Phelios

Phelios
Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Platform: Arcade (Namco System 2) Released internationally: February 1989 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused enemies. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences.

Phelios is a vertical scrolling shooter from Namco based on Greek Mythology. By the way, Phelios is the name of the sword, not the monster.

Debug Functions

Game Timer

To enable a stage timer during gameplay, put the following code in MAME's phelios.xml cheat file and activate it:

  <cheat desc="Stage Timer">
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@015E24=4EF9</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@015E26=0000</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@015E28=20E6</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@015E24=0C79</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@015E26=007F</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@015E28=0010</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

This code hooks the timer subroutine into the flashing "PHELIOS" palette handler. The timer stops during cutscenes and resets at the start of each round and after dying. It isn't perfect: What would be the milliseconds part of the timer actually increments every frame, but it rolls over every 64 frames instead of every 60.

Sub-CPU Check

Place the following code in phelios.xml to enable a simple Sub-CPU status check on the title screen.

  <cheat desc="Sub-CPU Check">
    <script state="run">
      <action>slave.mw@00D28=0DDE</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>slave.mw@00D28=0DA8</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

All it does is print "SUB ON", with the "ON" part flashing every 16 frames.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Items

There are two unused power-ups in the game. Put the following code in the phelios.xml cheat file to replace the first two item flies in Round 1 with one of the unused types:

  <cheat desc="Change First Item Flies To...">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x04">Health Up</item>
      <item value="0x09">Speed Down</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mb@03EA6D=param</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@03EA75=param</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mb@03EA6D=00</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@03EA75=00</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

The "C" power up (Crash?) increases the player's maximum HP by one point, up to a possible 7 HP, though only 5 of them will appear on the HUD. This is a permanent upgrade and persists after the player dies.

The second, Speed Down, does exactly what it says. Collecting two of these at base speed will bottom out the player's speed at 1 pixel per 2 frames. Guess this isn't much of a power-up. Oh well.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Objects

Coded Objects

Put the following code in phelios.xml to replace the first Item Fly in Round 1 with an unused object of your choosing.

  <cheat desc="Object Modifier">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x11">Bee Bomb</item>
      <item value="0x1A">Egg Turret</item>
      <item value="0x22">Small Bee</item>
      <item value="0xB5">Pink Butterfly</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@03EA68=0080</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@03EA6B=param</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@03EA68=0039</action>
      <action>maincpu.mb@03EA6B=27</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

Object 11 is a yellow and red striped bomb that falls from the sky. Once it reaches the ground, it explodes (The graphics for which have since been overwritten by the Kumo enemies from Round 6) and small bees fly out in eight directions.

The bees, object 22, make a loose 180° turn before flying off the screen.

Object 1A is a simple egg turret that fires small orange rocks at the player. It has 10 HP, and damaging it cracks the egg more and more until it bursts open. After firing about nine shots, the egg will hatch...

Pink	Blue (Used)

...into a pink butterfly (Object B5.) Looks a lot like the butterflies seen in the second area of Round 1, though this pink butterfly never got the shading or detail that its blue counterpart got. Dies in one hit.

Graphics Only

A green, black-eyed version of the red Radon dragons found in the second area of Round 1. The head and tail only have five points of rotation compared to the final version's nine points, and the body segments don't rotate at all.

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Dragon should use object codes 4F-51 but doesn't seem to spawn correctly - is there a way to fix this?

A purple-robed wizard coming out of a hatch. Then an eyeball pops out of his chest. Weirdo.

A giant mosquito. This game can survive just fine without it, thank you.

A five-eyed pillbug, complete with a rolling-up animation.

A shirtless mace man. Looks like he'd swing that thing around on a chain.

A feathered serpent with a diving animation. If this is Quetzalcoatl, then buddy, you're in the wrong mythology.

Some kind of purple...frog demon? An indigo plucked chicken? Whatever it is, it's not used.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Game Modes

Coming Soon

There's an unused game mode, 12, that displays the screens above and then returns to the title screen; this was likely used in location test versions of the game. Put the following code in the phelios.xml cheat file and beat any boss to see it:

  <cheat desc="Coming Soon Screen">
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@00814A=0012</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@00814A=0011</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

Game Over

The game is programmed to immediately go to a Game Over screen, without an option to continue, if the player loses all their lives on Round 8...but there is no Round 8. Put the following code in phelios.xml to enable this feature on Round 1:

  <cheat desc="No Continue">
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@002312=0000</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@002312=0007</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

There's no code to prevent Artemis's continue sprite from appearing on this screen, which might have been the reason for this feature being removed from the final game.

Round Select

Setting Dip Switch 7 ($2000-6) on and putting the following code in phelios.xml will enable a round select.

  <cheat desc="Enable Round Select">
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@00997A=001D</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@009982=001B</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@00997A=001C</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@009982=001C</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

There are two different screens depending on whether or not the Rank Select option is set. The fact that the final round can't be selected in either Novice or Advance suggests that this was meant to be a standard gameplay option, like the stage select in Dragon Spirit, and not just for debugging.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Text

At 0x27827 in the main CPU is instructional text for the high score screen which, strangely enough, doesn't display any such text in the final game:

NAMING
YOUR SCORE .........
PLEASE TELL ME YOUR NAME
YOU HAVE    SEC FOR NAMING

There are two debug functions that have been dummied out in the retail builds. The first is an object viewer, the text for which starts at 0x27934 in the main CPU:

OBJECT LOOK OVER MODE
TOP OBJECT CODE = <      >
PALLET CODE = <      >
SIZE
SPEED
NO.1
NO.2
NO.3
NO.4
NO.5
NO.6
NO.7
NO.8
NO.9
NO.10
NO.11
NO.12
NO.13
NO.14
NO.15
NO.16
STATUS
 RUN
HALT
16
32
64
96

At 0x27A81 is text for a layer viewer:

PUSH A BUTTON FOR LOOK
SCROLL NO.1
SCROLL NO.2
SCROLL NO.3
SCROLL NO.4
ROTATE NO.1
TARGET AREA X =
Y =
ROTATE ZOOM Z =
ROUND ORDER R =

At 0x27B08 is a tilemap for this NAMCO logo parody:

"Nanno" is probably a reference to Japanese actress and singer Minamino Yoko a.k.a. NANNO (ナンノ).

(Source: Original TCRF research)

High Score Names

These eight four-character names that will expand to five or six-character names once entered:

Name	Extended	Comments
AKIN	AKINA	"Akina" is listed as the game's programmer.
ATOR	SATORU	Satoru Yamada, the game's designer. Listed as "Satoru" in the credits.
DEVI	DEVIL	Satan, Old Scratch, Dark Lord, etc.
KISS	KISSY	"Kissy" is the pseudonym of Yoshihiro Kishimoto, a Namco programmer who isn't listed in the credits.
KYOT	KYOTA	This is Kyota Tanaka, another Namco programmer who doesn't show up in this game's credits.
NAMC	NAMCO	They made the game.
NANN	NANNO	See previous section.
YUUY	YUUYU	A reference to Iwai Yukiko a.k.a. YUUYU (ゆうゆ), another Japanese singer / actress.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Regional Differences

Title

Japan	World

The World version modifies the copyright year. That's it.

Rank Names

Japan	World

"Easy" and "Hard" are named "Novice" and "Advance" in the World version. The text for "Easy / Hard" and "Novice / Advance" is in both versions, it's just that the text pointers were changed.

Cutscenes

The Japanese version has voice acting for the end-of-round cutscenes. The World version uses the typewriting sound effects from the prologue / game over screens.

Credits

The Japanese credits were translated to English in the World version. There were some changes, mostly involving the removal of "kun" / "chan" honorifics and spade & heart symbols, nothing too big. More significant is that five of the staff members have different pseudonyms:

Japan	Translated	World
プロジェクト　リーダー ♠ ··· しんちゃん	Project Leader ♠ ··· Shin-chan	PROJECT LEADER SHINICHIRO
グラフィック　デザイン ♠ ··· のぶちゃん	Graphic Design ♠ ··· Nobu-chan	GRAPHIC DESIGN NOBUHIKO
グラフィック　デザイン ♠ ··· ねこもとくん	Graphic Design ♠ ··· Nekomoto-kun	GRAPHIC DESIGN RITARO
グラフィック　デザイン ♠ ··· ユウちゃん	Graphic Design ♠ ··· Yuu-chan	GRAPHIC DESIGN YUICHIRO
グラフィック　デザイン ♥ ··· あくとくん	Graphic Design ♥ ··· Akuto-kun	GRAPHIC DESIGN MIKI

(Source: Original TCRF research)