Xevious 3D/G+ maddeningly hard?

[Restart_Point]

I have a lot of nostalgia for Xevious as it's one of my earliest arcade memories, staring in awe at the (for the time) awesome full colour, detailed graphics where it was in my local cinema, when I was still too young to have my own money to play it. That looping music is forever stuck in my head.

I have the Xevious 3D/G+ collection for PS1, and 3D/G+ is a brilliant looking and sounding update to Xevious which I like everything about, except how damn hard it is! Does anyone enjoy this game and find it fair in the challenge stakes? Other than the extremely fast enemy and bullet speed, one of the biggest problems is how hard it is simply to power-up you weapon of choice.....you get such a tiny window of opportunity to shoot an upgrade pod when it's the colour you want, and then you have the ordeal of trying to actually catch it within the fraction of a second you have left while it's still on screen. I find shoot'em ups that make it unduly hard to stay on the weapon upgrade path that you have chosen maddening sometimes....Air Buster is another one that comes to mind, the way that throws out the upgrade icon across the screen really fast, often when there's a load of enemies blocking your access to them.

That and Xevious 3D/G+ are two games that I frequently get too frustrated to carry on with (3D/G+ is the worst though) which is a shame as I like everything about them otherwise. In other areas 3D/G+ is a stunning stylish and polished game, like most of Namco's older stuff. Anybody here OK with them in that respect? Any other good games kinda spoiled by some small but annoying play mechanics?

[professor ganson]

3D/G is probably my least favorite Xevious game, but the PS1 port is awesome for including Xevious Arrangement with tate mode. This is my favorite Xevious game and one of my all-time favorite games period.

Thanks for sharing the Xevious arcade memory. I'm old enough to remember the very beginning of videogames, but I have never had the pleasure of seeing a Xevious arcade machine.

[Despatche]

For what it's worth, 3D/G is the game you're talking about, while 3D/G+ is the name of the collection.

3D/G is hard, but not really overly hard. The blue weapon is the best, though there are various strats with the green weapon. Red weapon just seems too hard to use; this isn't Raiden.

The Japanese version of 3D/G+ has way more slowdown than the American version. I get the feeling the American version is more accurate, but who knows. I don't think the other games are different between regions?

[Turrican]

I seem to recall there were some significant differences between the Japanese and US/EUR collections. something regarding the way you unlocked stuff in the frontend menu...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I've had the pleasure of watching some skilled Xevious players playing through a serious session at Tilt! back in 1983-1984 (back in the day when one used to try to make each quarter last as long as possible). I did pre-order the USA NTSC version of Xevious 3D/G+ for the PSX through my local Software Etc. joint and only five copies came in via UPS on debut day. Not very many copies were produced given that it's a Namco game title to begin with.

Of course, Atari was given the exclusive rights to sell and distribute the full-sized Xevious upright cab in arcades across the USA back in 1983 through 1984.

I like the cool ending FMV clips that are shown during the ending staff credits sequence upon completing the final stage of Xevious 3D/G.

-----------------
Xevious 3D/G+ Factoid time: If you hook up an optional Namco produced NegCon controller to either port 1 or port 2 on the PSX console with Xevious 3D/G+ booted up, you can rotate your fightercraft on the "Z axis". How cool is that?
-----------------

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Pixel_Outlaw]

I believe in equal opportunity employment, but it would behoove Namco to employ a seeing artist on their next Xevious game.
It's not the difficulty I fight, it's the bland visuals in the series. And that's saying a lot since I have low standards.
From what I can gather they shout one of 4 colors to the artist and then they digitize his avant garde finger paintings.

[professor ganson]

I understand the criticism but I love Xevious's modern aesthetic. It's like something a 20th century minimalist artist might come up with.

[m.sniffles.esq]

Pixel outlaw's post is just... wow.
Those are pretty precise angles for finger paintings. I guess that's what makes them avant-garde?
Thankfully, I think they made a couple shooters with colorful spaceships. Maybe you should check those out.

Personally, Xevious was the first shooter I got "into" and proceeded to suck a 10-year-old me dry, one quarter at a time. One of the big reasons it drew me in was that it didn't look or sound like fucking Gorf. It was cleaner, sleeker, more angular, and just cooler.

[Pixel_Outlaw]

Pixel outlaw's post is just... wow.
Those are pretty precise angles for finger paintings. I guess that's what makes them avant-garde?
Thankfully, I think they made a couple shooters with colorful spaceships. Maybe you should check those out.

Personally, Xevious was the first shooter I got "into" and proceeded to suck a 10-year-old me dry, one quarter at a time. One of the big reasons it drew me in was that it didn't look or sound like fucking Gorf. It was cleaner, sleeker, more angular, and just cooler.

I was in a snarky mood.
I think it was the first scrolling shmup maybe.
Just would have been cool if they applied more shading and dithering, even with the palette they had.