Xardion
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is a
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
where the player controls
robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
s with different skills in order to defeat the enemy and reach goals.


Story

The inhabitants of the three worlds in the Alpha 1
Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
have been at war for seven months before hostilities upon the threat of invaders from the artificial world NGC-1611. The Alpha 1 Federation has gathered together the system's best defenses in an effort to repel the invasion. Two mechas and a self-aware robot are dispatched to NGC-1611, charged with the task of destroying the invaders' power source and, if possible, locate the legendary weapon, Xardion, in the process.


The History of NGC-1611

Planet NGC-1611 is a typical world in all ways, omitting that it was constructed from raw materials by an unnamed scientist. His desire was to create a planet which could not die. His work was dubbed "Project New Frontier." The project was a failure, and violent monsters rapidly evolved, making NGC-1611 uninhabitable by humans. The scientist's final instructions to the supercomputers that once managed the planet were: "Protect my daughter! Eliminate all intruders." However, the scientist's daughter died after these instructions were given. The supercomputers, not knowing how to proceed with their directive, eventually found a holographic image of the scientist's daughter and projected it into a protective capsule. They chose to defend that capsule in place of the actual girl. Sometime after, an undisclosed event or chain of events lead the supercomputers to send an invasion to the Alpha 1 system.


Characters

Three champions, one from each planet, were sent to NGC-1611. Two pilots operate two transforming mecha, with a space fighter in story scenes and a giant robot in gameplay. The third is a self-aware A.I. robot that has similar two forms, as well. The player picks which one to use each with its own special talents and weapons. * Triton - Humanoid. Carries a rifle and can fire upward. * Alcedes - Beast Bot/Mage that resembles a humanoid/insect and has four arms. Carries a staff. Fires a small laser projectile from its antenna. * Panthera - Catlike. Quadrupedal robot, can avoid danger more easily, but cannot jump as high as Triton or Alcedes. Is able to get into small spaces that the others cannot. Shoots a blast from head-mounted guns. * Xardion - The ultimate mecha cyborg. Xardion is gained later in the game, and replaces Panthera after the latter gets destroyed by concentrated
hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...
in NGC-1611. Fires a blast from its arm appendage.


Gameplay

While possessing the typical qualities of action platformers at the time it was made (jump, duck, shoot etc.), ''Xardion'' made use of a few novel elements. Additionally, the game had a role-playing element where experience points could be accrued by defeating enemies and bosses, and each level up increased the player's maximum life and special ability points. During the game, the player takes control of one of three available robot forms. Each form represents one of the three inhabited worlds in the system: Alcedes, from Fiera; Triton, from Oceansphere, and Panthera, from Hollowsphere. Each form has its own particular abilities and weaknesses. For example, Panthera is less than half the height of the others and, as such, can enter narrow passages to collect items. Additionally, each form possesses its own health and special ability points, and must be upgraded separately from the others. This is equivalent to a '
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
' game mechanic, where one heavily damaged character can be swapped instantly for another. Eventually, one of the robot forms is replaced by Xardion, which combines the abilities of all three previous forms and exceeds them. Xardion only becomes available near the end of the game, but joins the team at level one. An obstruction that can only be cleared by a sufficiently-leveled Xardion forces the player to return to earlier levels in order to gain levels and develop special abilities.


Development

The game's main mecha designs were designed by Moriki Yasuhiro, who also worked on designing Zeorymer for the OAV '' Hades Project Zeorymer'' and
Hajime Katoki is a Japanese mecha designer. A member of the studio Sunrise, he worked on the ''Gundam'' series as well as his work on video games, such as the '' Virtual On'' series and '' Policenauts''. Biography Born in 1963, Katoki created designs for ...
, who created major designs of the
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from the ''
Gundam is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ...
'' franchise. Animation studio
Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...
also provided input on the game.


Release

The game was released in Japan on March 20, 1992. It was released in North America in April 1992. The English script was written by
Robert Woodhead Robert J. Woodhead (born 1958 or 1959) is an American entrepreneur, software engineer and former game programmer. He is the co-creator of the ''Wizardry'' franchise, and the co-founder of both the video game publishing company Sir-Tech and ani ...
, who had previously worked on the ''
Wizardry Wizardry may refer to: * ''Wizardry'' (video game series), role-playing video game series, originally published by Sir-Tech ** '' Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord'', the first game of the series, released in 1981 * ''Wizardry'' (The ...
'' series.


Reception

''
Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' magazine gave it a score of 21 out of 40.


References


External links

*{{MobyGames, id=/xardion, name=''Xardion'' 1992 video games Action games Asmik Ace Entertainment games Jorudan games Platformers Science fiction video games Single-player video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Video games about mecha Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Kohei Tanaka