Xevious
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Atari
Designer(s)	Masanobu Endoh
Platform(s)	Arcade, NEC PC-9801, NES, GBA, Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, Atari 7800, PC Engine
Release date	1982
Genre(s)	Vertical scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone) (GBA, Wii)
Input methods	8-way Joystick; 2 Buttons
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Namco Galaga
Display	Vertical orientation, Raster, 224 x 288

Xevious (ゼビウス, Zebiusu^?) is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1983.^[1] It was designed by Masanobu Endoh. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... This article is about Namco, a Japanese leisure company and game developer. ... For the concept Atari (当たり) in the board game of Go, see Atari (go term). ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... In computing, a platform describes some sort of framework, either in hardware or software, which allows software to run. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... The NEC PC-9801 (or the PC-98 for short) is a Japanese microcomputer manufactured by NEC. It2 CPU, which could selectably run at a speed of either 5 or 8 MHz. ... “NES” redirects here. ... “GBA” redirects here. ... This article is about Nintendos emulation feature and download service. ... Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners and from late 2007 to Games for Windows - Live users [1]. The service was first launched in late 2004 and offers games from about US$5... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... For information on the Japanese version of this console, see PC Engine The TurboGrafx 16 is a video game console released by NEC in 1989, for the North American market. ... 1982 1982 in games 1981 in video gaming 1983 in video gaming Notable events of 1982 in computer and video games. ... Further information: Game classification Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay interaction. ... Scrolling shooters are a type of video game, a subgenre of shoot em up . ... A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of video games into suitability-related groups. ... The ESRBs logo. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Button (computing). ... The Namco 8-bit Galaga arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1981. ... Imagine the smiley face in the top left corner as an RGB bitmap image. ... Scrolling shooters are a type of video game, a subgenre of shoot em up . ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... This article is about Namco, a Japanese leisure company and game developer. ... 1983 1983 in games 1982 in video gaming 1984 in video gaming Notable events of 1983 in computer and video games. ... This article is about the corporate game company. ... The Namco 8-bit Galaga arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1981. ...

Gameplay

The player uses 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 was noted for the varied terrain below, which included forests, airstrips, bases, and mysterious Nazca Line-like drawings on the ground.^[1] The Nazca Lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches 53 miles or more than 80 kilometers between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. ...

There are various aerial enemy aircraft which shoot relatively slow bullets, 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 bullets. Giant floating motherships appear in certain areas; these are killed by knocking out their cores. These are considered one of the first level-end boss to be incorporated into a video game.^[1]

The game has 16 levels but these merge into one another seamlessly. The Solvalou continually advances over varying terrain and the boundaries between levels are marked only by dense forests being overflown. If the player dies, play normally resumes from the start of the level. If the player has completed at least 70% of the level before dying, play will begin at the start of the next level instead.^[1] As the Solvalou constantly flies forward, it is theoretically possible to advance without killing any enemies.

History

Xevious was one of the earliest vertical scrolling shooters, and greatly influenced games in this genre. The graphics were revolutionary for their time, and characters were rendered with remarkable clarity and effect through careful use of shades of gray and palette-shifting. It was one of the first games to have hidden bonuses which are not mentioned in the instructions but can be revealed by a secret maneuver. Among these was the 'special flag' which first appeared in Rally-X. In this game the flag gave the player an extra life and this feature was carried over to numerous subsequent Namco games. In 1983, the original Xevious was the first arcade game to actually have a television commercial aired for it in the U.S. Atari promoted the game with the slogan "Are you devious enough to beat Xevious?" and closed the commercial with a tag line branding it "the arcade game you can't play at home." A technique used in computer graphics in which colors are changed in order to give the impression of animation. ... Rally-X is a maze arcade game that was released by Namco in 1980. ...

While it saw limited popularity in the U.S., Xevious was a huge cult hit in Japan, and to this day is considered one of the greatest video-games of all time. Popular musicians Haruomi Hosono (Yellow Magic Orchestra) and Keisuke Kuwata (Southern All Stars) were known to be fans of the game, and the former produced an album of music from Namco video-games, with Xevious as its centerpiece. A follow-up 12" single featured in its liner notes an entire science-fiction short story by Endoh, set in the world of Xevious, with even a rudimentary fictional language. Haruomi Hosono (細野 晴臣 Hosono Haruomi, born July 9, 1947 in Minato, Tokyo) is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra. ... Yellow Magic Orchestra is a Japanese electropop band, formed in 1978. ... Keisuke Kuwata , born February 26, 1956) is a Japanese musician from Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. ... Southern All Stars ) is a Japanese pop rock band formed in Kanagawa, fronted by lead singer and singer-songwriter Keisuke Kuwata. ... The 12-inch [30 cm] single gramophone record gained popularity with the advent of disco music in the 1970s. ...

Series

There were several arcade sequels and a spin-off, though none achieved much popularity:

• Super Xevious (1984) was practically the same game made significantly harder, and with a few rarely-seen new enemies.
• Solvalou (1991) presented the same game with a pilot's-eye view. The game used 3-D flat shaded polygon graphics. Released in Japan only.
• Xevious 3D/G (1995) was an update on the classic with 3-D texture mapped polygon graphics and a simultaneous two-player feature. Released in Japan only.
• Xevious Arrangement (1995) was part of the Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1 game collection (along with the original Xevious and Super Xevious). The arranged version had improved music and graphics and different levels.
• Grobda (1984) was a spin-off starring an enemy character -- the tank with corkscrew treads.

In Japan, three new versions were released for home systems: Super Xevious is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. ... Solvalou is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1991. ... Xevious 3D/G is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1995. ... Xevious Arrangement (created in 1995) was released as part of the Namco Classics Collection Volume 1 game collection (along with the original Xevious and Super Xevious). ... It has been suggested that Galaga Arrangement be merged into this article or section. ... Grobda is a multi-directional shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. ...

• Super Xevious: GAMP no Nazo (1986) was released for the Nintendo Famicom and the Nintendo Vs. series on the Arcades. You must solve riddles in each stage in order to progress. Unless you meet certain criteria the stage loops indefinitely, getting harder and harder in the process.
• Xevious: Fardraut Saga (1988) was released for the MSX2 computers and developed by Compile. You can select between two modes at the title screen, Recon (port of the original Arcade Xevious) and Scramble, which is a new 16 area game with new enemies and 4 different ships to play with (Solvalou, Solgrado, Zeodalley and Gampmission).
• Xevious: Fardraut Densetsu (1990) was released for the PC Engine and also developed by Compile. This is the sequel to Fardraut Saga and it features two modes of play selectable from the title screen, Original (port of the original Arcade Xevious) and Fardraut, which is a 4 stage story mode with cut-scenes, power-ups and a different ship on each level.
• An RTS game titled New Space Order, currently in production in Japan by Bandai Namco Games, contains elements from the Xevious video game series. In the game there is an interplanetary nation called the "Military Empire," which the population speaks the Xevi language, the same language spoken by the dwellers of planet Xevious. Their theme song, sung in Xevi, can be downloaded from the game's homepage.

“NES” redirects here. ... The Nintendo Vs. ... MSX2 may refer to: The second generation of the MSX home computers Homeo box homolog 2 Protein This article consisting of a 4-letter acronym or initialism is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Compile (software company). ... The PC Engine was a video game console released by NEC, a Japanese company, in 1987. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Compile (software company). ... Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc. ...

Ports

The game has been ported to other systems, including the Atari 7800, Atari 8-bit, NEC PC Engine, Nintendo Entertainment System game consoles, also the MSX, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Apple II and Atari ST home computers. In 2005 Namco released the game on the mobile platform for cellphones. Other handheld ports include Game Boy Advance The game has also been included in a number of classic arcade game compilations for consoles and PC, including Namco Museum Volume 2 for the original PlayStation in 1996, Microsoft Revenge of Arcade for PC in 1998, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection for Microsoft Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and PC, as well as Namco Museum Battle Collection for the PlayStation Portable in 2005. (The game did not appear in the scaled-down Game Boy Advance version of Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection.) The NES-version of the game was released on the Virtual Console on January 15, 2007. The game is also on the Ms. Pac Man Plug 'n Play game made by HotGen Studios. It was released on Xbox Live Arcade on May 23, 2007. This as well as Super Xevious were on Namco Museum DS. In computer science, porting is the adaptation of a piece of software so that it will function in a different computing environment to that for which it was originally written. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. ... The PC Engine was a video game console released by NEC, a Japanese company, in 1987. ... “NES” redirects here. ... The Nintendo GameCube is an example of a popular video game console. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... C-64 redirects here. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... Children playing on a Amstrad CPC 464 in the 1980s. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about Namco, a Japanese leisure company and game developer. ... “GBA” redirects here. ... Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ... For other uses, see PlayStation (disambiguation). ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ... Xbox and a Controller S The Xbox is Microsofts game console, released on November 15, 2001. ... For other uses, see PlayStation (disambiguation). ... The Nintendo GameCube (GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the sixth generation era. ... Namco Museum Battle Collection is a collection of Namco arcade games such as Dig Dug, Pac Man and Galaga. ... The PlayStation Portable , officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and currently manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... “GBA” redirects here. ... Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ... This article is about Nintendos emulation feature and download service. ... Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners and from late 2007 to Games for Windows - Live users [1]. The service was first launched in late 2004 and offers games from about US$5... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Super Xevious is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. ...

Tod Frye, who worked on the Atari 2600 port of Pac-Man, was working on a 2600 port of Xevious, but Jack Tramiel took over the company and cancelled it, along with every other console game and accessory that was currently in the works.^{[citation needed]} Tod R. Frye is a computer programmer once employed by Atari, and is most notable for being charged with the home adaptation of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 video game system. ... The Atari 2600, released in October 1977, is the video game console credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in. ... Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution by Midway Games in 1979. ... Jack Tramiel (born 1928) is a businessman, famous for founding Commodore International, manufacturer of the Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga home computers, and later President and CEO of Atari Corp. ...

Differences between Japanese and U.S. version

The names appearing by default in the Japanese version's high-score list are pseudonyms of the game designers, music composers, the U.S. version only allowed three characters for high-score names.

The zapper and blaster buttons were reversed between the Japanese and U.S. arcade versions.

References in Ridge Racer

There are several references to Xevious in Ridge Racer. Two bonus cars have this game as a sponsor, a red car, "RT Xevious Red" and a green car, "RT Xevious Green". They were used in Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer 2, Rave Racer, Ridge Racer Revolution, and Ridge Racer 64. In R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, a racing team has this game as a sponsor, donning a silver with blue stripes paint scheme, as well as their racing number, 02. The team is named "RT Solvalou", and they are a "hard" team. Ridge Racer 7, for the Playstation 3, features a playable version of this game during the opening sequence. Players are given two lives in order to reach a pre-set high score. The full Xevious game is unlockable through completing part of the single player, offline Ridge Racer grand prix and UFRA circuits. Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Ridge Racer is a series of arcade racing games developed and published by Namco for both the arcade and various consoles. ... Ridge Racer is a racing game created by Namco. ... Ridge Racer 2 is a racing game created by Namco. ... Rave Racer is a racing game created by Namco. ... Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Ridge Racer is the name of an arcade and home 3D racing game franchise developed and published by Namco. ... Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Ridge Racer is the name of an arcade and home 3D racing game franchise developed and published by Namco. ... Ridge Racer 7 is the latest installment in the Ridge Racer series, the game is exclusive to the PlayStation 3, and was one of the launch titles for the system in Japan, North America and Europe. ...

References in other games

• In StarFox: Assault, which was co-developed by Namco, the Special Flags are hidden secrets in the game's stages. The pickup sound for the flag is exactly the same as that in Xevious. Additionally, the NES version of Xevious is unlockable if the player earns every silver medal in the game.
• In Tales of Symphonia, which was developed by Namco, there is an enemy called "Bacura," which is one of the invincible flying panels from Xevious. It only appears at one point in the game, and has a very high defense, making it hard to defeat.

“NES” redirects here. ... Tales of Symphonia ) is a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2. ...

References

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Xevious at MAWS
• Xevious guide at StrategyWiki
• Hardcore Gaming 101 Xevious series article
• Official site with listing of phones the game is available on
• Xevious at World of Spectrum
• Official Xevious board game