Xevious Resurrection Review

By NKD (20 March 2020)

Xevious is one of the founding fathers of vertical-scrolling games. It pioneered the concept of boss fights, pre-rendered visuals, and a cohesive, fleshed-out world. It wasn't has huge of a hitter in America, but in its homeland of Japan it was a slam dunk, spawning endless waves of merchandise, literature, and even soundtracks by the legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra. As other companies like Konami and Irem began to weave their way into the market, Namco (and Xevious) lost their footing as other, more popular games captivated the interest of gamers.

Namco tried many times to take back the crown with a seemingly-endless slew of Xevious sequels, spin-offs, and reimagengings. Some of these, like Xevious Arrangement, were superb updates to the original, while others, like Xevious 3D/G, didn't understand what made the original so famous and ended but being long forgotten. Xevious laid dormant for many years after the 90s, aside from the obvious ocean of Namco classic game collection discs and dedicated conversions. As the 2000s drew to a close, the idea of updating a classic arcade game turned from a cheap cash-grab to a way to reinvent an old IP for a new audience. Namco Bandai saw grand success with games such as Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions, so they saw it fitting to resurrect another classic franchise. The end result was Xevious Resurrection.