Insector X is a 1989 side-scrolling arcade Cute 'em Up where an adorable humanoid insect has to gun down evil insects. It's also known for being deceptively hard, despite the graphics and the music. It was developed by Hot-B, and published by Taito in arcades.
This game provides examples of:
- Abnormal Ammo: While logical considering you face swarms of bugs, it's still a bit abnormal to shoot flyswatters at max power.
- Darker and Edgier: The Sega Genesis version removed all cute character designs, such as faces on enemies, and gave the main character a more realistic looking flying suit. Apparently, this was Hot-B's original art design, but Taito pressured them to redesign everything to be Lighter and Softer.
- Continuing Is Painful: Die and you will lose all of your powerups, while the checkpoints are also few and far between.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon: Both the staff and the sting of the first boss shoot flames.
- Flash of Pain: Occurs whenever you damage a boss or a miniboss. They will also turn red once they are near-death.
- Fragile Speedster: The fierce-looking wasps with the lasers. They die in one or two hits, but they move fast and shoot even faster.
- Killer Rabbit: Your character looks unable to hurt a fly. But he can hurt armies of giant bugs if you play well enough. Some of the enemies also look cute, but are deadly.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Your character and most of the enemies.
- Pyramid Power: The second half of the first stage, meaning the first enemy stronghold, is a pyramid.
- Smart Bomb: If you pick up an orb with a lightning symbol, all enemies and all projectiles are cleared. It's very rare.
- Stone Wall: The frogs and the snails in the first stage are far more durable but also less aggressive than most enemies.
- Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: A little before the final checkpoint, you get a question mark power-up. This allows you to keep all your powerups after you die, although It Only Works Once, making it the best powerup in the game. You'll need it, because what follows is some spiked walls that must be shot down, followed by the difficult Final Boss.
- Unskilled, but Strong: The Final Boss. Unlike most bosses and even some minibosses, he has only a single projectile attack and not very erratic movements. Alas, said attack is multiple shots that stop in mid-air and target your position at incredible speed, so this guy doesn't need anything else to kill you.
- The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: The last stage is called "Their Empire", which pretty much tells you you are in the heart of the enemy forces. The song is a bit more ominous than the others, and the place is also much darker than the previous four stages.
- Wicked Wasps: Several wasps will try to ruin your day.