Xevious 3D/G

Xevious 3D/G is a vertically scrolling shooter which replaces the sprite-based format of the original with a polygonal environment. Up to two players control their respective Solvalou starships (blue for player one and red for player two) that must destroy the Xevious forces and their leader before they enslave all of mankind. The Solvalou has two weapons: a projectile that can destroy air-based enemies, and a bomb that can destroy ground-stationed enemies. New to this game are power-up items, found in cylindrical stations called "Poladomes" on the ground that must be bombed to acquire them. These include a blue double shot, a green concentrated light beam that cuts through enemies, and a red heat-seeing laser that locks onto any enemy it finds on the screen.

The game consists of seven stages, or "areas", including grassy plateaus, large oceans, mechanical bases and outer space. Each area features a boss that must be defeated in order to progress, including the Andor Genesis mothership from the original Xevious. The final stage features a fight with GAMP, the supercomputer leader of the Xevious forces. Much like the first game, large Sol towers can be found by bombing pre-determined spots on the ground, alongside Rally-X Special Flags that award an extra life when collected. Many references to other Namco games are featured as Easter eggs, including a Pooka from the Dig Dug series and a cheat code that replaces both players' Solvalou with Heihachi and Paul from Tekken, featuring their own ending sequences.

With the advent of 3D arcade hardware in the late 1980s and 1990s, Namco became a leader in polygonal video games with titles like Tekken, Ridge Racer, and Alpine Racer. Their System 11 arcade hardware, while technologically inferior to other arcade systems, was a hit with arcade owners for its cheap price, which made it easily affordable for smaller arcade chains. After a brief downturn in the early half of the decade, the shoot'em up genre was beginning to see a revival with games like RayStorm, G-Darius, and Radiant Silvergun, and were very profitable. Wanting to cash in on this sudden revival, Namco decided to create a 3D sequel to Xevious for the System 11 board, featuring mechanics popular with other shooters to draw in newer players.

Xevious was massively successful for Namco; the Family Computer version sold over one million copies and became a platinum seller, which gave Namco hope that it would perform well in the market. The increasing market for arcade game remakes also made the company feel the game would be commercially successful.

While Xevious 3D/G saw success in its first few months on the market, it was seen as being inferior to other shooters already on the market, and was not nearly as successful as Namco hoped it would be. According to the May 1996 issue of Japanese publication Gamest, Xevious fans disliked 3D/G for straying from they felt made the original game so famous and well-designed, particularly in the inclusion of highly-destructive power-ups and pre-placed enemies, which was a stark contrast from the original's "no power-up" idea and for having different enemies appear as the players got better at the game. Edge magazine claimed that, aside from a well-made presentation, 3D/G was an average shooter at best, and was not as polished as other games available.

The PlayStation version also had a mixed reception. It was a commercial success with nearly 100,000 copies being sold, and was awarded the "Silver Hall of Fame" award from Famitsu magazine, but was characterized as inferior to the shoot'em up catalog already present on the console. Critics showed distaste towards its short length and lack of variety with its power-ups. Next Generation expressed disappointment towards the small amount of levels, claiming it can be finished in under an hour.