In Namco’s 1983 arcade game Xevious, the player’s fighter craft is called the Solvalou.
Xevious is a vertically scrolling shoot-’em-up designed by Masanobu Endō and released in Japan in 1983. The Solvalou attacks airborne enemies with forward-firing shots and destroys ground targets with bombs. This two-weapon system was a defining feature of the game and required players to judge targets by both position and depth.
The Solvalou is sometimes mistakenly described as a spaceship in general terms, but Namco’s game identifies it as a specialized combat craft. Xevious also gave its enemies distinctive names, including the Andor Genesis, a large flying battleship that serves as a major recurring threat.
The game became influential because it combined scrolling scenery, separate air and ground attacks, hidden bonuses, and a persistent world rather than presenting enemies as a simple static formation. Its title and terminology are often confused with other Namco shooters such as Galaga, but the Solvalou belongs specifically to Xevious.