is a

run and gun video game Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, 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 typ ...

from

Game Arts is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a number of game console and handheld systems. Its President and CEO in 200 ...

, originally released for the

NEC PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the four major Japane ...

in 1985. It was ported to many systems, including the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

and DOS. It was a commercial success, selling over one million units worldwide.

Gameplay

In ''Thexder'', the player controls a fighter robot that is able to transform into a jet and shoot lasers.

Release

The game was originally released in 1985 for the

platform in Japan. Game Arts licensed ''Thexder'' to

Square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

in order to develop a conversion for the

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...

(Famicom) game console. In 1987, Game Arts also developed a ''Thexder'' conversion for the

platform. The game was licensed to

Sierra Entertainment Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1979 by Ken Williams (game developer), Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is ...

for release in the United States. Sierra ported the game to multiple platforms, including the

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...

Tandy Color Computer 3 The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer, is a series of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Computer is a completely different ...

, Apple IIGS, Macintosh, Apple Macintosh, and Tandy 1000. In 1988 in video gaming, 1988, Activision released the game in Europe on the Commodore Amiga. D4 Enterprise was re-released for the

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 ...

on October 26, 2023 in Japan as part of the ''EGG Console''.

Reception

''Thexder'' quickly became a best-selling hit, selling over 500,000 copies in Japan by 1987. As the PC-8801 platform was only popular in Japan, ''Thexder'' did not garner significant attention abroad until it was converted for the MSX (the best-selling platform in Brazil and many Eastern European countries), Apple II, and DOS, eventually becoming an international hit. It became the company's best-selling title of 1987. By 1990, the game had sold over one million copies worldwide. ''

Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', is an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET. ...

'' praised the Apple IIGS version of ''Thexder'' as the computer's "first true arcade game" with "excellent play value for your dollar". In 1988, ''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' was a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published '' CRASH'', ''Zzap!64'', '' Amtix!'' and other magazines. History ''The Games Machine'' ran head ...

'' gave the Amiga version a 74% score.''The Games Machine'' 7, page 68. In 1991, ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' gave the Macintosh and PC/MS-DOS versions of the game each 4 out of 5 stars. The game went on to sell over one million copies worldwide, becoming Game Arts' biggest-selling title of 1987. ''Thexder'' is considered an important breakthrough title for the run-and-gun

shooter game Shooter video games, or shooters, are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is on the defeat of the character's enemies using ranged weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, a ...

genre, paving the way for titles such as ''

Contra Contra may refer to: Places * Contra, Virginia * Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California * Contra Costa County, California * Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerla ...

'' and ''

Metal Slug is a Japanese multimedia franchise and run and gun video game series originally created by Nazca Corporation before merging with SNK in 1996 after the completion of the first game in the series. Spin-off games include a third-person shoo ...

''.

Other games in the series

References

External links

* ;''Thexder''
Official website
(D4Enterprise/Project Egg) * *
''Thexder'' Apple IIGS manual
;''Thexder 95'' * {{moby game, id=/thexder_, name=''Thexder 95'' 1985 video games Amiga games Apple II games Apple IIGS games Classic Mac OS games DOS games FM-7 games Game Arts games GungHo Online Entertainment franchises MSX games NEC PC-8801 games NEC PC-9801 games Nintendo Entertainment System games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Portable games Run and gun games Science fiction video games Sharp MZ games Sharp X1 games Sierra Entertainment games Single-player video games Square (video game company) games Synergistic Software games TRS-80 Color Computer games Video game franchises Video games about robots Video games developed in Japan