Solvalou/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the analogue joystick to direct the Solvalou's cross-hair gunsight around the screen. Squeeze the trigger to make the Solvalou fire a continuous stream of shots at the air-based enemies, and press the button on top of the stick to make it drop bombs on the ground-based enemies. It can have up to four bombs on the screen at a time - and they are indicated by the "BLASTER" icons shown above your score in the bottom-left corner of the screen. However, unlike in the two previous games of the Xevious series, the controls of the Solvalou are "reversed", just like those of a real spaceship; this means that pushing it up will cause it to dive and pushing it down will cause it to rise. Therefore, if you are using MAME to play this game (which you almost certainly will be, unless you are a native inhabitant of Japan), you may wish to set the "AD Stick Y Reverse" option in the "Analog Controls" to "Off".

Solvalou (ソルバルウ)
The protagonist (and namesake) of the game, which is only visible in the shield indicator at the top of the screen in this instalment due to its first-person viewpoint. As the name of this indicator suggests, the Solvalou will not die after a single hit like it did in the two previous games; each time it is hit, the screen will flash red and for the first three hits, two pairs of shield lines that are surrounding it at the top of the screen will disappear. After the fourth hit, the text "SHIELD POWER DOWN!" will flash continuously in the centre of the screen - and after the fifth hit, the "bubble" that is surrounding the Solvalou at the top of the screen will disappear and the text "SHIELD SYSTEM DOWN!" will flash continuously in the centre of the screen as a Japanese speech sample is heard continuously in the background. After the sixth hit, the Solvalou will be destroyed and the text "GAME OVER" comes spinning towards you.

Toroid (トーロイド)
These disc-like ships attack by flying towards the Solvalou, then flying away while rotating on their X-axes once it has seen them, while firing projectiles at it. 30 points.

Torkan (タルケン)
These scout ships attack by flying towards the Solvalou from the northern angles, and firing a single projectile at it before retreating in the opposite direction. 50 points.

Zoshi (ゾシー)
These ships attack by flying towards the Solvalou in an erratic pattern that is impossible to predict, and firing multiple projectiles at it, before retreating away. 70 points.

Terrazi (テラジ)
These ships attack by flying towards the Solvalou in a zooming-in pattern, and hovering in place to fire some multiple projectiles at it before retreating away. 700 points.

Zakato (ザカート)
These bombs attack by materializing onto the screen and flying towards the Solvalou, and will self-destruct to fire off a projectile at it if you do not shoot them in time. 10 points.

Bacura (バキュラ)
These metal barriers attack by flying towards the Solvalou, while rotating on their Y-axes. Much like in the two previous games, they cannot be destroyed and must be avoided.

Barra (バーラ)
These ground-based pyramids serve as energy storage stations for small regions. As with appearances in the two previous games, they have no attack methods. 200 points.

Garu Barra (ガルバーラ)
These ground-based pyramids are somewhat larger than the Barra, and serve as energy storage stations for large regions. They also have no methods of attack. 600 points.

Logram (ログラム)
These stationary domes can serve as ground-to-air defence stations, and attack by firing a single projectile at the Solvalou like they did in the two previous games. 300 points.

Boza Logram (ボザログラム)
These enhanced Lograms have four domes attached to centre cores, and attack by firing projectiles at the Solvalou like they did in the two previous games. 400 points.

Domogram (ドモグラム)
These domes serve as Lograms on a hovering platform, and usually follow the course of the roads. They may be able to cross rivers, but cannot cross over oceans. 160 points.

Derota (デロータ)
These domes are a more evolved version of the Lograms, and can serve as area defence stations which have the ability to fire multiple projectiles at the Solvalou. 1000 points.

Garu Derota (ガルデロータ)
These octagonal defence stations are somewhat larger than the Derota, and also possess the ability to fire multiple projectiles at the Solvalou from all directions. 2000 points.

Grobda (グロブダー)
These corkscrew-treaded tanks, which are once again on the side of evil, attack by sailing towards the Solvalou as it flies over an ocean while firing projectiles at it. 400 points.

Sol (ソル)
These towers are initially invisible, but will reveal their presence after you drop a bomb on them. If you drop a second bomb on them to destroy them, they will award you 2000 points.