Fixeight

Overview

FixEight, also known in Japan as FixEight: Jigoku no Eiyū Densetsu (or "Legend of the Hero of Hell") is a sci-fi top-down run-'n-gun game developed and released by Toaplan for arcades on July 1992.

A spiritual successor to their earlier game Out Zone, FixEight puts players as one of eight intergalactic mercenaries (each with their own unique weaponry) as they perform a counter-strike against the invading alien force "Gozzu" in their planet of Fortuna.

While the game received no home conversions at the time, it later received a digital release for the PC, Mac, and Linux by Bitwave Games on February 1, 2024. This version includes various new features, including new assist features (such as auto-fire, game rewinding and saving, and an easier difficulty).

It will also receive an enhanced arcade port by exA-Arcadia as FixEight EXA LABEL, running on PC-based exA-Arcadia hardware.

Gameplay

FixEight is a two-button game, one for Shoot and one for Bomb.

Characters

Each player character has two upgradable main weapons (one that fires in the player's chosen direction and one that can only fire forward), which are swapped by stepping on Change Panels. They also have a third "special" weapon that is collected as a power-up, which is lost by stepping on a Change Panel.

• Howard Young - An imprisoned American war hero and the titular "Jigoku no Eiyuu". His weapons are Machine Gun and Peace Masher, and his special is Ion Laser.

• Lucy Pamela - An English princess who learned combat from Young (after being imprisoned for a crime she did not commit). She has all of Young's weaponry with minor differences (stronger Peace Masher, weaker Machine Gun).

• GX-026 - A combat robot who was imprisoned for mass destruction. His weapon is Twin Missile and FDN Sweeper, and his special is Bound Ball.

• Cull Horn - An African revolutionary who was imprisoned for betraying his subordinates. His weapon is Tail Gelder and Ex Bomb, and his special is Tiltwait.

• Vistario - A reptillian alien from the planet Origo, imprisoned for being an infamous space pirate. His weapons are Gel Burner and Acid Wide, and his special is Fools.

• Hayate Ziguragi - A powerful ninja of mysterious origin, imprisoned for an assassination attempt on the Galactic Federation leader. His weapons are Shuriken and Fundo Attack, and his special is The Zen.

• Agatha Bordeaux - An Italian supermodel who was imprisoned after being tricked into rebelling against the Galactic Federation. Her weapons are Napalm Shot and Homing AF66, and her special is Flash Mine.

• Remlias L'Angelo - A mystical mineral alien from the planet Christ, imprisoned for defending his homeworld from the Galactic Federation. His weapons are Reflect L2R and Wide L2R, and his special is Homing L2R.