Ludography
Volfied cover

1989 · Taito · Action · Arcade

Volfied

Timed NEC exclusive

Once in the game, using the arrow keys you can move the 'Scanner' ship around the 'Shield Line' at the parameter of the playing area. While moving around this edge the ship is protected from the aliens by a shield indicated by a glowing circle around the ship. This shield is not infinite and care should be taken to complete each level as quickly as possible. A counter indicates the level of shield that you have: when it reaches zero then any contact with an alien is deadly whether you are on the 'Shield Line' or not.

Released
1989
Platforms
AmigaArcadeAtari STAtari ST/STECommodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAXFM TownsLegacy Mobile DeviceMS-DOSNintendo SwitchSega GenesisTurboGrafx-16Wii
Genres
ActionArcadePuzzleScience
Developers
Taito
Publishers
Taito
Series
Simple 1500
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
Science fiction
Country
Japan
Age ratings
CERO A
Languages
English
Entry
#80 in Simple 1500

About

Volfied is a 1989 puzzle video game developed and published by Taito for arcades. It was released only in Japan in July 1989. It is a successor to Qix, with extra features and a futuristic science fiction aesthetic, rather than Qix's abstract geometry style; the player pilots a small spaceship named "Monotros" instead of a marker, and the enemies come in the form of various aliens.

Keywords

  • shared screen
  • wii virtual console

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The overall gameplay is identical to that of Qix, but the main enemy is no longer a collection of lines - instead it varies between levels, and is always accompanied by smaller enemies. When the player's spaceship succeeds in claiming a section of the level, the side containing the main enemy taken as "the outside". Any smaller enemies ending up on "the inside" are killed, resulting in point bonuses. In order to complete a level, the player must claim at least 80% of a level's area, split the field in between both main enemies if there are two main enemies, or defeat the main enemy with a weapon that can be obtained as a power-up.

Previously, the limits were 75% in Qix and 70% in Super Qix. Each level in Volfied has a unique background and enemies. As the player claims areas of the level the cleared area graphic is replaced with the graphic of the next level. Grey boxes also appear on the field — these give the player a power-up when collected.

Story

Taking place in another galaxy, a space pilot is returning to his home world of Volfied, only to discover that it is under attack by an unknown alien force. The few remaining Volfied inhabitants are in an underground location of the planet and signal the pilot to their aid. The pilot flies to Volfied using his ship's defensive weapons in order to eliminate the alien threat and save his people.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Volfied on their September 15, 1989 issue as being the ninth most successful table arcade unit of the month.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Arcade16 May 1989Japan
TurboGrafx-1627 December 1989Japan
Sega Genesis25 January 1991Japan · Brazil 14 October 1991
FM Towns20 December 1991Japan
Amiga31 December 1991Europe
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1991North America · Europe 31 December 1991
MS-DOS31 December 1991North America
Atari ST/STE31 December 1991Europe
Legacy Mobile Device31 December 2005Japan
Wii18 November 2008Japan

Editions and related releases

Included in
Taito LegendsMega Drive 4Mega Drive 3Mega Drive 3: 81 Super JogosLegends Core PlusTaito Memories II GekanSuper Pocket: Taito EditionSuper Mega Drive 3: 60 Super JogosSuper Mega Drive 3: 71 Super Jogos
Ported as
Arcade Archives: Volfied
Remade as
Qix Neo
Built on it
Qix Neo

In the same series

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Platform libraries

Publishers

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.