Thexder

Thexder is a robot capable of transforming into a jet whose job is to destroy the central computer to save the planet.15 stages are waiting you for in this shooting game.

Released: 1 April 1985
Platforms: Amiga Apple II Apple IIGS FM-7 MS-DOS MSX NES PC-8800 Series PC-9800 Series PlayStation 3 Sharp MZ-2200 Sharp X1 TRS-80 TRS-80 Color Computer macOS
Genres: Shooter Arcade
Developers: Game Arts
Publishers: Eaglesoft Sierra Square Denyusya Square Game Arts
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action Science fiction

About

Thexder (テグザー, Teguzā) is a run and gun video game from Game Arts, originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1985. It was ported to many systems, including the Famicom, MSX, Apple II, and MS-DOS. It was a commercial success, selling over one million units worldwide.

Keywords

1980s
gravity
shoot 'em up
mech
robots
run and gun
flight
side-scrolling
8-bit

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In Thexder, the player controls a fighter robot that is able to transform into a jet and shoot lasers.

Reception

Thexder quickly became a best-selling hit, selling over 500,000 copies in Japan by 1987. As the PC-8801 platform was only popular in Japan, Thexder did not garner significant attention abroad until it was converted for the MSX (the best-selling platform in Brazil and many Eastern European countries), Apple II, and DOS, eventually becoming an international hit. It became the company's best-selling title of 1987. By 1990, the game had sold over one million copies worldwide.

Compute! praised the Apple IIGS version of Thexder as the computer's "first true arcade game" with "excellent play value for your dollar". In 1988, The Games Machine gave the Amiga version a 74% score. In 1991, Dragon gave the Macintosh and PC/MS-DOS versions of the game each 4 out of 5 stars.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Platform	Released	Regions
PC-8800 Series	1 April 1985	Japan
Sharp X1	1 August 1985	Japan
FM-7	1 October 1985	Japan
NES	19 December 1985	Japan
Sharp MZ-2200	1 March 1986	Japan
PC-9800 Series	1 April 1986	Japan
MSX	31 December 1986	Japan · Europe 31 December 1986
MS-DOS	1 September 1987	North America · Brazil 1 December 1990
Amiga	1 December 1987	North America · Europe 31 December 1988
Apple IIGS	31 December 1987	North America
Apple II	31 December 1987	North America
TRS-80 Color Computer	31 December 1988	North America
macOS	31 December 1990	North America