ESRB Watch: Square Enix Reviving Thexder for PSN?

Square Enix is no stranger to having their announcements pre-empted by an early ESRB rating.  Today, it’s happened once more, as a rating for Thexder NEO appears on the ESRB’s website, bringing with it the question – what’s Thexder?  

With a little digging, it turns out that Thexder is an extremely old 8-bit side-scroller, with origins dating all the way back to 1985 when it was released on the NEC PC-8801.  Ports (several published by Square) were also released on the NES, the MSX, and several other platforms.  Thexder, developed by Grandia and Super Smash Bros. Brawl developers Game Arts, is a side-scrolling platformer featuring a robotic hero who can also transform into a jet during combat.A sequel was released in 1989, but that was the last we’ve heard of the series until today.

The rating filed for Thexder NEO on the ESRB website makes reference to the transformative nature of the original game’s hero, as well as explaining it as a side-scrolling action shooter.  Considering the platforms chosen (PS3 and PSP), it would be easy to assume this title will be a downloadable PSN game.  We’ll do a bit more digging and see if we can find anything more, but as with all ESRB leaks, it’s rumor until confirmed fact, so don’t go shouting from the rooftops too soon.