Every now and then, a team of game developers will hatch a plan to create a game that essentially mixes two (or more) genres into one whole entity. To their credit, it’s not hard to see why they would do such a thing. After all, it can prove to be refreshing to play a game that involves more than just one main gameplay mechanic throughout the entire time spent playing it. The problem, though, lies in the fact that cross-breeding genres often times prove to be a hard act to balance, and can easily turn out to be a total failure if gamers don’t accept this marriage of gameplay elements, so to speak. Well in 1990, Bomber Man and Adventure Island series creator, Hudson Soft was one of the few developers out there to actually try such a thing. From their efforts came a little NES title called Xexyz– a somewhat rare attempt at blending elements from the platformer and shooter genres, with just a hint of RPG thrown in mix just for kicks.

Most levels are divided into 3 parts– (1) the outside area leading to the Mechanical Castle, (2) the actual castle itself, and (3) the boss for that area. The outside areas require Apollo to jump from platform to platform, while also disposing of the creatures that constantly prove to be a real nuisance to him on his journey. Along the way, there are various doorways that Apollo can enter and do a variety of things. Most doorways house shops, weapon upgrades, or life refills. Of course, these things usually aren’t for free, so you’ll need to make sure you have the proper cash when visiting the shops to be found. Other doors either hold fairies that’ll give you advice on how to complete the rest of the level, or you might end up having to rescue a few of them from a floating enemy holding one of them hostage. It’s a good idea to make the effort and help them out, as they’ll give you a nice sum of money after doing so.

The Mechanical Castle sections are similar to the outdoor areas with only a few differences. First of all, you can explore different parts of the castle by using the air vents found in either the ceiling or the floor. And secondly, you’ll need to pilot an armored aircraft so you can get to the second half of the castles.
The shooter sections are pretty decent, considering that most other games don’t do quite as well when they try to mix the platformer & shooter genres together. As you’re flying through the area, you can pick up capsules that help to speed up your ship (S) or you can collect another capsule that increases your firepower (P). At the end of each shooting section is where you’ll face off with the boss enemy of that castle. Boss battles will raise the game’s difficulty more than a little bit.

Make no mistake about it– Xexyz is definitely a difficult game. As i just mention before, a big chunk of the difficulty can be found in trying to bring down the bosses of each area. Thankfully, you can usually purchase a better weapon (if you don’t have it already) from one of the shops within the castle, just before you go off to the big battle. If you don’t have enough money, it would serve you best to hunt down enough foes to fill your pockets with the right amount of cash, which can also be a real chore to do if you’re in a hurry to complete the area. But even with the right weapon, you’ll still be in for a very tough fight with a few of the later bosses, thanks to their shooting patterns that are sometimes impossible to dodge. If you’re one of those gamers who won’t mind a real challenge, then this is truly the game for you!

The graphics are very well done and stand out from many of the other NES games of its time. The main character, supporting characters, and enemies are all well crafted and quite detailed, for the most part. The backgrounds and overall colors in the game are bright and lush, giving Xexyz a rather upbeat look, considering the game’s story. The boss characters are usually big and imposing, not to mention ugly in that evil sort of way. In fact, some bosses look similar to the end-level bosses of Alien Syndrome, although Hudson Soft had nothing to do with that game.
Most of the areas were also laid out fairly well. The shooter sections have the added gimmick of forcing you to choose which path to take at the end of one particular part in that section. If you pick the right door, you’ll advance to the next area; if you choose the wrong one, you’ll have to repeat that short section again. It’s hard to see why the developers saw it necessary to have this feature, but maybe they were just looking for a way to keep you guessing when you least feel like doing so.

The music is one of absolute best parts of the game. It has a very nostalgic sound to it, even if you’ve never played the game until recently. That became very apparent to me, once I played it for the first time. All the tunes are really spacey in that 8-bit kind of way and some of them almost make you feel like you’re in a dream…almost. The sound effects are just as good too, sounding unique and a little bouncy. All these things give the game a light, happy feeling. The only time that changes is when you’re fighting one of the bosses. That’s when the music gets a little sinister, yet it’s still not too “heavy”, if you know what I mean.

Play or Stay? Xexyz is a game worth experiencing at least once, especially with the nice music and all. It may take a lot of time and patience to progress past the middle of the game, but it’s time well spent. If you’re into both platformers and shooters, then you must make sure to have this in your NES collection…or emulate it, if you must. And all things considered, Hudson Soft did a decent job on mixing two major gaming elements into one grey cartridge. It could have used a little more polish with the controls and difficulty, but we’ve all seen worse…much worse. So in short, have fun taking Apollo out for a spin.

Oh yeah, and if anybody out there knows, please tell me…just how do you pronounce “Xexyz”?