Sailing the Tethys Sea

Excuse the turbid title. The other day, I saw an online retrogaming poll asking voters to choose between "Galaga" or "Phoenix" as the ultimate classic shooter. I honestly couldn't decide. Of the two of them, though, I was more skilled at "Phoenix" - especially on the Atari 2600.

I'm sure I've mentioned that in my first (and best) sharehouse, we had an Atari with its own dedicated 34cm telly set up in a corner of the lounge. I've probably also mentioned that there was a list of high scores on the wall for the many cartridges we collectively owned, challenging visitors to test their mettle. I might have even mentioned the titanic tussle between PG and RS2 for dominance on "H.E.R.O.". Or when SL shocked us by revealing himself to be a supreme master at "Yar's Revenge".

I had the top score on "Phoenix" and I don't think anyone ever got near it. I'd go into The Zone with that game. Although there were other carts on our hotly contested list, e.g. "Frostbite", at which I managed to claim the #1 spot, I don't believe I sank more hours into any of them than I did the 2600 "Phoenix" port. So mayhap this blog entry is me voting in the aforesaid poll, days later yet decades earlier.

(Unprepossessing static images, but it was all about the relentless bird-blasting action.) I don't wanna yuck your yum if you prefer "Galaga". I dig that, too. Still play it on any machine on which it appears, and check out all obvious clones. On that note, if you have access to a Commodore 64 in whatever form, I highly recommend this ever-so-clever take -

https://www.protovision.games/games/galencia.php?language=en