Phix: The Adventure - Just Bad Games

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Imagine designing a game where you have to collect A SINGLE WHITE PIXEL. As a collectable, which is required to get 100%

3:08 Aluminum is a non-ferrous material and wouldn't be magnetic. Those soda cans near the beginning of the cutscene shouldn't have been attracted to Phix, even with the "Magnia Stone".

btw, the "coin" that falls from the tree in the first boss battle is probably not a coin but an iron washtub; one falling onto a character's head out of nowhere is a fairly common gag in Japanese media

Their genuine fear when the Final Boss looks like he's going to kill himself is priceless.

Phix's little death scream somehow gets funnier every time

It's quite the honor to be a witness to the first 2 people in history to 100% Complete "Phix: The Adventure"

The fact that every boss looks just a bit too dark and horrific than the artstyle of Phix and his world would imply made me fully convinced the Samurai was gonna commit seppuku infront of me.

The worst part is. The japanese realease came out in 2000, while the amerocan realease came out in 2003. They had 3 whole years to "phix" this game, but did nothing. I'm also astonished that the devs allowed a small white pixel to count as a collectable. These devs are evil. EVIL I TELL YOU.

The second you collected that first tiny pixel, the realization came so fast and I nearly had an aneurysm...

"Coll-ec-ti-bles!" Had me laughing off my seat. One pixel was all they probably could afford.

For the gamers that played on CRTs, they'd have an even harder time spotting them. The collectables would practically be invisible.

You know what's even more insane about the literal pixel hunt collectables? This was made at a time CRT's were the norm, even with the fairly late release in '03. So not only did they expect you to find said pixels, but do it through a 480i at most CRT less then 20" wide. Even weirder is like almost every other collectable basically has a neon sign pointing to it and is otherwise visible.

I wonder if the original version was this broken, or if someone screwed up with localization. Obviously the plot could make more sense, because if I read between the lines a little, being used to execrable translations, I get this: The MAGNIA STONE is some kind of magical orb thing that balances the world’s magnetic energy. Everyone is happy when it’s out there doing its job. When something happens to destabilize it, it sets the world into turmoil. The 4 Kings, each controlling one cardinal direction (NSEW), get a little nuts when the magnetic field of the planet goes wonky. Meanwhile Phix has to go on this long journey, trying to set things right. They fight him because they’re literally being pushed to magnetic madness. That’s why they “snap out of it” when their energy is drained, and why some of them knew but couldn’t help but fight Phix. So he’s basically a worse version of Kirby, but without a Dark Matter analogue. And awful rendering. And bad controls.

I love how they continue to find some of the most obscure, bizarre games and show so much of it

I feel like the "Analog Horror" industry could give this game new life. The game feels really ominous and empty and the basically undocumented nature of the game gives it a lot of potential to have a dark twist. I can already see Phix becoming obsessed with the player, as they're the first one to play basically since the game came out, and begging them to stay. That failing, he turns to violence and psychological manipulation.

I effing LOST it with the collectible reveal! Oh my lord! That is a special kind of terrible that was actually someone’s idea!

Id love to see a skilled indie team try these concepts successfully

God, you can feel the frustration the entire time just watching the gameplay. I can understand "we wanted to make a platforming game with magnets, but got too far before realizing it sucked" but like... why not just play like normal and have the shoulder buttons be "hold to charge negative" and "hold to charge positive" so the magnetic launching and attraction powers only affect you on command?

So I think I have some ideas for better pickups: Magnia Stone Shards that broke off during the plummet & Balloons. And made new endings to go with them. Worst Ending: (barely any Shards or Balloons) They use Phix as a “Replacement Magnia Stone” and leave him to rot on that pedestal All Magnia Ending: (100% Shards but barely any Balloons) Basically the ending seen in the video where Phix has to find the softest landing zone. All Balloons: (barely any Shards but 100% Balloons) They launch Phix & intend for him to be the “Replacement Magnia Stone” but Phix uses the balloons to escape. Only now he has to avoid the Cleric’s minions for the rest of his days Best/True Ending: (All Shards & Balloons) The Stone is restored & put back on the pedestal but Phix has Balloons to get back down safely. He can spend the rest of his days not having to worry about all that magnetic nonsense