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Phoenix (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
Phoenix is a shoot 'em up
arcade game
developed by Amstar Electronics (which was located in Phoenix, Arizona
) in 1980, released by Centuri
in the United States and by Taito
in Japan. Bootleg versions of Phoenix were released by TPN and others. Atari
also ported the game to the Atari 2600
console in 1982.
-themed fixed shooter similar to Taito's Space Invaders
. 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. In addition to the missiles, the ship is equipped with a shield that can be used to zap any of the alien creatures that attempt to crash into the spaceship. However, the player cannot move while the shield is active, and must wait for a short period (approximately five seconds) before using it again.
Phoenix was one of the first full color arcade games, along with Galaxian
, so at the time it stood out. Also, it has distinctive shooting sounds that have become very familiar to fans of the genre. Most importantly, the Phoenix mothership was one of the first video arcade game bosses to be presented as a separate challenge.
Phoenix is a 3 to 6 lives game, depending on the settings.
The game continues, with the difficulty increasing per level. The main increase in difficulty centered on the increasing speed and unpredictability of the bird and phoenix flights.
The Flagship level in the Midway
game Gorf
has been compared to the boss stage in Phoenix.
Circuitry in the Centuri version:
later bought the home video game console rights to Phoenix, which it released for the Atari 2600
in 1982. The Imagic
game Demon Attack
closely resembled Phoenix, so Atari sued Imagic, who settled out of court. The home version of Phoenix is one of the more accurate arcade ports
of the time.
Taito
appears to currently hold the worldwide rights to the game - in 2005, Phoenix was released on the Xbox
, PlayStation 2
, PSP
and the PC
as part of Taito Legends
in the US and Europe, and Taito Memories II Gekan in Japan.
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
developed by Amstar Electronics (which was located in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
) in 1980, released by Centuri
Centuri
Centuri, based in Hialeah, Florida, was one of the top six suppliers of coin operated video game machinery in the United States. Many of the machines distributed in the US under the Centuri name were licensed from overseas manufacturers, particularly Konami....
in the United States and by Taito
Taito Corporation
The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
in Japan. Bootleg versions of Phoenix were released by TPN and others. Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
also ported the game to the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
console in 1982.
Description
Like many arcade games of that era, Phoenix is a top-down outer spaceOuter space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
-themed fixed shooter similar to Taito's Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
. 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. In addition to the missiles, the ship is equipped with a shield that can be used to zap any of the alien creatures that attempt to crash into the spaceship. However, the player cannot move while the shield is active, and must wait for a short period (approximately five seconds) before using it again.
Phoenix was one of the first full color arcade games, along with Galaxian
Galaxian
is an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...
, so at the time it stood out. Also, it has distinctive shooting sounds that have become very familiar to fans of the genre. Most importantly, the Phoenix mothership was one of the first video arcade game bosses to be presented as a separate challenge.
Phoenix is a 3 to 6 lives game, depending on the settings.
Gameplay
Each level has five separate rounds. The player must successfully complete a round before advancing to the next one.- Rounds 1 and 2 – The player must destroy a formation of alien birds. While in formation, some of the birds fly down kamikazeKamikazeThe were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
style, in an attempt to destroy the player's spaceship by crashing into it. Hitting a bird flying diagonally awarded a bonus score. The birds are yellow in round 1, pink in round 2. The player's spaceship is given rapid fire for round 2, where the birds fly somewhat more unpredictably. These rounds are highly reminiscent of Galaxian.
- Rounds 3 and 4 – Flying eggs float on the screen and seconds later hatch, revealing larger alien birds, resembling phoenicesPhoenix (mythology)The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
, which swoop down at the player's spaceship. The only way to fully destroy one of these birds 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 birds could also revert to the egg form for a brief period of time. The birds are blue in round 3, pink in round 4.
- Round 5 – The player is pitted against the mothership, which is controlled by an alien-like creature sitting in its center. To successfully complete this round, the player must first fire away at the hull and a conveyor belt-type shield to get a clear shot at the alien. Destroying the alien – only one shot is required – ends the level. The mothership fires missiles at the player, moves slowly down towards him and has the alien birds (from rounds 1 and 2) protecting the ship. Defeating all of the birds will produce a new wave.
The game continues, with the difficulty increasing per level. The main increase in difficulty centered on the increasing speed and unpredictability of the bird and phoenix flights.
Music
There are two pieces of music featured in the game:- Romance de AmorRomance (guitar piece)"Romance Anónimo" is a piece for guitar, also known as "Estudio en Mi de Rubira" , "Spanish Romance", "Romance de España", "Romance of the Guitar", "Romanza" and "Romance d'Amour" among other names.Its origins and authorship are currently in question...
also known as Spanish Romance by an unknown composer. - Für EliseFür EliseBagatelle No. 25 in A minor for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" , is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. It is usually classified as a bagatelle, but it is also sometimes referred to as an Albumblatt.- History :The score was not published until 1867, 40 years after...
by Beethoven.
Clones
- Griffon was released by Videotron in 1980.
- Falcon was released by BGV. in 1980.
- Vautour was released by Jeutel in 1980 in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - Condor was released by Sidam in 1981.
- Various games titled Phoenix are available for many graphing calculators.
Bootlegs
- Phoenix was released by T.P.N in 1980.
- Phoenix was released by IRECSA, G.G.I Corp in 1980.
Sequels
The official sequel to Phoenix was called Pleiads (onscreen) or Pleiades (on the Centuri manufactured marquee) and was developed by Tehkan in 1981, and licensed to Centuri for US distribution. Pleiades featured more enemies attacking at once, balanced by the fact that the player could now have two shots on the screen at one time instead of one.The Flagship level in the Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
game Gorf
Gorf
Gorf is an arcade game released in 1981 by Midway Mfg., whose name was advertised as an acronym for "Galactic Orbiting Robot Force". It is a multiple-mission fixed shooter with five distinct modes of play, essentially making it five games in one...
has been compared to the boss stage in Phoenix.
Hardware
Most Phoenix games will be 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 joysticks are present. 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.
Records
Richie Knucklez holds the official record for this game with 1,007,115 points recorded on the May 7, 2011.Ports
AtariAtari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
later bought the home video game console rights to Phoenix, which it released for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
in 1982. The Imagic
Imagic
Imagic was a short-lived American video game developer and publisher that developed games for the Atari 2600, Intellivision and other video game consoles in the early 1980s...
game Demon Attack
Demon Attack
Demon Attack is a video game published by Imagic for several home console systems, including the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Odyssey², Atari 8-bit, Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, PC Booter, TRS-80 and TRS-80 Color Computer. There was also a port to the TI-99/4A titled Super Demon Attack...
closely resembled Phoenix, so Atari sued Imagic, who settled out of court. The home version of Phoenix is one of the more accurate arcade ports
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
of the time.
Taito
Taito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
appears to currently hold the worldwide rights to the game - in 2005, Phoenix was released on the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
as part of Taito Legends
Taito Legends
Taito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in October 2005. The games were originally developed by Taito Corporation. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games from Taito and developed the compilation...
in the US and Europe, and Taito Memories II Gekan in Japan.
External links
- Arcade History Database entry
- http://www.centuri.net/phoenix.htmPhoenix entry at the CenturiCenturiCenturi, based in Hialeah, Florida, was one of the top six suppliers of coin operated video game machinery in the United States. Many of the machines distributed in the US under the Centuri name were licensed from overseas manufacturers, particularly Konami....
.net Arcade Database - Java Version (pseudo SFX and too-fast gameplay) (broken applet)
- Twin Galaxies High Score Rankings for Phoenix