Exzisus/Walkthrough

Taito Corporation's Japan-only 1987 horizontal scrolling shooter arcade game Exzisus is divided into four stages, and you have to guide the eponymous astronaut Exzisus through each of them; he'll always be moving forward but you can direct him anywhere, and 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 upon the enemies. Pressing the Option Button, however, makes him launch his bird- and dog-like robots at the enemies (if he has them) - and they shall return to him shortly after. If Exzisus collects an "A" powerup he will transform into a Darius-like turbo jet; if he is hit in this form, he will revert back to his normal form (and if he is hit in his normal form, he will die and get sent back to a preset point). The "MAP" indicator in the top-right also shows his current position in the stage - and 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. Once you have fired out enough shots at the boss to defeat him, he shall explode and fall off the bottom of the screen; Exzisus will then dematerialize as he starts flying diagonally upwards at a high speed (if he is in his normal form, a surfboard will fly into view from the left side of the screen, and he will get onto it) and proceed to the next stage. It's also worth remembering that this guide wasn't written for the version of the game featuring the "B" (Barrier) powerup.