Зебиус: Вертикальный скролл-шутер 1982 года

Vertical scrolling shooter arcade game released in 1983

Xevious (ゼビウス, Zebiusu) is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco in 1982. It was released in Japan by Namco and in North America by Atari, Inc. Controlling the Solvalou starship, the player attacks Xevious forces before they destroy all of mankind. The Solvalou has two weapons at its disposal: a zapper to destroy flying craft, and a blaster to bomb ground installations and enemies. It runs on the Namco Galaga arcade system. The game was designed by Masanobu Endō and a small team. Created to rival the success of Scramble, it was originally themed around the Vietnam War and titled Cheyenne. Endō wanted the game to have a detailed, integral storyline and a comprehensive world, and to be welcoming for newer players. Several enemies and characters were made to pay homage to other popular science fiction works, including Star Wars, UFO, Alien, and Battlestar Galactica. Xevious was praised for its detailed graphics, challenge, and originality. It became an unprecedented success for Namco in Japan, with record breaking sales figures making it the biggest game since Space Invaders. The North American release paled in comparison, despite still selling 5,295 arcade units by the end of 1983. It has been listed among the greatest video games of all time and one of the most influential games in the shoot 'em up genre, establishing the template for vertically scrolling shooters and inspiring games such as TwinBee and RayForce. It was ported to home systems, followed by several sequels and spin offs, and is included in many Namco compilations.

Xevious is a vertically scrolling shooter. The player controls a flying attack craft, the Solvalou, to destroy the Xevious forces plotting to take over Earth. and a blaster for bombing ground installations and vehicles. Areas are geographically distinct, with features such as forests, roads, rivers, and mechanical structures. Certain areas have Nazca lines placed on the ground, some in the "condor" design. Yellow "Special Flags" from Namco's own Rally X are found in a semi random section of the area. Collecting one gives an extra life. Endō wanted the game to have a consistent, detailed world with a story that didn't feel like a "tacked on extra", instead being an integral part of the game. The player's ship, the Solvalou, is based on the Nostromo space tug from Alien, while several of the enemies are homages to starships from popular science fiction works, including Star Wars, UFO and Battlestar Galactica. In the months following, Atari, Inc. acquired the rights to manufacture and distribute it in North America, advertising it as "the Atari game you can't play at home". The Famicom version was released internationally for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Bandai, renamed Xevious: The Avenger in North America. A version for the Apple II was released the same year. A Commodore 64 version was published by U. S. Gold and released in 1987. The Famicom version was re released as a budget title for the Famicom Disk System in 1990. Versions for the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200 were completed but never released. The Atari 2600 port was programmed by Tod Frye. Three mobile phone versions were released; the first for J Sky in 2002, renamed Xevious Mini, the second for i Mode the same year, and the third for EZweb in 2003. The NES version was re released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 as part of the Classic NES Series line. The arcade version was released for the Xbox 360 in 2007, featuring support for achievements and online leaderboards. The Wii Virtual Console received the NES version in 2006 and the arcade version in 2009. A remake for the Nintendo 3DS was released in 2011 as part of the 3D Classics series, named 3D Classics: Xevious, which took advantage of the handheld's 3D screen technology. The NES version was released for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013, and was also added to the Nintendo Switch Online service in March 2023. The arcade version, along with Pac Man, was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives line in 2021. Xevious is included in Namco compilations including Namco Museum Vol. 1 (1995), Namco Museum Battle Collection (2005), Namco Museum 50th Anniversary (2005), Namco Museum Remix (2006), Namco Museum DS (2007), Namco Museum Virtual Arcade (2008), and Namco Museum Essentials (2009). The PlayStation home port of Xevious 3D/G includes the original Xevious as an extra, alongside its sequels Super Xevious and Xevious Arrangement. It is included as one of the five titles in Microsoft Revenge of Arcade, released for Windows in 1998. The 2005 GameCube game Star Fox: Assault includes the NES version as an unlockable extra, awarded by collecting all silver medals in the game. For the game's 30th anniversary in 2012, it was released for iOS devices as part of the Namco Arcade compilation.

Xevious was an unprecedented success for Namco in Japan. In its first few weeks on the market, it recorded record breaking sales figures that hadn't been seen since Space Invaders in 1978. It was the top grossing table arcade cabinet on Japan's Game Machine arcade charts in November 1983. In North American arcades, it was a more moderate success, reaching number four on the Play Meter arcade charts in July 1983. Atari sold 5,295 arcade cabinets in the US by the end of 1983, earning about $11.1 million (equivalent to $ in ) in US cabinet sales revenue. The Famicom version became the console's first killer app with over 1.26 million copies sold in Japan, jumping system sales by nearly 2 million units. The game's immense popularity led to high score tournaments being set up across the country, alongside the creation of strategy guidebooks that documented much of its secrets and hidden items. The NES version went on to sell 1.5 million game cartridges worldwide.

Super Xevious was released in 1984. The difficulty was increased to appeal to more advanced players, alongside new enemy types and characters that reset the player's score when shot. An arcade version of this game was also released, known as Vs. Super Xevious, running on the Nintendo Vs. arcade system. An arcade spin off title starring one of the enemies from Xevious, Grobda, was released in 1984. Two games for the MSX2 and PC Engine were released in 1988 and 1990 respectively Xevious Fardraut Saga and Xevious Fardraut Densetsu, both of which include a remade port of the original alongside a brand new story mode with new enemies, boss fights and power up items. A 3D rail shooter spin off, Solvalou, was published in 1991. In 1995, two arcade sequels were released Xevious Arrangement, a remake of the original with two player co op, and Xevious 3D/G, a 3D game with 2D gameplay both of these titles were soon released in 1997 for the PlayStation, compiled into Xevious 3D/G+, alongside the original Xevious and Super Xevious. A final follow up was released in 2009, Xevious Resurrection, exclusively as part of the compilation title Namco Museum Essentials, which includes two player simultaneous co op alongside a number of other features.

In 1991, a three part Xevious novel was published, titled Fardraut the books documented the lore of the Xevious video game series, including its characters, backstory and events. The books would be republished fifteen years later in 2005. A Xevious themed soundtrack album was produced by Haruomi Hosono of Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1984, titled Video Game Music. Compiled with music from other Namco video games, such as Mappy and Pole Position, it is credited as the first video game soundtrack album. Xevious would also spawn the first gameplay recording for a video game Music from the game was used during the video game themed television series Starcade.