X-002

The X-002 is the protagonist jet in the 1989 sci-fi arcade shmup game X-Multiply. It is a microscopic fighter craft created to combat against microscopic aliens that have infested themselves inside the human body. Unlike other R-Type crafts, the X-002 lacks a Force, but instead uses two large mechanical tentacles to combat its adversaries.
==Items==
Items are carried by flying power-up item holders which can be taken out by one shot from X-002. While most of them fly straight to the left edge of the screen, they sometimes fly top or bottom and change their flying directions when blocked by environmental obstacles. While they do not attack X-002 directly, colliding onto them will still destroy the fighter so X-002 must shoot and destroy item holders to release and get items it needs. Once item holders are destroyed, items that are released will travel slowly towards the left screen. If left alone any obtained items will leave the screen and X-002 would not be able to obtain lost items so X-002 must make its move fast to acquire items before they disappear.
Speed Up - when the X-002 obtains a crystal with an "S" on it with an arrow facing right, it will increase its overall speed. One must be careful not to obtain too many, it will make the X-002 harder to control.
Speed Down - when the X-002 obtains a crystal with a reversal "S" on it with an arrow facing left, it will decrease is its overall speed. This power-up is useful when the X-002 needs to fly through tight spaces or corridors.
1UP - adds an extra stock to X-002. There would be total of 4 1UP items appearing throughout the game in total of 2 loops. When X-002 is destroyed, a stock will allow X-002 to be resurrected from certain section of the stage. If X-002 dies without additional stocks to itself, the game cannot continue and the game will be over with X-002's mission failed so it is imperative that X-002 should collect as much 1UP item as it can. Another most important item gamers definitely want to take.
===Weapons===
Items that grant X-002 offensive capabilities against vicious micro-aliens. X-002 obtains its weapons through the collection of various colored laser capsules. Weapons are upgraded through obtaining weapon capsules total of three times: upgrade is really simple - X-002 does not have to obtain same weapon capsules consecutively. Obtain weapon capsules three times in any order will still complete X-002's weapon upgrade.
Arms - the most essential element to the game. While knowing which weapon works best in what areas is important as any other Irem games, manipulating Arms of X-002 masterfully is vital for survival and to the progress of the game. Arms are obtained when the X-002 collects one primary weapon capsule of any color, two large mechanical tentacles will emerge from the top and bottom of the craft. They can be controlled by moving the craft in any direction, which in turn can be used to control the altitude and direction of various weapons. The tentacles can also be used to protect the X-002 from weaker incoming enemy fire (but not all projectiles) as well as offering X-002 additional firepower thus Arms provide X-002 both offensive and defensive capabilities. Arms, once obtained, are indestructible until X-002 gets destroyed. In addition to providing additional fires and protection from enemy bullets, Arms can be utilized to whip enemies like lashes and pound them like fists as enemies that comes into contact with Arms gets damaged when in close range.
Lightning Tentacle Laser (Red capsule) - fires a straight, penetrating laser forwards upon first. The laser is powerful, but lacks a defensive spread. Moving the tentacles will allow the lasers to contract and expand, allowing for more precise or scattered shots. The laser will become wider, wavy and gain a lighting effect when upgraded twice.
Joint Missiles (Blue capsule) - fires four missiles (six when upgraded) from the tips of the tentacles. The missiles moving slowly, but will auto-aim on incoming enemies. upon making contact, they will create a small explosion, dealing even more damage. Still, in terms of firepower this capsule rates the lowest. But this capsule's homing capability makes this capsule invaluable weapon system.
Double Snail Laser (Yellow capsule) - fires a pair of ring-shaped lasers in the direction that the tentacles are facing. The lasers are harder to control compared to the aforementioned weapons, but in turn are very versatile as they can be aimed in all directions. When upgraded, the laser will be fired in a cluster of three rings. When obtaining yellow capsule, X-002 cannot fire its default frontal shot; that means X-002 must rely solely on snail lasers firing from Arms and thus causing another inconvenience to many gamers - this might lead to many sorts of problems including making unnecessary movements to shoot at designated directions, where there are no enemies and/or X-002 doesn't want to. The efficiency of this weapon depends heavily on the skill of X-002 pilot (namely players): at hands of master gamers this weapon is deemed immensely useful on certain sectors of the stage. But at hands of average gamers this weapon is deemed too hard to use and bordering on useless.
Spread Bomb - Obtained when the X-002 collects a capsule with a "B", the craft will fire a single bomb that will drop at a 45 degree arc and explode on contact with any surface. When a second capsule is obtained, the bomb will be fired at a faster fire rate. Although weapon-based item, this does not grant X-002 Arms upon obtaining.
==History==
In the year 2249, a deadly pandemic struck the populace of Planet Stan, a faraway planet in space colonized by mankind. Colonialists became very ill en masse but the sickness they suffered were incurable, and numerous hapless patients perished. Investigation by prominent scientists followed, and their research concluded that deaths of patients were caused by shock due to an unnamed microscopic alien race invading human bodies and severely disrupting victims' normal biological function. The alien species at first proves fruitless to defeat by its method of infecting the human body directly. Desperate to counter alien parasites' outbreak which keeps claiming victims, scientists on the planet construct X-002, a microscopic spacecraft built with a wide arsenal of weapons in an attempt to locate and destroy aliens that had infested inside human bodies. One particular patient was brought to the hospital, the microscopic fighter "X-002" was then injected and deployed into the infected body of the patient in a bid to eradicate this alien plague.
===Stage 1===
The first stage begins in which X-002 inside a needle is injected into the skin membrane of the patient through surgical cut. X-002 flies over battling alien parasites inside patient's skin with infected ganglions as the background. X-002 deals with aliens on air, ground, ceiling and organic gate that shoots straight lasers and blocks X-002's shots with its own large arms. Its weakness is its face in the middle. After killing the gate X-002 descends through slope crevasse engaging multiple aerial parasites as well as ground parasites sneaking from behind from time to time. Then X-002 fights its way through hordes of hordes of more parasites guarding a chamber. When X-002 enters into the chamber, a large alien monster rises out of the ground - a grotesque abomination with upper body of an alien monster but lower body of a human woman (especially its legs). This monster's name is Hostur, and this is first boss X-002 encounters.
Hostur remains stationary and attacks X-002 by spitting out crystal orbs that shatter into small 8-directional pellet shots. Fortunately pellet shots can be negated with Arms. In the first loop Hostur spits out one crystal orb at a time. In the second loop Hostur spits out 3 crystal orbs at a time. Hostur's weakness is its entire body, having the biggest weak point in comparison to other bosses. Because of Hostur's crystal orbs the battle against Hostur seems difficult, but it is not so when a certain trick to the battle is found out.
Eventually Hostur will be destroyed in explosion, with X-002 moving onto stage 2.
===Stage 2===
Stage 2 takes place in the dark inner cavity within the patient's body. The cavity is patrolled by what appears to be a large fish-like organic warship made from mishmash of multiple aliens grotesquely merged with and fused together. In addition to taking out alien minions that appear every now and then, stage 2 will primarily involve X-002 flying in clockwise direction and attempting to destroy this warship parts by parts: X-002 should first destroy what appears to be the warship's dorsal fins which emit close-range lightning bolts from fins' tips. Then X-002 should destroy what appears to be the warship's control tower that hurls multi-directional projectiles at X-002. After dealing with the control tower, X-002 should take out the ship's orifice located at the back. The orifice constantly spawns alien maggots with anti-aircraft capabilities. Then the tail of the warship should be destroyed in order for X-002 to fly below the belly of the warship. The destruction of the warship's tail must be done as soon as possible, for the warship, after stopping briefly, suddenly retreats backward fast before resuming its normal cruising speed. But the alien warship is flying backward this time and if X-002 is not below the warship's belly at this time, it is trapped and the oncoming body of the alien warship will crush X-002.
Once flying beneath, X-002 must contend with parasites living in the warship that constantly comes in and out of the warship by flying in a wide U pattern. Although optional, X-002 can destroy two pectoral fins attached to the warship. In fact, all destructible parts of this alien warship are optional to be destroyed (hence said 'should' and not 'must'), but destroying these parts will of course make game play considerably easier. The tail too, is optional to destroy but destroying it will give X-002 more room to maneuver when the need to descend beneath the alien warship rises. warship's tail must be destroyed from above it and not below it, because when destroyed it will simply fall down and crush X-002 below. After dealing with parasites below the warship, a dormant humanoid head is seen attached to the warship where typical ships' masts should be and once X-002 completes its full clockwise rotation battling the alien warship, the head will awaken and detach itself from the warship to engage X-002. This head's name is Rokusu and it will be the boss of stage 2.
Rokusu has two attack patterns:
*Rokusu attacks X-002 with a short-ranged optical beam (travelling 1/3 of the screen) which will pause, then creeps towards X-002's current location three times before dissipating. In the second loop of the game, Rokusu will launch 2 eye beams at a time.
*Rokusu hurls itself against X-002 fast but it can only be done horizontally. While this attack is simplistic and not as complex as the optic beam, it is still formidable when done in combination with the beam attack. But since Rokusu is immune to its own eye beam, skilled gamers lure eye beam into colliding with any parts of Rokusu, eliminating the persistent beam before it can become a serious problem.
Rokusu's eye is its only weak spot, having the smallest hit detection out of all bosses. After taking enough damage Rokusu will go down in a furious explosion, clearing stage 2.
===Stage 3===
Third battle takes in orbital plate of human skull, where human eyes are situated. Here X-002 are attacked by rolling worms that are capable of hurling their deadly body segments to every which way upon destruction. These worms are endlessly spawned from alien organic generators situated from top and bottom until generators are destroyed. In addition to rolling worms, ground aliens appear from front and behind time to time intending to take out X-002. Fighting its way out with these parasites, X-002 runs into what looks like three mutated mounds which look like human faces. These faces launch numerous eyeballs from their eye sockets. To stop these mounds from launching eyeballs eyes of mounds must be destroyed. Then after dealing with face mounds, X-002 ascends diagonally to the top only to encounter a large alien worm that spawns its minions; both the worm itself and its minions chase X-002 persistently. The giant worm can take enormous amount of punishment before finally igniting into ruin, and minions are infinitely spawned by the worm. The entire ascension phase involves fighting against this large worm and its spawns. The worm can either be destroyed or eventually leave off to do its own thing. Once reaching the top, X-002 flies into what appears to be a chamber which has fleshy walls that open and close on their own accord. X-002 enters the chamber, fleshy walls close, and the boss 3 battle commences.
The bosses of the stage 3 are Zarikasu, four reptilian heads that pop up from diagonal top, bottom, left and right. These heads are of course Zarikasu's weaknesses and X-002 must take out all 4 heads to win stage 3. Zarikasu spits out long stream of straight lasers (between 2 and 3 lasers present at a time) that ricochet off walls in diagonal patterns. These long lasers are fast and their constant bouncing can quickly clutter the arena. When lasers eventually fade, Zarikasu simply spit out more ricocheting lasers, making lasers bouncing around the arena wall nonstop. Remembering lasers' lengths, their reflection from where they are launched and positioning on the right spot are keys to surviving this boss battle. In loop 2 of the game Zarikasu spit out even faster bouncing lasers, making any maneuverability during the boss battle even riskier.
When the last fourth head is defeated, the whole arena gets destroyed, clearing the stage 3.
===Stage 4===
This stage battle takes place in a trachea. In addition to battling alien parasites, X-002 must contend with tight environmental hazards manipulated by alien parasites to a very large degree in this stage. Beginning as an open area, things become clear that X-002 must carefully navigate through the whole zone which quickly reduces to extremely claustrophobic corridors heavily populated with alien parasites. Aerial and hopping parasites appear from left unexpectedly as well as from the right, gel-like aliens situated at top and bottom spits out 3-way bullets to take out X-002, and clawed alien tentacles stretch from above, below and from sides to grab and pull ceilings or floors, restricting the trachea sector into a narrow corridor, leaving X-002 very little room to maneuver. Ceilings and platforms held by extendable alien claws will not be released on their own and unless X-002 destroys these claws asap, ceilings, floors or claws themselves will crush X-002. Only when these alien claws are destroyed then ceiling and floors slowly begin to return to their original location, making trachea bit more spacious again. Pieces of ligaments and cartilages appearing from time to time pose their own environmental threats also. 
After successfully fighting its way out of all the aliens and their environmental deathtraps, X-002 flies into a wide chamber where stage 4's boss alien Ghoums awaits. Ghoums is armed with 3 stationary anti-aircraft cannons situated at what appears to be its abdomen, has long headless neck firing 3 bursts of large plasma rings, and a head located on its chest instead of attached to the neck. The head, seeing X-002, begins to fly around the chamber making stop to shoot 2-way bullets (horizontal and diagonal upward) to shoot down X-002. When Ghoum head takes off Ghoums will reveal a pulsating heart on the chest, and the more X-002 shoots at and batter down the chest perimeter the more the heart will be exposed. This heart, is Ghoums' weakness. When abdomen cannons are destroyed, Ghoums' neck fires 7 large plasma rings. While Ghoums head has a weak spot it cannot be reached through frontal assault (directly below the skull, where the temporal bone is) so the head must be destroyed through manipulation of Arms. When the head is gone, Ghoums neck begins to shoot 7-way plasma rings much more frequently and with faster pace and intervals.
After taking enough hits at the heart, Ghoums is destroyed.
===Stage 5===
Stage 5 takes place in what appears to be a stomach. X-002 first navigate through mutated cells that block passages. These abnormal cells at times cluster around hardened materials resembling long crystals that falls into holes or crevasses when cells forming around them are removed. These crystallized materials serve as gates or obstacles. Plus, spores emplaced on top and bottom of the stomach walls pose another threat: these spores first bloom and when their buds are ripened enough, they burst while releasing bullets in multiple directions. Then spores form new buds to bloom, repeating the whole process. To destroy these spores their roots must be destroyed. Overcoming these nuisances X-002 comes to stomach ceiling with stalactites from where droplets fall: these drops are anything but innocuous - coming into contact with these droplets will instantly destroy X-002. X-002 will soon find itself flying over what it is called sea of mucus. Here the game represents another considerable environmental hazard: from stomach ceilings falls droplets and when droplets make contact with mucus creates various splashing effects. Touching these splashes is fatal to X-002. The entire sea of mucus phase has no alien enemies other than item holders and it wholly involves X-002 skillfully evading these lethal droplets and mucus splashes they create. Droplets and splashes cannot be negated by Arms. After avoiding droplets and mucus splashes a serpentine monster rises from the sea. This monster's name is Hidra and it will be the boss of stage 5.
Hidra in the first loop stays stationary and attacks X-002 with fire breaths which travels straight and releases several alien sperms that travel in spread pattern. Fortunately for X-002 both breath and sperms can be destroyed with Arms and weapons. After attempting to kill X-002, Hidra stops its attacks and submerges into the sea of mucus. Then after a few seconds, Hidra emerges from the opposite edge of where it once stood, repeating patterns of its attacks. Should X-002 still flying, Hidra again stops its attacks and submerges, emerges from the opposite edge and repeating the whole patterns. Hidra's weakness, is its bulbous core situated at its neck (or directly below the chin). Droplets and splashes they create also join the duel intermittently, causing additional nuisances during this boss fight. As long as X-002 positions itself at the right spot, knowing the timing of droplets form and fall, utilize Arms' traits well battle against Hidra can be manageable. In the second loop of the game, Hidra charges back and forth while attacking, making the duel much more difficult and trickier.
When defeated, Hidra literally falls apart, its dismembered segments sinking into the abyss of the mucus where it once rose from.
===Stage 6===
This stage involves intraperitoneal organs of the patient's body. X-002 flies around solid platform blocks occupied by aliens on the ground. Some of these will take off when they spot X-002. These platforms become liability as well as protection, for they obstruct X-002's shots as well as alien enemies' shots. As X-002 traverses carefully to avoid crash, it will run into several of what appears to be hives: these hives release several spores which hang around the air for few seconds but out of those spores comes insectoid parasites that flies straight into X-002 at a high speed in a kamikaze fashion. These hives will keep releasing these spore-bugs unless they are destroyed. But even when these hives are destroyed, their ruined remnants still remain where they are and X-002 will crash if it bumps into them. Surviving these obstacles X-002, after traversing briefly towards slope begins a long and deep descent to the dark bottom. X-002 must navigate through indestructible big block moving left and right, four large indestructible parasitic serpents stuck on walls that squirm in snaky fashion attempting to shoot down X-002 (these snakes' bodies are of course fatal to the touch). Combined with these foes are also strategically emplaced alien organic turrets trying their lucks on X-002. Bypassing these alien snakes and turrets ground aliens drop from top in their final attempt to stop X-002 but X-002 manages them. Eventually X-002 arrives to what appears to be an inner sanctum, and from the bottom Darya rises to engage X-002. Darya will serve as boss of stage 6.
Stage 6 boss battle takes place in a very confined space. Darya looks a cross between a tree and a cephalopod. Darya surprisingly looks human - until it opens its eyes and reveals its grotesque monster face. Darya's face is its weakness. Darya attacks X-002 with:
*Shooting reflective energy projectiles from its horns that bounces off walls of inner sanctum. These energy projectiles are indestructible.
*Darya launches red projectiles that can travel either straight or diagonally from sides where arms should be unexpectedly.
*Darya endlessly summons its multitude of offsprings to support its fight against X-002. Darya's offsprings release small pot shots, and are just as capable of persistently tracking X-002 as their parent.
*Should all else fails Darya uses its body to crush X-002. Darya's size combined with the sanctum's confined space and constantly harassment from offsprings can quickly corner X-002 and crush it.
Darya's horns and arm areas take immense hits and do not get destroyed easily. Because horns often protect Darya's face, damaging Darya often involves X-002 flying above Darya's face and using its Arms to touch Darya's mug.
When defeated, Darya along with its sanctum goes down in explosion. Now, X-002 is onto the final stage.
===Stage 7===
The final stage takes place in the patient's womb, and it is the most difficult stage. There are no checkpoints at any point in the game play: if X-002 is destroyed, the game will resume going all the way back to the starting point of the stage. From the start, X-002 will be under furious assault by alien parasites from top, bottom as well as from left and right, making sure X-002 meeting its destruction if it is situated at the wrong place at any point of the game play. During the game play, X-002 will run into mounds and these mounds have what appear to be anemones with mouths. These anemones spit out indestructible orbs that travels in a slow, vertically straight zig zag pattern while changing directions to track X-002. Unless these anemones are promptly dealt with, orbs spat by these anemones will quickly clutter the screen, overwhelming X-002. Risking gamers to stay at the right edge of the screen while fighting other aliens in a bid to do away with anemones as soon as they appear, before releasing these orbs. Only when running into environmental blocks can these orbs be eliminated. Passing these deadly foes X-002 flies into what appears to be corridor. Here two alien guardians appear from behind top and bottom, stop at the right edge of the screen. Then after few seconds creates arms, charging towards X-002. X-002 must destroy one of these two guardian parasites asap before the duo form arms as arms are indestructible. X-002 can be more daring by getting directly at the face of one of the two guardians while their arms surround the starfighter. Even inside alien arms, X-002 can still shoot at the guardian's core and destroy it. After passing the guardian aliens, plethora of weapon and other power-up suppliers show up. This means the final confrontation with the alien queen Bykhee is getting near. It will be up to X-002 to determine which weapon is better suited to take out Bykhee with better efficiency.
Eventually X-002 arrives at what appears to be the womb's chamber. from the chamber's pit rises out Bykhee. Also what looks like a blue orb rises out of the pit. Bykhee floats at the center of screen and does not move. Bykhee's weakness is its face. While hitting any parts of Bykhee's body does not destroy X-002, colliding into barriers rotating around Bykhee's neck will. Bykhee has two attack patterns:
*Bykhee points its hands at X-002, then shoots small energy projectiles out of its both hands which travel straight at X-002. The energy projectiles can reach X-002 anywhere at any direction.
*Bykhee, after charging up energies from horns on its head, launches a thick, wavy and fast streams of plasma laser. Like hand projectiles, the head laser can reach X-002 anywhere at any direction. X-002 must also watch out for the laser's wave, as it is definitely less predictable than a typical straight beam.
Like attack patterns from previous alien bosses, Bykhee's attack patterns can be combined with one another, making X-002's evasion performance harder at times. But after careful maneuverability and persistence Bykhee perishes and is plunged back to the pit it rose from. With the destruction of Bykhee, one might think the battle is over: but another whole new havoc would soon to be unleashed (the boss BGM continuing even after Bykhee's demise). The blue orb, it turns out, is actually an alien egg cells fertilized inside a human body by genes of alien parasites. And Bykhee had been fighting X-002 to protect this egg cell. Immediately after Bykhee's destruction the alien egg cells matures into a zygote on the verge of bursting and from inside quartet of alien fetuses emerge, hurling fragments of zygote everywhere. (these zygote pieces are fatal to the touch). These quartet alien fetuses, called Bykhee Head, are the true ultimate bosses of the game. These bosses move and shoot very fast, taking lots of hits. Fortunately, they move and attack in patterns but gamers must learn their pattern through numerous trials and errors.
After taking out the alien quartets as well, the entire chamber blows up in a fiery explosion. With that X-002's mission to cleanse infesting alien parasites in a human body comes to a close. X-002 finally frees the human patient from the aliens' torment once and for all...
Or is it?
===The End?===
With its mission accomplished, as X-002 was flying towards an extraction point to be picked up, an ominous voice suddenly echoes.
Then the voice stopped. As X-002's pilot was left baffling where did the voice come from, what did it mean and whether he/she was simply hearing things a medical needle that carried and deployed X-002 into the patient's body at the start of the game arrives from outside world at the extraction point to take X-002 home. While still puzzled with full of newfound questions created by the cryptic message instead of relishing at the mission's success X-002's pilot realized that there is no point wondering what he/she does not understand and landed X-002 in the needle, leaving behind the patient's now stable body.
==Gallery==
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264952 900.png|X-002 obtaining red capsule (laser)
Off shoulder recycled 1659-000043-9358 01a.jpg|X-002 obtaining blue capsule
Xmultships.jpg|X-002 obtaining yellow capsule
X-002 deploying bombs.jpg|X-002 dropping bombs without and with Arms
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EPdV32mUcAcnMGf.jpg|X-002 with wings
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D0K KCvVsAEiRul.jpg|This design of X-002 and its Arms is used in the cover of Sega Saturn adaptation.
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D0K KCsUwAEBF3y.jpg|This design of X-002 and its Arms is used in the promotional Japanese arcade flyer.
==Trivia==
*The X-002's weapon arsenal would later be incorporated into the Tentacle Force used by the RX-10 Albatross, as well as the Flexible Force of the RX-12 Cross the Rubicon.
*Based on what is said regarding the final stage (womb) and the title of BGM of the second stage (Babe good lookin'), it is assumed that the patient whose body inside X-002 is fighting might be a woman.
*Many gamers have speculated that the mysterious alien parasites of the game may share some kind of connection to Bydo:
**The true final bosses of the game, Bykhee Heads, bears resemblance to Bydo fetus appearing in the final stage of R-Type II.
**At the game's ending, a mysterious voice emerges and tells X-002 pilot what it is cryptically. In another IREM game named Superior Soldiers (IREM's only known vs. Fighter genre game) another mysterious entity appears as a bright blue light essence and also cryptically tells the winner of the battle its identity which it self-proclaims to be Bydo. Both games have protagonists wondering what was it that they heard, and the true identites of the voices from both games still remain mystery to this day.
==Navigation==
Category:Science Fiction Heroes
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Category:Monster Slayers
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Category:One-Man Army
Category:Healers
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Category:Successful
Category:Dreaded