phoenix

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phoenix

by pahammond

Cart #phoenix08-0 | 2021-09-23 | Code ▽ | Embed ▽ | License: CC4-BY-NC-SA

44

This is my take on the 1980 arcade classic, Phoenix.

Downloadable versions at:
https://pahammond.itch.io/phoenix

Thanks To

• Finn for testing
• Paul Niven ( @NiVZ) for creating such a cool logo

Version History

• 0.80 - 23-Sep-2021 - Released

Really fun game. I never played this in the arcade but it does look very faithful.

Some points: the left and right movement of the player feels sluggish. Is this the same as in the arcade?

I found that there was a slight delay in the shield activating. This may just be because I was too slow, but fairly often I felt that I pressed shield but was destroyed anyway. An indicator for when the shield is ready might be useful.

Could you have an option to switch the control keys?

Thanks for the feedback Phil, glad you liked it.

Are you playing on mobile? On my laptop, there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable delay.

I originally had a shield ready indicator but took it out since the arcade version pretty much made you count in your head 😁

Also, I allow you to move very slowly when your shield is up whereas you couldn’t move at all in the arcade version which I always found a little unfair.

Pico 8 only allows key mapping changes when running locally. I’ve put executable downloads on my itch.io site if you want to give those a try.

Thanks again for the feedback.

I am using desktop. I think I am just inept at using the shield :)

On level 2 only, the fire rate increases so the player can have 2 shots on the screen at a time. Was this intentional? It certainly makes the level easier, but I'm torn as to whether if it was implemented across the entire game it would make it more fun.

Minor glitch: the next level won't start once the wave has been destroyed if the player maintains bullets on the screen.

Hi Phil. Level 2 gives you rapid fire. Which is the same as the arcade version (no idea why). The frame rate remains at 60FPS.

Good point about the level not ending. I remember realising that and forgetting to fix it. Since it doesn’t affect scoring I won’t worry about it unless I release an update.

All good, valuable feedback. Thanks

This is one of the finest Pico-8 arcade ports I've seen, really nice work.

Really appreciate all the feedback and kind comments. Thank you.

Fantastic adaptation! I could be playing this in MAME right now, but no- I'm playing this instead! The original doesn't let you move while the shield is active, but it does allow you to continue shooting. Any chance of that as an option?

Thank you. The moving while shielded was an intentional design choice I made early on. Partly due to the lower resolution and partly because I always felt helpless in the original being frozen in one place 😂

This is a great port. I originally played this in the arcade tent at the county fair that came to town once a year. Then I played the 2600 port at a friend's house. Next I played the c64 port. And finally this excellent Pico 8 port. Well done.
Very faithful with just the right Pico 8isms to juice it up. Love the title track.

Thank you. I only ever got to play in once or twice a year when the fair came to town.

Back to childhood dreams. Great work!

Thanks @netpork. One of my earliest arcade memories too!