Mega Phoenix Longplay (C64) [50 FPS]
29Developed by Fernando Jiminez and published by Dinamic in 1991
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0:00: Title screen & music
3:15: Gameplay
Deep in furthest corners of the Galaxy lurk the the greatest foe known to man, the dreaded metallic birds and their deadly proton eggs (seriously). Accompanied by warships known as "Mega Phoenix", these foes seek to destroy the human race and dominate the galaxy. You, as crack pilot and interstellar guardian, it's your job to destroy the galactic avian foe and restore peace. Such is the weird and superfluous back-story to this vertical shoot 'em and Galaxian clone.
The objective of the game is remarkably simple - destroy wave upon wave of enemies as they break formation at the top of the screen, avoid their projectiles and shoot them before they can return to the fold. The game is divided into multiple levels of difficulty, each comprising four stages involving destroying a set number of enemies before progressing to the next.
The first stage features a wave of small bird-like enemies that will peel away from the main group and attempt to destroy your ship by dive-bombing at high speed. Those of nimble finger and good timing may head off the threat by destroying the encroaching enemy, although you'll need to be even more agile if you miss since it will chase you around at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds before returning to the fleet.
Make it past this first line of defence and you'll face the aforementioned proton eggs, giant, grey, pulsating orbs that float backwards and forwards across the screen at high speed. Failing to destroy an egg will result in it hatching, spawning a giant death budgie (seriously, I have no idea what these things are actually called) that will proceed to excrete death rays in your general direction. This is by far the most challenging of the stages, due largely to the speed at which the enemies move across the screen - skilled players may be able to pick off enemies by leading their targets and timing shots so that enemies fly into them, but I would expect that you'll fire many shots that miss completely and you'll end up becoming less accurate as you try to compensate for earlier misses.
Beat this menace and you will face the deadly Mega Phoenix, a creature that appears to resemble a giant space pterodactyl. The Mega Phoenix will fly around the screen whilst trying to destroy your ship by bombarding it with small proton eggs, so you need to stay on your toes to survive. Fortunately, the eggs can be destroyed by your ship's cannon fire, so it's a good idea to keep up a barrage of fire at all times. Once the phoenix sustains enough damage, it will explode, releasing a weapons upgrade container for your ship that you should collect.
As you progress throughout the game, your weapons systems receive multiple upgrades in this manner, increasing both size and quantity of bullets that may be fired. Manage to accumulate enough upgrades and you'll find the game become progressively easier as it's possible to fill the skies with lead and destroy just about anything before it has a chance to fire back.
The final challenge presents itself in the form of the mighty PhoenixShip, a bio-mechanical monstrosity boasting multiple guns, a shield and squadron of fighters harass potential threats. To destroy it, you must land successive strikes against the shielded portion of the ship until it disappears, allowing you to destroy the craft with a well-placed shot.
Visually, Mega Phoenix features some reasonable graphics and animation. The player's ship is nicely drawn and features some cool animations, such as the way the lower portion rotates in the direction you're moving and the way the cannons recoil when fired. Enemy designs are mostly bland, but the PhoenixShip is quite impressive, boasting jagged edges and sharp points that make it look not too dissimilar to certain enemies from the Turrican games.
One curiosity I did notice about the game is the way the score and part of the status panel disappears off the bottom of the screen (it's not poor cropping - the game really does look like that). Why it looks this way will remain something of a mystery.
As for sound, Jeroen Tel (Maniacs of Noise) produced a funky tune for the title screen, plus there are some reasonable sound effects for shooting and explosions - nothing remarkable, put certainly acceptable.
In fact, average is a word that really sums the game up quite well. Mega Phoenix is neither a bad game, nor an especially remarkable one, but is simply a fairly middle-of-the-road shoot 'em up that offers some entertainment if you find yourself at a loose end, but don't expect it to offer any real lasting entertainment.
#retrogaming