Appendix G: Phoenix HD

Glossary

Appendix G: Phoenix HD

The predecessor game of Phoenix 2, Phoenix HD
Phoenix	Corsair	Trinity	Shogun	Mirage
	Striker	Phantom	Flare

Phoenix HD is only found exclusively on the iOS / Mac App Store. Android users are currently unable to play this predecessor game. Do understand that the gameplay of Phoenix HD is very different.

Similarities

• Both are Japanese Bullet Hell shmup games, so expect LOTS of bullets.
• Both games share the ships Phoenix, Corsair, Trinity, Shogun & Mirage.
• They both use the same custom Firi Engine.
• The touch scheme is the same for both games, the ship follows your relative touch.
• They share many type of bullets, namely pellets, darts, shurikens, boomerangs and even MIRVs.
• The Phoenix HD ships Trinity, Mirage, Phantom & Flare have a Zen too.
  
  • The Zens for Trinity & Mirage work very differently from Phoenix 2, as elaborated below.
• There are leaderboards in both games, although they work very differently (elaborated below).
• There's in-game currency in both games, although used for very different purposes (elaborated below).
• Turrets can be destroyed in both games.

General Differences

All pointers relate to what is observed in Phoenix HD.

• Obviously, Phoenix HD has a lot lesser ships. The ships exclusive to Phoenix HD are Striker, Phantom & Flare.
• There are no daily missions. There is only one endless mode. Thus, one game on Phoenix HD typically lasts much longer.
• Ships are bought with real life currency, except for Phoenix which is permanently free.
  • Every other ship costs $0.99.
  • You can fly a random ship you have not bought for one flight every 24 hours.

Gameplay Differences

• More focused on dodging.
• There are 5 levels of difficulty, from to .
  • If you increase in star difficulty while playing a game, the bullet speed increase per star is a factor of 0.05 while the score multiplier increase per star is a factor of 0.5.
  • From to , for each star added before starting a game, the bullet speed increase per star is a factor of 0.08 while the score multiplier increase per star is a factor of 0.8.
  • The difficulty is automatically adjusted at the end of each game.
  • You can only reset the difficulty to minimum, not to anywhere in-between.
  • Most players play at the maximum difficulty since the score accumulates significantly slower at the lowest difficulty and it is generally easy to hit the maximum difficulty after one game. The condition is most likely to hit a score of 1,000,000.
• You have a finite health of 100.
  • Recover health by collecting health pickups that are spawned by destroying enemy ship turrets.
  • As your health goes down, everything except enemy bullets and your ship's cockpit starts to fade to black & white.
  • More fire starts to be emitted from your ship as your health goes down (which goes away as you recover health). The following are the health thresholds before the corresponding fire appears/disappears:
    1. 91
    2. 76
    3. 51
    4. 26
    5. 11 (Huge flames)
    6. 9 (Huge flames)
  • There is also a health bar at the top of the screen.
  • Only the Phantom does not have health, and dies in one hit like ships in Phoenix 2.
• For the 5 ships common to both games, the behaviour of the weapon systems are very different in Phoenix HD, since there are many more weapon systems.
  • The weapons usually feel weaker and are more spread out over different weapon systems, except for Shogun.
  • All ship upgrades are obtained during a game and only temporary. The default chance of a weapon upgrade drop appearing is 1/35.
• The Zens in Phoenix HD work differently for Trinity and Mirage.
  • For Trinity:
    • You can let the time slowdown run indefinitely.
    • Trinity Teleport is instantly available after releasing touch.
    • Its weapon systems continue firing as per normal even with touch disengaged.
    • There is also no Charge Time or Charge Time Increase after repeated use.
    • You can only teleport if you tap on a spot that is far enough from your current location.
  • For Mirage:
    • The Nightfury has 3 stages in Phoenix HD (each dealing increasing DPS).
    • The Nightfury in Phoenix HD lasts significantly longer than the Nightfury in Phoenix 2.
    • The Nightfury is much smaller in width, even at Stage 3.
    • No time slowdown while Nightfury is firing.
    • Moving while the Nightfury is active immediately stops the Nightfury.
    • There is a Charge Time, but no Charge Time Increase after repeated uses.
  • Phoenix, Corsair & Shogun don't have a Zen.
• Auras are replaced by Power-ups.
  • Power-ups have to be collected first before it can be used.
  • These power-ups are dropped by destroyed enemy ships with a chance of 1/35.
  • Phoenix HD has the following 8 power-ups (For all of the x Strike power-ups, they are different colors of this power-up pickup ):
    
    • EMP - Instantly converts all bullets on screen to coins.
    • Shield - Creates an invulnerable movable shield that encapsulates your ship for 5s.
    • Health - Fully restores your ship's health
      • For Phantom, this pickup fully restores its Ghost Mode gauge.
    • Alpha Strike (Purple in color, derived from Phoenix's Tachyon Cannon projectiles) - Launches 12.5 bursts of fanned out Tachyon Cannon projectiles in a chevron pattern of 9 projectiles (last set has only 5 projectiles) over 1s, damaging Enemy Ships in its wake. Each projectile deals 1.4 damage. Maximum damage = 157.2.
    • Beta Strike (Orange in color, derived from Phoenix's Helix Cannon) - Launches 20 bursts of 6 forward firing orange Helix Cannon projectiles in a chevron pattern over 2s, damaging Enemy Ships in its wake. Each projectile deals 1.2 damage. There is a cooldown time of 1.0s. Maximum damage = 144.
    • Delta Strike (Blue in color, derived from Shogun's weapon systems) - Launches 3 consecutive waves of 4 fanned out Tesla Coils each over 1s, dealing damage to Enemy Ships while a tesla coil is in range of an Enemy Ship. Each Tesla Coil has a DPS of 5, and the total damage varies based on how long each Tesla Coil deals damage.
    • Gamma Strike (Yellow in color, derived from Corsair's Wasp Missiles) - Launches 5 waves of 6 homing wasp missiles towards Enemy Ships over 1s. Each missile does 5.5 damage. There is a 1.5s cooldown time. Total damage = 165.
    • Lambda Strike (Magenta in color, derived from Mirage's Sweeper Lasers) - Fires 5 yellow sweeper lasers at Enemy Ships that last 2s. Each sweeper laser has a DPS of 12.5. There is a 1.5s cooldown time. Total damage = 125.
  • You can only hold one power-up at a time.
    • Getting another power-up activates it immediately unless you get rid of the stored power-up.
  • Tap with a second finger to use the stored power-up, just like using Auras in Phoenix 2.

Currency Differences

You earn coins which are sometimes dropped by Enemy Ships. Coins can be used to buy the following single-use boosts in the Armory that last for only one game.

• Extra Power-ups (250) - Power-up drops increased by 40%.
• Extra Health (750) - Health drops increased by 25%.
• Vulcan Drone (900) - Attacks enemy ships. Fires 15 bullets in each burst, each dealing 0.065 damage.
• Point Defense Drone (1,250) - Shoots down incoming bullets.
• Phoenix Wake (2,000) - Skip the first 20 waves.
• Phoenix Revive (2,500) - One extra life.

You can buy coins for real life currency at the following rates below:

• 10,000 for $0.99
• 40,000 for $3.99
• 100,000 for $8.99
• You can also get a Coin Tripler which gets 3× coins per game at $1.99. This is usually sufficient to buy most of the single-use boosts every game without ever running out of coins.

Leaderboard Differences

Leaderboards are based on per ship, and never reset.

• You get different medals for reaching Top x%, which is a bit similar to Phoenix 2.
  • Diamond Medal for Top 0.0001%
  • Ruby Medal for Top 0.001%
  • Sapphire Medal for Top 0.01%
  • Emerald Medal for Top 0.1%
  • Platinum Medal for Top 1%
  • Gold Meal for Top 10%
  • Silver Medal for Top 33.3%
  • Bronze Medal for Top 50%
• These medals update as new records are registered.
• You can set high scores and get different medals based on:
  • City
  • Province
  • Country
  • Continent
  • World
• Phoenix HD uses your device's Location Service to place your score set in the correct city.
  • If Location Service is not allowed to be used by Phoenix HD, or Location Services is disabled when a game has ended, Phoenix HD uses your IP Address to determine the approximate location.

Enemy Ships

With every level cleared, Enemy Ship health increases by a factor of 0.005. Below shows the list of all Enemy Ships in Phoenix HD:

• Scout
  
  
  • 10 Health
  • Base Score = 25
  • Max per level = 8
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 3s
• Marauder
  
  
  • 65 Health
  • Base Score = 50
  • Max per level = 3
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 10s
• Renegade
  
  
  • 85 Health
  • Base Score = 100
  • Max per level = 2
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 30s
  • Front Turret = ×0.75 of health
  • Rear Turret = ×0.55 of health
• Jester
  
  
  • 110 Health
  • Base Score = 100
  • Max per level = 2
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 30s
• Revenant
  
  
  • 125 Health
  • Base Score = 150
  • Max per level = 1
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 120s
  • Left Turret = ×0.8 of health
  • Middle Turret = ×1 of health
  • Right Turret = ×0.8 of health
• Brute
  
  
  • 165 Health
  • Base Score = 150
  • Max per level = 1
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 120s
  • Front Left Turret = ×1 of health
  • Rear Left Turret = ×0.1 of health
  • Front Right Turret = ×1 of health
  • Rear Right Turret = ×0.1 of health
• Warlord
  
  
  • 200 Health
  • Base Score = 150
  • Max per level = 1
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 120s
  • Outer Left Turret = ×0.8 of health
  • Inner Left Turret = ×0.65 of health
  • Inner Right Turret = ×0.65 of health
  • Outer Right Turret = ×0.8 of health
• Harbinger
  
  
  • 200 Health
  • Base Score = 150
  • Max per level = 1
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 120s
  • Outer Left Turret = ×0.65 of health
  • Inner Left Turret = ×0.65 of health
  • Middle Turret = ×0.72 of health
  • Inner Right Turret = ×0.65 of health
  • Outer Right Turret = ×0.65 of health
• Reaper
  
  
  • 200 Health
  • Base Score = 150
  • Max per level = 1
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 120s
  • Outermost Left Turret = ×0.7 of health
  • Left Turret = ×0.8 of health
  • Inner Left Turret = ×0.9 of health
  • Inner Right Turret = ×0.9 of health
  • Right Turret = ×0.8 of health
  • Outermost Right Turret = ×0.7 of health
• Harpy
  
  
  • 300 Health
  • Base Score = 175
  • Gives 50 bonus power particles upon destroyed
  • Max per level = 1
  • Next level arrives if still not cleared in 240s
  • Left arm = ×0.5 of health
    
  • Right arm (Same graphic as Left arm) = ×0.5 of health
  • Middle Turret = ×1.2 of health

Bullets in Phoenix HD behave very differently.

• Bullets are much faster at maximum difficulty.
• Phoenix HD has a special enemy comet bullet that spawns pellets to the left and right sides as the comet travels vertically downwards.
• There are 2 variants of bullets - brighter red and blood red ones, the former dealing 10 damage and latter dealing 15 damage. (Remember that you have actual health in Phoenix HD.) MIRVs and comets bullet deal 50 damage.
• MIRVs trigger after a fixed amount of time and cannot be triggered by going near them.
• Boomerangs work like actual boomerangs that reverse after traveling a fixed distance.

Turrets in Phoenix HD have very different firing patterns. The following turrets are available in Phoenix HD:

• Pellet Launchers
  
• Diamond Pellet Launchers (exclusive to Jesters)
  
• Pellet Tracking Spread / Pellet 4-Wave Spread
  
• Pellet 360
  
• Single Dart Launcher
  
• Multiple Dart Launcher
  
• Rapid 3-Dart Launcher
  
• 2-lane / 3-way Dart Spread
  
• 4-lane Dart Launcher
  
• 5-way Dart Spread
  
• 7-way Dart Spread
  
• Dart 360
  
• Shuriken Launcher
  
• 5-way Shuriken Spread
  
• Shuriken Spread
  
• Shuriken 360
  
• Boomerang Launcher
  
• 5-way Boomerang Spread
  
• 9-way Boomerang Spread
  
• Single MIRV Launcher
  
• Twin MIRV Launcher
  
• Triple MIRV Launcher
  
• Comet Launcher (exclusive to Brute)
  

• Enemy ships have no Doomsday Weapons (so no Super MIRVs). They also don't have lasers.

Ships

Phoenix

All-round fighter with a diverse arsenal of weapons.

Weapon Systems:

• Helix Cannon (2 Levels).
  • Level 1: Cycle time of 0.3s, per projectile damage is 0.5.
  • Level 2: Cycle time of 0.667s, per projectile damage is 0.67.
• Chaingun (3 Levels). Each level upgrade introduces one new stream of chaingun projectiles on both sides, up to 3. Has a firing rate of 0.06s, with each projectile dealing 0.3 damage.
• Tachyon Cannon (4 Levels).
  • Level 1: Reload Time of 1.0s, with each projectile dealing 5 damage.
  • Level 2: Reload Time of 0.8s, with each projectile dealing 8 damage.
  • Level 3: Reload Time of 0.6s, with each projectile dealing 9 damage.
  • Level 4: Reload Time of 0.45s, with each projectile dealing 9 damage.
• Missiles (3 Levels). Each upgrade introduces one more set of 2 missiles every burst. Each missile does 10 damage.
  • Level 1: Reload Time of 2s.
  • Level 2: Reload Time of 1.7s. Delay between sets = 0.3s
  • Level 3: Reload Time of 1.4s. Delay between each set = 0.3s

Corsair

Missile cruiser with the special ability to lock on turrets for extra deadly barrage.

Weapon Systems:

• Wasp Missiles (3 Levels). Reload Time of 1.8s, releases all wasp missiles within 0.2s.
  • Level 1: 4 wasp missiles emitted per burst. Each missile does 5 damage.
  • Level 2: 8 wasp missiles emitted per burst. Each missile does 5 damage.
  • Level 3: 16 wasp missiles emitted per burst. Each missile does 3.75 damage.
• Dumbfire Missiles (4 Levels)
  • Level 1: Fires at 1.25s & 2.5s. Each missile does 12.5 damage.
  • Level 2: Fires at 1s & 2s. Each missile does 20 damage.
  • Level 3: Fires at 0.75s & 1.5s. Each missile does 22.5 damage.
  • Level 4: Fires at 0.5s & 1s. Each missile does 20 damage.
• Rockets (4 Levels). Has a reload time of 0.5s.
  • Level 1: Fires a set of 2 missiles at 0.15s. Each rocket does 3.25 damage.
  • Level 2: Fires another set of 2 missiles at 0.3s Each rocket does 4 damage.
  • Level 3: Fires another set of 2 missiles at 0.45s. Each rocket does 4.75 damage.
  • Level 4: Fires another set of 2 missiles at 0.6s. Each rocket does 5.5 damage.
• Machinegun (4 Levels). From Level 1 to 4, has a firing rate of 0.05s, 0.02s, 0.016 & 0.013s. Each projectile deals 0.5 damage.

Special - Barrage: Fires when locked on, at a rate of 0.25s and 0.5s. Each barrage missile does 0.5 damage.

Trinity

Experimental ship that slows down time and can teleport over short distances.

Weapon Systems:

• Razor (1 Level). Default weapon. Each razor on each side is treated like a laser with a DPS of 5.
• Railgun (1 Level). Reload Time of 0.6s. Each projectile deals 3 damage.
• Flak (3 Levels). From Level 1 to 3, Reload Times are 0.6s, 0.3s & 0.2s. Each flak projectile does 3 damage.

Special - Trinity Warp: Shoots a forward projectile of 3 damage upon arrival of teleport to new location.

Shogun

An advanced ship for elite pilots. Its weapons are powered by flying dangerously close to enemy bullets and ships.

Shogun has no weapon upgrades.

• There are 4 levels of Shogun's slashes, which are triggered by grazing bullets at a maximum of 17 distance away. The DPS increases between levels as such, and resets to Level 1 when you get hit.
  
  1. 7
  2. 9
  3. 11
  4. 13
• The tesla coil (when you go near enough enemy ships) has a DPS of 3.

Mirage

Laser frigate equipped with the Nightfury laser which activates when the ship does not move.

Weapon Systems:

• Tiny Lasers (5 Levels). Introduces another set of 2 tiny lasers with each level upgrade. Each set of tiny lasers has a DPS of 5.
• Laser Pods (5 Levels). Introduces another set of 2 laser pods with each level upgrade. Each set of laser pods has a DPS of 5.
• Sweeper Lasers (5 Levels). Introduces another set of 2 sweeper lasers with each level upgrade. The sweeper laser sets introduced in higher levels have faster tracking rates. Each set of sweeper lasers has a DPS of 5.

Special - Nightfury: Activates after not moving. There are 3 stages of Nightfury, and the DPS of the Nightfury in the respective stages are 11, 30 & 60.

The ships below are exclusive to Phoenix HD:

Striker

Tactical assault ship with multi-lock missile launchers.

Striker has no weapon upgrades, but the lock-on missile details are as follows:

1. Level 1: 2 damage per missile.
2. Level 2: 12 damage per missile.
3. Level 3: 4 damage for the main missile, 1 damage per missile for the 16 small missiles (per burst) fired by main missile.

Phantom

A fragile ship with high firepower and the ability to go into Ghost Mode.

Weapon Systems:

• Particle Beam (Main Beam, 1 Level). Unlocked from the start. Has a normal DPS of 20, and an Overdrive DPS of 26.67.
• Mass Driver (4 projectile cannon, 1 Level). Reload Time of 0.2s in normal mode, 0.3s in Overdrive mode (when Ghost Gauge is full). Each projectile does 2 damage.
• Torpedo (Missiles, 1 Level). Reload Time of 0.4s in normal mode, 0.3s in Overdrive mode. Each torpedo does 8 damage.

Flare

Classic ship with a destructive Overdrive ability at the expense of hit points.

Weapon Systems:

• Autocannon (3 Levels). The middle cannon.
  • Level 1: Reload Time of 0.4s, each projectile dealing 2 damage.
  • Level 2: Reload Time of 0.35s, each projectile dealing 3.5 damage.
  • Level 3: Reload Time of 0.3s, each projectile dealing 4.5 damage.
• Chaingun (3 Levels). The side miniguns.
  • Level 1: Firing Rate of 0.07s, each projectile dealing 0.35 damage.
  • Level 2: Firing Rate of 0.05s, each projectile dealing 0.5 damage.
  • Level 3: Firing Rate of 0.03s, each projectile dealing 0.45 damage.
• Missiles (3 Levels).
  • Level 1: Firing Rate of 0.8s, with a damage of 8 per missile.
  • Level 2: Firing Rate of 0.65s, with a damage of 13 per missile.
  • Level 3: Firing Rate of 0.5s, with a damage of 15 per missile.

Special - Overdrive: Throws out 64 projectiles in 8 waves, each dealing 3.5 damage over 1.6s in a fan angle of 35° at the expense of draining half of your current health. Each projectile has only 0.45s to hit before disappearing. Maximum damage = 224.

Trivia: Flare is also the titular ship in an even older game by Firi Games, Flare Elite.

Version History

Version 2.6.3

Released on September 28, 2019

• iPhone X & iPhone 11 support
• Support for iOS 13.
• Fixed a bug where Phantom could be destroyed during Phoenix Wake.

Version 2.6.2

Released on October 13, 2016

Fixes bugs introduced by our Flare engine upgrade in the last update:

• Bullets are cancelled again when you destroy the enemy that fired them. This restores the intended behavior.
• Fixes issue where a Striker targeting laser could stay around and start aiming at seemingly random positions.
• Fixes the problem where all Gamma Strike missiles would target the same turret on the left side.
• Fixes Trinity teleport malfunction after starting the game with a Phoenix Wake.
• Fixes a bug that caused the Striker to stop locking on to new targets (this was actually fixed in the previous update, but was not mentioned).

Thanks to Bozack Jerome and everyone else who notified us of these problems. Do not forget to review or rate Phoenix HD if you enjoy playing. We greatly appreciate your support.

Version 2.6.1

Released on October 6, 2016

A few bug fixes in this release. We also upgraded Phoenix HD to the latest version of our Flare engine.

• Fixed support for the iCade.
• Fixed a bug that could be responsible for a few weird things that were happening, including hearing an explosion sound again after the game ends.

In case your missed our Phoenix II release, we added a small icon in the main menu to provide an easy way to get it.

And do not forget, Phoenix HD is also available for Apple TV!

Version 2.6.0

Released on February 11, 2016

This update adds support for 3D Touch! Use 3D touch to activate a stored power-up. Just press firmly when you have one to use it. With 3D Touch you can play completely with one hand!

Of course, the old way to activate a stored power-up is still available: Just touch the screen with a second finger.

We also want to let you know that Phoenix HD is available for the new Apple TV! This version also has a very cool co-op mode which we highly recommend. All ships purchased in Phoenix HD are available to you on Apple TV at no additional charge (and vice-versa).

Finally, we upgraded our Flare engine to the latest version and improved some effects.

Version 2.5.1

Released on September 30, 2015

Fixes crash that affected players that have set their device to the French language.

Version 2.5.0

Released on September 16, 2015

Another big update! This update adds support for iOS 9 game recordings and an improved interface!

• Record your games with ReplayKit! To record, pause a game and hit the record button. After the game is over, you can save & share your recording. Game recordings require iOS 9 and a 64-bit device.
• We improved the interface so you can select your ship and see your high score in the city you are in right on the main screen!
• And the usual bug fixes and improvements.

Thanks for your reviews and support. Please leave a review if you enjoy Phoenix HD.

Version 2.4.4

Released on August 21, 2015

• Fixes crash when using Metal on an iOS version before 8.3

Version 2.4.3

Released on August 13, 2015

In this big update, we upgraded Phoenix HD to the latest version of our in-house developed Flare engine! Some of the new things in this update:

• Phoenix HD now supports Metal on 64bit devices!
• Almost all effects in the game have been improved and everything looks even better!
• Sound effects are much improved and sound a lot richer, with up to 32 sounds playing at once. This also fixes all known sound bugs.
• An easy way to take screenshots in game. Just pause the game and then tap the 'screenshot' button to easily share or save those spectacular moments.

Finally, don't forget about our TV mode! Play Phoenix HD on your TV by connecting through Airplay to an Apple TV or directly through a TV out connector cable.

Thanks for your reviews and continued support. Please leave a review if you enjoy Phoenix HD.

Version 2.4.2

Released on January 16, 2015

Fixes crash introduced in 2.4.1.

Version 2.4.1

Released on January 14, 2015

This update fixes a few bugs you sent in using the new contact button, thanks for reporting them!

• It is now possible to reset the difficulty back to 1 star again. Keep in mind that you do get a significantly lower score and progress through the game at a slower pace on the easier difficulties.
• Fixed an issue that caused the wrong tutorial video to be shown in Ship Selection.
• Adds new notifications to alert you when a new test flight is available.
• Numerous other small bug fixes.

Thanks for your reviews and support. Please leave a review if you enjoy Phoenix HD.

Version 2.4.0

Released on December 22, 2014

A new Phoenix HD update just in time for the holidays! This is a big update with the following great features:

• First new feature: the Flare!

Flare is a classic ship inspired by our first shmup, Flare Elite! The ship has a special Overdrive ability, which fires an autocannon barrage at the enemies. You can fire it as much as you like, but activating the Overdrive drains half of your hit points, so use it with caution. The ability can be activated just like you would use a stored powerup, by putting a second finger on the screen. It’s like the ship is always carrying an Alpha Strike!

Flare also comes equipped with the Kappa drive, which is activated by releasing your finger from the screen. Flare will stop shooting and attract health clouds and power-ups much faster. Great to grab that Alpha Strike which is floating in a sea of bullets.

• Second new feature: Test Flights!

Any ships you have not unlocked yet will become periodically available to take for a spin. There are no restrictions and you can play them just as you would have unlocked them. Once you used the test flight, a new random ship will become available for test flight after a while.

Finally, this update contains some bug fixes. The most important of which is that it is now possible to disarm the Brute and get the achievement!

As always, your reviews are very welcome and support us. Please leave a review if you enjoy Phoenix HD.

Version 2.3.2

Released on October 14, 2014

Update for compatibility with iOS 8 and the new iPhones! Also fixes a few small bugs.

On iOS 8, our super cool TV mode now runs at 60 FPS over Airplay on modern devices and good WiFi networks. Try it out!

Version 2.3.1

Released on August 5, 2014

Some bug fixes. Be sure to check out the cool TV mode we introduced in the previous update!

Version 2.3.0

Released on July 10, 2014

Play Phoenix HD on your TV with this update! Connect through Airplay or a TV connection cable to your TV and enjoy Phoenix HD on the big screen! The sides of your screen will be filled with a visualization based on the action in the game. Use a Game Controller for the complete console experience.

TV mode requires an iPhone 4S/iPad 2 or newer. Airplay performance depends on your device and the quality of your Wifi connection.

If you enjoy this update, please support us by leaving a review!

Version 2.2.1

Released on March 21, 2014

Fixes small issues with certain localizations

Version 2.2.0

Released on March 13, 2014

• A new ship: The Striker!

Shooting a lot of missiles is always awesome, and the Striker delivers exactly that! Hold down your finger to let the Striker automatically lock on all targets on the screen, then release your finger to fire the missiles. Repeat until no enemy is standing in your way. Holding down for a longer time improves the locks so stronger missiles will be fired. Can you hold your fire long enough to lock the level 3 missiles? The Striker is available via in-app purchase.

• Full Game Controller Support

This update improves support for iOS 7 Game Controllers. Use the right triggers to use the current held power-up. Press the 'A' button to perform a special action (Phantom Ghost Mode, Striker Fire Missiles), and hold the 'B' button to amplify the inputs of the joysticks for quick dodging.

• Retina resolution on iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina

Phoenix HD now runs at Retina resolution on iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina.

Version 2.1.2

Released on October 9, 2013

• Small bug fixes

• Improves connectivity in China

• Performance improvements for iPad 4th generation.

• Localization for missing strings

Version 2.1.1

Released on September 19, 2013

A Phoenix HD update for iOS 7! Check out what's new:

• Coin Tripler. When you have the Coin Tripler, all coins dropped during a game will have three times the value. The Coin Tripler is available as a permanent in-app purchase.
• AirDrop a mysterious gift to your friends with AirDrop enabled devices! Gifts appear intermittently in the Armory.
• New app icon that fits with iOS7!
• Fixes #1 in City, Province, Country and Continent achievements
• Other bug fixes

Version 2.1

Released on June 5, 2013

• A new ship: The Phantom!

An exciting new player ship that brings more intense gameplay to Phoenix HD. The Phantom is designed for fast play sessions. It has the most firepower but is also more fragile! To avoid bullets, the Phantom can enter 'Ghost Mode' in which it cannot be hit. There are other special abilities, but you have to discover them yourself ;) The Phantom is available via in-app purchase.

• Improved High Scores View

The map which shows your high scores has been improved, and now shows all the locations where you have set a score for all ships combined. Tap on one of the pins to see your rank and medals for that place!

• Other Improvements

Shorter loading times, improved visual effects, improved performance and some bug fixes.

Version 2.0.3

Released on December 2, 2012

• Removes black borders on iPad

• Adjusts area where your ship is allowed to go on the iPhone 5.

• Overhauls leaderboards detail view

• Fixes Bird is the Word achievement on iOS 6

Version 2.0.2

Released on September 27, 2012

Fixes iPhone 5 crash. Fixes purchase unlock bug when offline.

Version 2.0.1

Released on September 20, 2012

Fixes crash bug.

Version 2.0

Released on September 19, 2012

IMPORTANT: You must restore your purchases to be able to access your ships after this update. Restoring purchases can be done from the settings menu.

Welcome to Phoenix HD 2.0, our biggest update yet! Read on for the countless new things you can find in this update:

• Full iPhone 5 and iOS6 support

Phoenix HD now fully supports the new iPhone 5.

• Trinity

Trinity is a new player ship, and again offers a completely new game experience! Trinity is capable of slowing down time and teleporting to different locations on the screen. The ship is great fun for players of all skill levels! Trinity is available via in-app purchase.

• Armory

At the armory you can purchase extra boosts with coins you gather while playing the game. Some of the boosts include a drone that shoots down bullets, extra health, or even a revive during the game!

• Redone Phoenix Leaderboards

The phoenix leaderboards are completely redone, and are shown on gorgeous maps. We also added leaderboards for each individual ship, so you can finally settle who is the best with a specific ship. We like the new leaderboards so much, we made them free for everyone! If you previously purchased an online pass you will get some free coins for your support!

• Support for Multiple Devices

You can now synchronize scores and coins you gather across your iPhone, iPad and other devices. Register an account in the settings menu to activate synchronization.

• Focus Vision

When you get on low health, the world will turn to black & white, but the enemy bullets and your cockpit will remain in color, so you can focus on survival.

• Massive Gameplay Improvements

A lot of gameplay improvements have been made. This list summarizes a few of them:

• Rebalanced all turrets and enemy ships.
• The EMP powerup now glows gold and turns bullets into coins!
• The selectable star difficulty system has been replaced by an automatic progression to a level that suits the player.
• Enemy turrets at high level use new dangerous projectiles that deal more damage to your ship.

Due to all gameplay changes, we have put Phoenix 2.0 on new leaderboards.

• New backgrounds

Two new backgrounds have been added after the current ones.

Version 1.1.1

Released on February 12, 2012

• iCade support

Phoenix now supports IONaudio's terrific iCade peripheral. We have deeply integrated support for this device, offering a great new experience. Button 6 has the same functionality as tapping the screen, using your currently stored pick-up. Button 8 is a 'boost' button which increases the ship movement speed while pressed. Button 6 is also used to Retry and Start the game while in the menus!

• Brute

A new enemy ship has been added, the Brute! This large class enemy moves around at considerable speed and fires its unique new split-shot turrets.

• New Alpha Strike

The close range lightning weapon from the Shogun has been added as a new Alpha Strike. Twelve Tesla Coil projectiles are launched, shooting lightning at enemies everywhere!

• Improved menus

The 'Friends' and 'Achievements' buttons are now accessible from the Main Main. The ability to mute sound effects and music separately have been added and moved to the settings screen.

• Chinese

Celebrating the year of the Dragon we have added full simplified Chinese translation to the game (except for these patch notes), enjoy!

• Numerous fixes

Lots of tweaks to improve performance as well as visual quality.

Version 1.1.0

Released on November 24, 2011

A big content update for Phoenix HD! A new player ship, two new enemies and more:

• The Shogun, a new player ship!

The Shogun brings another unique play-style to Phoenix HD with spectacular ways to destroy the enemy. The Shogun has no traditional weapons like the other ships, but relies on moving close to enemy projectiles to unleash its deadly blade weapon and destroy its enemies in an amazing display of brilliant carnage. The Shogun is available through in-App purchase, just like the Mirage and Corsair.

• Two new enemies

Two new ships join the enemy arsenal to offer new challenges. These new enemies both have their own signature weapons and create even more variation on each playthrough.

• iOS 5 support

Phoenix HD now supports iOS 5 and takes advantage of the new Twitter integration and Game Center achievement banners.

• Improvements and fixes

Improves friend list syncing and fixes game balance above 15 million points. Miscellaneous minor bug fixes.

Version 1.0.3

Released on August 17, 2011

Fixes crash on iOS4.1 and iOS4.2 when logged in to Game Center

Version 1.0

Released on August 12, 2011

Initial Release