Classic Game Room - PHALANX review for Super Nintendo

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Classic Game Room reviews PHALANX for Super Nintendo from 1990, a side scrolling space ship shooter that plays a lot like the Thunder Force series on Sega Genesis
Phalanx is one of the best SHMUPS on SNES Super Nintendo and has some seriously odd artwork with an old guy playing banjo next to his dog. CGR Phalanx KZbin review has Phalanx video review footage of this space ship shooter being played on Super Nintendo.

[@RothmanHarv]

The old man was driving the ship, and the dog was at mission control.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

Miss the Squirrel intro. :(

[@notkimpine]

sPaCeShIPs ReD BlUe AnD GrEeN YoU CaN HeAr ThE ALiEn LaDiEs ScReAm! We WaNt TrUxToN!!!

[@flower5185]

Best cover ever

[@IMDRanged]

I didn't know there was a dog in the full picture, I only know the box art version.

[@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial]

"Feel the bias" would make a great shirt

[@4dhumaninstrumentality789]

I agree...

[@danyelperao]

some detective should find the answer for the secret of this box art

[@TCPixels]

Man that soundtrack still gets me pumped to this day!

[@throningermine8]

"What am I doing here, motherfuckers? Super Nintendo? The fuck is that?"

[@IMDRanged]

Perfect!

[@metalmugen]

throningermine8 Damn! Beat me to it!

[@nintendozilla9843]

"What am I doing here, Motherfuckers? Super Nintendo, the fuck is that?"

[@AwesomeHairo]

"Get off my property, ya hear?"

[@ShadowArtist]

the old dude playing a banjo is from the US tv commercial for the game. I don't know why the used a promo photo from the tv and magazine ad as the games cover/label art... lol

[@frankschneider6156]

+ShadowArtist Cheaper than making a new photo or hiring a street artist for an hour to draw a picture ?

[@urdnal]

This just adds new questions; did the commercial determine the cover or did the cover determine the commercial? Or was it an integrated campaign?

[@cherrystarscollide]

Okay, here's the lowdown from EGM Sept. 2001: THE PHALANX FACTOR Q: What was the deal with that old dude on the cover of the SNES shooter Phalanx? A:Phalanx was just another Super NES sidescrolling shooter that we all probably would have forgotten by now - if not for the inexplicable shot of the bearded geezer strummin' a banjo on the game's box cover. Why the old guy? The problem is that all the game art looked alike at the time - monsters or spaceships or something," explains Matt Guss, head of the advertising company behind the Phalanx campaign. "We wanted to create shock value so somone would have to pick the game up. We called it the 'Heavy Huh?!' factor." Art director Keith Campbell says they did the photo shoot themselves, hiring a model for the role of the 80-something hayseed. "I'd used him before as Santa Claus on an album-cover shoot," Guss adds. "I remember him coming into the studio, and I though the poor guy was gonna die right there on the stage. I think he'd had a stroke earlier - not earlier that day, but in the past . . . We stuck a banjo in his hands, and I think we stuck a spaceship behind his head that he was supposed to be staring at in wonder, sort of a Star Wars-come-to-the-Ozarks kind of thing." You gotta admit Guss' cover concept was mighty effective. After all, we're still talking about the game 10 years after its release. Heavy, huh? If you're too young to remember this game, don't worry Kemco's rereleasing it for the Game Boy Advance.

[@fangiresaga]

I LOVED this game as a kid. It was my first space shooter, the music still kicks ass.

[@BalsticMaker12]

Spaceships of red, blue, and green, you can hear the alien ladies scream. We want Truxton!

[@Randomark3087]

I kind of wanna get this game. I'm a sucker for retro space shooters.

[@Ryan-xn3mt]

Space Megaforce is my personal favorite on the Snes

[@graalcloud]

When you said "AL Steiver" it sounded exactly like Homsar

[@leoviper]

This must be the best cover ever made.

[@perfectsc0re637]

Always look forward to your vids. Your like the most underated channel on YT.

[@Trusteft]

Love the music!

[@TBustah]

The mismatch with the artwork (which was also used in the advertising) was intentional. The people who made the game wanted something to set it apart from the countless other shmups that were out there, sort of like the direction that Rare took with Conker.

[@AnthonySDurant]

The cover art sort of Looks like Popcorn Sutton, the old Tennessee moonshine maker!

[@5002seven]

I want that neon SEGA light, bro.

[@hfric]

when box artwork sold your product ... then the game itself ... oh those where the times ...

[@spartonberry]

The cover was purposely weird to get people to notice the game on the store shelves, as they thought putting accurate cover art would've had people saying "just another shooter".

[@Iduhwurst]

My uncle started his own business back in the 80's and called it.....Chemco!! Janitorial supplies...not brake pads, sadly...

[@Black-Rat]

I've seen plenty of shooters over the years, since the days of Atari 2600, Phalanx was just one more shooter to hit the shops among many others who came before, though I had a few other shooters such as Contra III and Sunset Riders or even Einhander from PS1, I decided to give it a try eventually, it was decent in the end, but the reason why I got it more had to do with the box's arts with an old hillbilly playing a banjo, never had forgot this one, it was well worth it in the end... Pretty sure that a lot of people bought this game because of the old hillbilly and his banjo like I did, doesn't change the fact that it's a decent game, who ever came up with the arts box and the sales department did a fine job and it was pretty much like a genius at works in there.... Also, that's because of the arts works that got me into banjo music, not playing but still listening the music, not bad...

[@unocarb]

Iconic box art..epic sales pitch!

[@Black-Rat]

Still gotta give them the credits for thinking of something that crazy on their sales department and marketing it was a stroke of genius really... Piloting a star fighter shooting down the bads guys while playing a banjo, makes me wonder who even had this idea in mind to begging with...

[@lazerwolfdiecast]

the cover references the commercial for the game

[@Horzzo]

The parallax scrolling in that cave level is impressive! I love this game and play it often with the old man on the cover artwork.

[@towermoss]

EVERYONE comments on the cover art. but everyone seems to miss the spaceship in the background.

[@unocarb]

The box work is iconic as hell

[@4dhumaninstrumentality789]

3:22 That looks exactly like the final boss from Steel Empire on the Genesis.

[@BurntRAM]

that cover deterred me from picking up the game as a kid. now i see that its actually pretty genius; space ship in the night sky, old hill billy on his banjo (typical alien abductee right?) genius no?

[@kiruppert]

Ahh, Phalanx. Arguably the greatest Hillbilly Porch Simulator on the SNES.

[@FeartheMalice]

I actually own this for the GBA. Sadly the cover is not the old man with the dog

[@daryl4841]

The man on the cover kindof reminds me of the Caretaker on the pilot episode of Star Trek Voyager. He might look like an old hick but he is actually a supreme being whose brain and abilities far surpass any human or known technology.

[@FerretOxide]

He's playing the banjo with his dog? Someone call PETA! Oh, right... *cough*

[@badbirdkc]

This cover is burned into my memory just from browsing games at Blockbuster.

[@RejectedManiac]

Love this game. Still have my original.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

The artwork is a reference to Slim Pickens character in a classic Twilight Zone episode.

[@CaptainLumpyDog]

Gorilla Jones What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?

[@Gorilla_Jones]

Look up "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" Pretty sure this character is patterned after Frisby. Twilight Zone episode 30, season 3

[@CaptainLumpyDog]

Gorilla Jones I think you're right, but it was Andy Devine.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

CaptainLumpyDog as Frisby? Pretty sure it was Slim Pickens.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

I checked Wikipedia and it lists Andy Devine, but I just saw this a couple weeks ago again and Slim definitely plays Frisby. So weird is listed wrong. Andy plays one of the aliens.

[@dave4shmups]

This is such a great, and overlooked shmup on the SNES! There is a Gameboy Advance port that is as good or better.

[@temjinmaru]

There was a mini version of this game on Zero Divide for the PS1 which was also made by ZOOM.

[@xxxBURSTANGELxxx]

Best us-cover ever made ^^

[@NightmareMOV]

Naming my dog truxton

[@dropkickpikachu]

The soundtrack sounds like Lagoon a bit, which Kemco also made, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was composed by the same person.

[@thepickles8833]

Actually..... Kimco is the name of a custodian service. Not quire Kemco, but its damn close.

[@starboy8Z]

yes I'm so happy I've been waiting for you to review this since i first started watching you back in like 2009! This was my favorite shoot em up as a kid

[@WerewolfOvWallachia]

fantastic soundtrack.

[@Michirin9801]

I've only played the GBA version and it's pretty good! Oh and, there were plenty of shmups for the SNES, you just gotta look for them, Space Megaforce, Axelay, Aero Fighters, Pop'n Twinbee, Gradius III, Spriggan Powered and Super SWIV are amongst the ones you didn't mention in the video, all of which are pretty friggin' good btw!

[@mikeoyler2983]

I remember when this came out and there was a TV commercial with that old guy and the dog. Even as a twelve year old, I was totally confused. I think that the art work suggests that he survived all the battles and grew to become a very old man.

[@kaneda4102]

So much stigma on SNES shooters - it had some of the best on any console! Un squadron, sonic wings, super aleste, axelay, rtype, stg, pop n twinbee. My genesis shooters don't get half as much playtime.

[@RA2Channel]

The Last Starfighter I think some of the bias against the SNES for shooters is because Gradius 3 was one of the launch titles and it had a lot of slow down in it. the SNES did end up getting some great shooters though. But let's be honest neither the SNES or the Genesis can compete with the Turbografx 16/PC-Engine in the shooter department :-P

[@xylem4109]

You do the funniest reviews hahaha love you guys keep making videos like this

[@johneygd]

I guess james & mike also reviewed this game, it's so formiliar to me once i saw this review.

[@infinitygenealpa]

Like they say: Don't judge a book by its cover.

[@GaggleofDoozies]

Nobody puts Truxton in a corner.......TRUXTON!!!!

[@retromod6573]

Never played this game but it looks fun.

[@giovanifm1984]

They made Top Gear for SNES which is better than making auto parts.

[@newtab1234]

giovanifm1984 and way better than the latest top gear(chris evans sux)

[@giovanifm1984]

Newtab 123 Top Gear is Clarkson, May and Hammond.

[@Clay3613]

Top Gear was not related to the show at all, the BBC sued and won money.

[@giovanifm1984]

Clay3613 i'm aware about that dude, I'm just keep this joke flowing ;)

[@decadentia84]

Awesome you covered this, always played this as a youngster...and got my ass kicked regularly. The cover couldn't have helped it's sales though.

[@mattuw82]

Is that Oldie Olsen? I think that's the same actor that played Blue in Old School.

[@MrButttime]

darius twin for snes was aight

[@RetroAmateur1989]

In order to understand the traxton, we must become the traxton

[@InuArao]

I had the GBA version of this game it was fun

[@subliminallime4321]

Hold up. There are a ton of shooters on the SNES. Gradius 3, Raiden Trad, Biometal, Axelay, Space Megaforce, Firepower 2000, UN Squadron, Super R Type, R Type 3, Thunder Spirits, Darius Twin, Blazeon, Strike Gunner STG, D Force, Pocky & Rocky, EDF, Choplifter 3, Hyperzone... I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting.

[@DocRockIt]

Parodius, Pocky & Rocky 2

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

most u mentioned were released mostly in europe and japan, they had very limited to almost no usa release and i am sure this reviewer is american so unless he improted games, he would have no clue....and in case there was american releases, they were in very limited quantities, i know because i had a usa snes, the store in my area had usa and europe games, i was sad to see how better the europe games were ....

[@subliminallime4321]

Rami Merehbi I'm American and I own almost all of those games. I'm pretty sure all of them are available here.

[@raydenlord]

No, most of these were released in America. I own almost all of them myself, as well. Also, if you want to count Hyperzone, you may as well include Star Fox.

[@raydenlord]

Aside from MUSHA and a few others, I barely (if ever) think of the Genesis when I think about shooters. As far as I'm concerned, the best ones were almost all on TurboGrafx 16 and Super Nintendo.

[@ultravio1et]

always wanted this, but, never got round to getting it.

[@Donscottmusic]

Has a "SEGA" logo hanging above his TV,while he plays a Super Nintendo game lol

[@PaperBanjo64]

While wearing an Atari hat

[@gamerguy425]

so what's up with the review system now? are the full vids on youtube, are these a bit shorter than the patreon vids but still otherwise a complete review? Either way I'm just glad to have substantial vids again rather than like half on youtube half on patreon direction he seemed to want to go in...

[@TheL1arL1ar]

Okay Mark you and Game Sack need to start throwing game covers at each other..on the games that look way different from the cover art.

[@BlakeGJ]

It's the Caretaker before he did Voyager!

[@TulioAlfonsoCastilloVillarreal]

Bussler, did you play this game in Funny difficulty? I did it one time, and it brings a similary experience as play the normal mode of Mushihimesama...

[@elneutrino90]

The old guy is telling stories from when he was a pilot defending the galaxy with his trusty battle starship

[@VitorMach]

This game actually reminds me more of Gley Lancer for some reason...

[@sierra.taekwondo.8559]

How much is your entire collection worth, Mark?

[@MegaRayland]

"There weren't many shooters released for the SNES"?! Seriously? Phalanx Strike Gunner Area 88/ U.N. Squadron Super R-Type R-Type 3 Aero Fighters Axelay Firepower 2000 Darius Twin Gradius III D-Force Choplifter III Desert/Jungle/Urban Strike Blazeon Raiden Trad Biometal Space Megaforce Super Nova Thunder Spirits Super Air Diver That's more than the Genesis had and is just what I have or remember off the top of my head. A bit of research helps.

[@8ByteBrian]

All is forgiven Mark...

[@urdnal]

Hey Mark, what TV is that?

[@FunkMastaMegaFlex]

I think there was some miscommunication on the cover art! Though this was made back in the day when games has a real sense of humor!

[@ProdCharles]

This game actually looks really good LMAO. What was the artist thinking??

[@frankschneider6156]

+ProdCharles I need my Vodka.

[@AllbusinessfitnessDFACBUFFALO]

Never Judge a Game by its Cover

[@rs.matr1x]

someone has an addicton to reverb.

[@opimus]

Phalanx for the laughs.

[@WayOfTheLost]

Hey Lord Karnage did you ever play Axelay on the SNES?

[@TheL1arL1ar]

The Retro Bible he reviewed it I believe.

[@KuraIthys]

The graphics in this kinda prove an inane argument I got into about whether an snes could handle the Amiga game 'shadow of the beast'. I think this game conclusively shows that the answer is Yes! Yes it could! Those amiga fans and their home computer bragging about 1 megabyte of RAM... XD

[@captaingavin421]

lol wtf at the cover how would you know what was on that game if you picked it up loose in the 90s without buying and playing it well.. one can only hope there was a text blurb on the box at least

[@cherrydrums456]

Do u have Marvel Super Heroes on the Sega Saturn I could send it to u for a review

[@TheL1arL1ar]

Hey nothing wrong with a minecraft clone I'm loving dragon quest builders on my vita. haven't touched my ps4 in a couple of days.

[@christophe2201]

It's easy to understand why they choose this cover! There were aware and ashamed of their crap, so they wanted to hide it!

[@MrTripcore]

Looks like a poor man's super r-type or final r-type

[@zanychelly]

Phalanx Japanese cover is much better. And Kemco are the makers of TopGear series

[@Bigbacon]

Kemco was always good a music but pretty generic games.

[@SilverShion]

Kemco ? that company that makes generic RPGs for handhelds and mobiles?

[@HybridAngelZero]

One and the same! They've been making games for a long time, and some of those mobile RPGs are pretty solid, quite a few have been ported to Wii U and 3DS

[@CarozQH]

They used to make console games until 2005, before they became a Mobile game developer.

[@hitachicordoba]

Looks like Konami is following their lead lol

[@SilverShion]

I hope so. I would pay for a new Suikoden RPG

[@HybridAngelZero]

+SilverShion Give me Bluetooth controller and I'm totally down for that

[@ArcadePlayersTV]

funny

[@JosephLamb1989]

I love how his voice isnt funny, but still doing it huh?

[@biorock48]

New intro sucks donkey balls if isn't broken don't fix it. Rest of the video is all to the good tho.

[@yamigekusu]

The game is great, yet the cover is totally wtf

[@raydenlord]

Before I waste my time clicking this video, can someone tell me if it's the actual review and not just another lame ad for Patreon?

[@PussPussGaming]

You're already on here. How about you actually watch the video anyways and find out for yourself?

[@raydenlord]

Because I'm not going to support this channel anymore by clicking on "trailers" for 5-minute reviews hidden behind a Patreon paywall.

[@hectorhuertas2892]

that cover make not to buy it.

[@frankschneider6156]

Pretty sure the company is not named Kemco, but Namco. The Old guy and his dog cover creators makers just got it wrong.

[@AsianTheDomination]

fut the shuck up

[@frankschneider6156]

***** I tove you loo

[@AsianTheDomination]

Frank Schneider k

[@mr_beezlebub3985]

Namco had nothing to do with this game

[@mrdante361]

I'm starting to wish Truxton was never made.

[@CaptainLumpyDog]

mrdante361 BLASPHEMER!!!

[@auritone]

Playing a banjo with a dog sounds a bit cruel... and weird.