagami-san."

Next up is... Masayuki, Takaaki, Hiroyuki… Nah, 'The Rising of the Shield Hero'

A machine that belongs to the person who might be called Naofumi or Lord Naofumi depending on the day.

・Cherry triggers a level-up zone, watermelon triggers high probability, and a chance line triggers CZ (or AT).
・There are no signs before a big hit.
・During CZ, try hard to pull the bell (the higher the level, the more likely bell navigations will appear).
・During AT, try hard to pull replays.

The concept of 'foreboding' (pre-hit indication) is unique worldwide, making it incredibly difficult to explain linguistically (as casino slots show results 100% with each spin, and situations like 'after so many more spins, XX will happen' generally don't occur). I often get looks of confusion like 'how can it hit but not hit?' The absence of this concept alone significantly reduces the time needed for explanation.

Additionally, the path to the so-called real AT (what would be called the American Dream in Kagami) is very light, which is excellent. The basic tour is about an hour, and above all, "hitting" is very important. In this regard, machines like the 6.0-6.2 models would be more compatible, but installations are...

Moreover, this machine is quite noisy during AT. It's a gameplay where pulling a replay during the basic 5 games (+α) of ST leads to a 10-game reward part + ST reset. The game continually repeats the flow of ear-blasting sounds every time ST continues: Ti-Ti-Ti-Tuun-Tuun-Tuun!! ⇒ an upbeat OP song. Due to this, general players often negatively judge it as "the payout doesn't match the noise," but the target audience is tour participants. What's most important is whether they get the feeling of playing a slot or not. If the exciting music is playing, the actual payout is somewhat irrelevant.

By the way, I personally sometimes play it when I'm mentally drained after pulling an all-nighter doing translation side jobs. At such times, what I want isn't so much the payout, but rather the stupidly loud sounds that allow me to switch off my brain. So for all you people of today, often mentally exhausted—what should I say, the people of modern times—please give it a try. Foolish fun.

Lastly, 'Another God Hades - Unleashed Spear ver.-'

It's become quite rare to find these machines installed, but there are cases where some people insist, 'I really want to play this one!' Its heavy initial hit makes it a very poor match for tours, but the game itself is simple. You win if odd-numbered symbols line up.

As a side note, but an important one, when you mention 'odd numbers,' some people might respond with 'What's that?' so it's better to say 'red numbers.'

The level of education in mathematics varies greatly from country to country. I spent my high school years in the United States, and in my junior year, I was learning math at the level of 6th grade to 7th grade in Japan. So, when you say it hits 1 out of 100 times, often it's understood as 'If I play up to 100 times, I will hit it!' From the perspective of 'teaching pachinko to foreigners,' this might be quite an important aspect to consider.

But getting back on track, the demographic that often requests this are those who learned about pachislot from the 'Yakuza' series. As a side note, the 'Yakuza' series is known as 'Yakuza' in the English versions, and the series from 2020 onward is called 'Like a Dragon.' A nightmare for translators.

In Yakuza 7, you can actually play pachislot in the game. So, those who have played the international version of the game come wanting to 'try the real machines!' But as they're no longer available (the ones included in the game are 'Million God -God of the Victory March-,' 'Another God Hades - Zeus ver. taken-,' 'Pachislot Soten no Ken Tomo,' 'Pachislot King of Beasts, Beasts Roar'), we end up challenging them to play the existing Hades machines.

Telling them 'It's better to play until the ceiling' is somewhat difficult to say..." Smart Slot Fist of the North Star(スマスロ北斗の拳）

Recently, we've also received requests to play 'Smart Pachislot Fist of the North Star.' The phrase 'You are already dead' by Kenshiro has become such a famous internet meme in English-speaking regions. It's funny that it's known exactly as 'Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru.'

▲Smart slot Hokuto has becoming popular to foreigners

▲Reference videos for Hokuto(260 Million view).

▲It indeed has a growing appeal(460 Million view).

I opened it after a long time and ended up playing it on loop. I think I'm tired.

It might also be because I keep talking about Fist of the North Star on various forums and Discord. It's quite similar to the gameplay of the 4th machine era of Fist of the North Star, but updated to be more understandable in modern terms, which makes explaining it easier. Just pull a middle chance and get the counter to show up, slam into a Big Bonus, then stare down Raoh or send your fighting spirit to Kenshiro, and most of the explanation is done.

If you see a foreigner, try greeting them with 'Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru' (those who understand will respond with 'Nani?!').

As the usage has settled down recently, it might be adopted in the next tour. That's it for this time. See you next time!

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We have organized a special tour to introduce pachinko, a traditional Japanese form of entertainment, to our foreign friends. On this tour, you will be accompanied by an instructor who is fluent in English and well-versed in pachinko, providing detailed guidance from the basics to advanced techniques. Pachinko, known for its bright lights and unique sounds, has been a beloved game in Japan for over 80 years. Although the tour is just two hours, it offers a wealth of knowledge about pachinko's history and how to play!