Greek mythology might not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of a vertical-scrolling shooter, but that didn't stop Namco from releasing Phelios in 1988, and it hasn't stopped Hamster from adding said title to its arcade collection this week (from 2nd February).
There's probably many out there who haven't stumbled across Phelios before (it spent a fair amount of time as a Japanese exclusive), so we'll give you the rundown. In this vertically-scrolling shooter, you play as Apollo (god of, like, everything), riding on his Pegasus to rescue the goddess Artemis. As the genre suggests, nay requires, there are a whole bunch of mythological beasties for you to take out along the way and a boss battle caping-off each level.
If the prospect of flying along, slicing down foes sounds like a good one to you (and come on, that does sound good), we're afraid there's no such combat here. Instead, Apollo uses his sword to fire out projectiles — you know, like all swords do — which can be set to either a standard hit or a charged attack.
For a closer look at what the game has in store, check out the following screenshots to get a taste of the style:
Phelios will be flying onto the Arcade Archives tomorrow (thanks, Nintendo Everything) and you will be able to pick it up from the Switch eShop for $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29.
Are you gearing up for some godly gaming? Let us know in the comments!
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments (18)
Yes! I have been waiting for this one!
(I might have been the only one!)
It had a great Genesis port in the early days, but the arcade one is the one I always wanted!
@thom1414 I wished for it, but didn't wait for it. Now it's here.
It encapsulates the 1980s aesthetics visually and musically, and that melancholic ending theme as well really hits hard.
Looking forward to adding this to my collection.
Awww YISSSSSS! 🎊
I got the genesis cart from a bargain bin during the psx era, played it to death! I've never played the arcade version but I absolutely CANNOT WAIT!!!
@thom1414 @Severian
"there are dozens of us!"
This game looks like Actraiser.
I might have to get this just for the nostalgia. I think it was the first game I ever bought new for the Genesis (I bought my friend's used console with a bunch of games, mostly RPGs). I played the crap out of it. I don't think I ever beat it, though.
Namco has WAY more arcade game history than I ever thought! Meanwhile all the Namco Museums are just Pac Man, Dig Dug and Galaga.
Hamster doing what Namdon't, I guess.
Speaking of Greek mythology - when is Hades 2 being released!?
I am honestly hoping for near perfect ports of Zaxxon and Viewpoint. Especially Viewpoint. I dropped so many quarters into that game I could have owned one.
@CharlieGirl Hopefully we get Tekken soon, Namco would give us all the classic arcade games we want but they wouldn't give us any of the ones passed the 16-Bit era.
This is a great game. I've got it on one of my carts for my evercade.
I was playing the Genesis port some time last year, still not very good at it. Such a fun game, funny in a dumb way.
I was kind of inspired noticing the Japanese version is written in some terrible English that, shocking for its era, was actually rewritten when it came time for the US release.
look pretty fun!
Looks like another worthy addition to the Archives! I don't think I've ever encountered Phelios in the arcades or on Genesis but would love to give it a try.
I'm more familiar with the Genesis version of this, but I liked it very much. I actually found some of the Mode 7-like effects in the arcade game to be unpleasant(background rotation is the issue), but it does play well. So for me, despite the cutbacks, the Genesis version is preferable, but both versions play very well and it's good to see this released. Namco's shooters are definitely underrated in my opinion.
Great shoot 'em up, although it can be brutal at times. I recently beat the Genesis port while the pandemic was in full swing. Glad that others can check it out too.
Thanks for doing these. I really like the arcade archives collection but it can be really difficult to find out information on them.
A while ago I googled for lists of the best Sega Genesis games. I looked for long lists each at least 50 games long, that were ranked. I assigned points based on rank and added them all up. I was left with 16 lists, 396 unique games and 1,465 total entries.
Phelios ended up a Top 100 Sega Genesis game.
According to Wikipedia, the original arcade version was never released in the U.S. because of racy bondage/torture cutscenes.
@-wc- can't stand ya
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