I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

DenimDemon · Post by **DenimDemon** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:12 pm

So download Xexex.So what version should I go with ? Japanese I assume? Seems Western versions play quite different. Have never played much before so I’m really discovering the game now.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:16 pm

I'm not sure myself... regarding PS4, I've got JP, but I'm guessing all regions of ACA XEXEX/Orius will bundle the same three revisions (XEXEX JP, XEXEX EU and Orius). I'll have a look around to confirm, fwiw.

As far as the revisions themselves go, yeah, you should play JP first. Whether the Overseas changes are good, bad or ugly is up to taste, but they're generally not liked (much as with Thunder Cross and Trigon). Still great to have them for posterity, ofc.

EDIT1: Just had a look at the official ACA site's US, EU and JP listings - none of them mention which revisions are included, though I can confirm JP has all three. Offhand, I would again expect US and EU to follow suit, simply because that's how ACA tends to roll.

I would say grab the JP one if's convenient for you, but maybe hold off until US/EU's bundles are confirmed. I wouldn't want to shell out only to discover there's no JP rev. As long as your System Language is set to English, even the JPSN ACA XEXEX will have full English menus, so no worries there.

(interestingly, on my machine - JP account w/EN system language - it's still listed on the home screen as "Arcade Archives: XEXEX." Usually when a game had an Overseas release, and your system language is EN, ACA will use that one instead (EG ACA Guevara = "ACA Guerrilla War," despite the release itself containing only the JP revision, on all storefronts).

Spoiler

EDIT2: Oh duh. Misinterpreted your post - I guess you've got it downloaded already. Out of curiosity, which region did you go with?

evil_ash_xero · Post by **evil_ash_xero** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:35 pm

Strange you were talking about the versions, as I was going to ask which one people liked best. It's pretty bad that all the weaponry has basically been taken out of the World versions (even though they left the icons). The healthbar is weird. However, I do like that it doesn't start you at a checkpoint. I am OK with that in games, but it's a good way to practice, and some may just prefer it.

I'm playing the JP version, for now though. Choices are always good, but they could have done a bit more to make the World and USA versions better.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:41 pm

Daww.

Konami Code @ title menu, tradition upheld.

`

OldSkoolShmuper · Post by **OldSkoolShmuper** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:43 pm

I got the NA release for PS4, you get 3 versions (edit: I mean revisions).

Japan (Xexex), European (Xexex) and U.S./NA (Orius).

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:44 pm

Great info, thanks!

DenimDemon · Post by **DenimDemon** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:50 pm

BIL wrote:I'm not sure myself... regarding PS4, I've got JP, but I'm guessing all regions of ACA XEXEX/Orius will bundle the same three revisions (XEXEX JP, XEXEX EU and Orius). I'll have a look around to confirm, fwiw.

As far as the revisions themselves go, yeah, you should play JP first. Whether the Overseas changes are good, bad or ugly is up to taste, but they're generally not liked (much as with Thunder Cross and Trigon). Still great to have them for posterity, ofc.

EDIT1: Just had a look at the official ACA site's US, EU and JP listings - none of them mention which revisions are included, though I can confirm JP has all three. Offhand, I would again expect US and EU to follow suit, simply because that's how ACA tends to roll.

I would say grab the JP one if's convenient for you, but maybe hold off until US/EU's bundles are confirmed. I wouldn't want to shell out only to discover there's no JP rev. As long as your System Language is set to English, even the JPSN ACA XEXEX will have full English menus, so no worries there.

(interestingly, on my machine - JP account w/EN system language - it's still listed on the home screen as "Arcade Archives: XEXEX." Usually when a game had an Overseas release, and your system language is EN, ACA will use that one instead (EG ACA Guevara = "ACA Guerrilla War," despite the release itself containing only the JP revision, on all storefronts).

EDIT2: Oh duh. Misinterpreted your post - I guess you've got it downloaded already. Out of curiosity, which region did you go with?

yeah im on Hong Kong PSN.
But you are right, I meant “revisions” not versions. My bad. I’ve been playing the JP revision during the afternoon but when I tried US one I noticed that right on the first stage the music level was much lower? Also different enemies placement right from the start.
Then you get an health bar instead of life / checkpoint system from the JP side. Cool game so far. Really cool.
I think I’m sticking with JP revision for now.

Meanwhile a few others ACA are on sale… might pick up Terra Force.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 11:11 pm

Yeah, there's a note in the manual mentioning the SFX were boosted over the BGM for the Overseas PCB revisions. Interesting attention to detail, typical of Hamster.

An unfortunate change, imo - XEXEX's soundtrack is one of the finest in Konami's already legendary canon. "Shake 'Em Retro-Roop!" (Dogfight 1 BGM) is particularly sublime, that otherworldly tone.

That said, the SFX do at least rock pretty goddamn hard, too. Certainly gives that deafening arcade floor feeling, haha.

^ lil buddy puttin' in the checkpoint recovery work :3 sublime sense of less HI-TECH GEAR, more BEIN' FRIENDS

hamfighterx · Post by **hamfighterx** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 12:09 am

OldSkoolShmuper wrote:I got the NA release for PS4, you get 3 versions (edit: I mean revisions).

Japan (Xexex), European (Xexex) and U.S./NA (Orius).

Probably not a big surprise, but I can confirm that NA Switch version is the same: all 3 revisions included, JP/EU/NA

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 12:59 am

Always good to know.

Hamster should really note this stuff on the official ACA site. I'm pretty sure they used to, actually.

To Far Away Times · Post by **To Far Away Times** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 3:21 am

Always loved how people just use the Japanese name when an Internatational version gets fucked with. I had no idea Xexex was called Orious or whatever it is in the fucked with version. I looked at the e-shop today and I was like what is an Orious?

DenimDemon · Post by **DenimDemon** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 12:52 pm

Getting completely destroyed by Stage 3. What a never ending nightmare, 43 i think im getting old for this shit. End up making by pure luck got saluted by huge non friendly dragon head. Then stage 4 that’s where the real nightmare starts.
I’m also not sure when to use or deploy the tentacles. Stage 1 and 2 are a breeze tough.
Great soundtrack.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 1:53 pm

I've had the most luck using Flint as a sort of mobile cover. Keep yourself on the other side of it from bullets and zako, basically. In Stage 3 I hang out above/below it, so it'll eat up the lion's share of blue flak. Using it as a direct attack seems risky, given its innate playfulness.

I made it to Stage 7-2's battleship interior, befor recalling saucykobold's consoling words from the last time I played XEXEX, conking out here on his team in one of the old STGTs. "All smooth sailing until they drop an R-Type II stage on you."

(hope you're doing alright saucy, on the off chance you see this) Decided to call it quits for today, can tell it'll take some figuring out.

I'm really curious about the second loop now, given the game's interesting (and very un-Gradius) persistent bullet blocking mechanic. Much the same for Detana Twinbee's and its own defensive shadowplay, although that one sounds like a truly monumental undertaking.

BareKnuckleRoo · Post by **BareKnuckleRoo** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:20 pm

Detana Twinbee

I loathe the Twinbee games. They'd actually be very nice cute 'em ups with perfectly reasonable difficulty, nice art and music etc, and a fun scoring system... but the powerup system is hot, steaming garbage. Getting the powerup you want from any particular bell is quite possibly among the worst shmup experiences. Parodius avoids this pirfall by making bells a bonus, rather than a necessity to powerup your core moveset.

If they'd done standalone or Gradius style powerups, and just kept the bells purely for the chaining system, I'd have vastly preferred it.

Stevens · Post by **Stevens** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:43 pm

Agree. The bells can go fuck themselves: )

Sima Tuna · Post by **Sima Tuna** » Sun Dec 26, 2021 9:44 pm

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:
Detana Twinbee
I loathe the Twinbee games. They'd actually be very nice cute 'em ups with perfectly reasonable difficulty, nice art and music etc, and a fun scoring system... but the powerup system is hot, steaming garbage. Getting the powerup you want from any particular bell is quite possibly among the worst shmup experiences. Parodius avoids this pirfall by making bells a bonus, rather than a necessity to powerup your core moveset.

If they'd done standalone or Gradius style powerups, and just kept the bells purely for the chaining system, I'd have vastly preferred it.

Twinbee would be pretty cool with the Salamander powerup system. Powerups in general shouldn't be something difficult for the player to understand or hard to achieve. It just makes recovery a huge dick.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Dec 27, 2021 5:02 am

I was confused when I tried to download Xexex from the US PSN store. Finally downloaded it when I realized it was under the name Orius. Definitely liking it quite a bit so far. Surprising that the US and EU versions have the intro intact with the Japanese voices considering the other changes made to it. That music needs to be turned up LOUD!

I like the Twinbee games despite having the deal with the bells, but at least some of the console installments like Pop 'n Twinbee make them easier to deal with. Not console, but Yahhoo at least added some more power ups earned by bombing, though you can only hold two at a time and they take up bombing arms.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Mon Dec 27, 2021 1:42 pm

BIL wrote:I've had the most luck using Flint as a sort of mobile cover. Keep yourself on the other side of it from bullets and zako, basically. In Stage 3 I hang out above/below it, so it'll eat up the lion's share of blue flak. Using it as a direct attack seems risky, given its innate playfulness.

I made it to Stage 7-2's battleship interior, befor recalling saucykobold's consoling words from the last time I played XEXEX, conking out here on his team in one of the old STGTs. "All smooth sailing until they drop an R-Type II stage on you." (hope you're doing alright saucy, on the off chance you see this) Decided to call it quits for today, can tell it'll take some figuring out.

I'm really curious about the second loop now, given the game's interesting (and very un-Gradius) persistent bullet blocking mechanic. Much the same for Detana Twinbee's and its own defensive shadowplay, although that one sounds like a truly monumental undertaking.

Fucking hell, fair play. I did an hour yesterday, and spent half of that getting sniped on ST3. It's frustrating as hell! Doesn't help that the flint thing a little flaky on occasion as well, I certainly don't trust it as much as R-Type's force just yet.
Beautiful art though, and that soundtrack so far is definitely one of Konami's best.

Rastan78 · Post by **Rastan78** » Mon Dec 27, 2021 5:33 pm

Wow I had no clue there was even an NA release called Orius. I'm gonna assume not to many of those were out there in western arcades in the day. Xexex is a much cooler name, however you are actually supposed to pronounce it. Did we really need another sidescroller shmup ending in "-ius?" Seems like the staff was a little unoriginal coming up with names as Xexex seems like it had to be directly inspired by Exed Exes.

EmperorIng · Post by **EmperorIng** » Mon Dec 27, 2021 6:38 pm

I had 'heard' it was a play on Sex Sex, since it had its saucy cutscenes with the poor princess.

Rastan78 · Post by **Rastan78** » Mon Dec 27, 2021 10:14 pm

Supposedly the voice overs in those extra sexy cut scenes are legendary for how terrible the acting is. But I guess you would have to be fluent in Japanese to get how laughable they are.

velo · Post by **velo** » Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:30 pm

CRP wrote:
velo wrote:The Ninja Kid and Mutant-kun cameos in Atomic Robo-Kid have me hooked on the UPL Cinematic Universe. Mutant Night is still officially "coming soon to Switch" despite having been on PS4 for years. Do these delayed Switch releases have a history of actually making it, or is it more likely to be quietly forgotten?
Just wait one week more

Thanks for the heads up, Hamster's Twitter says it's coming tomorrow.

I've just about got an Atomic Robokid 1cc, choked on the final boss twice now. I think Ninja Kid 2's not happening for me ever. I consulted youtube after flailing away with save states for a while and it turns out a 1cc is a good hour long. Everything after level 20 or so looks like something they banged out in a few minutes specifically to keep anybody from finishing the game.

MOSQUITO FIGHTER · Post by **MOSQUITO FIGHTER** » Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:41 pm

I’m having a great time with Xexex. I know it’s not technically perfect or anything. But it just looks so cool and plays really different and loose from all the other Konami shooters.

To Far Away Times · Post by **To Far Away Times** » Thu Dec 30, 2021 12:50 am

Xexex is secretly Konami's best shmup. I like it way better than any Gradius game. I like Axelay a lot too.

They're like the 1 and 1A of Konami shmups, then there's every thing else they've made.

Sima Tuna · Post by **Sima Tuna** » Thu Dec 30, 2021 2:04 am

I should play those games. Gradius gives me a real case of the blues with the unholy combo of checkpoint recovery into power down syndrome.

Super Joe · Post by **Super Joe** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:05 pm

From Hamsters latest feed, did anyone notice the interesting joypad on show ? Perfect for Ikari etc.

pablumatic · Post by **pablumatic** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:22 pm

Xexex/Orius is one of those arcade greats that for some reason mostly languished in arcades and never saw much home presence other than that JP exclusive PSP port. I guess it comes down to the era it spawned from where fighting games dominated.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:51 pm

Super Joe wrote:From Hamsters latest feed, did anyone notice the interesting joypad on show ? Perfect for Ikari etc.

Oh nice

I did notice they'd retweeted Hori. A good LS-30 approximator would be a godsend. The ACA SNK stuff does really well for joypad (especially if you take full advantage of the remap+autofire), but it's inevitably not the same.

DenimDemon · Post by **DenimDemon** » Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:36 pm

Now that the new year dust has settled down it’s time do dive with Mutant Night[CLINKING BEER MUGS]

DenimDemon · Post by **DenimDemon** » Sat Jan 01, 2022 10:14 pm

Holy shit ! there’s new display options in this Mutant Night ACA release. You can use scanlines and disable the blur filter. Well not totally disable but you can choose if you want the usual ACA blur or a sharper filter.That’s new since Xexex from last week didn’t have it yet. You can also select scanline thicknesse.

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