Editing Lunar Pool

{{Short description|1985 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Lunar Pool
| image = LunarPoolNESBoxart.jpg
| caption = NES box cover
| developer = [[Compile (company)|Compile]]
| publisher = [[Pony Canyon]] (Japan)<br />[[Fujisankei Communications International|FCI]] (Worldwide)
| designer = 
| composer = Masatomo Miyamoto
| engine = 
| released = '''PC-88''' {{Video game release|JP|June 1985}} '''NES''' {{Video game release|JP|December 5, 1985|NA|October 1987|PAL|1991}} '''MSX''' {{Video game release|JP|1985}} '''Wii VC''' {{Video game release|NA|October 22, 2007}}
| genre = [[Sports game|Sports]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[multiplayer video game|multiplayer]]
| platforms = [[PC-8800 series]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[MSX]];<br />re-release: [[Wii]] [[Virtual Console]]
}}'''''Lunar Pool''''' (known as {{nihongo|'''''Lunar Ball'''''|ルナーボール|Runā Bōru}} in [[Japan]]) is a [[Sports video game|sports]] [[video game]]. It was developed in 1985 by [[Compile (company)|Compile]] for the NEC [[PC-8000 series]] (in Japan), the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES, in Japan, North America, and Europe), and the [[MSX]] (in Japan), and re-released for the [[Wii]] on the North American [[Virtual Console]] on October 22, 2007. The game combines [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]] (pocket billiards) with aspects of [[miniature golf]]. The object is to use a {{cuegloss|cue ball}} to knock each {{cuegloss|object ball}} into one of the {{cuegloss|pocket}}s on [[pool table]]s of various shapes. The game offers sixty levels, and the friction of the table is adjustable. ''Lunar Pool'' was distributed by [[Pony Canyon]] in Japan and [[Fujisankei Communications International]] for the rest of the world.

==Gameplay==
''Lunar Pool'' is played on virtual pool tables of different shapes, some containing obstacles. The player must shoot the cue ball to knock other colored object balls into the pockets. One [[Life (video games)|life]] is lost whenever the player either fails to pocket an object ball on three consecutive shots or pockets the cue ball. Completing a level awards one extra life, or two if the player has pocketed at least one ball on every shot.

[[Image:Lunar Pool NES.gif|thumb|200px|The final stage in ''Lunar Pool'']]
The value of each ball is determined by its number and the displayed "Rate" value, which starts at 1 and increases after every shot where the player pockets at least one ball. Failing this resets the Rate to 1. Bonus points are awarded for completing a level without a miss.

The game ends after all lives are lost or 60 levels have been completed, whichever occurs first.

==Modes==
''Lunar Pool'' can either be played alone, against another player, or against the computer. If the game is played against another player or the computer, players take turns shooting the cue ball. If one player fails to knock at least one of the colored balls into a pocket, or pockets the cue ball, then it becomes the opponent's turn.

The game includes an adjustable [[friction]] setting, which determines the rate the balls slow down after being hit, as if affected by different amounts of [[gravity]] (thus the ''lunar'' reference in the title, along with [[Moon]]-related background imagery within the game).

==Cultural references==
In the Mexican soap opera ''[[María la del Barrio]]'', José María ([[Roberto Blandón]]) plays ''Lunar Pool'' on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Tita confronta a María {{!}} María la del Barrio 2/4 {{!}} C-22 {{!}} tlnovelas | date=27 December 2022 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWR_qQYNciQ |via=YouTube |url-access=limited<!--Blocked in the US; not sure what countries are permitted access.--> |access-date=March 4, 2023 |language=es}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|id=/lunar-pool|name=''Lunar Pool''}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1985 video games]]
[[Category:Compile (company) games]]
[[Category:Cue sports video games]]
[[Category:Fantasy sports video games]]
[[Category:Fujisankei Communications International games]]
[[Category:Miniature golf video games]]
[[Category:MSX games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:NEC PC-8801 games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Entertainment System games]]
[[Category:Pony Canyon games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Virtual Console games]]