Volfied is the strangely
titled follow up to Taito's earlier arcade titles, Qix, and Super
Qix. Released back in 1991 Volfied took the line drawing aspect of
its predecessors and set it in a futuristic theme not too dissimilar
from their later Space Invaders sequels and spin-offs.
Whereas Qix has a very
minimalist approach to its graphics, with basic sprites and geometric
shapes as enemies, Volfied looks more like the space shoot-em-ups
from that era of arcade gaming. Backgrounds consist of planet
surfaces and space installations, while enemies are mostly mechanised
or robotic in some way or another, this is especially true of the
bosses that inhabit each single screen level. These behemoths are
usually very striking, from huge robot hands and skulls, to centipede
like creatures that snake their way around the screen. The smaller
enemies that accompany them are either generic space ships, many of
them looking quite similar to your own craft, or a smaller clone of
the boss.
The sound is functional,
with only title screen music, and a short riff that plays as you
enter a stage, and sound effects consist of humming and basic sfx for
the ship movement. To be honest, presentation is not Volfied's strong
point, though it gets the job done and feels fitting to the basic
nature of the gameplay.
The aim of the game is
simplicity itself. Move your ship around the 4 edges of the screen,
holding down the fire button to move into the play area, drawing a
line behind you. Once you touch the side again, or previously drawn
line, they link and the shape you have created fills in. Fill in 80%
or the play area and the level is completed, the more above 80% you
go the higher your bonus score. Sounds easy, right? Well not quite,
you see life is made difficult for you by a huge robotic boss who
inhabits the play area, moving a random path and occasionally firing
projectiles. Should he, his projectiles, or any of the smaller enemy
ships you encounter touch you or your line inside the play area, a
fireball zips along it, killing you. It makes for tricky and
extremely tense gameplay as you find yourself waiting for the exact
moment to enter the game area and begin drawing, frantically making
your way to another side. It is this pure risk vs reward gameplay
that is the key to Volfied's playability. Should you make a dash for
it, trying to fill as big an area as possible, or play cautiously,
going for smaller fills, working your way around the enemies? You
will find yourself pushing your ship that little bit further, praying
you will make it to another side, desperately watching as the enemies
and projectiles glide and fire their way around the screen. When you
reach your destination unscathed it is extremely satisfying, but when
you push your luck, remaining in the play area too long and are
destroyed, you will adopt a more cautious approach, making smaller
fills and taking your time.
Luckily you are not
defenseless, filling in an area containing the smaller foes will
destroy them, giving you more breathing room in the play area. This
lends the game a more strategic feel as you try to create small areas
that the enemies will fly into, resulting in you finishing the final
line and boxing them in. Pickups also appear in the form of grey
boxes and must be drawn around to collect, these can be either bonus
points, a laser gun you can use to shoot and destroy the smaller
adversaries, a speed boost, or even one to slow down the enemy
movements for a short while. They are a great help and so you will
find yourself trying to obtain them as soon as possible. It all adds
up to make an extremely addictive experience, there is something very
satisfying about filling in the play area, doubly so when destroying
enemy craft in the process. The bosses can prove tricky due to their
size and the projectiles they fire, but careful planning on the
player's part can see trap areas devised that, once the boss moves
into, can be sealed up with a final line, causing him to explode and
completing the stage.
Describing Volfied can
make it sound more complicated than it actually is, but after a few
attempts you will get the hang of it, quickly learning what you can
and cannot get away with, and soon you will be devising your own
strategies for completing the stages as quickly as possible. It is a
timeless classic, simplistic in nature but exceptionally satisfying
and addictive to play. Like many of the old arcade games of the 80's
and early 90's it is pure pick-up-and-play gameplay that can be
enjoyed by anyone, but takes a great deal of skill and time to
master.
To enjoy Volfied nowadays
you have multiple options. Firstly, there is the excellent MAME
Arcade emulator which is the closest you will get to playing the
original arcade cabinet. Volfied is also featured on the Taito
Legends compilations that were released on many platforms; Xbox, PS2,
PC, and PSP, all offering a great port of the arcade original. Home
conversions consist of a Sony Playstation port known as Qix Neo,
featuring the original arcade mode as well as an arranged version
with tweaked graphics and sound. There are also solid ports available
on the Sega Mega Drive and PC Engine, though the Mega Drive version
is known as Ultimate Qix. One thing to note, however, is that while
the arcade original ran at 240x320 resolution, the home conversions
ran at 320x240, this results in the home ports looking as though they
have been flipped on their side, widescreen rather than vertical
display. It doesn't affect gameplay though, and in some instances it
can actually feel more natural to play in this mode. Whichever way you chose to
experience it, they are all worthy of the arcade parent's name and I
urge you to play it if you haven't already. Hell, even if you have,
just go back and replay it, you will soon be chasing those high
scores all over again.
The home conversions flipped the screen onto its side
