Naious

Naious
Cover art by Hiroyuki Saegusa
Developer(s)Exact
Publisher(s)Exact
Director(s)Hiroyuki Saegusa
Designer(s)Yukio Watanabe
Programmer(s)Kazuki Toyota
Artist(s)Toshimitsu Ōdaira
Composer(s)Hiroshi Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Saegusa
Platform(s)Sharp X68000
Release
  • JP: October 26, 1990
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Naious[a] is a scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Exact exclusively for the Sharp X68000 in Japan on October 26, 1990.[1][2][3] It is both the first title to be created and released by Exact for the X68000 platform, as well as the first project produced by the company.[4]

Set in a futuristic sci-fi 2143 setting, the players assume the role of fighter pilot Manami Katagiri taking control of the ASP space fighter craft in an effort to stop the titular artificial intelligence that has turned antagonistic against humankind. Although the game was first launched by Exact on retail stores, it would later be distributed through the Takeru software vending machines, which allowed users to write commercial titles or dōjin soft on blank 5.25" floppy disks.[1][5]

Despite receiving little promotion, Naious became a sleeper hit among the X68000 userbase for Exact during its initial release and received praise for various aspects such as the graphics and gameplay that would eventually lead it to be named "Game of the Year" by Japanese magazine Oh!X in its genre.[6][7][8][9] After its release, Exact would go on to develop their second title for the X68000; Aquales, which was released almost a year later and garnered positive response from critics and audience alike.


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  1. ^ a b Tsuyāpu (January 1993). "Computer Entertainment Side – 現行ゲームソフト・カタログ・シリーズ 第1回 X68000シリーズ: エグザクト – アクアレス". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 127. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 215.
  2. ^ Gyusyabu 2001 (2019). "ナイアス (NAIOUS) for SHARP X68000" (in Japanese). Retro PC Game Music Streaming Radio. Retrieved June 23, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Milne, Rory (March 2014). "Minority Report Special: Sharp X68000 – Naious". Retro Gamer. No. 126. Imagine Publishing. p. 52.
  4. ^ "Gaming World – Soft Flash: アクアレス (Aquales)". Technopolis (in Japanese). No. 97. Tokuma Shoten. July 1991. p. 36.
  5. ^ Minato, Kazuhisa (August 4, 2016). "Soft Vendor TAKERU: The world's first App Store". A Game Programer in Japan. WordPress.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Ishii, Koichi (December 1990). "Super Soft 7 大特集: 今月の注目ソフト – ナイアス". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 102. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 233.
  7. ^ "The Softouch – Software Information: Top 10". Oh!X (in Japanese). No. 105. SoftBank Creative. January 1991. p. 37.
  8. ^ "1990年度 Game of the Year". Oh!X (in Japanese). No. 106. SoftBank Creative. February 1991. pp. 26–29.
  9. ^ Y., N. (June 1991). "The Softouch – After Review: NAIOUS". Oh!X (in Japanese). No. 110. SoftBank Creative. p. 38.