Classic NES Series: Xevious

"It's Xevious...how can it be bad?"

Xevious: The Avenger is one of the classic NES games that were ported to the GameBoy Advance in the “Classic NES Series” of GameBoy Advance games. I think that porting Xevious to the GBA was an excellent idea on behalf of Nintendo, and this game is definitely a game worth playing.

Your mission is to fly behind enemy lines on a mission to destroy Xevious. To accomplish this task, you've been given access to a state-of-the-art Solvalou fighter equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and guided bombs. As you fly over the surface of the planet, the screen will scroll upward and enemy air and ground forces will attempt to shoot you down. Xevious is a pretty basic shooter. Your Solvalou ship carries unlimited ammunition of both types. In Xevious, there are eleven different types of enemies. Five of them are air based enemies, and the other six are ground based. Not all of them can attack you, but all of them have a significant purpose in the game.

You only get three Solvalou to start out with, so to defeat this game, you have to have good reactions and quick thumbs. You can gain extra Solvalou by getting certain amounts of points. Points are scored by destroying air and ground targets. Generally ground targets are worth more. At twenty thousand points you will get one, along with sixty thousand points and every sixty thousand points after that.

Your mission will take you through several game areas. These areas are divided by a thick band of forest terrain. If you get shot down in the first seventy percent of an area, you will reappear at the beginning of that area; however, if you have proceeded past the first seventy percent of an area, you will begin in the next area.

One of the new features added to this game is the fact that you can now save your game at any point in game play. You can save it in the middle of a battle or while there aren't many enemies, and you can go back to this exact point in the game as many times as you like. This is a very nice features seeing as how starting the game all over once you get a game over is very annoying.

There is also an added multiplayer feature where two players can link up GBA's and play cooperatively. This is a very nice feature if you can find someone else who has this game.

Graphics
Since this game is pretty much a direct port of the original for the NES, of course the graphics are somewhat low compared to other GBA games. The graphics consist of a few shades of a few different colors. Explosions were not very impressive, but I am happy that Nintendo didn't change the graphics very much from the original.

Audio
The audio in this game was wonderful. The sound effects were pretty hearty and the music was well done as well. As the levels progressed, music becomes faster paced and more intense which really adds to the game play experience.

Controls
The controls were flawless. You ship is extremely responsive and moves at just the right pace to bring arcade and NES gaming to a handheld system. Learning the controls is very simple and since being able to get a good sense of the controls for this game is necessary, these two factors make a great combination. The controls are the best part of this game.

Game Play
This game successfully brings the quick paced arcade shooter game play to the GBA nearly perfectly. The game play in this game is very solid and very addictive. It is very simple yet still is fun to play and will entice all gamers. The levels are well designed, and there is just enough challenge for this game not to be incredibly easy, but at the same time not be mind bendingly difficult. The only problem I have is that there should have been a new option for some kind of endless mode, as starting the game over after you get a game over is kind of boring and a big let down. I was happy that you can now save your game of Xevious, which is a very nice feature especially because of how fast-paced this game is, you can just save your game and not have to worry about being highly strategical while playing.

Replay Value
This game can get a little bit frustrating at times and sometimes makes you want to just stop playing it, but despite that, this game has a pretty high replay value. On long trips I always pack this game with my GBA and usually find myself playing it at some point. The game is pretty darn challenging, so most people will find playing it more than once pretty fun.

Final Words
Xevious is definitely one of the better games of the “Classic NES Series” for the GBA. This one had quick-paced arcade style game play, flawless controls, and high replay value. The graphics were a little lack luster, but, hey, it is a port of a NES game. If you like to play shooters, or like classic gaming in general, I would definitely recommend buying this game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/13/06