The Party Zone
1991 pinball machine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Party Zone is a solid-state pinball machine released in 1991 by Midway (under Bally) designed by Dennis Nordman and programmed by Jim Strompolis. It is in a single playfield format and features Captain B. Zarre with characters from previous pinball machines. It is the second pinball machine released after the Bally-Midway division was sold to Williams, but still operated under the "Bally" name.
front of flyer | |
| Manufacturer | Midway |
|---|---|
| Release date | August 1991 |
| System | Williams WPC (Dot Matrix) |
| Players | 1-4 |
| Design | Dennis Nordman |
| Programming | Jim Strompolis |
| Artwork | Greg Freres |
| Mechanics | Zaofia Bil, Win Schilling |
| Music | Dan Forden |
| Sound | Dan Forden |
| Production run | 3,862 |
Design
Heritage
The backglass as well as the playfield contain characters from previous games (who all meet up on this game at the Cosmic Cottage):[3]
- The Party Animal from Bally Midway's 1987 Party Animal
- The Party Monsters from Midway's 1989 Elvira and the Party Monsters
- The Party Dude from Midway's 1990 Dr. Dude And His Excellent Ray
- Beside the skeleton in the group of Party Monsters, a Trog caveman, from the 1990 Midway arcade game Trog, can be seen.
Gameplay
Reception
Digital version
This game was released by FarSight Studios as a licensed table for The Pinball Arcade in season four, and was delisted on June 30, 2018 due to the loss of the Williams license.[7]
The Party Zone released for Pinball FX3 released on December 4, 2018, and included optional animations. A remastered version released for Pinball FX on March 31, 2022; and a VR version released for Pinball FX VR on May 15, 2025 which included an animated Captain B. Zarre next to the machine.[8] The songs "Come Fly with Me", "Purple Haze", and "Feelings" were excluded due to licensing issues. Only "Pinball Wizard" remained intact.