Monday MAME Club [1/30/06] - Qix

[Flack]

This week's game is Qix (Taito, 1981). Download, play, and discuss! (KLOV Info)



Club Rules

01. You do not need to sign up for the club. If you want to participate, simply download the game of the week and post about it!

02. At the end of the week, I will randomly select someone who participated this week to select next week's game.

03. The current MAME Club Pick of the Week can be found Mondays stickied at the top of the main forum, and after that stickied at the top of the Arcade Alley forum.

Previously Picked Games: Blood Bros, Boogie Wings, Bubbles, Donkey Kong 3, Great 1000 Mile Rally, Gunforce 2, Haunted Castle, Liquid Kids, Mad Planets, Ninja Clowns, Rescue, Top Hunter, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu, 19xx: The War Against Destiny, Alligator Hunt, APB - All Points Bulletin, Armed Police Batrider, Ataxx, Battle Bakraid, Battle Bakraid, Battle Circuit, Berzerk, Biomechanical Toy, Blazing Star, Block Out, Bomb Jack, Bronze Adventure, Burgertime, Caliber 50, Chuka Taisen/Cloud Master, City Bomber, Combatribes, Crossbow, D&D: Shadow Over Mystara, Daisu-Kiss, Darius Gaiden, Dr. Micro, Dynasty Wars, Elevator Action, Elevator Action Returns, Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters, ESP Ra.De., G.I. Joe, Go! Go! Mile Smile, Gunbarich, Gyruss, I'm Sorry, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Lady Bug, League Bowling, Mega Twins, Metal Slug 2, Mighty! Pang, Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride, Mysterious Stones, NARC, Pandora's Palace, Pang, Penguin-Kun Wars, Portman, Prehistoric Isle in 1930, Pu-Li-Ru-La, Qix, Raiden II, Rampart!, Rastan, Rollergames, Satan's Hollow, Shinobi, Skull & Crossbones, Solomon's Key, Splatterhouse, Strike Force, Super Burgertime, Tempest, The Punisher, The Simpsons, Vs. Excitebike, Vendetta, Waku Waku 7, Withdrew, WWF Superstars.

Now, MAME ON!

** Note -- want to be notified when a new Monday Morning MAME Club pick is posted? Send an e-mail to flack@cox.net asking me to add me to the mailing list, and when a new game is posted I'll e-mail you the URL! You can get removed from the list by e-mailing me and asking to be removed. **

[poloplayr]

Such a classic game. Remember playing this arcade on vacation with my parents when I was really young. Basic but brilliant concept.

[Oobgarm]

I always remembered the sounds from this game. It's the one thing I miss when playing the Game Boy port of it. They're essential for full enjoyment.

I could lose hours playing this. Seriously.

[scooterb23]

At the Shakey's Pizza outside Muncie, back in the early 80's, they had a Qix machine. And I was scared of it. The ominous sounds, the bizarre abstract graphics...everything about it said "Danger, don't play kid". I had the same reaction to their Berzerk machine as well. So I went back to ruling on Turbo.

After a while, I finally got up enough nerve to play Qix, and I think I died on the first screen. That was the last day I went to Shakey's (then Howie's pizza) before we moved to Ohio, and it turned into a church. I played Berzerk that day for the first time as well. Did ok there, although the machine still scared me a bit.

I'm still not much better at Qix, but it always reminds me of the Saturday buffet at Shakey's.

[GrandAmChandler]

At the Shakey's Pizza outside Muncie, back in the early 80's, they had a Qix machine.

man Shakey's RULED! I can't believe ours went out of business, I loved that place!!!

Do any still exist?

[scooterb23]

http://www.shakeys.com/

Still some left in the US, mostly in California

http://www.asiatravel.com/shakey/

And apparantly it's the #1 Pizza place in the Phillipeans!!

[Jibbajaba]

Oh man I love this game. I have it on GB, NES, and Genny. I don't have Qix Neo, though. What other consoles did it come out on?

Arcade version is still the best though IMHO.

Chris

[Pantechnicon]

Ahh...Qix. I first saw Qix in 1981 at the North 30th St. Bowling Alley when I lived in Omaha. That fall I won $5 in a Halloween costume contest (I was the Grim Reaper) and spent the whole thing between the Qix machine and its next door neighbor, Star Castle. Anyone who's played both machines can imagine that this corner of the buidling was pretty freaking LOUD!

...I was scared of it. The ominous sounds, the bizarre abstract graphics...everything about it said "Danger, don't play kid".

Well said. I got the exact same vibe off of the machine you did. The qualities you described made the Qix machine seem really "Big League" when I was but 11 years old. It was the most abstract gameplay for a cab I had ever seen up to that point.

I never used the slow button, despite the enticing point-increase margins. Every time I did try slow I got my butt kicked. In fact I half convinced myself that the game was impossible to play with the slow draw button, and that it had been put there only to trip the player up.

In 1989 shortly after I got my 1st Game Boy Qiz was, IIRC, the 3rd title I ever bought for the thing. I was burned out on Tetris, amd the Super Mario and Castlevania carts I had were still too "new style" for my Golden Age Arcade Era tastes. Popping in the Qix cart made me feel better about this new gaming paradigm.

While I got pretty good at the GB version I've spent very little time on the arcade original. So thanks to whomever recommended this for the MMMC. I'm looking forward to getting re-acquainted with it now.

[roushimsx]

I don't remember the first time I played this game, but I remember fondly a few years ago when my roommate and I decided it'd be a nice idea to fire it up in MAME and just play around a bit. We ended up playing for hours, taunting each other to go just a little bit further, just another pixel wider, split the playfield, etc. It was so awesomely fun.

My favorite grandchild of the game is the Gals Panic S games, which manage to evolve the gameplay AND show healthy amounts of t&a. Qix + T&A is like coca cola and pizza.

[Flack]

Oh man I love this game. I have it on GB, NES, and Genny. I don't have Qix Neo, though. What other consoles did it come out on?

Lynx and Atari 5200, for sure. And as mentioned, Qix Neo for the PSX. I agree though, the arcade version is my favorite.

Oh, and thanks to roushimsx for picking this week's game. I gotta start mentioning that in my initial posts!

[keiblerfan69]

This game is very simplistic but very fun as well as challenging.

[Jibbajaba]

Oh man I love this game. I have it on GB, NES, and Genny. I don't have Qix Neo, though. What other consoles did it come out on?

Lynx and Atari 5200, for sure. And as mentioned, Qix Neo for the PSX. I agree though, the arcade version is my favorite.

Oh, and thanks to roushimsx for picking this week's game. I gotta start mentioning that in my initial posts!

Now that I think about it, it was on the Atari home computer as well. The XE? I dunno, I am not up on the home computer line. I used to have that cart. Still might.

Chris

[RetroYoungen]

I love Qix. One of my favorite arcade games, and I haven't even played it in the arcade! I've never found a cab to play it on, but after I downloaded it for MAME I just couldn't stop playing it.

Nice pick!

[Cryomancer]

Yeah, i didn't ever play this until AFTER I played the gals panic games so I was kinda spoiled on the somewhat more advanced gameplay and never really got into Qix itself. I definetly give it props for creating the genre however. MAME32 actually has the "expose" genre for games like it. Even a 3D one. And if you wanan try the gals panic games but nto wanna be seen playign porn games, try panic street, same company / engine but clean art.

[KingCobra]

Ahhh... Yes! Shakey's Pizza and QIX

The Shakey's in San Bruno, CA had a killer animated band like Chucky's, really old, like the 70's.

I play QIX on my 5200 all the time, this game really ramps-up after level 6 after you X4 split'n the 2 QIX's. This game like Rez, Romp's on a high-end sound system.

I LOVE QIX! Top 20 arcade pick for sure.

[cyberfluxor]

Yes, this is a favorite of mine. I have the Gameboy version so when I'm on the road and feel like it, just start it up and play away.

[eightbitonline]

what the...???!!

[Gapporin]

And, as we all know, this game's pronounced "Quicks".

[Arcade Antics]

And, as we all know, this game's pronounced "Quicks".

* "Kicks" Gapporin for that faux pas *



Seriously though, it is "kicks."

Qix is friggin' awesome, nuff said. Arcade and Genesis (Ultimate Qix) versions are the best, followed by the 5200 port.

PS - you CAN fill in 100% of the screen. Sweet bonus points.