Phoenix is a shooter game set on a fixed screen set in space.[2] The player maneuvers left and right to avoid objects such as missiles and charging enemies. A force field can be used by the player to protect them from these attacks. The forcefield only lasts a few seconds, then can not be used for approximately five seconds after.[3]
There are five stages in the game. The first begins with a wave of 16 small phoenixes that drop missiles to attack the players spaceship. A second wave includes further birds. The third wave introduces a new enemy that appears in a group of eight. These enemies start as eggs than grow into blue Phoenix birds that attack the ship. They need to be destroyed by being hit in the center, otherwise they will only destroy the birds wing which can regenerate itself in a short time. A fourth stage appears which features pink phoenix enemies, which appear and can be destroyed similarly to the previous round. The fifth stage features a space fortress with a pack of small birds that attack the spaceship. The space fortress shoots missiles and approaches the player. After the space creature who pilots the ship is hit, the round is complete.[3]
Operational switches are available on the arcade machine that can adjust gameplay. These allow the number of initial lives in the game to range between three to six, while other switches control what score is required to earn an extra life.[4]