is a horizontally

scrolling shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character m ...

published by

Irem is a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher and manufacturer of pachinkos. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Software Enginee ...

, and similar in style to their earlier ''

R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful a ...

''. In 1998, the game was released with ''

Image Fight (also ''IMAGEFIGHT'') is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Irem. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, X68000 and FM Towns in 1990. The NES version was the on ...

'' as a one-disc doublebill on

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

and

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

. In 2019, the game was released on the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

as part of

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 360 titles are distribut ...

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called focuses on re-releasing Neo Geo titles in their original arcade format, unlike many s ...

series.

Gameplay

The game itself is a side-scroller like ''

'', albeit with a short vertical-scrolling area towards the end of the sixth level. Instead of the Force pod, however, the main power-up apparatus takes the form of two flexible tentacles. The tentacles are invulnerable to all enemy attacks, and can be positioned with careful maneuvering of the X-002.

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

's '' Xexex'' is based on a fusion of this weaponry with the Force system of ''R-Type''. In the PlayStation 2 game ''

R-Type Final is a horizontal shooter video game by Irem for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was planned to be the last mainline game in the ''R-Type'' series. However, ''R-Type Tactics'' was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2007, and the di ...

'', the ship "RX-12 Cross The Rubicon" uses the "Flexible Force", a Force based on ''XMultiply'' with roughly the same attacks.

Plot

The game centers around an unusual alien invasion against a colony planet in the year 2249—the aliens themselves are microscopic creatures that invade, infect, and kill the colonists. Scientists have deployed the microscopic fighter X-002 into the body of a person who has been invaded by the alien queen.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''X Multiply'' on their November 1, 1989 issue as being the eighth most-successful table arcade game of the year.

Notes

References

External links

* *
''X Multiply''
at

{{Irem 1989 video games Arcade Archives games Arcade video games Horizontally scrolling shooters Irem games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation 4 games Science fiction video games Sega Saturn games Video games about microbes Video games about size change Video games developed in Japan Video games set in the 23rd century