Thexder
Thexder (テグザー, Teguzā) is a run and gun video game from Game Arts, originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1985. It was ported to many systems, including the Famicom, MSX, Apple II, and MS-DOS. It was a commercial success, selling over one million units worldwide.
Thexder
- Date
- 1985.
- Publisher
- Game Arts.
- Genre
- adventure video game and science fiction video game.
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Documentary summary
Thexder (テグザー, Teguzā) is a run and gun video game from Game Arts, originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1985. It was ported to many systems, including the Famicom, MSX, Apple II, and MS-DOS. It was a commercial success, selling over one million units worldwide.
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Documentary evidence
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wikidata · Q1353918
In this article
Gameplay
Gameplay
In Thexder, the player controls a fighter robot that is able to transform into a jet and shoot lasers.
Release
Release
The game was originally released in 1985 for the NEC PC-8801 platform in Japan. Game Arts licensed Thexder to Square in order to develop a conversion for the Family Computer (Famicom) game console. In 1987, Game Arts also developed a Thexder conversion for the MSX platform. The game was licensed to Sierra Entertainment for release in the United States. Sierra ported the game to multiple platforms, including the IBM PC, Tandy Color Computer 3, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Apple Macintosh, and Tandy 1000. In 1988, Activision released the game in Europe on the Commodore Amiga. D4 Enterprise was re-released for the Nintendo Switch on October 26, 2023, in Japan as part of the EGG Console.
History of the object
Dated record
History of the object
The full dated record · 2 entries
1985
Thexder published.
1985
Thexder is recorded as published in 1985.
Reception
Thexder quickly became a best-selling hit, selling over 500,000 copies in Japan by 1987. As the PC-8801 platform was only popular in Japan, Thexder did not garner significant attention abroad until it was converted for the MSX (the best-selling platform in Brazil and many Eastern European countries), Apple II, and DOS, eventually becoming an international hit. It became the company's best-selling title of 1987. By 1990, the game had sold over one million copies worldwide. Compute! praised the Apple IIGS version of Thexder as the computer's "first true arcade game" with "excellent play value for your dollar". In 1988, The Games Machine gave the Amiga version a 74% score. In 1991, Dragon gave the Macintosh and PC/MS-DOS versions of the game each 4 out of 5 stars. The game went on to sell over one million copies worldwide, becoming Game Arts' biggest-selling title of 1987. Thexder is considered an important breakthrough title for the run-and-gun shooter game genre, paving the way for titles such as Contra and Metal Slug.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.THEXDER Coming from Sierra. Computer Entertainer. 6. 5. 1. August 1987.
- 2.Storer, Andy. Thexder. ST/Amiga Format. 1. 55. July 1988.
- 3.Game Arts & Sierra On-Line. Back Cover. Fire Hawk: Thexder The Second Contact. 1990.
- 4.Trunzo, James V. Thexder. Compute!. 21. March 1988.
- 5.The Games Machine 7, page 68.
- 6.Lesser, Hartley. The Role of Computers. Dragon. 176. 57–62. December 1991.
- 7.Travis Fahs. The Leif Ericson Awards – Retro Feature at IGN. Retro.ign.com. 24 March 2008.
- 8.Imagine Media. Thexder. Next Generation. 16. 95. April 1996.
- 9.Square Enix. Thexder NEO: Information.
- 10.Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Thexder NEO. PlayStation.UK.
- 11.Square Enix. Square Enix Ltd. announces Thexder NEO available exclusively for download via PlayStation Network. 1 October 2009.
- 12.En.gigazine.net. Square Enix revives "THEXDER", 80's robot action for PS3 and PSP – GIGAZINE. 2009-08-24.
- 13.Joystiq.com. Sony TGS lineup includes unannounced games, newly announced games. 2009-09-11.
References
Citations
References
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authority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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