Xevious
| Xevious | |
|---|---|
Arcade flyer for Xevious
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Designer(s) | Masanobu Endo |
| Composer(s) | Yuriko Keino |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Other |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Vertically scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Namco Galaga |
| CPU | 3x ZiLOG Z80 @ 3.072 MHz |
| Sound | 1x Namco WSG @ 3.072 MHz, 1x Namco 54XX @ 1.536 MHz |
| Display | Vertical orientation, Raster, 224 x 288 |
Xevious (ゼビウス Zebiusu?) is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in December 1982. It runs on Namco Galaga hardware, and was designed by Masanobu Endō (who later created The Tower of Druaga). In North America, the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari, Inc..
The player must use an 8-way joystick to pilot a combat aircraft called a Solvalou, which is armed with a forward-firing Zapper for aerial targets and a Blaster which fires an unlimited supply of air-to-surface bombs for ground targets. The game, presumably set in Peru, was notable for the varied terrain below, which included forests, airstrips, enemy bases, and mysterious Nazca Lines-like drawings on the ground.
There are various aerial enemy aircraft which fire relatively slow-moving bullets at the player, as well as (presumably unpiloted) fast-moving projectiles and exploding black spheres. Ground enemies are a combination of stationary bases and moving vehicles, most of which also fire slow-moving bullets at the player. Giant floating Andor Genesis motherships appear in certain areas; these must be defeated by knocking out their cores, and are considered one of the first level bosses to be incorporated into a video game.
The game scrolls through 16 areas, looping back to Area 7 after Area 16. The Solvalou continually advances over varying terrain, and the boundaries between areas are marked only by dense forests being flown over. If the player dies, play will normally resume from the start of the area - but if the player has completed at least 70% of the current area before dying, play will resume from the start of the next area instead. As the Solvalou continuously flies forward, it is possible to advance without defeating any enemies.
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Wikipedia