Quick Update…This game has been sold to another arcade collector. There is also a sale pending on my Frogger. Another sale is in the works for my Turbo. All games have been sold!

Since I have a few new games to finish up this summer, I need to clear some space in the gameroom. I’m going to be selling a few of my games from my collection. The first game on my list of games for sale is Phoenix. This is a great classic vertical shooter from Centuri. I’ve had this game for several years after picking it up from a go-kart track. The game works great and is all original. The only flaw is that the control panel overlay has some wear and a small part is missing along the front edge.

Here is some more information about Phoenix: KLOV Phoenix Page

I’m asking $400 OBO for this machine. It’s been a great machine for me for several years. Please send me an email if you are interested in purchasing this game.

By Centuri, 1980

Post converted from old site, last revised 2/19/2008

Description of game:

Phoenix is a great “shooter” game that is one of the earliest shooters with different waves of ships for each level. There are five levels per round, and each one is different. The game starts out with a formation of fast moving, smaller birds. In the first level your ship fires at a slower rate. These smaller birds fly in formation above your ship. Birds will break formation and fly down towards your ship, firing shots back at you (similar to Galaga). The second level is similar, but the pace is faster and your ship fires much faster. The third and fourth levels have larger birds that hatch from flying eggs, and fly back and forth across the screen as they descend towards your ship. These birds must be hit in the center of their bodies, or they just lose a wing. In the final level you face off against the Mothership, where you must shoot through and destroy the alien leader in the middle of the ship, all while avoiding the continuing attack of the smaller bird formation above the ship. The farther down the mothership is on the screen when you shoot the alien, the higher your bonus score. The game then repeats the five levels in each future round, with increasing difficulty.

How I got it:

This one has a great story. A friend of mine decided to throw himself a 30th birthday party. A bunch of us went to an indoor go karting track that was about an hour away that we found on the Internet. When we got there, I noticed the black silouette of an arcade game out in the track building, covered in black tire rubber dust. I reconized it as a Phoenix. After talking to the owner I learned that it started smoking one day in their arcade years ago, so they threw it out there to get it out of the way. Since they didn’t want it, and I grew up playing one just like it, I worked out a way to pick it up the next week for my collection!

Recent repairs:

When I got it home, I had to figure out what to do to get it running. First and foremost I had to clean off all of the tire rubber that covered it from years of storage next to an indoor go kart track.

After cleaning it off both inside and outside, I started working on getting it to run. While inspecting the wiring I found that at one point someone tried to hook up a credit button on the coin door. However, to wire it they used Romex wiring (yes, the 14-3 solid copper wiring). I also noticed that there was a ton of additional build up of rubber, dust, and other stuff inside. The monitor was also different than any other I’ve come across in a color game. Not sure what model it is. The monitor chasis is mounted on a piece of plywood. Strange.

I rewired the credit button (since it was already drilled and mounted) and cleaned out the game further. I cleaned all the wiring connections as well. The game fired right up after that! The monitor was nice and sharp and the game worked perfectly. It really looks nice, except for the normal wear on the control panel overlay. The side art looks fantastic! It seems very durable.

What it still needs:

This game could use a new CPO to really make it look nice. However, the one on it isn’t too bad so I can live with it.

Final Thoughts:

This is a great classic that I played a ton when I was younger. It also has one of the best stories of my collection. Glad to have this game in the collection, and the kids love it!

Phoenix Links:

KLOV Phoenix Page

Had a great night in the arcade Friday Night. Had three families over to the house from church. There was a ton of arcade game playing, and Xbox360 Rock Band. Probably the longest I played in the game room in some time. I was able to knock off three of my high scores, including the ‘Game of the Month’ – Phoenix. Still haven’t pulled off the 200K trick, but beat my high anyway. Check them out on the High Score Board

Just completed posting my high scores on my site. Check out the Hi Score Board. On this page I will list all of the high scores I’m tracking in the arcade.

I’ve decided that my scores really stink, so I am going to be focusing on one game per month. This month, the game is Phoenix. I chose that game because it is the only game in my arcade that I do not personally hold the high score in. Sorry Tim, but I just beat your score tonight. My high score now is 28440. Took me many nights trying to beat the old score of 15910 that Tim set. I actually tied it one night. I was letting the alien spaceship get all the way to the bottom of the screen, the still only getting 0000 points for destroying it for some reason. Not sure if this is a programming bug or what the problem was.

If anyone has any Phoenix strategies, or scores that you personally have for your highs, post them as comments to this entry. I’d love to hear how I stack up to better players!