Phoenix adds a money collection system to the gameplay. As the player kills more enemies, money may appear for the player to collect. As you collect more money, you are able to choose from items that you are able to buy items from the Phoenix Shop. The Shop has items ranging from weapon upgrades of several strengths, to shielding and radar scramblers. Like most games, the more powerful the weapon, the more it will cost.
Phoenix has many levels that get progressively harder.
Eventually the player will reach a level that will require an item that is sold on the Phoenix Shop, so players should watch how they spend their money. One difference that I noticed between version 3.1 and version 3.0 is the speed of the game. On the newest version, it was clearly visible that the speed of the gameplay has been increased. Although the speed of the previous version was not a inconveniently slow, the newest version has a speed change so drastic that it almost makes playing bothersome. This speed increase has made control of the ship a bit harder for me, although this may not be the case for someone who has not played earlier versions of the game.