Phalanx: The Enforce Fighter A-144
Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Gamepad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up, Side-Scrolling
Gametype: Licensed
Release Year: 1992
Developer: KEMCO
Publisher: KEMCO
Players: 1
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Gameplay:

The player's ship can switch to different speeds at any time, allowing the player to move fast to avoid enemies and obstacles entirely, or slow down to weave between enemy bullets. An unusual addition for a shooter at the time is the ability for the player's ship to take multiple hits before losing a life. A variety of weapons can be picked up from items that certain enemies leave behind, and up to three can be stored at a time. The player can switch between these weapons freely, and sacrifice a weapon to produce a "smart bomb" effect, freeing up the slot to grab another weapon.

Trivia:

Phalanx is infamous for the incongruous box art in its American release: it displays a bearded elderly man dressed in overalls, wearing a fedora and playing a banjo while a futuristic spaceship flies in the background. The popular media site IGN named it their 5th "Most Awesome Cover" in a recent Top 25 Countdown on their website.

The box art designers later admitted that they had deliberately chosen this theme in order to attract the customer with something original considering there were many space shooters in the market that looked alike. The Game Boy Advance release redesigned the cover in favor of a prominent spaceship image.

Tips:

Secret Area
On Level 2 the Underwater Area, when you see a red box on either the top or bottom screen, enter it and you will go into a secret area. Their are two secret Areas in the Underwater Area. The first one's on the top. And the second one's on the bottom.

1st- When you have to move and either destroy or dodge the poles that come at you, at the last one, where it stays and you have to be careful not to get hurt because it's a thick area and you have to move slowly, go up to the top and quickly into the red box .

2nd- After you go pass the revolving circle of bones that don't connect together, go through it. To know which one it is, its the one where inside the circle of bones have a P power up there. After that, look towards the bottom of the screen and look out for it.

Secret Area 2

In the last stage- Final Mission, there are 2 secret areas in this place. The secret place looks like a yellow circle with some gadgets around it.

1st: When you have to slowly go through a series of bars, make sure you just don't take damage or if you do, just quickly cross it to the top to the Yellow circle .

2nd: Can't exactly remember but its after the sub-boss you have to fight. The sub-boss is this weird looking ship where it spits a gravity whole in nowhere between the middle of the screen and then his two projectile users try to slam into you. I just know this one's on the bottom and its right before you go to these weird monsters where they look like cubes and some disgusting cube worms that drip acid water, which damages you so just dodge it.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_(video_game)
