by Bruce Bostwick

Created on: February 16, 2009

XEXYZ is a game that is for the NES and doesn't get talked about too much. It is a combination of both a shoot em up style and a platform combined together. It is really unique in the sense of having two styles of game play at once. This would be done in another game called Super Mario Land on the Game Boy but still.

Story: It is rather clich and it involves saving a princess. Her name is Maria and you have to rescue her from the evil Goruza from taking over the universe. You are Apollo and it is your mission to go through all the levels, get the keys and get yourself ready for the final battle. Come to think of it, it is somewhat like the Super Mario Bros. game if you think about the style at least part of it. Its story is very similar to that of any game with a Princess to be saved.

Graphics: For an NES game, this is actually pretty good. Usually, there isn't a complaint as far as how it looks because the expectations aren't very unrealistic.

Game Play: This is a hybrid game with some levels being a platform being the odd number stages. The even number stages represent the shoot em up style much like Gradius for example. It is easy to control and just use A for jump and B for button. A tip that is worth giving is that you can enter the place you got your weapon from twice and it will upgrade for free. Sure, you could do it another way but this actually is a good thing.

When pausing the game, the music will continue to play. The final boss is a tube style where it is like almost a first person view but not quite. It is pretty neat to say the least to try something different. Plus, it breaks the norm and can be worth looking into. If you hold up and push the A button, your character can jump higher. Sometimes you can find an item that can be given to you but you can buy later like Mercury Wing, two guys, and a Typhoon making you invincible for nine seconds.

Overall: Fun game and actually interesting to try having two styles together. It is challenging and that's the beauty behind it. Sometimes a good challenge is needed but it's the type of challenge that keeps you going. It is worth getting if you have an NES. It's one of those gems that you never hear about but it's a good game to play. This needs to get on the Virtual Console as soon as possible. Granted, many games are getting added but these needs to be there as it is fun, challenging, and just overall excellent. XEXYZ is good and worth playing.

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