Phoenotopia (Flash)

*A mysterious force abducts the peaceful villagers of Panselo. As Gale, loyal denizen and survivor of the incident, set out to solve this mystery and rescue your friends!*

***Phoenotopia*** (originally known as ***Legend of Stone Hero***) is a side-scrolling action adventure video game. It is developed with FlashPunk by Quang Tran, more commonly referred to as Quells. *Phoenotopia* was released on the August 20th in 2014, and can be played for free on Newgrounds and Armor Games.

The remake, *Phoenotopia: Awakening*, was first launched on August 20th in 2020 on Nintendo Switch, exactly six years after the release of the *Phoenotopia* Flash game.

## Story

*See also: Main Story.*

*Phoenotopia* begins with a short narration briefing on the Great War that took place centuries ago. The war ended with the creation of the Phoenix weapon that eventually devastated the planet, forcing the remaining population to either flee to the outer space or hibernate in underground bunkers while waiting for the Earth's recovery from the war.

And now, the story continues with the adventures of Gale, a young girl who sets out into the world to solve the mystery behind the sudden abduction of the villagers in her hometown Panselo by an unknown spaceship. With the only clue from the stars she has, Gale will travel the land and learn about the crisis the Earth soon has to face!

## Gameplay

*Phoenotopia* is a side-scrolling action adventure that takes the player to a vast world of over 20 locations with unique aesthetics and music, from peaceful towns where Gale can rest up and help the locals with their requests, to dungeons and ruins filled with clever puzzles and dangerous enemies.

While the progression of the Main Story is mostly linear, player is completely free to revisit previous areas to uncover the previously missed or inaccessible collectibles, most of which exist in the form of about sixty Heart Rubies and Moonstones. The numerous other items include Consumable Items, Quest Items, Equipment, and Tools.

## Development

The game was first announced on the TIGForums on September 27th in 2013 under the tentative title of "*Legend of Stone Hero*" after two years of development prior to the announcement.

After the official launch date of August 20th in 2014, there were also multiple small updates that adds QoL changes and fixes small typos and bugs to the game. Notable changes include the implementation of a password system that allows players to export their save to a local file.

An unofficial French translation of *Phoenotopia* was also released on July 31st in 2015, and mentioned in the Dev Blog. It can be played here.

## Reception

The game was very well-received, and had earned several awards on the Newgrounds site, including being the 1st place in Daily Feature and 3rd place in Weekly. It was rated 4.54/5.00 on Newgrounds with over 1500 ratings, and 89% in Armor Games with over 2200 ratings.

## References

1. ↑ https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=36275.0
2. ↑ https://phoenotopia.tumblr.com/post/125057802188/french-phoenotopia-release
3. ↑ https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/644696
4. ↑ https://armorgames.com/play/16093/phoenotopia