Aside from being the game with
the most ridiculous cart label of all time, we have a great shooter on our hands that is
vastly overlooked by a majority of shooter fans. One of my best friends had this game when
we were growing up and we had many good times playing Phalanx. Neither of us
could get further than the fourth or fifth stage. I used to look at the manual and say,
"Man there is eight stages; this game seems impossible."Jump to now, I can finally play through the game, and remains one of my favorites on the SNES. While it's not as hard as R-Type or as good, it still had some features that really made it stand out when it was released.
The first thing you are treated to upon starting this game is some really fluid graphics and some very catchy music. You have to say "WOW this is a good game." You are also treated to a solid but not impossible challenge.
The graphics are definitely ahead of their time. Phalanx
starts with the ship descending down on Earth and flying through some dense clouds. It
treats you to some very smooth parallax scrolling before descending down upon the city.
Each stage has its own unique flavor. Unfortunately the first stage is the only one to
feature the beautiful parallax scrollingThe sound is excellent also. The sound effects are detailed and varied but on the downside, can sound somewhat hollow at times. The music is one of the things that helps keep this game together, none of the tunes are intense or too upbeat but somehow all of them manage to fit the stage they are playing in. There are a few caves and the music tones down to a creepy exploration style theme etc.
I won't go into incredible detail about game play. Aside from a slew of power-ups and speed-ups, this a game with a lot of variety. I will say that this game is generous with health. Your ship can take three hits before you buy the farm. All of the bosses take a lot of damage and you can blow parts off of them before they fall. All in all I highly recommend this game for all shooter fans and gamers in general.
