Exzisus/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the 8-way joystick to direct Exzisus around the screen; he will always moving forward in this game, but you can direct him anywhere.
 * Firing Button: Use this button to make Exzisus both fire a shot from his gun (and drop a missile from his jetpack) at (and down upon) the enemies.
 * Option Button: Use this button to make Exzisus launch his bird- and dog-like robots (if he has them), at the enemies; they return to him soon after.
 * 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Exzisus (エクスザイサス)
This astronaut, who looks somewhat like a precursor to Namco's Beraboh Man, is the protagonist of the game; you must guide him through each of its four stages and on to victory. Pressing your Firing Button will make him simultaneously fire a shot from his gun (which changes colour as he collects powerups) and drop a missile from his jetpack on the enemies, while pressing the Option Button makes him launch his bird- and dog-like robots at the enemies (if he's got them) - and to the left is how he shall appear normally, while to the right is how he will appear after he collects an "A" powerup, and transforms, into a Darius-like turbo jet (top: without robots, middle: with bird-like robot, bottom: with bird- and dog-like robots). If Exzisus is hit in his jet form, he will revert back to his normal form; if he is hit in his normal form, he will die and be sent back to a preset point in the stage. He will receive an extra life at 100,000 and every 150,000 points thereafter by default - and the "MAP" indicator in the top-right also shows his current position in the stage (when he reaches a boss at the end of a stage "MAP" will become "DMG" and the ball will disappear as it becomes the boss's damage meter).

Powerups
In some versions of the game, there was also a "B" (Barrier) powerup, written in Katakana as バリア, which allowed Exzisus to withstand four enemy hits before dying; it doesn't appear in the version for this guide, and it's also worth noting that the bird- and dog-like robots look like this:,.

Bosses
STAGE 1: Gold Moai (ゴールドモアイ) - When that texting, "GOLD MOAI. AIM AT THE GREEN PARTS ON THE FOREHEAD." appears on the screen, Gold Moai will walk into view from the right side of the screen as the "MAP" indicator becomes his damage meter and he begins spitting (and launching) orange projectiles at you from his mouth and belly; once you have fired off enough shots at his head to destroy it, you will have to aim for his belly. Once you have fired enough shots at his belly, to destroy it, he shall explode, and fall down off the bottom of the screen - and you shall then receive a 10000-point bonus as Exzisus dematerializes and starts flying diagonally upwards at a high speed (if he was unfortunate enough to take one hit after collecting an "A" powerup and be returned to his regular humanoid form, a surfboard will fly into view from the left side of the screen, and he will get onto it) as he proceeds to the second stage. You will also receive 10 points for every hit you should land on him, and because he takes 400 hits to defeat he is worth a total of 4000 points.