My First Modern Pachinko

[looey]

I bought my first Pachinko by seeing one in an amusement palour, then tracking down the owner and asking about where he got his machines from.
Here is my story...

My first Pachinko
I’m a big “Star Blazers” fan, so when I saw an amusement parlour in Sydney’s Chinatown had a CR Yamato 1 I nearly blew a fuse! I tracked down the parlour operator to see where I could get a similar machine and he immediately agreed to sell the one off the floor for $300!
This machine comes in a free-standing wooden case labelled “Treasure Hunter” It has an enclosed ball feed with a small number of balls that are recycled endlessly. Each time 1000 credits are reached, a “gashapon” style prize ball containing a redemption ticket is released from the bottom chute.
When I received the machine I was given four identical keys that opened the reset button access hatch, the coin chute mechanism and the prize ball panel. These keys did not open the rear main service panel or the game front. I found after some gymnastics reaching inside the machine from the coin chute area, that I could unscrew the latch plate on the lock of the rear panel. Once I had access to the back of the machine, I could unscrew the latch plate on the game front lock and open the game panel from the front. I removed the lock barrel and prising back the fastening tabs, I could disassemble the tumbler and remove the spring loaded brass key pins. When I reassembled the lock barrel and reattached the latch plate , I now had a functional lock that I could open using my existing keys. I switched the coin chute lock to the rear access panel and I now have full access to all areas of my machine.
I disconnected the coin chute mechanism and use the credit button to play. To assist pushing the credit button, I made a switch panel with laser engraved decorations, which I can post a pic of if anyone is interested.
Playing this game is really interesting, as so far I have not been able to find any game-play instructions for the Yamato 1 – Can anybody out there help me?
The chance button is useful when Anorizer/IQ9 pops up with a chance play, I always seem to be able to knock him out from under his sake bottle or make him drop his message pod, but this doesn’t seem to increase my score. Interestingly when I first got the game, I was scoring big-time, with the 120% ball return flap boosting my scores to 2-3000 per game with prize balls rolling all over the floor (I’ve filled the empty capsules with Yamato themed toys, just for a bit of incentive!).
However, recently, scoring has become much harder despite my increased skill, the chance button seems to have only the slightest effect on the pachislo reels and the mini games I used to ace seem illusive. Is there a pre-set scoring program in the machine (like some poker machines)? If so, it might explain my current run of bad luck!
The game play is brilliant, I’m still discovering new mini games and different animated cuts, sometimes only encountered once. I am completely in love with this game, I just wish I could get the high scores again!