Orius (1991). Play online

Summary

Orius – the North‑American version of Konami’s 1991 arcade shooter Xexex – drops most of the weapon‑upgrade system for a single Proton Laser backed by Missiles and swaps the traditional lives counter for a constantly depleting energy bar. When your ship is destroyed you simply respawn exactly where you fell, which makes the pacing feel tighter and forces you to master each enemy pattern, a subtle tweak that also gave the bosses a noticeable bump in health. The tentacle appendage of the Flintlock fighter, named Flint, is shortened; it can now be fired only forward and released on command, adding a precise, defensive tool without the elaborate reach seen in the original release. Two players can hop in side‑by‑side, sharing the same screen and cooperating against the ever‑more aggressive waves. The arcade community praised the title, earning Best Graphics and Best VGM at the 1992 Gamest Awards and cementing its reputation as one of the era’s standout horizontal shooters.

Storyline

In the arcade shooter Orius, the story unfolds far in the future after humanity has cracked rapid interplanetary travel. One day Earth picks up a telepathic distress signal from Princess Irene La Tias—also called Elaine—who warns that her home world, E‑Square, has fallen to the ruthless warlord Klaus Pachelbel and his bio‑mechanical army.

To answer the call, scientists study a mysterious alien organism named Flint and build the experimental fighter Flintlock TMF01, a ship designed to carry the living Flint into battle. Piloting the Flintlock with its symbiotic Flint, players launch a daring assault to free Irene and reclaim E‑Square from Pachelbel’s forces.