The Vectrex homebrew scene is crushing it. Look at the box that Vyrzon arrives in! It’s gorgeous. It would not be out of place in the 1980s. The first versions of the package came with an overlay. The game itself has a fully featured attract mode, complete with sound. There is more care and craft with the average Vectrex game released in the last 10 years than when the console was new. I can’t remember if I have seen any kind of flicker with the modern homebrews. Vyrzon is a contender for one of the best Vectrex experiences.
Vyrzon is a fixed shooter in the Space Invaders tradition. It is also impossible to accurately photograph. To the left is the best shot I could get. With how a vector monitor sends beams of light across its tube, it isn’t a matter of setting the right shutter speed, it’s more about what is acceptable to have at a high intensity and what isn’t. The overlay reflects what it sees and I didn’t want my giant head in the way. At the time of this writing, TikTok is down and I guess I have a little more respect for a proper mirror selfie in TikTok’s death than I did before trying to get this shot of the game down.
There are three ways to interact with your enemies in Vyrzon. The first is the 4th button on the Vectrex controller: simply shoot them. The third button allows you to make a maneuver, not unlike flipping your plane around in 1942, where you enter the “z-axis” of the game in a special way that your enemies can’t. And then the last way is a sort of smart bomb, well, smart laser really, which shoots at everything on the screen.
The overlay is beautiful. We have a red section painted up top – there is one enemy that will run at the top of the screen, which makes for a more challenging and rewarding shot when you lead it correctly. The overlay also has the name of the game and what the buttons do on the controller, which is a really cute little feature, making something that would otherwise be eye candy a little functional.
The sounds throughout the game give me a Qix vibe, and when the game starts, what you hear during combat sounds right and satisfying.
Space Invaders is the first game I have a memory of playing. I don’t know if this happened with other families, but we had games that were definitely the “favorites” of certain family members and I associate them with specific people. My dad loved Space Invaders. Similarly, my brother was the Might & Magic player of our house. So I don’t have the miles in for fixed shooters that I might have otherwise had, because I enjoyed just watching my dad shoot on the 2600. If Space Invaders is a leisurely shooter, then I’d classify Vyrzon as more of a twitch thing. There aren’t the shields to hide under, like with Space Invaders (my favorite part?) and that’s okay.
There is no .ROM available for purchase with emulators. So you sort of need a real Vectrex to play it. You can get your copy here at Vector Republic.