Play Xexyz Online

So here's the deal with Xexyz—it's this weird, cool little NES game from 1988 that mashes up platforming and shooter sections in a way that still feels fresh. You play as Apollo, a soldier in the year 2777 where Earth's basically five floating islands ruled by mechanical castles. The setup's wild: nuclear wars wrecked everything, and now some dude named Goruza is kidnapping queens and building evil robot fortresses. Classic villain behavior.

What makes it fun is how it switches gears. One minute you're doing standard platforming—jumping between doors that lead to shops (where you spend "Balls" as currency, because sure), talking to NPCs for hints, and hunting down mid-bosses to rescue fairies. Then suddenly you hop on this hoverbike thing called a Cyborg Rider, and boom—it turns into a side-scrolling shooter where you're blasting through waves of enemies while grabbing power-ups. The transitions are jarring in the best way.

The bosses are tough but fair, and I love how the weapons actually feel different—some have crazy range but hit weak, others are close-range powerhouses. Just don't expect the shopkeepers to explain anything; half the fun is figuring out what that weird "jump booster" item actually does mid-level.