@wyrdwad.bsky.social
Translator/localizer, MSX collector, and PopoloCrois enthusiast. Former XSEED Games localization producer. Hololive fan (kamioshi Korone, other oshis Kaela, Bijou, AZKi, and Bae). Always happy to make new friends, so please reach out to me!
It's weird, but honestly pretty cool for what it is... though I still wonder how the hell they ever thought it could possibly turn a profit. Such an absolutely doomed system from the get-go! But a fascinating relic, to be sure, and most of the games for it are decently fun to play.
"Domyos Fitness Training," at least, apparently has barbells as its peripheral motion controllers, and "Domyos Fit Race" has a full-on exercise bike adapter!
The XaviX extended universe just keeps getting more complex, it seems. But also more interesting! This is a unique system indeed.
...where the XaviXPORT was rebranded the "Domyos Interactive System" or DIS. I say "as many as 8" because some sound like they may just be rebadged versions of existing titles (though unless I can find footage of them, I wouldn't be able to say for sure that they are). Others, however, are original!
There's apparently one more Japanese title called "Hot Plus" that's a compilation of other previously released XaviX games + some entirely new minigames, distributed to and designed specifically for use in nursing homes.
And then there are as many as 8 unique games released exclusively in Europe...
Whew. Seems my estimate of 23 total XaviXPORT releases is actually quite a bit off! There may in fact be as many as 32, making the system library surprisingly more robust than I ever would've expected (that's more games than Virtual Boy, Vectrex, or even Super Cassette Vision got!).
That leaves me with 7 more to collect for a realistic "complete" collection: Beauty Balancer, Bass Fishing, PowerKids, Eyehand, PowerKids Jr., Slow Step, and Lifestyle Manager.
It's not outside the realm of possibility I'll have them all one day. And that would sure be... something! ;)
These all sound fake, somehow. But that just makes me want them even more. Like, this whole console is so goofy! I don't know how anyone involved with it ever expected it to make any money at all.
But yeah. 23 titles! I own 9 so far (8 of which function). 7 of the remaining are basically ghosts.
And then there are a whopping five Japanese-exclusive games that are quiz-based, developed by dementia specialists at Kyoto University and distributed exclusively to health institutions. These games all use a proprietary peripheral called the "XaviX Mobile," which is just a wireless quiz buzzer.
- "Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix." The solitary North American exclusive. Released as a promotional "edutainment" title by the Century Council all the way in 2009, making it the very last XaviXPORT game ever created. Also uses the step mat to play actual stages, to get to school.
The two biggest "holy grails" for XaviX collecting are probably:
- "Tuboinorio's Plan to Combat Lack of Exercise: Kinta's Great Adventure." A Japanese exclusive promotional game given out by a popular radio comedy show in 2006. Uses the step mat to play actual stages in order to rescue a princess.
...a whopping 12 of which were exclusive to Japan, with 1 exclusive to North America. And quite a few of them were not sold in stores, so they're OBSCENELY rare.
Those obscenely rare ones are, of course, the ones I'm most interested in collecting, though it's unlikely I'll ever see them.
So since I've been on a XaviXPORT collector's kick again lately, I decided to look up just how many XaviXPORT games there are... and that wound up being a very difficult question to answer! Information on this system is SO sparse -- it was SUCH a huge flop!
I think the final count, though, is 23...
So you constantly have to precisely aim your body to fly through each hoop in turn, but you also have to do squats in order to maintain your forward momentum, which COMPLETELY borks your aim by hurtling you well under or above each hoop. The thing is, though... it's weirdly kinda fun!
The part that's hardest to get used to is, you build up speed by doing squats (thus the name)... only, every time you move your body downward, your avatar also moves downward in the void; and when you move back up, your avatar moves back up in the void too.
XaviX+D3 minigame #3: Hoop Squat. The most functional, most strenuous, and most fun of the three minigames... which is sad, because it's basically the ring stages from Superman 64, only with NO backgrounds (you're in an empty void!), and controlled entirely with body movements.
So you've gotta flip the sensor around so its facing you, to begin with. But even then, unless it's set PERFECTLY PERPENDICULAR to the ground, it won't quite work correctly. And... really, it kind of does what it wants even when it IS set perfectly. Behaves maybe 60% of the time.
Remember, this is accomplished by placing a gyro sensor in a pouch and strapping it to your stomach, and it transmits your movement to an antenna receiver plugin on the XaviXPORT console. And, for one thing, the sensor is calibrated... backwards. Twist left to turn right, and right to turn left.
XaviX+D3 minigame #2: Maze Walk. This one could've been cool, but it barely functions, and the visual design is extremely lacking. You know the old Windows maze screensaver? Imagine playing that, but you move forward by running, and turn by twisting your body left or right... allegedly.
This would be cool if the backgrounds changed to show actual scenery from along the line, but no... it's all just generic gray city silhouettes, with the same tiny platform representing every station along the way. It's a functional minigame/exercise, but ultimately very monotonous.
Sadly, that is not the case. Instead, you're just tethered to a trainer who is running the length of the Yamanote line (or its Osaka equivalent, optionally), and you have to keep pace with her or she gets angry and stops. So it's just run a bit, slow down, run a bit more, etc.
XaviX+D3 minigame #1: Train Walk. At first, before I read this singular manual page about it (the ONLY manual page about it!), I thought the idea was that you were pulling a Yamanote line train from station to station like a rickshaw, which I appreciated just on concept alone.
You could apparently, however, jack into the cartridge (not the pedometer, but the game cartridge!) via this mini-USB port to download that data and upload it to some... leaderboards?... online (now defunct), which is just somehow very creepy.
There are also mini-games, though. And hoo boy...
So its primary function is just a series of set calisthenic exercises, as well as a chart tracking your weight-loss goals (though you have to weigh yourself and enter that info into the chart every day yourself, meaning it operates on the honor system).
Sooo, XaviX+D3! If you don't know what that is, check my previous post. I'm... going to talk in a bit more depth about this beautiful mess of a "game," and focus one mini-thread each on each of its... sub-games, I guess you'd call them. See, this thing is meant for exercise and diet...
It also came with a waist strap and pouch for the sensor, and unfortunately, that pouch had a transparent plastic window on it... that had turned to goo inside the box over these past 18 years. And that was just the beginning of the problems here. But, that's a story for another day!
Despite how dirty the box looks in those first couple pics (and it was quite scuffed indeed!), it was new old stock, unopened and "pristine" inside. And the included peripheral this time was a pedometer/gyro-sensor thingy with a wireless antenna plug-in for the system to read it.
Will update with more info soon, as I've actually managed to get this thing mostly working now and it's not as bad as I first assessed it to be -- but this is the XaviXPORT game I posted about the other day: "XaviX+D3." A... diet and exercise routine manager. Of all things.
The saddest flex.
...Yeah, I got a fourth one. It came with yet another game I purchased for this accursed thing -- I swear, the consoles themselves are utterly worthless. ;)
More on the game soon. Though, spoilers, it... didn't turn out so well. Even by XaviX standards. Heheh.
It's a cool feeling when your favorite band drops a new single and music video, and it's actually really, really good -- like, every bit as good as the body of work leading up to it that made you a fan of theirs in the first place! Enjoy this '80s-ness -- it's quite the earworm!
And informative, as well! He always makes sure to give insights into the history and local culture of every area he shows.
Seriously, if you're interested in Japan travel, I highly recommend checking him out. You won't be disappointed!