Hello friends. Dan Ryan here, you… there. Thank you so much for checking in and if you like what you see, please comment and share. A little while ago Kris and I decided to take a concept from his movie podcast, here, combine it with a thing we had been doing for a bit, the summer series, and create a new recurring segment for the SAG Pod, the Alphabet Souper Series. In said series we take turns picking a retro game to play over the course of a month, sometimes longer because you know... life, in alphabetical order and then talk about it on the show. (get it… souper series, like alphabet soup and super version of the summer series… we’re quite clever) We go over the good, the bad, the in-between, and generally have a nice little discussion about a game we've always wanted to play or one we played back in the way back and don't remember very well. We also post the game to our discord and invite the listeners to give their feedback and be a part of the show. And while it has been quite fun, I felt like it would be a good idea to mix in some writing to go along with it, hence this post. Now, I probably should have either started a long time ago, or waited until we hit the letter A again but, I just really liked Xexyz and wanted to start with it. So, with that said, submitted for your approval this is the Souper Series Retro Review for Xexyz.

As with all reviews here on the blog I will be using the wholly original, not copied at all from any defunct gaming magazine, patent pending SAG Pod Ranking System, which is explained below...

Developed by Atlus and published by Hudson Soft in 1990 in North America, Xexyz (pronounced zeks'-zees) is wildly different from its Japanese counterpart, Kame no Ongaeshi - Urashima Densetsu (Turtle's Repayment: Urashima Legend). The Japanese version is based on the legend of Urashima Tarō, a fisherman who was rewarded for rescuing a sea turtle by getting to hang out with a smoking hot princess. (I'm guessing, I wasn’t there) After getting homesick he asks to return home and is allowed to leave but is given a box which he is never to open as a parting gift. Upon returning home he finds that about 300 years have passed and everyone he knows and loves is dead and gone. So he figures to hell with it, opens the box, and is immediately turned into an old man. Now, while all of this is a common fairy-tale in Japan, school kids even have songs about it, in America we would have had no idea what was going on so the overall story got changed. Gone are the cutscenes and multiple endings, in are a relatively generic sci-fi action story about main character Apollo saving the island nation of Xexyz from the evil Goruza and rescuing and marrying Princess Maria. (because if you rescue them, they have to love you...) Which is fine, the story does its job even if it never fully explains the proliferation of robotic sea creatures. 

Considered by many to be a “hidden gem” on the NES, Xexyz is a very good game that is well worth your time. The basic gameplay combines action-platforming with side scrolling shmup sections ending with a final boss “stage”, I’m being very generous with that honestly, tube shooter. While it may not absolutely nail each genre, the mix is quite impressive and ambitious. It is quite challenging however, as older NES games tend to be, and is best played with modern conveniences, which we just so happen to have ready to be shipped and loved by you, the reader.

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Graphics: 4 Xexyz is a very good looking game. What really stood out to me was the variety. There are quite a few locations which all feel different. There is a decent amount of basic enemy variety. Bosses are large and detailed and have really cool designs. Player weapons look different and animate nicely, if not frustratingly at times. The main character Apollo is nicely detailed and animates well. There is a bit of flicker present and some of the flying sections get a bit samey but overall the entire presentation is very good.

Sound: 3.5 The sound in Xexyz is fine. The music is competent if unremarkable. The first stage has my favorite track in the game and it’s a bit downhill from there. None of the songs are bad, they just are. This isn’t a soundtrack that’ll have people begging for a vinyl release but it won’t make you want to mute the game either. The sound effects are minimal and, for the most part, fine.

Control: 3 Control is the biggest problem with the game in my opinion. It certainly isn’t broken by any stretch but it could have been much better. The jumping is the most egregious offender with an odd “hold up” mechanic to jump higher that just doesn’t feel very good, even with the wing boot upgrade. Shooter levels also take a bit of a hit here since you need to collect two speed power ups before your ship moves the way you would want it to. Now, you get those power ups pretty quickly in each shooter section but it is frustrating overall.

Fun Factor: 3.5 Overall, Xexyz is a very good time. There is a much better game in here sure that would make for an absolutely killer remake, but what you do get is well worth a go. The mirror power up alone, in which you get a second Apollo just standing on top of the player sprite, is absurd enough to warrant getting to at least that part. The blend of genres is a personal favorite of mine in gaming. I love to see developers stretch the idea of what composes a game and mash a few things together, especially when they work well. (yes Guardian Legend does it better) The challenge is certainly on the higher end of the difficulty spectrum but I don’t think it ever hits cheap territory. Playing through with save states certainly makes this a much more enjoyable experience though. At the end of the day, Xexyz was more fun than frustrating and really, what more can you ask for.

(for additional discussion, including Kris’ opinions, check out the Souper Series pod episode here)

But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes: I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.