Xevious (partially found CGI animated film adaption of arcade shooter; 2002)

Poster for the movie.

Status: Partially Found

In 2002, Namco collaborated with a company named Groove Corporation to create a 75-minute CGI film titled Xevious. It was based on the 1982 arcade game of the same name, as the game was celebrating its 20th anniversary at the time. Premiering in the summer of 2002, the film was originally shown in various locations during a summer road show of that year. However, aside from these screenings, it was never released on home video and has not resurfaced in any form.

Plot and Reception

The film takes place in the year 2150 A.D., as a space pilot named Takeru and human-computer named Martha find a mysterious little girl named Ru Mi in a large space vessel. Ru Mi warns Takeru about GAMP (General Artificial Matrix Producer), a race of aliens that plan to attack and conquer Earth. Takeru then pilots the Solvalou spacecraft to destroy the GAMP's base on the planet Andor.

The film assumes the backstory that humans had created an advanced civilization over 10,000 years ago, but that it collapsed from war. It likely also retained the plot detail from the game that the GAMP were the original inhabitants of the Earth, making the humans the true invaders.

Upon release, the film received generally negative reception from those who saw it, with many criticizing the poor quality of the animation and writing. This may be one reason for why the film has largely been forgotten, even by fans of the franchise.

Production and Status

The film was initially announced in February 2002, though very little information was given at the time. While the production team largely consisted of newcomers to the anime industry, it did feature a few high-profile names, such as Masafumi Mima and Shinya Ogura. Official PlayStation 2 Magazine reported that Namco teased the film again at the Tokyo International Anime Fair in May.

The Groove Corporation promotional disc.

Xevious and several other Groove Corporation films were shown at a summer roadshow in Japan, which was organized by a company called "Garinpeiro". According to an Amazon Japan page, the film was also planned for VHS and DVD release on September 25th, 2002, by Ken Media. However, around the time Xevious was released, the head of Groove Corporation supposedly stole the money and movie masters and ran off with them, which caused the company to go out of business. It also led to many of the studio's movies being cancelled or not released on DVD, with Xevious being no exception.

Many people have claimed to have filmed the movie during its release, but no clips can be found online and it is believed that cameras were banned during the summer roadshow. A small 10-minute segment of the film can be found on a Groove Corporation promotional disc, but this segment has not been uploaded to the internet, and the disc typically commands high prices on auction sites.

As such, the only images that prove the existence of this film are two low-quality screencaps from the film and several pieces of promotional material.

On December 15th, 2017, several screenshots from the film were uploaded to Twitter by user HAZUKI.

On November 27th, 2020, Bandai Namco Studios uploaded a video retrospective on Xevious to its YouTube channel as part of its Namco Museum of Art video series. The end of the video features a brief clip from the film, suggesting that Bandai Namco may be in possession of the original masters.

Gallery

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  Advertisement for the movie.

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  Alternate poster for the movie.

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  Currently untranslated overview of the plot.

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  Supposed screenshot from the film.

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  Another supposed screenshot from the film.