Phelios

About Phelios

Phelios (1989) is Namco's vertically scrolling shooter in which the sun god Apollo rides Pegasus to rescue Artemis from the titan Typhon, fighting monsters from Greek myth.

Phelios in Depth

Apollo, the sun god, sets out on the winged horse Pegasus to rescue Artemis, goddess of the moon, from the titan Typhon. The game takes names and little else from Greek mythology: there Artemis is Apollo's sister and a proud, unmarried goddess of the hunt, while here she is a princess-like love interest. Seven vertically scrolling stages, each divided into two to four sections marked by Japanese text and a change of music, end with a boss from myth: Medusa, the Graeae, the Siren, Antaeus, Scylla, Cerberus and Typhon himself, after which Apollo passes through an enchanted mirror into the next stage.

Tapping fire makes Apollo's sword shoot a tiny shot, while holding the button charges a bigger fireball; since even small enemies take several hits, the basic shot is of little use. He can take up to four hits, shown as playing-card hearts and set by the cabinet operator, but dies instantly if he hits a wall or touches a boss's head. Voice samples are in Japanese in the arcade and Japanese Mega Drive versions and in English in the western Genesis and Mega Drive releases. With the arcade's rank select option enabled, players can choose an easy mode, which covers only the first four stages and omits the full ending, or a hard mode.

Making Phelios

Namco developed and published it for arcades in Japan only in February 1989. Sega released a Genesis (Mega Drive) version in Japan and North America in 1990 and in Europe in 1991.