
	Platform NES Genre Action Publisher Square Developer Game Arts ETA 1985
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Thexder

For all of the attention that Game Arts receives for its solid line-up of RPGs, it's important to remember that the developer has a fine collection of games from other genres in its library. One of the company's first successes was actually an action game featuring a robot that could turn into a jet, called Thexder. First released on the NEC PC-8801, then the Famicom, the game became a run away hit as it slowly got ported to more and more platforms, and became available in other countries.

The game was straightforward enough, as players explored various levels as both a robot and a fighter jet, constantly fending off robotic enemies. Players could blast away with their weapon, while their shields would absorb incoming damage until their robot's emergency reserve of energy ran dry. One thing that took some people a little time to get used to was transitioning into jet mode, as the thing

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seemed to coast along on autopilot to an extent, and it could feel a tad disorienting getting used to the difference in controls. Moreover, jumping was handled by pushing up, the the other two buttons on the controller were for shooting and restoring shields. With this in mind, one can easily see that Thexder came about in a time when traditional control schemes had yet to be established.

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Nonetheless, the game played quite well, with a steady stream of enemies to blow up, while trying to sort out the way through the levels. This all while figuring out what enemies to prioritize, since destroying certain ones will help to replenish your robot's energy reserves. It's a fairly straightforward experience that goes on for a good 16 levels (and then repeats with different colors!). In any case, it is a bit of a trailblazer for Japanese action games, given the sort of things one would do in the game, and the fact it came out a couple of years before we really started to see the genre taking off.

Thexder did very well for itself in Japan, and eventually made its way to the West once Sierra licensed it for release abroad, porting it to a number of home computer systems of that time. All-in-all, Thexder was a simple, yet engaging title that hooked a lot of people. In fact, the game was recently remade as downloadable content available via the PlayStation Network, so if you are curious about the game, but don't want to go rummaging around flea markets for a copy, its readily available should you have a PSP or PS3.

Mr. Nash
January 31, 2011