Super XYX

Super XYX

Title screen

Developer:	Team Grybanser Fox
Release date:	PC: August 10, 2020

Super XYX is an indie shmup developed and published by Team Grybanser Fox and released on Windows PC on August 10, 2020.

Gameplay Overview

Gameplay Overview

Controls

Note: All buttons may be freely mapped on a keyboard or controller.

• Shot: Fires the ship's main shot
• Bomb: Uses a bomb if the player has one in stock
• Focus: Hold the focus button to slow the ship's movement speed
• Option: Changes the formation of the ship's options
• Start: Start button
• Menu Confirm: Confirm button for menus
• Menu Cancel: Cancel button for menus

Game Modes

Arcade The standard game mode. Play through the six main stages of the game in succession.

Boss Rush Fight the bosses of the six main stages in succession.

Gauntlet Play through the secret unlockable "Gauntlet" stage from Arcade mode.

Super Arcade A caravan-style mode that consists of three longer and harder stages.

GZR Start Not a separate game mode, but will allow the player to respawn from mid-stage checkpoints instead of immediately upon death when selected.

Characters

Characters

Weaponry

Every character has access to a main shot, a screen-clearing smart bomb, and options.

Options fire bullets with the same properties as the ships main shot and may fire in many different formations unique to each character. Note that there are two sets of options (inner and outer), and these sets may not necessarily change their firing direction upon cycling option formations.

Green Knight

Green Knight
	Age: 23 From: New Eurasia, Earth Green Knight is a strong warrior and dutiful protector of his land. He has been sent on this mission not only to battle the XYXians, but also save his kingdom's abducted prince, with whom he has shared a strong bond with since childhood. Main Shot Rapid-fire wide shot Option Formations Option 1: , Option 2:

Helltiger

Helltiger
	Age: 30 From: Mars Colony ZETA Helltiger is a mercenary fighter full of fury A skill but dangerous pilot dismissed from their military post for fighting too recklessly, Tiger now rushes into the fight hoping for a real challenge. Main Shot Rapid-fire forward shot Option Formations Option 1: , Option 2:

Yellow Jacket

Yellow Jacket

Age: 35 From: Earth Megalopolis 2 Yolanda Johnson is the CEO of an advanced weapons development firm on Earth. Bringing her company's new untested weaponry onboard, she hopes to bring back live alien samples to aid in further research. Main Shot Forward laser. The lasers consists of segments that can randomly bend and linger briefly, dealing damage while they are active. Option Formations Option 1: Forward laser, Option 2: Forward laser

Blue Fox

Blue Fox
	Age: ?? From: ?? Fox is a superpowered crime fighter from another world. Brought to Earth through mysterious circumstances, Fox's sense of justice and duty led him to immediately join the battle against the XYXian menace. He pilots the ship of his own creation, the BLUE FOX. It's powerful alien tech will surely be helpful. Main Shot Piercing wave shot Option Formations Option 1: , Option 2:

Carrotyzer

Carrotyzer

Age: 20 From: Apollo Station Bunny is a very popular professional dancer, model and entertainer. Figuring saving the galaxy will boost his career and popularity even further, he has the state of the art fighter CARROTYZER built just for him. It's construction is funded solely from client tips and fan donations. Main Shot Rapid-fire homing shot. The shots travel at odd forward angles briefly before changing directions to home in on nearby targets. Option Formations Option 1: , Option 2:

Cobra

Cobra
	Age: ?? From: ?? Cobra is a mysterious pilot with unknown intentions. She flies a 20th century helicopter heavily modified for space flight and upgraded with advanced, hard hitting firepower. Main Shot Rapid-fire wide shot with homing missiles Option Formations Option 1: , Option 2:

Scoring

Scoring

General Overview

Scoring in Super XYX comes from three main sources: medals, enemy chaining, and a no-miss bonus. Uniquely, the score from these sources is compiled during a stage end bonus screen after each stage. This has the important consequence that score penalties from dying are incredibly punishing.

A high-scoring run will involve obtaining a 1000-hit enemy chain as soon as possible and collecting as many medals as possible while not dying.

Medals

All enemies drop medals that may be collected for score. The score awarded for collecting medals is geometric and increases with higher medal totals. However, the score awarded is calculated based upon the medal count the player has at stage end. Dying will reduce the player's medal count to 1/3 of their total before death.

The medals dropped by a particular enemy is dependent upon an enemy-specific base value and a combo multiplier based upon the highest enemy chain value the player has obtained during the current life.

Chain Value	Multiplier
<50	x0
50-249	x1
250-749	x2
750-999	x3
1000+	x4

Chaining

Super XYX features an enemy chaining mechanic. The chain increases upon hitting an enemy, functioning in a similar vein to a combo meter. Since enemies will generally take more than one hit to kill, the chain meter will increase faster than you destroy enemies. After hitting an enemy an 80 frame timer will start counting down, signified by the chain value fading into the background. The chain value will reset if this timer reaches zero.

Collecting a medal will refresh the timer but not add any hits to the chain timer. This is useful for linking chain combos through sections with few or no enemies.

At stage end, the player is awarded a chain bonus of 250 points multiplied by their highest chain value for the stage.

No-Miss Bonus

At stage end, the player is awarded bonus points for clearing a stage without dying. This bonus is equal to 500,000 points multiplied by the current number of stages completed without dying. Thus, in a deathless run the no-miss bonus would award 500,000 points after Stage 1, 1,000,000 points after Stage 2, 1,5000,000 points after Stage 3, etc. Including the secret Gauntlet stage and the ???? stage there are 8 stages total, for which the cumulative no-miss bonus would be 18,000,000 points.

Strategy

Strategy

The Gauntlet

If you complete the first two stages without dying, a "?" item will drop at the start of Stage 3. Collecting this item will enable you to enter a bonus stage called the Gauntlet after completing Stage 3. Be aware that dying during Stage 3 will cause you to drop the "?" item, but you may pick it up again upon respawning. If for some reason you do not wish to go to the Gauntlet, you may choose not to pick the "?" item.

Completing the Gauntlet allows you to access the "????" stage after completing Stage 6, wherein lies the true final boss.

Survival Tips

When playing this game, it is important to understand your resources and how to use them. In particular, bombs are very powerful since they clear the screen of bullets and grant brief invincibility. The game awards one bomb after each stage, more if you score well, so bombs are generally plentiful. In addition, there is no scoring penalty for using a bomb.

In contrast, dying is very bad. Dying powers you down, which makes it harder to survive. In addition, power ups are rare (especially option power ups) so regaining your lost firepower can take a while, if it is even possible. Finally, dying severely compromises your end stage bonus, meaning you will gain far fewer bombs and lives. Basically, it is always worth saving yourself with a bomb. It is likely you will get the bombs you used back at stage end, and you avoid putting yourself in a far worse position.

It is worth practicing the first three stages to the point where you can clear them without dying and using only a few bombs, since this should leave you with enough lives and bombs to make it through the rest of the game. In addition, this unlocks the bonus Gauntlet stage and true last boss.

References & Contributors

References & Contributors

1. weakboson, UBO, Super XYX general guide, https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2207863053