Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong area. I'm new here and to be honest this is the reason I have registered here.

I've had this game for several years. I even created a review for it as I like to review obscure games.
http://www.segasaturn.co.uk/games/ja...iversalmuseum/

Universal Museum simulates 12 pachislo machines including ones like Cranky Condor which I believe is a well known older machine.


I have to admit that I had written this game off as an unusual peek at a Japanese pastime but after some more experimentation this week it seems there is more to this game than meets the eye.


One main barrier to full enjoyment of this game is the fact that there is fair bit of Japanese on-screen. Previously I had figured out most of the game via trial and error but it seems I have missed out on some key aspects of the game.


There is an option in Universal Museum that when set to ON will from time to time display a winning reel combination at the top right of the screen while the reels are spinning. It's the second option down here:config.jpg

btw - I am mystified by the first option with the label 4.1 against it. My guess is that it is some sort of rule revision or ROM version? No idea. Would someone here know what this is?

As far as I can tell when nothing is displayed there you won't ever get a winning spin. From my playing experience  when something is shown, you win. I always just assumed that this option was just showing the winning combination you were going to get - because no matter when I pressed the stop buttons I always got this displayed combination. 


It turns out that this isn't the case.


Sometimes - but not every time - this is a skill stop challenge. The machine will actually stop the reels when you press the buttons - but only when you correctly stop them at the symbols displayed at the top right of the screen.


Example of a winning combo shown while the reels are spinning. Three bells in this case. Sometimes you are guaranteed to get this win - but sometimes you have to actually successfully do a skill stop on each reel.

winningComb1.jpg

Then I noticed sometimes that multiple winning combos are displayed - with the most valuable one at the top of the list. So when this happens you have an opportunity to go for any of these using skill stops.


An example of multi-winning combinations. One of these 6 - again sometimes an auto win, sometimes you need to skill stop


winningCombMulti.jpg

On top of this, I started examining the stats screens more closely. On the main stats screen, there is a payout percentage showing coins in , coins out , the balance (usually a negative number!) and a machine payout percentage (which can be over 100% if you have won more than you have put in but it's usually less than 100%).


But - below this figure is a second balance and percentage. That is either equal to the first figure, or higher. It seems that this figure shows the payout percentage that the player should get if he/she is getting all of the skill stop opportunities.


Here's the stats screen showing the 2 payouts - note that the second one is higher after I missed a skill stop chance. The skill stops I missed are listed on the right - only missed one!

stats.jpg



So its seems - that this is actually a game of skill - albeit a limited one.  It explains why there are so many other player aids like 8 different spin speeds and the ability to mark selected symbols on the reel with a red background so making them easier to see. There's even an option that shows whioch symbol was on screen when you pressed the stop button and when it actually stopped.


So I will be examining this title a bit more.

Now - this is the bit I need some help with.


Here's the in-game menu:

menu.jpg




This is a query about the NOTE and LOOK options.


You have to activate NOTE before VIEW will work.


NOTE seems to "save" the contents of the reel window. After using it you can then select LOOK. Do that and you will see this display:

mystery.jpg

The numbers in the grid are locations of the symbols on each reel. I can save as many different instances of these as I want. Pressing A shows all 3 reels on the right of the screen with the numbers against the symbols. If I press left or right I page through the content I have saved. In this example there is only 1 saved (1/1 - shown at the bottom right of the screen).


Another example - this is what you see after pressing A

mystery2.jpg



Pressing X deletes the current saved entry from memory.


I can only assume this is some sort of player aid but I haven't a clue what its purpose is. Anyone here know what this would be used for? It's featured on the game packaging so it must be significant but it's driving me nuts as to what it is!!!!!!