Since the project's earliest days in 2000, a number of ships have been added to and scrapped from the roster. This page lists the ships that have been completely scrapped from the game and currently have no plans to be brought back.
Solvalou (2000)
Laser weapon: Sonic Disruptor
Missile weapon: Time-Release Bomb
Bomber: Antimatter Bomb/BFG 9001
Added: V.A.F. Squadron (2000)
Removed: Xeno Fighters (2003)
Reason: the developers decided to add in more original ships instead of just the Amada Vipros being the only original ship. This version of the Solvalou would become the Xelcor.
Gemini Blue
Laser weapon: Diablo Laser
Missile weapon: Hellfire Missiles
Bomber: (unnamed) Fire Wave
Added: V.A.F. Squadron (2000)
Removed: Xeno Fighters (2003)
Reason: Same reason as Solvalou (2000). With some modifications to its loadout, the Gemini Blue would become the Phyxius. In 2009's Xeno Fighters R, the Gemini Blue would return with weapons from its source game (Gemini Wing) and become the Castor.
Gemini Red
Laser weapon: Scorcher
Missile weapon: Missile Pod
Bomber: (unnamed) Ring Rolling Shot
Added: V.A.F. Squadron (2000)
Removed: Xeno Fighters (2003)
Reason: Same reason as Solvalou (2000). With some modifications to its loadout, the Gemini Red would become the Zaiva. In 2009's Xeno Fighters R, the Gemini Red would return with weapons from its source game (Gemini Wing) and become the Pollux.
Ultima-X
Laser weapon: Rapid Spread Vulcan
Missile weapon: Concussion Missile
Bomber: (unnamed) Rainbow Orb Shooter
Added: Xeno Fighters EX (2003)
Removed: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Reason: It was decided that a purposely overpowered ship had no place in the game.
Trivia: The ship used the 1P player ship sprite from Sengeki Striker, a 1998 Asian-only arcade shmup by Kaneko. The satellites that the Rainbow Orb Shooter used would be recolored purple and made into the Brionac Missile Pods for the Zaiva.
Solvalou (2003)
Laser weapon: Zapper
Missile weapon: Roll Napalm
Bomber: Antimatter Bomb
Added: Xeno Fighters EX (2003)
Removed: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Reason: This incarnation of the Solvalou was considered boring, so it was redesigned in Xeno Fighters EX-R. It was also designed to closely resemble the arcade's variant of the Solvalou, instead of a modern version.
Hikaru (2009)
Laser weapon: Boomerang Shot/Hawk Wind
Missile weapon: Formation Options
Bomber: KIKU Beam
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: Was one of 7 Konami representatives (including the Vic Viper). Game mechanics heavily based on the source game (Parodius) clashed with the core Raiden game mechanics that Xeno Fighters R uses.
It was a nightmare to try to balance out. As a result, its alternate Akane was removed as well.
TwinBee (2009)
Laser weapon: Yahho Blaster
Missile weapon: Glove Missile
Bomber: Yahho Bomber
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: Was one of 7 Konami representatives (including the Vic Viper). Game mechanics heavily based on the source game (Twinbee Yahho!) clashed with the core Raiden game mechanics that Xeno Fighters R uses.
It was a nightmare to try to balance out. As a result, its alternate WinBee was removed as well.
It would return in version 0.325 as part of the six new secret fighters added, with a new Charge Shot SP ability.
Michael
Laser weapon: Wave Laser
Missile weapon: Homing Missile P
Bomber: Bell Mega Crush
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: Was one of 7 Konami representatives (including the Vic Viper). Game mechanics heavily based on the source game (Parodius) clashed with the core Raiden game mechanics that Xeno Fighters R uses.
It was a nightmare to try to balance out. As a result, its alternate Gabriel was removed as well.
Lord British (2009)
Laser weapon: Ripple Laser/Hawk Wind
Missile weapon: Formation Options
Bomber: Mega Crush
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: Was one of 7 Konami representatives and one of 4 Gradius representatives (including the Vic Viper). Game mechanics heavily based on the source game clashed with the core Raiden game mechanics that Xeno Fighters R uses. It was a nightmare to try to balance out.
The Gradius ships also used a unique Shield Select mechanic that caused regressions in the code base years later when that mechanic was finally scrapped in the game's future updates.
Afterwards, the scrapped Konami ships left Vic Viper behind.
Falchion β
Laser weapon: Auto Aimer
Missile weapon: Gravity Bullet
Bomber: Energy Lasers
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: Was one of 7 Konami representatives and one of 4 Gradius representatives (including the Vic Viper).
Same reasons as the Lord British.
Jade Knight
Laser weapon: Small Spread/Pulse Laser
Missile weapon: Snake Options/Round Laser
Bomber: Mega Crush
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: Was one of 7 Konami representatives and one of 4 Gradius representatives (including the Vic Viper). The Jade Knight was hands down the most overpowered ship in Xeno Fighters R, so any attempts to balance it were futile.
Trivia: Its Laser weapon would be tweaked to become the Vic Viper's Laser weapon.
Solvalou (2009)
Laser weapon: Zapper
Missile weapon: Toroid Missile
Bomber: Antimatter Bomb
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: The developers decided that the game's roster was becoming too bloated at this point. Additionally, the game's development environment at the time (Game Maker 7) was straining under the massive amount of game assets in use by the game.
Trivia: This incarnation of the Solvalou would return 10 years later in the Studio port of Xeno Fighters R, with an increase in firepower to its Laser weapon.
Miclus (fighter)
The Miclus fighter as it was to appear in Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009). It was never added officially.
Laser weapon: N/A
Missile weapon: Miclus Breath
Bomber: Flame Thrower Breath
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009) (unofficially)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: The secret Miclus fighter from Raiden Fighters 2 and Raiden Fighters Jet was going to be added to the roster, but it was scrapped when the Konami representatives that were cut from the roster in 2010 left Vic Viper behind.
Trivia: If the Miclus as a fighter made the cut, that would have brought the number of Seibu Kaihatsu representatives to five, joining the two Raiden ships and the two Viper Phase 1 ships. At the time, the blue versions of the ships were alternate skins of the red 1P versions.
Gengar
Laser weapon: Dark Pulse
Gengar as it appeared in XFEX-R on May 15, 2009. It was XFEX-R's version of the Ultima-X.
Missile weapon: Shadow Ball
Bomber: Hyper Beam
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2010)
Reason: Two Pokémon representatives in a game genre that Pokémon is never known for? Like the Ultima-X, the concept of a purposely overpowered "ship" that can almost completely destroy Black Heart with one Bomb from full health quickly lost its charm. According to the creator at the SHMUPS forum, Gengar is a product of a college friend's creation for the game after he saw the inclusion of Zapdos. Gengar was then scrapped prior to the 2010 update of the game.
Trivia: Its Hyper Beam used the Kamehameha sound effect from Dragon Ball Z. Gengar used voice clips from the 4Kids English dub of the Pokémon anime. Gengar used Haunter and Gastly as its Slaves.
Zapdos
Laser weapon: Thunderbolt
Missile weapon: Ancient Power
Bomber: Sky Attack
Added: Xeno Fighters EX-R (2009)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R Studio port (2020)
Reason: Around 2014, Nintendo started to become highly litigious against fangames they can find using any of their IP's. Zapdos was scrapped from the game in the 2019 build to avoid any possible problems with Nintendo and/or The Pokémon Company.
Trivia: With some sprite changes, Tengai from Samurai Aces, a 1993 Psikyo arcade shmup, would take Zapdos' place.
Solvalou (2020)
Laser weapon: Zapper (increased firepower from the 2009 version)
Missile weapon: Toroid Missile
Bomber: Antimatter Bomb
Added: Xeno Fighters R (2020)
Removed: Xeno Fighters R (2021)
Reason: As the Xeno Fighters R revival began being played by more people, it was noted by the players that this version of the Solvalou was more difficult to use than was necessary. It had an inconsistent playstyle, where it did high damage in point-blank range, but it was too slow and unwieldly to play as the ship in that way in practice. Additionally, its gimmicky Missile weapon more often than not fail to hit their targets.
Trivia: In true fashion, the Solvalou received yet another overhaul, using its loadout from Xevious 3D/G as a basis for its new Xeno Fighters R loadout. This new version is the fifth reboot of the Solvalou in Xeno Fighters since the year 2000. The only aspect of the Xeno Fighters Solvalou that is almost unchanged in over 20 years is its Bomber attack: the Antimatter Bomb.
| Playable fighters | ||
| Original ships | Amada Vipros ● Phyxius ● Zaiva ● Xelcor ● Divine Gale ● Bronze Kolibri ● Varuna | |
| Seibu Kaihatsu guests | Raiden mk-II ● Judge Spear ● Raiden mk-IIβ ● Blue Javelin ● Dark Sword ● Miclus ● Lasercopter | |
| Psikyo guests | A6M Zero ● X-36 ● Tengai ● P38 Lightning ● Twin Mustang ● Marion ● Yuan-Nang | |
| Capcom guests | P-38 ● Stearman E75 ● Michelle Heart ● Kevin Walker ● Mega Man | |
| Konami guests | Vic Viper ● TwinBee ● Lord British ● Hikaru ● Grey Layer ● Metalion | |
| Raizing/Eighting guests | Miyamoto ● Silver Sword ● Wild Snail | |
| Namco guests | Gyaraga ● Solvalou | |
| Tecmo guests | Castor ● Pollux | |
| Other guests | Miria ● Hoplon ● R-9Leo ● Opa-Opa ● Infernal Iris ● Core Cannon ● Astro Slug ● TC-17 Twin Cobra ● MiG-31 Firefox ● Fire Leo-03 Styx | |
| Related pages | Removed ships | |