Battle Qix [バトルクイックス] Game Sample - PlayStation

Sometime ago, I was on something of a "Qix Kick", uploading various oddities that are related to, or inspired by, "The Original Qix". The reception for the uploads was/is rather nice, especially for hidden gems like "Gal Pani X", but I haven't even begun to cover all the Qix-style games out there, and as recent uploads will show (Shinobi no Okite, for example, which was released on Steam in 2020), Qix STILL inspires developers today. Perhaps it is because even when it was made, Qix was something with a simple premise, that can be addictive and with some of the ideas and modifications to the original formula that are out there, Qix was something that may have been ahead of its time. Whether it was or wasn't, isn't something I feel the need to talk about.

This Qix game isn't a new one, but of all the Qix games made on the PlayStation (One), it definitely strikes me as the least discussed and there isn't a lot of information floating around for it. It seems as though few know this game (and Qix 2000, which was also released only in Japan) exists. Being released even AFTER Qix 2000 (in October of 2002), what possessed Success/Taito to put out ANOTHER Qix game in a time when the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox were already out? Here is some additional food for thought:

"The final licensed PlayStation game released in Japan (not counting re-releases) was Black/Matrix 00 on May 13, 2004, the final licensed game released in North America was FIFA Football 2005 on October 12, 2004, and the final licensed game released in Europe was Moorhuhn X on July 20, 2005"

Being part of Success' "SuperLite 1500 Series", the game should be pretty common, seeing as it was a "budget release", but it actually is a pretty hard game to physically acquire, even if it is not expensive. Everything said, is the game GOOD? Well, it is generally Qix, so if you like Qix and tracking down everything Qix, you will probably want to seek this game out!

Battle Qix is Qix with a bit more of a "Battle" slant to it -- 1P mode is more or less what you would expect in a "more modern" Qix release. You move your icon around a rectangle border and "move off" the border while drawing lines. Completing a shape will fill that shape in and it will become part of your "safe space". When you are in the process of drawing, if anything touches the line you are making, you die. However, you aren't safe when you aren't drawing and are sitting on your "safe space" either -- there are "Sparx" that will travel the rectangle and if they touch you, you also die, BUT, you can avoid those enemies by leaving the safe space and starting a line. As such, there is a game of offense/defense in drawing lines and filling shapes to outmaneuver the Sparx, but knowing when to stop drawing to avoid other enemies.

The main objective is to fill a certain percentage of the screen (in the case of the video, 75 percent, though you can change the percentage) and things actually become more hectic, the more of the screen you fill. You can get bigger scores by trying to fill up large portions of the screen in "single movements", meaning, instead of drawing a small square, try to draw a big square in one continuous movement. The longer/bigger the shape you draw, the slower you begin to move...so it is a risk versus reward kind of system. There are numerous power-ups (such as a Speed Up item, a "Barrier" item (that offers additional protection), an item to obliterate "small enemies") and clearing the stage reveals pictures of different characters.

However, if you play against the CPU or a friend, the rules are a bit different. You both aim to fill a supermajority of the screen, but as you draw and fill shapes, you are awarded with "coins", with riskier moves granting more coins. Whoever has the most coins when the screen reaches 75 (or other) percent, wins the match. Naturally, there are a couple of different power-ups here --- you can slow your opponent down, and you also can get an item that doubles the amount of coins you get when you fill spaces. Careful play is also its own reward, because you lose coins each time you are eliminated, making the coin gap wider. Unlike Qix 2000, the game uses super short FMVs, instead of anime stills...but being a SuperLite game, the quality is passable, but don't expect too much. You may prefer the stills of Qix 2000 more, or you may prefer the simple animations present in Battle Qix.

So, my general impression? This seems like one of the most "ambitious" Qix efforts on the PS1, even if it is a SuperLite release. Whether it is the best will always be debatable, but a North American release of the game would have been nice. I feel it would have worked (though there would probably be some age modifications, like games like Evil Zone, because it definitely would be questionable in some other regions) as a budget release because there isn't a large pool of content, but what the game does provide, would have been satisfactory.