Xevious: Fardraut Saga is two games in one: an updated version of the original Xevious, and a sequel. You choose which version you want to play at the opening menu, which only appears for a few seconds before showing introductions to each of the games in turn.

The original is primarily a graphical update. This is definitely the nicest version of Xevious I've ever come across. I only know of two versions released for analog RGB - the MZ-2500 and MSX2 versions. But the MZ-2500 relies on the palette board, which only allows for 16 colors of 4096. Don't get me wrong, you can do a lot with 16 of 4096 colors, and the MZ-2500 version is nice-looking compared to most version, but this one doesn't have a particular limitation of 16 color, so they could go all out with the shading. In addition, the scrolling and movement of both your ship and the enemies is superior on the MSX2.

There is a lot of visual similarity in the sequel, but there are also a lot of changes. For starters, you can choose your ship. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but the big one may be best suited for beginners. The game also has background music, and each ship also has its own background music. While flying around, you can find upgrades. B gives you super-charged bombs that can destroy a wider radius of ground targets, while S grants you a very short-lasting shield. Some enemy types and attack styles are also different. The maps themselves, while sharing a similar aesthetic, are redesigned.

I had never even heard of this game before, but after finding it on Mercari just about a month ago, I started noticing it here and there on the usual for-sale sites. This one is basically in nice condition. The included poster doubles as the manual on the reverse side.