Found 17 ratings (with comment) on this game

I hate to say it, but I kind of feel like the layout and shots are 'more of the same' that you find on other machines, without anything really notable or unique. The top lanes feeding into pops, the targets in the the middle, regular inlanes. All good, nothing bad, but just nothing new. The backglass and playfield artwork are nice (I think) but I suppose you have to like the theme to find it enjoyable (I've played games where I just didn't like the theme, so I know how that can be a bit of a downer). This would fit nicely into either a large collection (for it's looks but lack of play) or a small collection (where it would be played more but the layout wouldn't feel so common).

Beware the wrath of the abominable chicken hawk person! ...or some such.

If it weren't for the bright colors i doubt i'd have anything nice to say about the playfield and backglass art nevermind the clashing color scheme of the cabinet, life is about who you know and how well they enjoy your company more than anything else, i'll just leave it at that.

Gameplay is pretty fast and is plenty of fun for a short session which will end in outlane drains more than anything else, the end of ball bonus calculates it's multiplier in one go which is unusual for this vintage.

Typically comes up for sale cheap after having been somebodies first pin in order to become somebody else's first pin.

This game should at the very least should be in the top 100! I personally love the artwork, it's one of my favorite backglasses of all time. If this table is set up right it can play super fast and can be a lot of fun. I love the cabinet, I know it gets a lot of hate but it works for me. The sounds are williams system 4, nothing special but works for this game. If you see one play it. If one is for sale buy it, it's such a great game!

I want to go line by line on this game.
Phoenix 1980,Williams.
“Oh… it’s not Firepower… sigh…”
Haters gonna hate, right?
Admittedly, Firepower is a classic but I feel Phoenix is a bit of a hidden gem.
“What? You crazy?”
(I am airquoting typical responses I’d expect during this review.)
Let’s go through the list:
Game Design:
Okay I admit I like Barry Oursler’s designs. Just like the more popular talent everyone always sings the praises of, he also knew how to make a game work, most of the time without a movie license, playfield toys, or anything elaborate. He kept his games simple yet fun and challenging. He was also the master of making coin munching machines, which Williams and the vendors loved very much.
Artwork:
Both stunning and disappointing. The flames everywhere and the Backglass are fantastic, the cabinet is lacking. It may be a bit misogynistic to say, but this game would have been huge in the day with a few hot half nekkid ladies on it. Better yet, if they had ripped off Phoenix from the x-men comics of the era (green clad Phoenix and red clad Dark Phoenix) you know how companies did it without paying licensing fees, something like a very well endowed red headed woman in a green bikini or something.
Sound:
Yeah it’s digital bleeps and bloops, but it has the fake chime option!!! With the flick of a switch your machine goes from the futuristic sounds of the 1980’s to the pleasant and reassuring old familiar bells of ‘the good old days’. Yeah, the sound is okay, but it’s early solid state days. That’s the excuse and it’s fine.
Subjective opinions:
Game play and Fun factor. This is not a game that will make you so excited that you will run to your basement every free moment you have to play it. It’s one that sits in the corner while you play your new Stern or that Lawlor game from 1993. It’s the middle child between your Op Pop Pop and the F14 Tomcat lined up in your garage.
I just realized that’s where this machine belongs. Your game room has all the impressive high dollar games for your friends and family to ooh and ahh over. Out in the garage where you change your wife’s oil and tinker with that rusty old Plymouth you’ve been restoring for the last six years, you need a pinball machine. One that is cheap, runs forever without needing anything, and one you can play when the car work isn’t going very well. Take a break and play off the stress and frustrations with a game or two.
There are a number of machines that suit this type of usage and most of them are from the late 1970’s to the early 1980’s

Finally, I’d like to add that all games are not top 20 and popularity and quality can be two very different things. We all like very different things, and ratings vary from person to person. I don’t believe there are any bad pinball machines, and even ones I didn’t enjoy at all will still get a fair score. I don’t do 1’s people, and neither should you if you are a pinball fan. You’re basically saying the world would be a better place if nothing was made instead of the pinball machine you think is a one. So ask yourself if you were on a desert island, had everything you needed to survive, and the only entertainment was that pinball machine you scored a 1 to, would you rather it not be there?
Other people will say a perfect 10 is impossible (IPDB says so), but if a game hits all the right marks for you, why not give it a 10, but explain in detail your reasons.. unless it’s the place your first born was conceived… eew. If that’s the case, skip the details and just say “romantic evening” or something.
Opinions matter and it’s just as nice to see things like “I met my wife or husband playing Phoenix” as it is to hear someone rage over the sound effects giving them a migraine.

Maybe I just don't get it.
It was slow and not really interesting.

Phoenix is one under appreciated Williams title. The game is fun with a spinner, 5 in lanes, 10 drop targets. This Makes it a great game because you have to use the entire play field. It is also very well-balanced but hard as heck. A Crazy pink collar on the cabinet and a man like Phoenix on the back glass make it very memorable and very appropriate for the era of pinball. Love this game

very old pinball and not beautiful, more funny....

This game is a bit of a filler game in a collection imo. you would get bored of it if it was your only game in your collection. good for tournament play. cool backglass. not much to shoot for though

Simple but fun

The artwork is one of a kind. Rules are very straight forward. Great playable and approachable machine. Don’t let the birdman scare you away from playing this 70's classic. Great bang for the buck.

It is important to setup this game correctly. If done so, it's fast, fun and challenging. The outlanes, in typical BO style, have no rubbers and are a pain to work with. Keep the lower playfield waxed and the slings sensitive and you'll be fighting to regain control.

Folks dis this game for being simple, but I find the rules and layout to be very good. Here's why: many of the more popular games for that era are mainly one shot games. While not the most interesting layout, the scoring rules are quite balanced and entice you to shoot for all the shots. This game has a 1000 point spinner when lit, so does Grand Prix and Hot Tip and Magic, etc all popular games - guess which games it's right to shoot nothing but the spinner? Not Phoenix.

For high scoring you have to lite roll overs 1-5 which will advance the Phoenix shot, the more you do so, the more you advance it's value. Once you get some bonus built up you need to complete drop target banks to increase your multipliers. These shots will put the ball in trouble, but you need to shoot for them. Also, the A and B targets in the center of the playfield are worth 10K a pop and increase your bonus, which is a fairly large award but also put the ball out of control. The Phoenix will also take away features, usually the lit spinner. Shooting the spinner all game would not be a way to tourney results. Once you drop the center drop targets they can only be raised by the inlane switches (Shatz it?) or the 2 and 4 rollover. Keeping those drops up so you always have a lucrative shot is important. If you can manage a long ball, you'll have the Phoenix shot up to 40K and will take that as much as you can, but when the ball comes back to you it's coming Stdm sometimes.

This is a well balanced shooter that makes this a lasting game IMO. It would be great for tourney play - not sure why PAPA doesn't have one!

Phoenix is the first design that came from the over-productive and underrated Barry Oursler.

The Pros:
In many ways, this deck epitomizes the later 70's awesomeness that defined the way that Williams games felt and played. This game is fast! 5 lanes at the top of the PF with no lane change. How are those nudging skills? 2 sets of 4 banks of drops means that your aim must be on point. The target lane has to be hit solidly to register all the way to the top and the spinner is incredibly satisfying to rip. The center targets are death (as we see again in Barracora), but if you look closely you will see a (proto) fan layout! The Oursler (tm) outlanes are in full effect as any shot that is missed, you will feel the pain for it.

The Cons:
Constantino Mitchell, how did you EVER get to put artwork on a pinball game? The worst part of this game is the art package. That birdman looks like he has a horrible perm and while the colors are vibrant, they are all over the palette and are rather confusing. You thought Flash was bad?!? This game is prime for a retheming after a good beltsanding and creation of a BG/plastics. Any ideas?

The Takeaway:
If you can find one on the cheap, do it! This game is a true player that offers the player a table that will challenge their skill and accuracy. One play tip for the game is to leave the upper left drop target for last so that the ball will not head SDTM once the bullseye target is hit. This is not the deepest game from the time. Get the bullseye lane up there and keep hitting it. That's about it. But to do that, you need at least a few rounds of drop targets down. Consider this as compared to 6 standups and ripping the spinner ad infinitum, this game makes firepower (which came out over a year later) look like a piece of cake. Yes, multiball is fun, but points is points and when you gotta strategize and work for it. I have to appreciate it. While the rules aren't as good as games to come even a few years later... this game is straightforward pinball awesomeness in it's pure and un-refined form.

Phoenix was one of my favorites when it came out back in late 70's. It was one of the first solid state machines to join the long rows of EMs at the local Aladdin's Castle. I found it ugly as mud yet very challenging. Drop target city. I ended up buying one years later and still own it. My rating may not reflect the true essence of this pin but in all honesty there is nothing spectacular about it. Just a decent-playing early SS that happens to be a good bang for the buck pin.

This is the most affordable, and least desirable game I've owned. Yet, I end up playing it more consistently than any other game I've owned, other than Skateball. The outlanes are asskickers. Getting P-H-O-E-N-I-X all lit is a real feat. The drop targets and symmetrical layout really work on Phoenix. The machine has been easy to work on.

A nice pin from the "hippy," pin era. I restored one of these and it was a decent machine to play with a few nice shots. But the cabinet with that putrid pink color...could not stay in the collection.

Nice flow and needs some nudging to stop it draining the sides, the sounds are pretty ordinary but that's how I remember them and it was okay in '78 and still is for me. I'm not a fan of the 'Mitchell's' artwork on the backglass but the playfield and cabinet are okay. I like the drop targets and the bullseye alley. Wish it had a 7 digit display so it would register the high score ...the only way around this is to get in the 900,000's and sacrifice the ball and hope the bonuses don't take you past a million which is back to zero!

One of the early SS games, which offered both emulated EM sounds (awful) and electronic sounds. Sounds are decent. Playfield layout is simple but fun, a bit brutal and unforgiving at times. Rules are simple and fun. Artwork is pretty cool, plastics look great with colored LEDs. I find it to be addicting, and I'm constantly trying for better scores. Some games go great, some go horrible. Only bummer for me is that the outlanes are punishing. Otherwise, pretty fun and underrated game.