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エクセリオン
©1985 Jaleco
Release: 1985-02-11 (¥4500)
Cartdridge JF-01
Shooter/Vertical
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Exerion is a top-down vertical shooter by Jaleco and conversion of an arcade game
originally released in 1982. In the year 2991, the Zorni forces launched a surprise attack on
planet Exerion and the Fighter EX is sent to counter the threat. Hordes of attacking
ships appear from the top of the screen, periodically shooting or diving down towards the player's
ship. The space fighter comes equipped with two weapons - a standard twin-shot and a rapid fire.
Although the slow twin-shot comes in unlimited supply, the powerful rapid fire is limited to a
certain amount of ammo (the remaining rapid shots are called 'charges' and are displayed
at the bottom of the screen). As the player kills enemies, the amount of rapid fire shots
slowly increases, and the core of the gameplay is to find the perfect balance between the
slow but wide twin-shot, and the fast but limited rapid fire. Although the game borrows many
elements from popular top-down shooters available the time (such as Galaxian or Phoenix),
it separates itself from its peers for a number of reasons. First of all, the background features a
pseudo perspective and a 3D/Parallax scrolling that smoothly transitions from one area to the next.
Then the ship has considerable inertia, allowing the player to execute complex evasive maneuvers with some practice,
or to plunge to his doom. Although Exerion indefinitively loops, it includes four types of
levels (mountains, Clouds, City and Pyramids), each consisting of several
enemy waves. Every fifth stage is a bonus area where the player takes down as many alien ships
as possible in order to no only boost his score, but also to increase his rapid shot charge.
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Exerion was an arcade game originally published by Jaleco in 1983 (picture on the left). It
was later ported for the Sega SF-1000 (1983), MSX (1984) and Famicom (1985).
A sequel called Zorni Exerion II was also released in 1984 for the MSX. The original
arcade game was released for PC Computers in 2003 and was also included in Jaleco Collection Vol. 1
(Playstation, 2003) and the Famicom game can be found on Jajamaru
Jr. Denshōki Jaleco memorial (Game Boy Advance, 2004). Interestingly,
a sequel to the Famicom game was planned for a 1989 release, but was eventually
canceled. A prototype ROM do however exist and is now available to download, thanks to
the Nintendo Age community.
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Add your Pov here !
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Don't feel put off by the graphics - Exerion may have aged in its
presentation, but the classic gameplay at its core is still as fun as as it ever
was. The ship's inertia does take a little time to get used to, but once you do,
the game becomes exponentially more enjoyable. The action is hectic and definitively
keeps your adrenaline pumping - it simply never stops and levels just smoothly
transition from one to the next, without a second to breathe - 80's arcade action
at its best. Graphics are simple but surprisingly detailed, and I especially love the way how the
large bird-like aliens dive down on you. Exerion is a bit repetitive
and loops after a handful of levels (with a different color palette), but if you're into
arcade games from this era, then you'll really enjoy this title.
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