Clones & Ports of Namco's Xevious
This article is concerned with clones and ports of Namco's Xevious coinop of 1982 that have appeared on Western home computer game machines.
The original coinop Xevious was designed by Masanobu EndÅ and Shigeki Toyama, drawn by Hiroshi Ono and composed by Yuriko Keino.
Xevious-likes are defined by me as shoot 'em ups that feature slow vertical scrolling and slow-moving waves that build up on-screen over time, culminating in a boss fight. Xevious gameplay is slow and steady yet highly engaging. Xevious co-originated and popularized the boss fight in computer and video games.
A true Xevious-like would also feature an on-screen targeting reticle for blasting ground-based hostiles.
Some shoot 'em ups pay homage to Xevious by including indestructible waves of flipping tiles or spinning cubes (e.g., SWIV: see below).
The origin of Xevious is Konami's Scramble of 1981. Scramble was the first horizontally-scrolling shooter (as well as the first scroller and auto-scroller in general) whereas Xevious was the first vertically-scrolling shooter (also an auto-scroller).
As such, Xevious is one of the most famous and replicated of classic shoot 'em ups: scores of early-80s to mid-90s shoot 'em ups look like, move like and play similarly to Xevious. That said, I am only concerned with genuine Xevious-likes and Xevious-tributes, not the many different kinds of v-shooters that Xevious-likes evolved into, but you can browse through dozens of such shooters in my above-linked shoot 'em up history.
The article is only concerned with Xevious clones and ports that appeared on Western computer home game machines. The clones and ports are presented chronologically.
There were not many Xevious ports or clones on WCGMs. The reasons are as follows:
In 1982-83 microcomputer tech was not up to the task outside of the Atari 400/800, but the 8 bit Atari family did not receive ports of Xevious. Most early 8 bit micros had great difficulty scrolling the screen.
And by the time 8 bit micro hardware was being tapped properly by coders, Xevious had evolved into the general v-shooter. Of course, the v-shooter owes its existence to Xevious, but most post-Xevious v-shooters can hardly be called "Xevious-likes."
Xevious Ports
Xevious Apple 2 1984
Dan Hewitt (Oids) ported Namco's Xevious of 1982 to 16K Apple 2 in 1984. While the scrolling and sprite-shifting are not silky smooth, it's pretty smooth for the Apple 2. And there is quite a lot drawn on-screen simultanenously.
Xevious ZX Spectrum 1986
Nick Bruty of Probe Software ported Xevious to the ZX Spectrum in 1986. While not as colorful the Speccy version runs smoother than the Apple 2 version, which is more important.
Xevious Amstrad CPC 1986
Unknown of Probe Software ported Xevious to the Amstrad CPC in 1986. CPC Xevious runs sluggishy in comparison to the Speccy version; graphics are more colorful but not as clear.
Xevious Commodore 64 1987
Namco's Xevious coinop of 1982 was ported to the Commodore 64 in 1987 by U.S. Gold. This is a disappointing port for the C64 in 1987.
Xevious Atari ST 1987
Probe Software ported Xevious to the Atari ST in 1987. Atari ST Xevious was programmed by Chris Hinsley. This is a great conversion of the 1982 Namco coinop even though there is some slowdown when there are lots of on-screen sprites.
Xevious emphasizes drawing fire: enemy projectiles are relatively slow-moving but build up and home-in on you. Great shoot 'em up. Xevious was not available on MS-DOS or Amiga.
Xevious Clones
Flak Atari 8 Bit 1984
Yves Lempereur of Funsoft Inc. coded Flak in 1984 for the Atari 8 bit family (400/800). Also available on C64 and Apple 2, Flak is an extremely difficult Xevious-like that may lead some to tear their hair out in frustration. :)
Yves Lempereur also coded the Commodore 64 version of Flak. C64 Flak features ultra-smooth vertical scrolling.
Targon 64 Commodore 64 1984
Andrew Pal of Net Electronic Technologies coded Targon 64 in 1984 for the Commodore 64. A raw and gritty Xevious-like, Targon 64 features enemy waves that come from all directions as well as progressive destructibility.
Lightforce Commodore 64 1987
Carter Software Associates ported their ZX Spectrum Lightforce of 1987 to the Commodore 64 in 1987. Lightforce was originally developed for the ZX Spectrum by Roy Carter and Greg Follis. C64 Lightforce was composed by Rob Hubbard.
Lightforce is a raw and gritty vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up in which players control a Lightforce fighter that is defending the Regulus sector against invading aliens on behalf of the GEM council. The Lightforce fighter fires twin-rockets and can unleash a smart bomb.
Lightforce consists of four fortress-like stages that wrap back around and repeat after the fourth stage has been completed. Players battle through an asteroid belt, orbital platforms and the orbits of water world and ice world. Aliens, asteroids and rotating cubes feature variable-rate movement. To destroy rotating cubes and alien ground installations requires multiple shots.
Alien ground installations can be destoyed, leaving behind lines and columns of craters. Active alien ground installations block Lightforce rockets from hitting alien waves behind the installations. It is advisable to prioritize the destruction of homing waves and projectile-firing waves, since they are the most lethal.
A 1-Up can be awarded by destroying four control centers whereas point bonuses are awarded by destroying sets of installations (1000-2000 points). Bonus points are awarded at the end of each stage based on the number of waves wiped out.
In C64 Lightforce players can choose between music or sound effects. Lightforce graphics are spartan and stylish, not detailed. C64 Lightforce scrolling and sprite-shifting are smooth.
Mission Genocide Amstrad CPC 1987
Mission Genocide aka ZTB was released by Drinksoft in 1987 for Amstrad CPC 464. Mission Genocide was programmed by Paul Shirley. Due to its smooth scrolling and sprite-shifting, Mission Genocide is the best shoot 'em up on the Amstrad CPC.
Mission Genocide Atari ST 1987
Drinksoft ported the Amstrad CPC version of Mission Genocide aka ZTB to Atari ST in 1987. The scrolling and sprite-shifting are smooth in this version as well.
Xenon Amiga 1988
Hybris Amiga 1988
Bedlam Commodore 64 1988
Beam Software released Bedlam for C64 in 1988. Bedlam is a single-player or 2-player coop Xevious-like. Players control a fighter in the X12 simulation versus aliens waves, radar, gun turrets, Motherships and drifting and homing missiles. Space station surfaces also feature destructible and indestructible obstacles. The fighter is bounced around by pyramid-shaped tiles and the other fighter in dual-play mode.
Bedlam features 16 space station sections, one formation stage (section 17) and four "pinball" machine stages that are accessed via teleports. Pick-ups include invincibility and screen-wide smart bomb mines.
Bedlam scrolling and sprite-shifting are super-smooth.
Published by U.S. Gold and Go! Media Holdings, C64 Bedlam was programmed by Russell Comte.
SWIV Amiga 1991
The Sales Curve released SWIV for the Amiga in 1991 under the Storm label. SWIV runs at 50 FPS and displays in 32-color full PAL overscan. SWIV features single-player or 2-player simultaneous play.
Players can choose between two Special Weapons Interdiction Vehicles: the SWIV-1 Heli and the SWIV-2 Jeep. The Heli can fire eight rockets per shot in eight directions or fire up to five rockets per shot in a forward fan. The Jeep/Gunboat can fire up to five rockets per shot, but can fire them in eight directions and also strafe (e.g., move away from an enemy while firing back at it).
SWIV keeps track of bullets fired, enemies destroyed, enemies escaped and tokens collected.
Amiga SWIV features a single contiguous map that is 320 pixels in width and ~26,000 pixels in height. There are four main bosses in SWIV.
SWIV has always been one of my fave shoot 'em ups on the Amiga. And when I replayed SWIV in 2025 it still amazed me. SWIV lacks the on-screen targeting reticle of Xevious, but it still looks, moves and plays as per Xevious; also paying tribute to Xevious. In addition, SWIV is the spiritual successor to Silkworm.
SWIV stands for Secret Weapons Installation Verification, Special Weapons Interdiction Vehicles and Silkworm IV.
SWIV Commodore 64 1991
Random Access ported the original Amiga version of SWIV of 1991 to C64 in 1991. C64 SWIV was programmed by Rob Henderson, drawn by Rob Whitaker, and composed by Martin Walker.
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