Phoenix/How to play

Controls

 * Left & Right: Some Phoenix cabinets employ a traditional joystick, but many of them simply feature a left and right button. Press either one to move the player's ship in either direction along the bottom of the screen.
 * Fire: The Player's ship can fire bullets up to the top of the screen. Only one bullet can occupy the screen at one time, with the single exception of the second stage (and every 5 stages thereafter), in which you may fire two bullets at a time.
 * Shield: The shield can block bullets and destroy enemies that dive at your ship. When used, the shield appears for approximately one second, and takes four seconds to regenerate before it is ready to be used again.  As long as the shield is in use, you can not move your ship in either direction. Note: On the Atari 2600, press down to use the shield.
 * 1-2 Players: Press to start a 1 or 2 player game.

Player ship
You pilot the only space craft that is capable of delivering a crushing blow to the Phoenix armada. Unlike many ships in vertical shooters, the wings of the space craft move as the ship traverses the bottom of the screen. This does not affect your vulnerability to enemy bullets, as bullets pass harmlessly through your wings most of the time. Focus on the position of your ship's nose.

Birds
These scouts of the Phoenix armada are small and quick. They appear in the first two stages of the five stage cycle. A majority of them remain in formation at the top of the screen (worth 20 points) while a few of them break formation and fly down towards the screen in attack mode (worth 40 points). While dropping down, they rain bullets on the player. And they can, on occasion, fly so low that they can crash in to your ship. They are worth 200 points when they fly back to their position in the formation with their wings outstretched.

Phoenix
The Phoenix birds appear in the third and fourth stages of the five stage cycle. The immediately appear on the stage as eggs. You can shoot and destroy the eggs before they hatch for 50 points. Once enough time passes, the eggs hatch and the Phoenix birds appear, wings flapping. You can shoot either wing for 20 points, but they can only be destroyed by shooting their body (which awards you anywhere from 100-800 points at random.) If you shoot out both wings, the wings will regenerate after a short time. In the beginning, the Phoenix birds are content to remain towards the top of the screen. But the longer they are left alive, the more agitated they become, until they swoop lower and lower, getting closer to your ship with each pass. Eventually, they will pass below the bottom of the screen and reappear at the top. Shields are an effective defense against birds that drop low enough to collide with you, but watch out for bullets when your shield wears off.

Alien Queen
The Alien Queen sits atop her throne at the top of the giant mothership. The mothership has a soft underbelly that can be chipped away by your ship's shots. Immediately beneath the queen is a rotating defense band. It too can be chipped away, but it rotates constantly, making it difficult to create an opening in the band. Once you create a hole, you need to time a shot that will make it through the band and destroy the queen for 1000 or more points. You must do this all in time before the ship drops down low enough to destroy this ship. The Queen is usually guarded by an elite troop of birds that surround the top of her ship.