is a
fixed shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
arcade video game
An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...
released in December 1980
by
Taito
is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
. It was then released in Europe, and then in the Americas by
Centuri
Centuri, formerly known as Allied Leisure, was an American arcade game manufacturer. They were based in Hialeah, Florida, and were one of the top six suppliers of coin-operated arcade video game machinery in the United States during the early 19 ...
and Amstar Electronics in January 1981.
The ''Phoenix'' mothership is one of the first video arcade game
bosses to be presented as a separate challenge.
[Sterbakov, Hugh. (2008-03-05]
The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time
GamePro. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. It was a critical and commercial success, becoming one of Centuri's most successful titles.
Gameplay
The player controls a spaceship that moves horizontally at the bottom of the screen, firing upward. Enemies, typically one of two types of birds, appear on the screen above the player's ship, shooting at it and periodically diving towards it in an attempt to crash into it. The ship is equipped with a shield that can be used to zap any of the alien creatures that attempt to crash into it. The player cannot move while the shield is active and must wait approximately five seconds before using it again.
The player starts with three or six lives, depending on the settings. One life is lost whenever the ship is hit by any enemy or projectile while the shield is down.
Each level has five separate rounds. The player must complete a round to advance to the next.
* Rounds 1 and 2 – The player must destroy a formation of alien birds. While in formation, some of the birds fly down
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...
style, in an attempt to destroy the player's spaceship by crashing into it. Hitting a birdlike enemy flying diagonally awards a bonus score. The birdlike enemies are yellow in round 1, and pink in round 2. The player's spaceship is given rapid fire for round 2, where the birdlike creatures fly somewhat more unpredictably.
* Rounds 3 and 4 – Flying eggs float on the screen and seconds later hatch, revealing larger alien birds, resembling
phoenixes, which swoop down at the player's spaceship. The only way to fully destroy one of these birdlike creatures is by hitting it in its belly; shooting one of its wings merely destroys that wing, and if both wings are destroyed, they will regenerate. From time to time the birdlike creatures may also revert to the egg form for a brief period. The birdlike creatures are blue in round 3, and pink in round 4.
* Round 5 – The player is pitted against the mothership, which is controlled by an alien creature sitting in its center. To complete this round, the player must create a hole in the conveyor belt-type shield to get a clear shot at the alien. Hitting the alien with a single shot ends the level and scores 400–8,200 points. The mothership fires missiles at the player's ship, moves slowly down towards it, and has alien birds (from rounds 1 and 2) protecting it. Defeating all of the birds will produce a new wave.
The game continues with increasing speed and unpredictability of the birdlike creature and phoenix flights.
Development and release
''Phoenix'' was produced by "a smaller Japanese developer" according to
Centuri
Centuri, formerly known as Allied Leisure, was an American arcade game manufacturer. They were based in Hialeah, Florida, and were one of the top six suppliers of coin-operated arcade video game machinery in the United States during the early 19 ...
's Joel Hochberg (who later worked for
Rare).
In Japan, a company called TPN licensed the game to
Taito
is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
.
Another company based in Japan, Hiraoka, licensed the game to Amstar Electronics,
based in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
. Taito released the game for Japan in December 1980,
and then it was released in Europe.
Centuri acquired the American arcade license to the game from both Hiraoka and Amstar Electronics,
and then Centuri released it for the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
in January 1981.
In North America, Centuri manufactured the upright
arcade cabinet while Amstar Electronics manufactured the
cocktail arcade cabinet.
Atari later released a port of ''Phoenix'' for the
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...
in 1982.
Hardware
![Phoenix-1980-italy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Phoenix-1980-italy.jpg)
Phoenix was available in both arcade and cocktail cabinets. A DIP switch setting allows the game to be moved between formats.
Most Phoenix games are in a standard Centuri woodgrain cabinet, but several other cabinets exist, due to this game being sold by multiple companies at the same time. These use sticker sideart (which covers the upper half of the machine), and glass marquees. The control panel is made up entirely of buttons; no joystick is present in the Centuri version, except for the international models and some cocktail versions. The monitor in this machine is mounted vertically, and the monitor
bezel is relatively unadorned. Phoenix uses a unique wiring harness, which isn't known to be compatible with any other games.
Circuitry in the Centuri version:
* CPU: 8085 at 5.5 MHz.
* RAM: 4 kB (8 2114 1k x 4 chips.)
* ROM: 16 kB (8 2716 2k x 8 chips.)
* Audio: Matsushita MN6221AA chip, along with discrete circuitry.
* Video: discrete circuitry, utilizing 4 more 2716 2k x 8 EPROMs, as well as 2 256 x 4 bipolar PROMs.
Music
There are two pieces of music featured in the game:
*
''Romance de Amor'' also known as ''Spanish Romance'' by an unknown composer.
* ''
Für Elise
Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor ( WoO59, Bia515) for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (, ), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being discovered (by Ludwig Nohl) 40 ye ...
'' by
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
.
Both songs are built directly into the Matsushita MN6221AA Melody IC, as opposed to being programmed into the game's code as is standard in games.
In some bootleg versions of the game, which used the namco galaxian Board, House of the rising sun is played at the start of the game.
Bugs
When the player shoots three birdlike enemies in a row very quickly as they fly upwards, the total score is set to a value in the vicinity of 204,000 points.
Reception
The arcade game was a commercial success in Japan and Europe, prior to its release in the Americas.
It also went on to be a commercial success in North America,
where it was one of Centuri's biggest hits.
Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz of ''
Electronic Games
An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...
'' called ''Phoenix'' "perhaps the finest invasion title ever produced for the 2600!" with praise for its "fantastic graphics, unexcelled play-action and more".
''
Computer and Video Games'' ranked it number one on its list of top ten Atari VCS games in 1983. The game received a Certificate of Merit in the category of "1984 Best Science Fiction/ Fantasy Videogame" at the 5th annual
Arkie Awards
An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...
. In 1995,
Flux magazine ranked Phoenix 69th on their Top 100 Video Games.
In a retrospective review by Brett Alan Weiss (
AllGame
RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel.
Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...
) the game was awarded a five out of five rating, referring to it as a "one of the most impressive games the "slide-and-shoot" genre has to offer, bested only by ''
Galaga
is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to '' Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a star ...
'' in terms of sheer enjoyment and replayability" and concluded that "Finely balanced shooting action combined with colorfully animated graphics make Phoenix a true classic among shooters."
Legacy
Re-releases
In 2005, ''Phoenix'' was released on the
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
,
PlayStation 2,
PSP and
Microsoft Windows as part of ''
Taito Legends
''Taito Legends'' is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. The games were originally developed by Taito. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the game ...
'' in the US and Europe, and ''
Taito Memories II Gekan'' in Japan.
Clones
* ''Griffon'' by Videotron in 1980
* ''Falcon'' by BGV in 1980
* ''Vautour'' by Jeutel in 1980 in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
* ''Condor'' by Sidam in 1981
* ''
Demon Seed
''Demon Seed'' is a 1977 American science fiction–horror film directed by Donald Cammell. It stars Julie Christie and Fritz Weaver. The film was based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and concerns the imprisonment and forc ...
'' by Trend Software for the
TRS-80
The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of '' ...
in 1982
* ''Pheenix'' by Megadodo for the
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
in 1983
* ''Eagle Empire'' Alligata for the
BBC Micro
The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...
and the
Commodore 64 in 1983
* ''
Firebirds'' by Softek for the
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
in 1983
*''Omega Phoenix'' for the Sinclair
ZX81
The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-cos ...
in 2021
The
Imagic
Imagic ( ) was an American video game developer and publisher that created games initially for the Atari 2600. Founded in 1981 by corporate alumni of Atari, Inc. and Mattel, its best-selling titles were ''Atlantis'', ''Cosmic Ark'', and ''Demo ...
game ''
Demon Attack
''Demon Attack'' is a fixed shooter written by Rob Fulop for the Atari 2600 and published by Imagic in 1982. It was ported to the Intellivision, Magnavox Odyssey 2, Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Tandy 1000 (as a self-booting disk ...
'' for the Atari 2600 closely resembled ''Phoenix'' which Atari owned the 2600 rights to. Atari sued Imagic, who settled out of court.
Bootlegs
* ''Phoenix'' by T.P.N in 1980
* ''Phoenix'' by IRECSA, G.G.I Corp in 1980
See also
*
Golden age of video arcade games
*
''Round-Up'' (video game)
References
External links
*
''Phoenix''at Arcade History
entry at the
Centuri
Centuri, formerly known as Allied Leisure, was an American arcade game manufacturer. They were based in Hialeah, Florida, and were one of the top six suppliers of coin-operated arcade video game machinery in the United States during the early 19 ...
.net Arcade Database
''Phoenix''for the Atari 2600 at Atari Mania
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phoenix (Video Game)
1980 video games
Arcade video games
Atari 2600 games
Fixed shooters
Phoenixes in popular culture
Video games about birds
Atari games
Taito arcade games
Video games set in outer space
Video games developed in Japan