An in-depth look at a game that time forgot

Don’t be mad at yourself if you haven’t heard of Xexyz for the NES. Even though it’s from Hudson Soft in the peak of their prime (1988 in Japan, 1990 in US) and it’s totally badass.

In fact, if you’re even just familiar with the name Xexyz, then you can probably count yourself as a truly Ghetto Gamer, and not a n00b Jonny-Come-Lately. Xexyz is a bit of a deep cut in the NES library. Which is a shame, because it is very interesting and quite good.

An original poster for Xexyz

Xexyz was not a very successful game. This may have been partly due to its having been released a scant two months after the mind-smashing Super Mario Bros 3, and two months before The Wizard, starring Fred Savage. There wasn’t much room in there for an unassuming little game like Xexyz.

Also, it has a weird name. Xexyz. Pronounced like “sexies” but with a zzz. So like “zexeez.” Actually, don’t worry about it. Just know that the difficult name probably made kids less likely to ask for it.

Page one of this month’s retro feature, Ghetto Gamer Magazine

So, if you hadn’t heard of this game, now you have. If you haven’t played it, you really should. It switches back and forth between side-scrolling platforming with upgradeable weapons, and side-scrolling shoot-em-up segments. The shooter parts are fairly easy, as far as shoot-em-ups go.

I don’t want to talk too much about Xexyz here. I’ve mapped it out and have a healthy preview of the first few levels in this month’s 2nd installment of Ghetto Gamer Magazine. Open it up from here, or….

Or you can visit the Magazine section of this site, where you can download the PDF or view it online along with previous and future GGM features that get posted.

Enjoy, you Xexy beasts! –GG

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