One of the very first vertically scrolling shooters, “Xevious” stood out quite a bit at release for having a varied, topographical background rather than a simple star field.
It’s also a smart game, varying the enemies it sends at you based on the way you play.
All of this is really cool.
The NES port is … okay. It literally never ends. And it’s a tough game. And of course, as an NES shooter, it’s ugly.
It didn’t piss me off like “Star Soldier” did, so that’s something. But it’s definitely dated.
How much you enjoy probably depends on how much you appreciate the historical importance.
I like video game history, so …