Xevious is regarded as something of a classic by shooter fans. It certainly introduced lots of features that were innovative back in the early 80s, but compared to recent examples in the genre it can't help but look a little basic.
As shooters go, it doesn't get much simpler than Xevious. You pilot a ship over a scrolling landscape and blast enemies using an endless supply of bullets and bombs. Enemy tanks and planes swoop into view, fire off some bullets, and retreat. Occasionally, a large mothership will appear, and you can try to shoot it down or wait until it leaves. If you get hit by a single bullet, you'll lose a ship and start from a predetermined point.
There are no power-ups to collect. The game simply loops the same areas indefinitely until you run out of ships. While it's not a bad design, you don't see anything new after the first few minutes or so. As such, the game becomes tiresome pretty quickly. Graphics and audio are rather basic, as well. The brown and green backgrounds look vaguely like terrain, while the grey enemy ships more closely resemble geometric shapes than aircraft. Throughout it all, you'll hear the same repetitive music and bleepy sound effects.
Unless you're absolutely sure you like Xevious, you should pass on downloading it to your Virtual Console. The design is too simplistic and repetitive to be much fun, and the graphics and audio don't have any charm whatsoever. This is one classic that hasn't aged well.
1. Techno Doc
04 Mar 2007, 16:04 GMT
I loved this game in the arcade, and although the Nintendo port is not as graphically rich, it still plays great. Read the Wikipedia article on Xevious to gain a new appreciation on the importance of this game in arcade history, and to learn about the secrets hidden throughout (extra ships, bonus points, etc.).
2. sam
21 Mar 2007, 04:44 GMT
I downloaded this because of a case of mistaken identity. I thought it was this mad shooter that I used to play on table top cabinets back in the arcade days. The only thing mad about this game is the way it made me feel when I realised I paid money for it. I wish Nintendo had a redemtion feature for Wii points... oh well
3. SKTTR
17 Jun 2007, 10:29 GMT
unfortunately i bought this game on the GBA (NES classics) and have it on Starfox Assault (Gamecube). what i can say is... its the worst shooter ever.... its the worst VC game and it definately isnt worth 500 wii points.
No! I try to be fair. In 1982, when it was released, i can imagine it was wonderful, when nothing was like it! There were just ... Space Invaders.. Phoenix... and maybe Galaga... but, simply put, it's "a bad aged classic"!
It's a classic, coz it was a step forward and it was the real first scrolling-shmup. But the VC is flooded with shmups and theyre all better.. Xevious is past, nostalgia and only recommended for fans!
From me it gets 1 solidary classic star out of 5. The game itself controls smooth but there isnt much substance to it. The sound is annoying and the graphics are plain and repeat all the time.
4. Thomas
20 Jun 2007, 06:42 GMT
I went into a Gamestop recently and saw this title preowned for the Game Boy Advance for only $3. I still didn't have it in me to buy it.
5. street fighter ii
29 Jul 2007, 16:12 GMT
One of the best shooter of the golden age. I love it. Instant 5-Star game
6. alvieao
18 Sep 2007, 09:06 GMT
I have Xevious as a bonus game in Star Fox: Assault. Of course, the fact that Namco developed the recent GameCube iteration in the Star Fox series. The point is that Xevious is simply not much to play when you only have a laser and bomb to combat air and ground enemies, plus you have boring music. It is an arcade game and nothing else. I hate to say it but even if you lived through the golden age of Namco, don't bother downloading.
7. Pauliechoo
01 Nov 2007, 10:02 GMT
I remember putting a lot of 20 cent pieces into this game during the summer holidays of 85/86.
It was my fave game of the day. As such it was my first VC download.
The "fond memories of my misspent youth" have been tarnished by the travesty of this iteration, i cannot believe how bad this game is.
Avoid this one guys, even more so if you loved it 20 years ago. Keep your good memories good.
8. Link O' Fett
19 Nov 2007, 17:08 GMT
It hasn't aged the best, but it's still classic fun.
9. digibod 22 Jan 2008, 16:52 GMT
i just downloaded this, i thinks its quite a good little game but im not to worried about wii points. my wii has over 30 games on it
xevious is ok and good for the occasional blast
10. StarSoldier1
22 Jan 2008, 17:17 GMT
Daz is right, this game blows! The music loops constantly, bombing sucks, and the game play is too limited compared to other NES shooters like Zanac.
11. Thomas
23 Jun 2008, 22:33 GMT
I buckled and bought this game from Gamestop for $4 on the GBA. For what it's worth, it's not bad in very short bursts.
12. Beau Skunk
07 Aug 2008, 05:23 GMT
Not a bad port, but the arcade game is better still. (You can seem to play the arcade version alot longer.) It's a li'l annoying how hard it is to get extra lives. The simultanious bombing, and shooting ellement might take some getting used to, but it gives the game a unique way to play that other arcade shooters of the 80s don't have.
13. Corbie
27 Oct 2008, 19:55 GMT
A great game back in the day. Just hasn't aged so well over the years.
Leave A Comment
Please login to post a comment.