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Phoenix (video game)

December 15, 2023

Phoenix is an video game developed for arcades in Japan and released in 1980 by Taito. The game is a Fixed-screen shooter where the player controls a space ship, and must shoot at incoming enemies that fly from the top of the screen down towards the enemies.

Phoenix
Arcade flyer for Phoenix
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Arcade, Atari 2600
Release
December 1980
  • Arcade
  • December 1980 (Japan)
  • January 1981 (United States)
  • Atari 2600
  • February 1982
Genre(s)Fixed-screen shooter[1]
Mode(s)1-2 players alternating

Following the games release in Europe and Japanese arcades in 1980, the game was distributed in the United States by Centuri, where it helped make the company turn a profit, where their previous year was a loss. Atari contracted the rights to develop a home port of Phoenix for the Atari 2600 and sued Imagic for their game Demon Attack which they felt was too similar to Phoenix.

Phoenix! received positive reviews from video game publications such as Electronic Games, Electronic Fun with Computers and Games, and The Video Game Update. Phoenix was one of the first shooter games to feature a boss battle, a gameplay element that would become normal for the shooter genre following the release of the game.

Gameplay edit

Phoenix is a shooter game set on a fixed screen set in space.[2] The player maneuvers left and right to avoid objects such as missiles and charging enemies. A force field can be used by the player to protect them from these attacks. The forcefield only lasts a few seconds, then can not be used for approximately five seconds after.[3]

There are five stages in the game. The first begins with a wave of 16 small phoenixes that drop missiles to attack the players spaceship. A second wave includes further birds. The third wave introduces a new enemy that appears in a group of eight. These enemies start as eggs than grow into blue Phoenix birds that attack the ship. They need to be destroyed by being hit in the center, otherwise they will only destroy the birds wing which can regenerate itself in a short time. A fourth stage appears which features pink phoenix enemies, which appear and can be destroyed similarly to the previous round. The fifth stage features a space fortress with a pack of small birds that attack the spaceship. The space fortress shoots missiles and approaches the player. After the space creature who pilots the ship is hit, the round is complete.[3]

Operational switches are available on the arcade machine that can adjust gameplay. These allow the number of initial lives in the game to range between three to six, while other switches control what score is required to earn an extra life.[4]

Development edit

 
An Italian arcade cabinet of Phoenix. The game was distributed in Japan and Europe before its release to American arcades.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, several game companies made outer-space themed shooter games, which involved players destroying alien space fleets. These games generally shared the traits of enemies slowing approaching towards the player from the top of the screen and attacking the player. Phoenix was one of the games following this trend.[5]

Phoenix was initially developed in Japan.[6] The rights to the game for distribution were owned by several companies, including Amstar Electronics who were based in Phoenix, Arizona.[7][8] Centuri Inc entered into a licensing agreement with Amstar Electronics to release it the United States, Canada, and Central and South America.[8] Centuri had previously been Allied Leisure Industries, with Ed Miller becoming the companies president in 1980. Prior to working at Centuri, Miller had worked for Taito where he had arranged a deal with to license Space Invaders to Bally Manufacturing.[9]

In 1982, Atari received a four-year contract to distribute and market all current and future Centuri arcade games outside of the arcade systems, with the first three games announced being ports of the games Vanguard, Challenger and Phoenix.[10] The Atari port of the game was made by John Mraceck and Michael Feinstein. Mracek was a junior at MIT at the time and made the game as part of his internship.[11] It was developed in mid-1982.[12] The Atari 2600 version misses elements from the Arcade original, such as the ability to save high scores, the music (the arcade version features two pieces of music. When the game starts, "Romance de Amor" is played and "Für Elise" is played when a player completes a level.[13][14]), the star field background, numerals representing points when a bird is hit, the smaller birds appearing around the mothership, and fewer enemies appear on the screen at once in the home version.[13][15] Mraceck stated that they had to cut over one-third of their original code to fit the game on the cart.[16] The two developers were limited to 8KB rom cartridge for the game.[12]

Release edit

Phoenix was released in Japan on December 1980 where it was licensed to Taito by TPN.[17] The arcade version of the game was distributed in the United States by Centuri in January 1981.[7][18]

Phoenix was released for the Atari 2600 in February 1982.[19] Atari had the exclusive rights to produce Phoenix for home consoles and filed suit against the company Imagic, believing that the their game Demon Attack was too derivative of Phoenix. A settlement was reached in January 1983, with Imagic still being allowed to release Demon Attack for the Atari 2600.[20] Phoenix was released for consoles in the compilation game Taito Legends for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Windows PCs.[21][22]

Reception and legacy edit

 
The final level featuring a large space ship final boss. Phoenix was one the first shooter games to feature a boss character.

Prior to its release in the United States, the game was released in Europe and Japanese markets where it was very popular.[23] At the end of 1981, Centuri reported revenues of $61.4 million with a profit of 7.5 million. In comparison, the company's previous year gross was $5.9 million with a loss of $4.5 million.[10] Phoenix was the best selling of Centuri's titles by 1982.[9] The Atari 2600 version sold over 600,000 units.[11]

The Video Game Update referred to the Atari 2600 adaptation as a "very good translation of the arcade classic."[24] In Electronic Games, Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz wrote that the game favorable was the other recent Atari 2600 releases such as Vanguard, Yars' Revenge, and Demons to Diamonds noting the quality in graphics and control, stating it "is perhaps the finest invasion title ever produced for the 2600!"[25] Noel Steere of Electronic Fun with Computers and Games praised the game, stating it was a "perfect arcade adaptation" with beautiful sound, which made up for "for the sin of Pac-Man".[26] The game received a Certificate of Merit in the category of "1984 Best Science Fiction / Fantasy Videogame" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards.[27]

In a retrospective review by Brett Alan Weiss (AllGame) 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 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."[2] In 1995, Flux magazine ranked the arcade version of Phoenix at #69 on their list of "Top 100 Video Games", stating it was one of the better Space Invaders variations.[28]

Phoenix was one of the first shooter games to have a boss battle.[7] Bosses would come to typify the shooter genre following the release of the game.[29] Games that would borrow elements from Phoenix include Space Vultures, Gorf (1981), Pleiades (1981), and Condor Attack (1983).[30][31][32] Phoenix was also bootlegged and released into arcades under titles the titles Condor, Griffon, Vautour, and Batman Part 2.[33]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Montfort & Bogost 2009, p. 96.
  2. ^ a b Weiss.
  3. ^ a b Centuri 1982, p. 3.
  4. ^ Centuri 1982, p. 8.
  5. ^ Horowitz 2018, p. 31.
  6. ^ Davis 1982.
  7. ^ a b c Horowitz 2020, p. 43.
  8. ^ a b Cashbox 1981a, p. 42.
  9. ^ a b The Jackson Sun.
  10. ^ a b Corderi 1982.
  11. ^ a b Hickey, Jr. 2021, p. 52.
  12. ^ a b Hickey, Jr. 2021, p. 54.
  13. ^ a b Weiss 2014, p. 164.
  14. ^ Lerner 2014, p. 333.
  15. ^ Weiss 2011, p. 89.
  16. ^ Hickey, Jr. 2021, p. 55.
  17. ^ Akagi 2006, p. 42.
  18. ^ Cashbox 1981c, p. 37.
  19. ^ "Availability Update". The Video Game Update. Vol. 1, no. 12. March 1983.
  20. ^ Crookes, p. 54.
  21. ^ Fox 2013, p. 214.
  22. ^ Dahlen 2010, p. 40.
  23. ^ Cashbox 1981a, p. 46.
  24. ^ "Critically Speak... Atari 2600-Compatible". The Video Game Update. Vol. 1, no. 10. January 1983.
  25. ^ Katz & Kunkel 1983, p. 42.
  26. ^ Steere 1983, p. 59.
  27. ^ Kunkel & Katz 1984, p. 42.
  28. ^ Amrich et al. 1995, p. 31.
  29. ^ Montfort & Bogost 2009, p. 130.
  30. ^ Weiss 2011, p. 16.
  31. ^ Weiss 2011, p. 47.
  32. ^ Burton.
  33. ^ Retro Game 2006, p. 77.

Sources edit

  • "Video Games Market Booms, and the Japanese Want a Share". The San Francisco Examiner. 25 December 1981. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "Phoenix: Adam Miller's Challenger Enters Video Wars". The Jackson Sun. 17 January 1982. p. 6B.
  • Phoenix Service Manual. Hialeah, Florida, United States: Centuri. 1982. 364-62-0100 A.
  • Akagi, Masumi (2006). "海外編" [Overseas Edition]. アーケードTVゲームリス 国内 • 海外編 ( 1971 - 2005 )ト [Arcade TV Game List Domestic/Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  • "Coin Machine". Cashbox. Vol. 43, no. 18. Cash Box Pub. 19 September 1981c.
  • "Centuri, Amstar Announce Licensing Pact for 'Phoenix'". Cashbox. Vol. 42, no. 35. Cash Box Pub. 24 January 1981a.
  • Amrich, Dan; Barbagallo, Ralph; East, Mark; Hudak, Chris; Kitts, Jeff; Meston, Zach; Yang, Jeff (April 1995). "The Top 100 Video Games". Flux. No. 4. Harris Publications. p. 31. ISSN 1074-5602.
  • Burton, Richard. "Back to the Eighties: The Latest New from April 1981". Retro Gamer. No. 118. Imagine Publishing. p. 14.
  • Corderi, Victoria (19 February 1982). "Home Video Addicts to Get Centuri's Games". The Miami News. p. 10A.
  • Crookes, David. "Imagic". Retro Gamer. No. 161.
  • Dahlen, Chris (2010). Mott, Tony (ed.). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. Universe Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7893-2090-2.
  • Davis, Dick (3 March 1982). "Another Video Game Candidate:". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 3-E.
  • Fox, Matt (2013). The Video Game Guide. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 9780786472574.
  • Hickey, Jr., Patrick (2021). The Minds Behind Shooter Games: Interviews with Cult. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4766-8273-0.
  • Horowitz, Ken (2018). The Sega Arcade Revolution: A History in 62 Games. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4766-7225-0.
  • Horowitz, Ken (2020). Beyond Donkey Kong. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 9781476684208.
  • Katz, Arnie; Kunkel, Bill (June 1983). "Programmable Arcade". Electronic Games. Vol. 1, no. 16.
  • Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (January 1984). "Arcade Alley: The Arcade Awards, Part 1". Video. Reese Communications. 7 (10). ISSN 0147-8907.
  • Lerner, Neil (2014). "The Origins of Musical Style in Video Games, 1977-1983". In Neumeyer, David (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532849-3.
  • Montfort, Nick; Bogost, Ian (2009). Racing the Beam. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-01257-7.
  • "Phoenix (Taito, 1980)". Retro Game (in French). No. 3. Paris, France: Japan Culture Press. 2006.
  • Steere, Noel (April 1983). "Hits & Missiles". Electronic Fun with Computers and Games. Vol. 1, no. 6.
  • Weiss, Brett (2011). Classic Home Video Gmaes, 1972-1984. McFarland & Company, Inc.
  • Weiss, Brett Alan. . AllGame. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  • Weiss, Brett (2014). The 100 Greatest Console Video Games 1977-1987. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-4618-7.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phoenix (video game).

December 15, 2023
phoenix, video, game, phoenix, video, game, developed, arcades, japan, released, 1980, taito, game, fixed, screen, shooter, where, player, controls, space, ship, must, shoot, incoming, enemies, that, from, screen, down, towards, enemies, phoenixarcade, flyer, . Phoenix is an video game developed for arcades in Japan and released in 1980 by Taito The game is a Fixed screen shooter where the player controls a space ship and must shoot at incoming enemies that fly from the top of the screen down towards the enemies PhoenixArcade flyer for PhoenixPublisher s JP TaitoNA CenturiPlatform s Arcade Atari 2600ReleaseDecember 1980 ArcadeDecember 1980 Japan January 1981 United States Atari 2600February 1982Genre s Fixed screen shooter 1 Mode s 1 2 players alternatingFollowing the games release in Europe and Japanese arcades in 1980 the game was distributed in the United States by Centuri where it helped make the company turn a profit where their previous year was a loss Atari contracted the rights to develop a home port of Phoenix for the Atari 2600 and sued Imagic for their game Demon Attack which they felt was too similar to Phoenix Phoenix received positive reviews from video game publications such as Electronic Games Electronic Fun with Computers and Games and The Video Game Update Phoenix was one of the first shooter games to feature a boss battle a gameplay element that would become normal for the shooter genre following the release of the game Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development 3 Release 4 Reception and legacy 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Sources 7 External linksGameplay editPhoenix is a shooter game set on a fixed screen set in space 2 The player maneuvers left and right to avoid objects such as missiles and charging enemies A force field can be used by the player to protect them from these attacks The forcefield only lasts a few seconds then can not be used for approximately five seconds after 3 There are five stages in the game The first begins with a wave of 16 small phoenixes that drop missiles to attack the players spaceship A second wave includes further birds The third wave introduces a new enemy that appears in a group of eight These enemies start as eggs than grow into blue Phoenix birds that attack the ship They need to be destroyed by being hit in the center otherwise they will only destroy the birds wing which can regenerate itself in a short time A fourth stage appears which features pink phoenix enemies which appear and can be destroyed similarly to the previous round The fifth stage features a space fortress with a pack of small birds that attack the spaceship The space fortress shoots missiles and approaches the player After the space creature who pilots the ship is hit the round is complete 3 Operational switches are available on the arcade machine that can adjust gameplay These allow the number of initial lives in the game to range between three to six while other switches control what score is required to earn an extra life 4 Development edit nbsp An Italian arcade cabinet of Phoenix The game was distributed in Japan and Europe before its release to American arcades In the late 1970s and early 1980s several game companies made outer space themed shooter games which involved players destroying alien space fleets These games generally shared the traits of enemies slowing approaching towards the player from the top of the screen and attacking the player Phoenix was one of the games following this trend 5 Phoenix was initially developed in Japan 6 The rights to the game for distribution were owned by several companies including Amstar Electronics who were based in Phoenix Arizona 7 8 Centuri Inc entered into a licensing agreement with Amstar Electronics to release it the United States Canada and Central and South America 8 Centuri had previously been Allied Leisure Industries with Ed Miller becoming the companies president in 1980 Prior to working at Centuri Miller had worked for Taito where he had arranged a deal with to license Space Invaders to Bally Manufacturing 9 In 1982 Atari received a four year contract to distribute and market all current and future Centuri arcade games outside of the arcade systems with the first three games announced being ports of the games Vanguard Challenger and Phoenix 10 The Atari port of the game was made by John Mraceck and Michael Feinstein Mracek was a junior at MIT at the time and made the game as part of his internship 11 It was developed in mid 1982 12 The Atari 2600 version misses elements from the Arcade original such as the ability to save high scores the music the arcade version features two pieces of music When the game starts Romance de Amor is played and Fur Elise is played when a player completes a level 13 14 the star field background numerals representing points when a bird is hit the smaller birds appearing around the mothership and fewer enemies appear on the screen at once in the home version 13 15 Mraceck stated that they had to cut over one third of their original code to fit the game on the cart 16 The two developers were limited to 8KB rom cartridge for the game 12 Release editPhoenix was released in Japan on December 1980 where it was licensed to Taito by TPN 17 The arcade version of the game was distributed in the United States by Centuri in January 1981 7 18 Phoenix was released for the Atari 2600 in February 1982 19 Atari had the exclusive rights to produce Phoenix for home consoles and filed suit against the company Imagic believing that the their game Demon Attack was too derivative of Phoenix A settlement was reached in January 1983 with Imagic still being allowed to release Demon Attack for the Atari 2600 20 Phoenix was released for consoles in the compilation game Taito Legends for the Xbox PlayStation 2 PlayStation Portable and Windows PCs 21 22 Reception and legacy edit nbsp The final level featuring a large space ship final boss Phoenix was one the first shooter games to feature a boss character Prior to its release in the United States the game was released in Europe and Japanese markets where it was very popular 23 At the end of 1981 Centuri reported revenues of 61 4 million with a profit of 7 5 million In comparison the company s previous year gross was 5 9 million with a loss of 4 5 million 10 Phoenix was the best selling of Centuri s titles by 1982 9 The Atari 2600 version sold over 600 000 units 11 The Video Game Update referred to the Atari 2600 adaptation as a very good translation of the arcade classic 24 In Electronic Games Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz wrote that the game favorable was the other recent Atari 2600 releases such as Vanguard Yars Revenge and Demons to Diamonds noting the quality in graphics and control stating it is perhaps the finest invasion title ever produced for the 2600 25 Noel Steere of Electronic Fun with Computers and Games praised the game stating it was a perfect arcade adaptation with beautiful sound which made up for for the sin of Pac Man 26 The game received a Certificate of Merit in the category of 1984 Best Science Fiction Fantasy Videogame at the 5th annual Arkie Awards 27 In a retrospective review by Brett Alan Weiss AllGame 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 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 2 In 1995 Flux magazine ranked the arcade version of Phoenix at 69 on their list of Top 100 Video Games stating it was one of the better Space Invaders variations 28 Phoenix was one of the first shooter games to have a boss battle 7 Bosses would come to typify the shooter genre following the release of the game 29 Games that would borrow elements from Phoenix include Space Vultures Gorf 1981 Pleiades 1981 and Condor Attack 1983 30 31 32 Phoenix was also bootlegged and released into arcades under titles the titles Condor Griffon Vautour and Batman Part 2 33 See also edit nbsp Video games portalGolden age of video arcade games Round Up video game References edit Montfort amp Bogost 2009 p 96 a b Weiss a b Centuri 1982 p 3 Centuri 1982 p 8 Horowitz 2018 p 31 Davis 1982 a b c Horowitz 2020 p 43 a b Cashbox 1981a p 42 a b The Jackson Sun a b Corderi 1982 a b Hickey Jr 2021 p 52 a b Hickey Jr 2021 p 54 a b Weiss 2014 p 164 Lerner 2014 p 333 Weiss 2011 p 89 Hickey Jr 2021 p 55 Akagi 2006 p 42 Cashbox 1981c p 37 Availability Update The Video Game Update Vol 1 no 12 March 1983 Crookes p 54 Fox 2013 p 214 Dahlen 2010 p 40 Cashbox 1981a p 46 Critically Speak Atari 2600 Compatible The Video Game Update Vol 1 no 10 January 1983 Katz amp Kunkel 1983 p 42 Steere 1983 p 59 Kunkel amp Katz 1984 p 42 Amrich et al 1995 p 31 Montfort amp Bogost 2009 p 130 Weiss 2011 p 16 Weiss 2011 p 47 Burton Retro Game 2006 p 77 Sources edit Video Games Market Booms and the Japanese Want a Share The San Francisco Examiner 25 December 1981 p C2 via Newspapers com Phoenix Adam Miller s Challenger Enters Video Wars The Jackson Sun 17 January 1982 p 6B Phoenix Service Manual Hialeah Florida United States Centuri 1982 364 62 0100 A Akagi Masumi 2006 海外編 Overseas Edition アーケードTVゲームリス 国内 海外編 1971 2005 ト Arcade TV Game List Domestic Overseas Edition 1971 2005 in Japanese Japan Amusement News Agency ISBN 978 4990251215 Coin Machine Cashbox Vol 43 no 18 Cash Box Pub 19 September 1981c Centuri Amstar Announce Licensing Pact for Phoenix Cashbox Vol 42 no 35 Cash Box Pub 24 January 1981a Amrich Dan Barbagallo Ralph East Mark Hudak Chris Kitts Jeff Meston Zach Yang Jeff April 1995 The Top 100 Video Games Flux No 4 Harris Publications p 31 ISSN 1074 5602 Burton Richard Back to the Eighties The Latest New from April 1981 Retro Gamer No 118 Imagine Publishing p 14 Corderi Victoria 19 February 1982 Home Video Addicts to Get Centuri s Games The Miami News p 10A Crookes David Imagic Retro Gamer No 161 Dahlen Chris 2010 Mott Tony ed 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die Universe Publishing ISBN 978 0 7893 2090 2 Davis Dick 3 March 1982 Another Video Game Candidate The Orlando Sentinel p 3 E Fox Matt 2013 The Video Game Guide McFarland amp Company Inc ISBN 9780786472574 Hickey Jr Patrick 2021 The Minds Behind Shooter Games Interviews with Cult McFarland amp Company Inc ISBN 978 1 4766 8273 0 Horowitz Ken 2018 The Sega Arcade Revolution A History in 62 Games McFarland amp Company Inc ISBN 978 1 4766 7225 0 Horowitz Ken 2020 Beyond Donkey Kong McFarland amp Company Inc ISBN 9781476684208 Katz Arnie Kunkel Bill June 1983 Programmable Arcade Electronic Games Vol 1 no 16 Kunkel Bill Katz Arnie January 1984 Arcade Alley The Arcade Awards Part 1 Video Reese Communications 7 10 ISSN 0147 8907 Lerner Neil 2014 The Origins of Musical Style in Video Games 1977 1983 In Neumeyer David ed The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 532849 3 Montfort Nick Bogost Ian 2009 Racing the Beam MIT Press ISBN 978 0 262 01257 7 Phoenix Taito 1980 Retro Game in French No 3 Paris France Japan Culture Press 2006 Steere Noel April 1983 Hits amp Missiles Electronic Fun with Computers and Games Vol 1 no 6 Weiss Brett 2011 Classic Home Video Gmaes 1972 1984 McFarland amp Company Inc Weiss Brett Alan Phoenix AllGame Archived from the original on 14 November 2014 Retrieved 17 November 2023 Weiss Brett 2014 The 100 Greatest Console Video Games 1977 1987 Schiffer Publishing ISBN 978 0 7643 4618 7 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phoenix video game Phoenix at the Killer List of Videogames Phoenix at Arcade History Phoenix entry at the Centuri net Arcade Database Phoenix for the Atari 2600 at Atari Mania Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phoenix video game amp oldid 1189607979, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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