Ultimate Qix (Genesis) Playthrough
122A playthrough of Taito's 1991 action-puzzle game for the Sega Genesis, Ultimate Qix.
This video shows a run through each of the game's three main modes:
A Mode (Normal) 0:44
B Mode (Hard) 18:00
C Mode (Pro) 39:36
Ultimate Qix is the Sega Genesis conversion of Volfied, the fourth game in Taito's Qix series, and it was released around the same time as the NES version of the original Qix (https://youtu.be/MPv7cs8iApo).
The gameplay is similar to Qix's, but under the direction of Fukio Mitsuji (Taito's resident design genius who led development on games like Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Darius II, and Syvalion), Volfied felt like a thoroughly modernized and polished reimagining of the original.
In this adventure, you are the pilot of the Monstros, and while you're away on a mission you receive an SOS from Volfied, your home planet. The planet's surface has already been destroyed by alien invaders by the time you return, but the survivors have taken refuge underground and it's your job to rescue them.
You work your way to the center of the planet over the course of sixteen rounds, each representing a different area filled with nasties to take care of. Like in Qix, the smaller enemies are killed as you cordon off and reclaim chunks of the screen, and the boss goes down automatically once you've trapped it in a small enough space.
The sci-fi theme draws inspiration from the Arkanoid and Darius games, and I thought it made for a far more engaging experience than what Qix offered. The alien designs are cool, the power-ups inject some much needed variety into the formula, and I liked having an end-game goal to shoot for.
Ultimate Qix is a solid recreation of the arcade game. The graphics have been scaled back and the 4:3 aspect ratio crunches the playfield a bit, but the large, colorful enemy sprites zoom around the screen without any hint of flicker or slowdown and the controls are excellent. The attract screen and the intro's text crawl are missing and the in-game sound effects are super loud and grating, but on the whole, the feeling of the arcade game remains intact in its move to the Sega Genesis.
I loved the Dos version of Volfied as a kid, and a lot of good memories came flooding back as I worked my way through Ultimate Qix. If, like me, you liked the idea of Qix but ended up feeling put off by its simple presentation, extreme level of difficulty, and high score-chasing gameplay, give this one a go. It won't disappoint.
Kanpai, Mitsuji-san. Rest in peace.
One final note about the game: every other version of its time retained the original Volfied name. The North American Genesis game was the only one bear the title "Ultimate Qix," though the name was changed again to "Qix Neo" for the 2001 NA release of the PlayStation version.
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!