Xexyz (NES) - Retro Gaming Review
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- Today I'm reviewing Xexyz, a game that combines two of my favourite genres for retro games - platformers and shoot'em ups. But does it do it well? Watch to find out!
Xexyz was played and recorded on a Retron5 with a Hauppauge PVR Rocket.
Intro artwork by: / babia-majora
"Cantina Blues" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons...
![Is Xexyz [NES] Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk](/img/1.gif)
Must have game for any NES collection. One of the hidden gems on the NES.
Oddly, I still think this game has aged well. This was one of the first NES games that was given to me as a birthday gift. It was a clearance bin pickup, but I loved it. I remember looking at the back of the box thinking it was something similar to Mega Man. It's not really, but I love the variety of gameplay within, and playing through it is rewarding! Thanks for making this review!
I marathoned this game when I was a kid on a day I was home sick from school. I didn't love it or hate it, but I was (literally) feverishly determined to finish it. It was a relief when I finally did, though I wondered later how much of the game I'd hallucinated. I'm glad to know that it was actually very little!
Thanks for this review. I had just heard about the general mechanics for this title recently and was going to pick it up if I were to see it. Since you've delved more into the gameplay, I think I'll put it lower on my list. Great job!
Thanks!
I swear I thought I was the only one who played this game. I loved that game. I used the Max pad controller for auto fire.
I played the hell out of this game. It's one of those NES games I had seemingly from the moment I got my console. Fairly sure this, Mario/ Duck Hunt and Sky Shark we're my first 3 games.
I remember wanting this game back in the day because the bosses looked cool and detail in the screen shots I saw. I played it years later and it's not too bad. Another fun to watch review. Love your style of delivery.
Thank you :)
Thanks for reviewing this game! I am sorry you didn't end up liking it that much. But I am glad to see this game getting some attention and not being lost into obscurity. This is by far and away my all time favorite NES game. It represents the game I would play when I was very young whenever I wanted to be whisked away and get lost into a (weird) sci fi world.
though I wish you had enjoyed it more, this was a fair, balanced and entertaining review. Keep it up!
oops accidentally responded with my work email. Guess that means you get two "likes" on this video.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video
I had never heard of this game nor played it. Holy shit though the music is awesome!
this game was so weird. I vaguely remember the sore fingers but the sheer weirdness of the game stood out when watching your review! I just found your channel and I must say watching you review the games I grew up with is a lot of fun!
Thanks!
Finally! I've been searching in my head for years as to what game I once rented from the now defunct Curtis Mathis video store. It was always Zexyz. I mean there were tons of space like games back in the day but this was it. The music was catchy, thanks for reviewing this hidden gem.
No problem!
Cannot be Tamed did u say this game is set in the year 2777 ? Gosh!😬 That’s 757 years in the future.
I actually have that game and I thought the music was Pretty good! Not mention it was made by Atlus , Hudson Soft Published it BTW! And the composer behind the Soundtrack is Hirohiko Takayama who also composed 2 LJN games on NES, Friday the 13th and Karate Kid
Ah, you are right! Seems HudsonSoft scrubbed Atlus's name off everything though. It's nowhere to be found on the box or manual.
Ninten70 Nice annotation! Dev's over Pub's any day. Did a quick Google search as well & wiki confirmed the additional review info. [iLiked].
Really glad you covered this game Pam. It was one of my favorites as a kid. I haven't played it in years but I bought the cart on eBay not long ago with the intention of playing it again. Watching your video brought back a lot of memories of this. Certain bosses popped back into my brain that I hadn't thought of in ages. Pretty wild and unique game. No auto fire sucks for sure though. I'll be sure to pick up an auto fire controller before I play it! X)
It is very unique, I think it could have been great with a couple changes.
Hi Pam. I really enjoy watching your videos on retro video games. A lot of these games I have never heard of before (I was strictly a Super Mario fan). But this game is one that I played when I was younger, and watching your video here brought back some fond memories (mostly! This game was hard!)
I've been watching your videos for some time now and now I have subscribed to them! Looking forward to seeing more retro video games! Keep up the great work!!
Thanks so much :)
@@Cannotbetamed1 You're welcome! Hey, I see that you play RPG games as well. If you're looking to try a few, I'd like to recommend "Skies of Arcadia" for the Dreamcast and "Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete" for the Play Station. Both are really fun to play and the dialogue is awesome! Lunar is particularly long if you choose to read everything in it. But it's really fun to play.
This was the best game top 5 NES games I believe nobody knows about
My aunt bought me this game when I was 5. It was so hard, I sat there and tried to beat this game for what seemed like years. I still have it.
I love this game! Inexplicably owned this as a child, but Xexyz and Star Tropics were my 2 childhood favorites. Fair and honest review for sure, no autofire is a crime.
Wow pretty good looking graphics for an 8 bit game I never knew this game existed thank you Pam
No problem
Cannot be Tamed you should play mortal kombat or bubble boogle 😇
Recently joined the Cartridge Club after hearing about it in one of your videos. Keep doing your thing! Truxton is kicking my ass right now lol.
That's great, welcome!
This game was made in 1988 when technology had it that autofire was hard to program into a videogame. It was a lot easier to make a special controller with a turbo feature on it. I remember how that was the biggest complaint about Contra and Super C. Have you played those games? Any way, I really hope someday they make a version of this game with today's technology. I bet it would be easier to control, just as challenging on one's brain, a lot cooler, and just as much fun!
I've played the first Contra.
Cannot be Tamed contra was so much fun I played that nes game when I was 9 in 1993 my neighbor had it and let me play it🤩
i was just thinking of this game yesterday and how no one really talks about it. great review.
Thanks!
Sketch RFL me too I could just never remember the name
Wow I had forgotten all about this game! I got so frustrated with the gameplay, I was too young to appreciate much about it except for the bizarre artistic design. Thanks for the solid video!
No problem, glad you liked it!
Theres quite a number of NES hidden gems games that I've played now as an adult that I missed out on as a kid. This is my favorite of them all. This game is totally up my alley. Sci fi multi genre with great graphics and music.
The lack of auto-fire and heavy reliance on turbo buttons was heavily prevelant in the NES days.
You are reliving my childhood with great super hard games. Fantastic music but punishing difficulty
Just found this video after a search for this game...it took me a while to recall what the name actually was. Quite the throwback. I remember it being super hard...games just aren't this brutal anymore, I don't think.
I finally got around to playing through this a few months ago, and quite enjoyed it. Of course, i did use the NES Advantage with turbo controls! :) It does have some minor flaws as you pointed out, so i can get why it's not everyone's cuppa. Nice review, Pam!
Thank you!
All very fair criticisms, but I still adore the game to pieces. Nostalgia and such.
I go crazy for some of the music, especially the theme.
30 years since this title came out and that level 9 boss (Horrza) still haunts me when I think about the game. It wasn't impossible to beat him without a mirror and a laser, but it sure helped a hell of a lot more!
Great review, didn't know about this one. I would love to watch a retro review for Little Samson Adventures by you someday! One of my favourite Nes games
Thanks! A review of Little Samson may happen at some point
I loved this game as a kid one of my favorites on the NES! Graphics, Music & Game Play still holds it's own. I did not know it was a hidden gem..Top 10 game for NES hands down
My absolute favorite game to ever come out on the NES. Top 10 in my entire collection
Love that cyborg rider (level 2) theme
So glad to see you doing a review of another old NES game! (Still want you to do some GameBoy reviews though, just so you get SUPER out of your wheelhouse!) I have never played this one, but I gotta say, even though it looks like it's difficult, I think it still looks kinda cool! So you may have inadvertently just made me wanna download this, just by explaining it to me, even though you think it sucks! The sprites look fun! But, based on what you said, I get why it probably won't REALLY be fun if I play it!
I don't think it sucks, I just think its flawed. It does look fun, watching video of it.
Fantastic review! I played this one a ton when I was a kid
Thank you!
Looks like a very challenging game, I will try it! You're the best Pam
:)
I played this game millions of times back in the day. Definitely improved my gaming skills
Thanks! You play a lot of Hudson games. I'd love to see your take on the top ten Hudson games. And. My favorite shmup on the NES is still gun.smoke and it has the same issue with continuous fire, but I always had my NES Max so it was never a problem. Have a great day and I look forward(always) to seeing your next video!
Top 10 HudsonSoft, that's a tough one. I didn't find the lack of autofire quite as frustrating with Gun.Smoke. It would have been better if it had it, but I felt at more of a disadvantage on Xexyz, especially on the bosses.
Had lot's of fun with these game as a kid worth playing!
I agree with you, auto fire would have been great. Being born in 1980 i considered myself an OG NES player and that game for the time it came out im sure i had a turbo controller. The game was and still is one of my favorites.
Btw my all time favorite is snes mech warrior.
Yes! Thank you so much for reviewing this one! Hope you can do Astyanax someday.
Maybe one day
I published a review of this game some months ago, and I agree in your points, in the shooting stages, the bones of my left hand started to hurt me and I had to use my NES Advantage to play it; and yes, it has a lot of details that makes it frustrating, but if someone likes challenges, it should try it. BTW, if you have played Journey to Silus, don't you think the intro theme of both games sounds very similar but in a different pitch?
I haven't played Journey to Silius, but when playing I found the theme really reminded me of something that I couldn't put my finger on.
Maybe it was that.
I liked this as a kid. Haven't played it since 1992. But....been wanting to get it anyway. This game was up there in comparison to so many others that weren't the typical classics. Only my opinion
I loved this game as a kid! Kind of frustrating, but I have really fond memories of it. I'd instantly buy it if it showed up on Virtual Console.
I'll say it like how Reggie says it on Metal Jesus, "good story elements, good platforming, good boss battles, good music." :)
hey pam did you ever get around to playin' rise of the dragon for sega CD? dope review btw
Hey poor man's Snatcher! Also have to agree here, if you haven't tried it yet, you should.
I still plan to. I've had some technical and space issues getting the Sega CD set up for recording in the new place. But I'm getting a RetroPie soon, so I may just play it on that.
I third this. Cool game.
sounds good, i'll be on the lookout
I remember I got that game for Christmas; the first thing I did was play it. I thought the game was very unique. I beat the game about 7 times then I sold it. I loved it. Not as much as Mega Man II but it was such a good game.
Pam, fun fact, I found, what I think is, the first known prototype of this game in a Goodwill 4 years ago. I dont have it anymore, sadly...Great review, though, I love your channel!
That's neat! And thanks :)
no kidding? What were the differences if any?
Oddly, I just discovered this game a couple days ago and have been contemplating purchasing the Famicom version. Timing!
That is good timing
I didn't know this game. It's normal, it was never released in Europe !!! So, thanks for the discovery. Keep up the good work !!!!! \o/
Thanks!
Turbo controllers not only are a thing, but Hudson actually sold them and held "Push button really fast" contests and Takahashi Mejin and stuff. But then they go and design PC Engine with turbo right on the included controller.
Hudson's history with autofire is weird.
The NES Advantage was literally a game changer.
Damn, I haven't checked out your channel for a while... I really dug this review and agree with most points. The main one being, the flow of the game. It just seems like you are constantly interrupted, to go through (yet another) door, gust to get completely sidetracked for a while. Other than a few gripes, I kinda like Xexyz... It's just damn hard. Excellent review.
Thanks! Yeah, that constant interruption really got to me.
Wow.. this game was insane when i was a kid. Craaaaazy
Hudson Soft did always seem to be experimental and quirky with their games. The best of their Nintendo console games to me seem to be Adventure Island 4, Super Bomberman 5, and DoReMi Fantasy, but unfortunately, these are Japan-only.
Felix is my favourite game of theirs.
This game was ahead of it time. Some of the most unique graphics of it's time.
Ha ha, your face in the thumbnail gave away how you feel about this game! I've always wanted to try "Sexy's". It think it looks pretty good. I'll hafta try it out for myself. Also, like I mentioned on Twitter, you can set your NES buttons to turbo through the Retron 5. That should solve that annoying, "no rapid-fire in a shooter" problem.
Thanks for that Retron tip, that should save my hands in future games.
You're welcome.
Have you played Star Ocean integrity and faith for the PS4? Tell me what your thoughts are about the game if you have.
+Keith I haven't played it. Star Ocean Second Story was the only one of the series I liked, and this one seemed much more like the ones I didn't care for that much
In all fairness to the game, which I own and still play, it was very creative. But those old school controllers were lame, and almost all my friends would have gotten a power controller within a year of buying the NES(Nintendo Thumb is real).
yooooo pam im in love with you just bc you have Xexyz!!!!!im dyiiing to get one copy too!!!!!
btw, if you're looking for a nes turbo controller, I'd recommend the NES Max... feels good in your hands and has a cool thumb disk thing that is great for shooters... though it can be awkward if you need to switch between turbo and non turbo buttons.
Cool, thanks!
I didn't really have a problem with the lack of autofire. The shooting sections weren't too frantic so there's no need to be tapping constantly. I've also always had a good button-tapping technique so that helps :)
That does help!
This is a super obscure game I played once when I was a kid.... and had trouble figuring out the name of. I honestly watched your review just to confirm it is what I think it is. Now I'm off to see what it's all about... mainly cause last time I saw anything to do with this game it was like 1989 and I was 4 and only really got a quick play through and didn't do much other than see the mirror power up and think it looked cool...
I hope this game is all of what 3 year old me hoped it would be.... but your review has me questioning this.
Two Pam reviews I've watched today for games I'm not familiar with. Of the two, this one seems like something I'd have more fun with. (No thanks, Dino Riki.) I always appreciate when developers try to go big, even if it doesn't work. Usually a sign to me that they are really enjoying what they are doing, because if they dont, they wouldn't bother but the bare minimum. If I have the chance one day, I too shall give Xexyz a try. Well said all around, Pam.
Thanks! I too like when developers try different things, it just didn't really work for me here. Hope you like it more than I did.
This is a great review.
Thanks
Cannot be Tamed 🤠
If I'm not mistaken, this game was made before the turbo controllers were out. I enjoyed this game as a kid though
You are mistaken. I had a arcade stick for the NES that had turbo.
I used to play this game a lot as a kid
I've got this but it won't work even with the lock out chip mod.
looks like an interesting game. I do have a turbo controller thank god. Like always love your reviews
Thanks!
Awesome review pam!
Thank you!
I recently bought this game it's one of the decent games that haven't shot up in price. some put this as a hidden gem but I watched one review saying that with the amount of levels doesn't really add much new and gets repetitive. I try it out when I first received it I will have to come back to it at some point.
It's worth playing a bit more. I don't find it all that repetitive, the shooter bosses are quite unique and the levels change up visually a fair bit.
This would be a great game to remake and fix the boss fights.
From what I've heard, the music is kinda cool.
Great channel! very entertaining! I was wondering if you have ever considered doing an episode on NEO GEO ports and all of the various iterations on all of the different consoles, as well as comparing and contrasting them against one another?
I have never considered that. Seems like a lot of work
Cannot be Tamed yeah probably. it would be neat though
I have to agree with you. I'm a shooter fan, but this one never won me over. Some decent ideas, but it doesn't come together.
I think it could have been good with a couple changes.
Oh wow, I remember borrowing this game from a friend ( we used to swap games) and playing the Hell out of it. The mostly oceanic bosses were a standout point to me. I remember the pronunciation of the name back then almost sounding like "sexist" . Good game, frustrating at times yet entertaining.
I had this game and loved it.
I knew I was in for a decent review when you pronounced the name correctly, lol. Nice!
:D
Uncle Silver Gaming right
Actually she pronounced it wrong. Here's the commercial for the game
ruclips.net/video/5Yt7907oUg0/видео.html
All my buddies never played this game..best 8bit graphic game on nes.. Very hard gameplay back then..
It's still hard
yeahhhh the doors are a bit overwhelming. SO MANY DOORS. Everyone has trouble pronouncing the name of the game, but you are correct.Are all the boss fights in rooms with black backgrounds? Reminds me of Fester's Quest in that aspect. Oddly enough, I never have a problem with a lack of auto fire in shmups. I wonder...is Apollo super tiny? That woman in the bathtub was a giant compared to him! I own this one and really need to sit down with it and play through it. Great look at an underrated game.
A lot of nes games used the black background for boss fights, it has something to do with the graphical limitations of the system, but I forget what, exactly. I think it's because the large bosses are designed as the "background" layer...
The boss fights do all have black backgrounds. I do think the design and especially colours of the bosses are a highlight of the game though. I also wondered about the giant woman in the bathtub.
The Dragon was the furthest I ever got, and I did not know you could cheese that fight. The flaws are more NES like than anything, I think if this came out in 16-bit, there might be signs for the doors instead of random chance. Overall, I liked this game, but I can agree with the flaws you mentioned.
I initially quit at that dragon. Didn't play for a week, then looked up a strategy and found that method. I wanted to be able to finish the game for the review (but also didn't want to put myself through a lot of dying) so I used it.
(Comment section is interesting here) Ahem. Fair complaints! Although unintentional, I always found that the frustration and fatigue that comes with the horizontal shooter sections to be a reflection of what Apollo is going through. nonstop barrage of enemies, he's tired, no health, you're tired, he barely makes it out of the boss fight alive, you can't push B anymore. It didn't bug me too much. Good review though! Very well-spoken.
+VG Elucidator thanks! I can't say I've ever ascribed that much characterization to any of the NES protagonists, but that's an interesting way of thinking of it.
I had a very active imagination as a kid. Still do!
nice review pam looks like a pretty cool game even though it doesnt have the auto fire ya thats the whole reason they made the turbo controllers should get one lol great video
So maybe I should blame Nintendo for not putting a turbo button on controllers rather than the game devs? Nintendo does have a habit of packing in shitty controllers with their games and then selling better ones separately. Especially recently.
This is my personal NES all time favotite game!
YOOO! I totally think this could become popular again like in an R-TYPE kind of way!
To my knowledge the game was developed by Atlus Co. (makers Of Karate Kid, Friday The 13th), while Hudson Soft only being publisher.
07:28 While you don't know, you also need an NTSC console as well, because this is one of those games that crashes on PAL systems (regardless if you are using a PAL Famiclone as well, because there is a segment where it inevitably crashes too) making them absolutely impossible to play it.
Yeah you're right. For some reason Hudson scrubbed any mention of them from the game/manual/both on the North American version though.
Neither they are credited in the japanese version / manual. The real reason behind is (at least according to game composer Hiro-san) that game development was sort-of a freelancer job in the '80-ies. So if you got credited other game companies might hire you to work them. So these programmers, composers went unknown for quite a long time.
Great review, looks like an interesting game.
Thank you!
One of my favorite games ever, period. it is soooo much fun bur yeah it can be frustrating
Great review. Will have to keep an eye out for this game
Thanks!
underrated game for sure
I enjoy Xexyz, but honestly haven't given it a serious attempt yet. I do agree with the lack of flow that is only made worse with the multitude of doors per level, but I'll have to play thing one all the way through before I make a final decision!
I'd say that my willingness to keep playing it speaks for itself, tho! :-)
It's definitely got some good things going for it.
Hudson Soft definitely wasn't afraid to do different things. Quirky developers are one of the main reasons I became a gamer! 8-)
She's so xexyz
You sure do love retro shoot'em ups. If you've never played it, you should try Lifeforce which was a shoot'em up made by Konami. You can even use the Konami code for 30 lives in this one.
Cool, yeah I haven't tried that.
This kind of reminds me of the type of thing a game design student might make as their first project.
A sideways shooter isn't too different from a platformer. Just remove gravity and replace the weapons. It just seems like it was lacking in playtesting, a common issue with personal projects.
It does seem a little like that.
It looks like there is a good game in there, hidden behind the flaws. Living with the faeries looks like the best part of 2777 by far.
Exactly. Even just watching the video, without my commentary, I think, wow, this looks really good. But playing it was another story.
Also, I knew you weren't going to like this game because I saw it on Will's table at GTA GameX on Sunday before I watched this video. lol
Save states in the emulators saved this game for me lol, no pun intended. I have the cart since I was a kid, quite an obscured game. Nice video.
Thanks! Save states also helped me out.
Got to respectfully disagree with you on this one, Pam :P
I want to say a lot of nes shooters did not have auto-fire...and the music, while not super innovative, is quite soothing and beautiful... some of my favorite jams on the nes actually. It has that more simplistic, early nes charm that I love. This is a fun little game (though not perfect) and I think people will dig it if they give it a try.
Thanks for trying it out though, too bad you didn't care for it so much.
Most scrolling shooters do have auto-fire I think. Zanac, which is from 86 did. The Guardian Legend in 88, Gun-Nac in 90. Gun.Smoke didn't which I also consider a strike against it (though I found it easier to do without than in this one). I didn't hate it, I just think a couple small improvements could have made it a lot better.
Compile really knew what they were doing with shmups before other devs
I did a quick playthrough of the shmups in my collection and it was about half and half. Some had auto fire, some didn't. Some only used auto fire on certain weapons, and some had auto fire but you could shoot faster if you tapped the button.
Quick button tapping added a sort of physical challenge to video games so I think a lot of developers incorporated that into their games favoring difficulty/challenge over ease of play. but idk.
I couldn't get far enough in Legendary Wings to determine if there was auto fire in that game as well. Silver Surfer too.
I had lots of fun with this game.
That's good!
Cannot be Tamed of course I had it back in the early 90s. Didn't know anything before buying. (Only rarely saw Nintendo Power.) Probably took a week to play through. lol.
I think I own this game...I should check. Either way good review
Thank you
For some reason this is a top nostlaga pic for me
an interesting game, autofire pad/stick a must :) great vid!
Thanks!
Pam is secretly Queen Maria Star.