Here's
another shooter that you can't pronounce but can play… A dual company
project by Kemco and Zoom has birthed Phalanx, a shmup that falls
between "not quite substandard" and "should I play this or Gradius?"
Despite some obvious flaws, this game's pro and con listing somewhat
evens out. One of the most mentionable details about this game is
{get this}…the box art! If I remember correctly, the box featured
an old man playing the banjo on the front (or maybe that was one
of my crazy relatives?) And there is a bit of weirdness all throughout
this game.
Phalanx
is quite lengthy, with eight levels to romp and stomp through. Picture
the usual shooter, but with these minor adjustments: a three hit
shield system, adjustable speed (nothing new yet), and about four
different weapons. Aside from normal shot, each weapon has a different
"power shot", which is very destructive but causes you to lose that
particular weapon. Fortunately though, you can stockpile about three
weapons at once. This adds an element to the game of "should I waste
a powerup and blast the bad guys" or play it a little more conservative.
One of the strangest features is that whenever you change weapons,
the entire ship changes! I'm not talking about transforming, like
Macross, but just a new ship appears out of nowhere! Looks like
a graphical error, in my eyes. But, oh well…….Phally gets a little
tricky as early as level two, with a maze like underwater section
with many moving traps. This section will take a little memorization
and can get frustrating. On the plus side though, there is a cool
battleship level where you have to enter three different sections
of the ship and fight three different bosses.
Phally
doesn't blow you away with any special features (if I can't remember
the music I won't mention it), yet it has a style all it's own.
Any shmup fan should give this a go through, but I recommend a rental
or borrowing from a friend. As for owning the pic of the banjo toting
promo guy….well…..sorry, not today.
Interestingly
enough, a semi-sequel called Tiny Phalanx is included in Zero Divide
on psx as a hidden feature . I haven't played this one yet, but
it looks to be more of the same.
RATING
- 7.5 / 10
Phalanx
- Kemco
