+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                              | X E V I O U S |
                              +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

              GAME:  XEVIOUS
          PLATFORM:  ARCADE
             GENRE:  ARCADE SHOOTER
           CREATOR:  NAMCO Licensed to Atari Copyright 1982
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ:  Kevin Butler AKA War Doc
            E-MAIL:  kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com
       FAQ VERSION:  1.01

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              TABLE OF CONTENTS

    UNIT   I:  INTRODUCTION

1.  Legal Stuff
2.  Version Information
3.  Acknowledgements
4.  Welcome
5.  Overview

    UNIT  II:  GAME INFORMATION

6.  The Game

    6.1  The Controls
    6.2  The Playing Fields
    6.3  Scoring
    6.4  The Areas

    UNIT III:  STRATEGIES

7.  Playing the Game

8.  Secrets

    8.1  Easter Egg
    8.2  The Flags
    8.3  Sol Citadels

    UNIT  IV:  CONCLUSION

9.  Conclusion

_______________________________________________________________________________

To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following:

1.  Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find.
2.  Press CTRL-C
3.  Press CTRL-F
4.  Press CTRL-V
5.  Press CTRL-F
5.  You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter.

_______________________________________________________________________________

                                **************
********************************* U N I T  I **********************************
                                **************
+=================+
| 1.  LEGAL STUFF |============================================================
+=================+

This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use.  It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author.  Use of this guide on
any other web sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and
a violation of copyright.  All content in this guide is Copyright 2003 by
Kevin Butler.  Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this
work or to display it:

www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheats.de
faqs.ign.com

If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask.  Save yourself
the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask
a simple "Can I post your guide on <insert site>?".  If you wish to use info
in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.

If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please
e-mail me.  If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please
e-mail me.  Just have Xevious as the subject so I know it isn't another kooky
vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have new
friends.

+=========================+
| 2.  VERSION INFORMATION |====================================================
+=========================+

Version 1.0   9/14/03:  A guide is born.

Version 1.01  9/14/03:  1.  Added a Secrets Chapter.

                        2.  Updated scoring.

                        3.  Updated enemy names.

+======================+
| 3.  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |=======================================================
+======================+

The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ
possible:

My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard)
Namco for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ

+=============+
| 4.  WELCOME |================================================================
+=============+

Welcome to my FAQ for Xevious.  Since the game has you continuously playing
through areas until all your men are killed, there is no walkthrough per se.
Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and strategies for
survival.  Input is appreciated along with constructive criticism.  If you wish
to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing things, other
strategies, etc., feel free.  Make sure you put Xevious as the subject.  If you
don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam.

+==============+
| 5.  OVERVIEW |===============================================================
+==============+

Xevious was another in a long line of alien shooter type games.  By 1982, Namco
was doing business with other American companies that were big in the arcade
business.  Their partnership with Midway resulted in Pac-Man becoming not only
a runaway hit in Japan, but also in the United States.  Attempting to repeat
history, so to speak, Namco partnered up with Atari to produce Xevious.  By the
late 80's, Namco had made enough of a name for itself that it was able to
release games directly without going into a partnership with an American
company.  Namco continues to release arcade games to this day.  Good luck
saving earth from the alien invaders.

                               ***************
******************************** U N I T  II **********************************
                               ***************

+==============+ 
| 6.  THE GAME |===============================================================
+==============+ 

Xevious is a two-dimensional, up-and-down scrolling shooter game.  You are the
last hope for the earth as you take your Solvalou (your fighter's name) up
against impossible odds.  You will be attacked by both air and ground units as
you attempt to prevent the earth from being invaded.  Your job won't be easy,
though, since you will be going through 16 different areas.  Each area has its
own set of enemies and strategies that you will need to know to survive.  Of
course, your job is never truly done since you will be doing this until you
lose all your men.  Just another thankless job defending the earth.

 ____________________
/ 6.1  The Controls /__________________________________________________________
--------------------

The controls on this game are very easy.  It may, though, take just a little
bit of time to get used to them.

-  An eight-way joystick

-  A fire button

-  A bomb button

 __________________________
/ 6.2  The Playing Fields /____________________________________________________
--------------------------

Xevious actually consists of one type of playing field.  The terrain and
enemies change as you progress through the areas.  These are described in more
detail in Chapter 6.4.  I have included an example of what this field looks
like:

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |          /   /          | |                                       |
    |         /   /           | |                                       |
    |        |   |            | |                                       |
    |        |   |            | |                                       |
    |        |   |            | |                                       |
    |       |   |             + +                                       |
    |       |   |              \ \                                      |
    |       |   |               \ \              +--+                   |
    |       |   |                \ \             |  |<-BUILDING         |
    |       |   |                 \ \            +--+                   |
    |       |   |                  \ \                                  |
    |       |   |     +-+           \ \                                 |
    |       |   |     | |            + +                                |
    |       |   |     \_/<-ENEMY     | |           ( )<-GROUND BATTERY  |
    |       |   |          FIGHTER   | |                                |
    |     |    |                     | |                                |
    |     |    |                     | |                                |
    |    |    |                      |O<-TANK                           |
    |    |    |                      | |                                |
    |    +---------------------------+-+--------------------------------|
    |   +-------------------------[ ]<- BOMBSIGHT ----------------------|
    |  /   /                                                            |
    |/    /                       /\                                    |
    |   /                         ||<-YOUR SOLVALOU                     |
    | /                          /||\                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

You control your Solvalou on this screen.

 _______________
/ 6.3  Scoring /_______________________________________________________________
---------------

Scoring in this game is relatively complicated due to all the different units.

+-----------+
| AIR UNITS |
+-----------+

These are the air units you will encounter during the game.  Depending on a
players skill will determine what air units they may face.

It will be shown as:

Name of unit
Description
Points

/==========================\
| Andor Genesis Mothership |
\==========================/

The large ship in areas 4, 9, and 14.

1000-4000 points

/============================\
| Brag Zakato Energy Blaster |
\============================/

Medium black ball, with a red dot, that explode and send several shots at your
Solvalou.

500 points

/=====================\
| Bragza Energy Blast |
\=====================/

Small, white crystal-like projectiles that come in diagonally at your Solvalou.

10 points

/===========================\
| Garu Zakato Energy Bomber |
\===========================/

Large black ball that explode sending out a multitude of shots in all
directions.

1000 points

/===============\
| Jarra Spinner |
\===============/

Look like a UFO with a spinning gear in the middle.

150 points

/================\
| Kapi Deflector |
\================/

Flat looking fighter with two front projections that flies in, fires multiple
shots, then escapes quickly.

300 points

/====================\
| Terrazi Destructor |
\====================/

Flat looking, diamond shaped fighter that flies in, fires multiple shots, then
escapes quickly.

700 points

/===================\
| Torkan Scout Ship |
\===================/

Ridged fighter that flies in, fires one shot, then escapes quickly.

50 points

/===================\
| Toroid Fleet Ship |
\===================/

Ring shaped fighter you first encounter.

30 points

/========\
| Zakato |
\========/

Small black ball that explodes sending a single shot at your Solvalou.

50 points

/===================\
| Zoshi Death Squad |
\===================/

The thin, X-Wing looking fighter.

100 points

+--------------+
| GROUND UNITS |
+--------------+

These are the ground units you will encounter during the game.

It will be shown as:

Name of unit
Description
Points

/======\
| Bara |
\======/

Small pyramid-shaped buildings.

130 points

/=============\
| Boza Logram |
\=============/

A structure of four Lograms surrounding a Derota.

2000 points

/========\
| Derota |
\========/

The small octagonal-shaped gun batteries that fire multiple shots at your
Solvalou.

1000 points

/==========\
| Domogram |
\==========/

It looks like a mobile Logram that travels along the roads and fires shots at
your Solvalou.

800 points

/===========\
| Garu Bara |
\===========/

Medium and large pyramid-shaped buildings.

600 points

/=============\
| Garu Derota |
\=============/

The large octagonal-shaped gun batteries that fire multiple shots at your
Solvalou.

2000 points

/========\
| Grobda |
\========/

The tank-like vehicles that travel along the road.  They can detect when your
bombsight is on them and they will move out of the way.

400 points

/========\
| Logram |
\========/

Silver circular domes that fire single shots at your Solvalou.

300 points

/===================\
| Zoshi Death Squad |
\===================/

Domes with red squares on top and around their base.

200 points

+----------+
| SPECIALS |
+----------+

These are discussed in Chapter 8 on how to get them.

Flags:  1000 points plus free Solvalou
Sol Citadel:  2000 points for making it surface
              2000 points for destroying it


You start with 1, 2, 3, or 5 lives.  Depending on the machine set up, you get a
free man for the following scores:

10,000, 50,000, and every 50,000 points
20,000, 50,000, and every 50,000 points
20,000, 60,000, and every 60,000 points
20,000, 70,000, and every 70,000 points
20,000, 80,000, and every 80,000 points
20,000 and 60,000 points.

 _________________
/ 6.4  The Areas /_____________________________________________________________
-----------------

There are 16 areas in Xevious.  There is no indicator of the areas on the game,
however, you can recognize the fact you are in a new area because you will
cross a forest that goes across the screen.  In addition, you can also tell
because of the setup and the enemies involved.  After area 16, it goes back to
area 7 again to start the process again.  A lot of times, regular saucers will
appear when you are going into another area.  See Chapter 7 for general
strategies that work for all areas.

+--------+
| AREA 1 |
+--------+

This introduces you to Xevious.  There are mostly air targets in this area
which are mostly Toroids and Torkans.  There are a couple of buildings for you
to bomb.

+--------+
| AREA 2 |
+--------+

This is your introduction to ground targets.  There are a lot of Domograms,
Grobdas, and Lograms in this area.  This helps you learn how to use your bomb-
sight effectively against ground targets.

+--------+
| AREA 3 |
+--------+

You now encounter the indestructible plates.  These are large metal plates that
roll through the air.  You will have to move around them or have your fighter
destroyed.  Occasionally an air or ground unit will take a shot at your
fighter.  Once you clear the plates, you will encounter saucers that look like
gears (they spin along their axis), more fighters that fire and flip to escape,
and also white crystals that hurl toward your fighter.

+--------+
| AREA 4 |
+--------+

It's mostly air units in this area.  First you will be hit by Torroids.  Then
about three or four plates will roll by.  Then you will encounter the Zakatos.
Then you will encounter the Andor Genesis Mothership.  You must put a bomb dead
center into it to destroy it.  This is while the Zakatos assault your Solvalou.
After you have cleared out the Andor Genesis Mothership, you will once again
have to deal with three to four rolling plates and some Torkans.

+--------+
| AREA 5 |
+--------+

You encounter some new air units.  You will now have to deal with Zoshis and
Kapis along with some Jarras.  Once you are over the water, you will have to
deal with the two Garu Derotas firing at your Solvalou.  You will eventually
reach the harbor/docks.

+--------+
| AREA 6 |
+--------+

You will see a design on the ground that looks like a bird.  This means you are
approaching an airstrip.  You will see several Domograms moving around in a
specific formation of moving in circles.  You will also see a large number of
Lograms, Derotas, and Garu Derotas defending the airstrip.  The only air attack
is by the Torroids.

+--------+
| AREA 7 |
+--------+

This area is mainly forested and with few roads.  There are a lot of ground
targets in this area.  You will be assaulted, in the air, by the Zoshi
fighters.

+--------+
| AREA 8 |
+--------+

This area consists mostly of ground units.  An occasional enemy fighter will
pop in but this area is good for honing your bombing skills to a fine edge.

+--------+
| AREA 9 |
+--------+

This is one of the largest areas of the game.  This one starts out with the
metal rolling plates.  A slight break, and then more metal rolling plates.  You
will then be swamped by both air and ground targets.  The air targets are the
Kapi while the ground targets are all sizes of gun batteries along with Domo-
grams moving along the roads.  Later on, you will be hit by Brag Zakatos.  You
then will deal with Jarras and Bragzas.  This all ends with Brag Zakatos and
another Andor Genesis Mothership.

+---------+
| AREA 10 |
+---------+

Your introduction into this area reveals another design on the ground followed
by Domograms doing an in-and-out movement.  You will then be assaulted by Garu
Zakatos.  You will then pass across another airfield that is again heavily
defended by all sizes of gun batteries.

+---------+
| AREA 11 |
+---------+

You start this area off by moving through the metal rolling plates.  After you
clear these, it is mostly ground targets.

+---------+
| AREA 12 |
+---------+

This area is mostly ground targets with an occasional enemy air unit coming in.

+---------+
| AREA 13 |
+---------+

This area puts you over the sea again.  You will have to take on the Garu
Derotas in the water and Domograms on the docks.  You will then pass across
another heavily defended airfield.

+---------+
| AREA 14 |
+---------+

You will start this area off by going through three to four rolling metal
plates.  Then Brag Zakato will harass you.  Then you will have to deal with the
Andor Genesis Mothership.  Once this one is destroyed, more Brag Zakato appear
and another Andor Genesis Mothership will make its entrance.

+---------+
| AREA 15 |
+---------+

This area is mostly ground targets.

+---------+
| AREA 16 |
+---------+

This area consists of rolling metal plates.  The occasional fighter or ground
unit will fire on you.

After area 16, you go back to area 7 again.

                               ****************
******************************** U N I T  III *********************************
                               ****************

+======================+
| 7.  PLAYING THE GAME |=======================================================
+======================+

When you start the game, your Solvalou will be at the bottom of the screen.
Keep in mind, this is a scrolling game.  This means you can go no faster then
the top and no slower then the bottom of the screen.  You can, however, vary
your speed in-between by pushing the joystick up and down.  The biggest key in
getting through this game is learning how to use the joystick to speed up and
slow down because you will sometimes be put into some very tight areas that
will require precision joystick control.

-  One interesting aspect of this game is the fact if you are too successful
   against a particular kind of enemy, the game will adjust itself to send
   different enemies until you have difficulty dealing with them.

-  Make sure you know what you will be encountering in each area from Chapter
   6.4.  You also need to anticipate the secrets from Chapter 8.

-  If you hold down the fire and bomb buttons, you will constantly be doing
   both at a slower rate.  This is great when you are in the thick of things
   with both air and ground targets swarming the area.

-  Speaking of bombs, your Solvalou is equipped with smart bombs (so to speak).
   They are launch and forget weapons.  When you "paint" the target with your
   bombsight and launch your bomb, it will hit that target even when you have
   already flown over it.  There are a couple of strategies to make your
   bombing runs more effective:

   -  When you have targets close together (usually gun batteries are arranged
      this way), put a bomb between them.  You will have a very good chance of
      taking out both batteries with one hit since you can only have one bomb
      on the screen at a time.

   -  For moving targets (such as tanks), anticipate the targets direction and
      "lead" it a little.  This basically means putting the bomb at the point
      where the target will run into it.

   -  Your bombsight will turn red whenever any target is "sighted", even if
      the target is hidden like Sol Citadels and flags.

-  Keep away from the corners.  These can become death traps real quickly if
   you are swamped by enemies.

-  Since you have free reign of most of the screen to move around, make sure you
   use all that room for maneuvering.  Enemy fighters have a nasty habit of
   either shooting from behind your fighter or re-entering the screen from
   random sides.  It also is handy when you are dodging a heavy volume of enemy
   fire.

-  Make sure when you are maneuvering around the rolling plates, you always
   leave yourself a clear "out".  What I mean by this is there another di-
   rection to escape instead of having to move along with the plates.  An
   occasional enemy likes to put up shots at your fighter since it is very
   difficult to maneuver around the rolling plates.

-  The Andor Genesis Motherships are pretty easy to destroy if you work
   quickly.  Most of the time, Zakatos and Brag Zakatos precede the arrival of
   the Andor Genesis Mothership.  Blast these out of the sky and avoid the
   shrapnel.  When the Andor Genesis Mothership appears,    lead the target a
   little and quickly move up and plant your bomb at the point the center of
   the ship will be.  The less time you waste taking on this ship, the better.

+=============+
| 8.  SECRETS |================================================================
+=============+

Xevious is full of hidden secrets.  It's just a matter of either placing a bomb
at the right place or hitting the right kind of terrain.

 __________________
/ 8.1  Easter Egg /____________________________________________________________
------------------

-  Right when the game starts, go to the right corner of the screen and start
   rapidly pressing the bomb button.

-  When the first two rings appear, go ahead and destroy them while you
   continue to bomb.

-  At the bottom of the screen, in the middle, the following will appear:

                          NAMCO   Original
                                 program by EVEZOO

 _________________
/ 8.2  The Flags /_____________________________________________________________
-----------------

There are four flags hidden throughout the game.  These flags occur in areas 1,
3, 5, and 6.  All flags are along a horizontal line across the terrain.  The
only way to uncover a flag is to bomb it so you will have to lay a string of
bombs along the entire horizontal line.  This basically means moving up
quickly, dealing with enemies quickly, and dropping your bombs quickly.  Once a
flag is uncovered, you must fly over it to get the benefits from it.

+--------+
| FLAG 1 |
+--------+

The first flag is located in the first river you encounter after you start the
game.  Look for the three Grobdas in a row.  Just above them is a river that
cuts horizontally across the terrain.  Just bomb the river from left to right
and around the bank closest to you.  The flag should appear.

+--------+
| FLAG 2 |
+--------+

After you get past the plates, look up and to the right.  There is a little
lake with a small river feeding into the ocean.  Start in the middle of the
lake and bomb toward the little river.  The flag should appear around where the
river dumps into the ocean.

+--------+
| FLAG 3 |
+--------+

When you cross the first ocean, you will eventually see a dock/harbor at the
top.  The flag is located around the horizontal line that the longest pier
projecting out is part of.  You will need to quickly bomb that entire length to
find and get the flag before the bottom scrolls your Solvalou too far up.

+--------+
| FLAG 4 |
+--------+

You will see a big bird picture on the desert.  At the lowest point of its
tailfeathers (in the lower right corner), start to bomb horizontally from right
to left.  The flag will appear.

 ____________________
/ 8.3  Sol Citadels /__________________________________________________________
--------------------

These structures require you to bomb them once to cause them to surface.  They
look like large storage tanks or grain silos.  You then need to bomb them again
to destroy them.  You have a potential to collect several hundred thousand
points by taking out these structures.  They come in groups of 1, 4, or 8.
Unlike flags, these structures are always in the same place.  There are six
sets of Sol Citadels.

+-----------+
| FIRST SET |
+-----------+

One in area 2.  When you see the three Grobdas in a row on the road, start
laying bombs in the area around the cul-de-sac below the last tank in a right
and diagonal-down point.  The citadel will be even with the cul-de-sac.

+------------+
| SECOND SET |
+------------+

One in area 3.  When you see the Garu Bara, go to the left of the Garu Bara and
start bombing.  This is also the area that the second flag can be found.

+-----------+
| THIRD SET |
+-----------+

Four in area 9.  There is a clear area right before you tangle with the second
Andor Genesis Mothership.  Where the road splits around the woods, start to lay
bombs a little below the bottom edge of the road that goes to the right.  You
should uncover four Sol Citadels.

+------------+
| FOURTH SET |
+------------+

Eight in area 13.  At the point the desert ends, there is a little grass, then
the air field starts.  Use the birds leg as a reference and fly straight up.
When the bombsight glows, start bombing.  This will be the lower left Sol
Citadel of the group which is arranged in two rows of four citadels.  You will
be hard pressed to get all eight citadels.

+-----------+
| FIFTH SET |
+-----------+

Four in area 14.  After the plates roll by, look for where two roads merge into
one road.  At the top edge of the slanted right hand road, start dropping bombs
to uncover some more citadels.

+-----------+
| SIXTH SET |
+-----------+

Four in area 15.  Look for a forest on the left side.  There will be a small
clearing and then a river.  Bomb the small clearing to bring the citadels up.
There will be very intense ground fire in this location so be especially
watchful.

                               ****************
********************************  U N I T  IV *********************************
                               ****************

+================+
| 9.  CONCLUSION |=============================================================
+================+

When Xevious came out, we all thought it was just another space arcade shooter.
Of course, once one started to play the game, they quickly realized it was a
shooter with a lot of twists.  First, the music was very intriguing and it
definitely increased the tension of the game.  Second, the different enemies
made for an interesting and often deadly reception for your fighter.  It took
skill to be able to deal with both the air and ground targets.  Often, one just
fired a couple of bombs then immediately went back to shooting enemy fighters
down without thinking twice.  After a while, you could get good enough to rush
your fighter up to take out a target then slow down to deal with the enemy
fighters.  A lot of quarters were invested in this game just to see all the
different areas.  Unfortunately, it is very rare to find this machine anywhere.
However, through the miracle of emulation, a whole new generation is realizing
what we "old" folks enjoyed those many years ago.  In addition, www.shockwave.
com is bringing many of these classic games back.  Check out their site to see
what ones are there.  I hope this guide helps you in being able to get the most
amount of gameplay for this game.  If you do have other ideas or thoughts,
please e-mail me and share them.  Who knows, maybe I'll start a Q&A Chapter in
this guide if enough people ask the same questions.  Anyway, thank you again
for reading this guide.

To see other FAQ's I have written please go to:

           http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html

           ~~~  No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~