Abadox

Nintendo exclusive

Abadox is a video game for the NES, subtitled The Deadly Inner War. It is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up in the vein of Gradius and R-Type. The game is notable for its unique visual design, as the game takes place inside the intestinal tract of a giant alien organism. Abadox is also known to be difficult, since it takes one hit from an enemy projectile to be killed. In Abadox, if a player is killed, they must restart from the last checkpoint before death.

Released: 6 April 1988
Platforms: NES
Genres: Science Shoot 'em up Shooter
Developers: Winning Entertainment Group
Publishers: Winning Entertainment Group Milton Bradley Company The Walt Disney Company
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric Side view
Themes: Science fiction
Country: Japan
Age ratings: CLASS_IND L
Languages: English, Japanese

About

Abadox: The Deadly Inner War (アバドックス, Abadokkusu) is a horizontally scrolling shooter for the Nintendo Entertainment System published in Japan in 1989 by Natsume and North America in 1990 by Milton Bradley Company. It features gameplay in the vein of Gradius and R-Type, in which the player must shoot hordes of enemies while collecting power-ups to upgrade their ship. The plot revolves around the player character Nazal attempting to rescue the "beautiful Princess Maria" from being held within the "nightmarish body" of the game's antagonist Parasitis. The game has often been noted by critics for its difficulty, with the player being instantly killed by a single enemy projectile.

›Story

In the year 5012, the planet known as Abadox is soon eaten by a giant alien organism known as Parasitis. Once the planet has been consumed, the alien takes the form of the entire planet and seeks to devour other planets within the galaxy. The galactic military tries to fight the alien, but to no avail as Parasitis destroys the entire galactic military, except for one hospital ship. It is then discovered that Princess Maria has been devoured as well. The galactic military decides to send out their best fighter, "Second Lieutenant Nazal", to attempt to enter Parasitis' body and rescue Princess Maria before it's too late.

Keywords

shoot 'em up
side-scrolling
on-rails
boss fight
upgradeable weapons
vertical scrolling
cheat code
fan translation - portuguese

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The gameplay largely follows the conventions of side-scrolling shooters of the time. The player shoots down various enemies, almost all of which look like various internal organs (brains, eyes and even cilia). The player can also pick weapons and power-ups. Power-ups include speed boosters, increased firepower, homing missiles and shields similar to the "Option" featured in Gradius.

For weapons, the player starts with the normal single shot, but can upgrade to a 3-way gun, a spread fire gun, a laser and a hoop-like weapon. However, like most shooters, if the player is killed, all of the upgrades will be lost and the player will have to restart from the last checkpoint. In some cases, if the player dies, they may have to navigate through enemy fire with slow speed, which could prove more difficult than ever.

Story

In the year 5012, the planet Abadox is eaten by a giant alien organism known as Parasitis. Having consumed Abadox, the alien takes the form of the planet and seeks to devour other planets. The galactic military launches an attack but is destroyed by Parasitis who goes on to devour the hospital ship carrying Princess Maria. Second Lieutenant Nazal, the only surviving fighter of the galactic fleet, attempts to enter Parasitis's body and rescue Maria before it is too late.