Solvalou

Solvalou

Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Platform(s) Arcade, Virtual Console
Release date(s) Arcade
Virtual Console
  • JP March 26, 2009
Genre(s) Shoot 'em up
Mode(s) Single player
Cabinet Upright and sit-down
Arcade system Namco System 21
Display Horizontal orientation, Raster, 496 x 480 resolution

Solvalou (ソルバルウ Sorubarū?) is a shoot 'em up arcade game that was released by Namco in 1991. It is the 3rd title in the Xevious series.

Solvalou is the name of the ship that the player controls in all five games, including the later Xevious 3D/G and Xevious Arrangement. Solvalou is also borrowed as a fictional company brand in the 4th Ridge Racer game, for an elite Italian racing team who race in distinct silver and navy blue livery. It later appeared in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection as Jack 5's customizations.

The game was released for the Nintendo's Virtual Console service in Japan on March 26, 2009, and is one of the first Virtual Console titles to make use of the Wii Remote's pointer.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very much like Xevious and Super Xevious except that the game is in 3D and has a 1st-person viewpoint.

Hardware

The arcade version of Solvalou runs on the Namco System 21 hardware, also called Polygonizer, which displays the game very smoothly with flatshaded polygons. The game is controlled with an analog pilot joystick with two buttons; one for fire and the other for bombing.

There are two cabinets for Solvalou. The larger sit-in cabinet has a concave mirror which reflects the inverted image of a monitor placed above the player's head, creating a more immersive display for the player. The other cabinet is a so called 'upright' cabinet with a 20 inch monitor.