Lylat Wars

[size=+1]Lylat Wars[/size]​

I bought a Nintendo 64 last week. And I'm rather pleased with that, you know. Firstly because Nintendo Consoles don't seem all that popular over here. I dunno what it is but America is all about the Nintendo but England doesn't seem to give a damn much.

Oh! We have NES's, SNES's, N64's, Wii's and Wii U's, I just can't think of too many people I ever lived with that had a Nintendo home console (except Dodo and Foxy, apparently). Apart from the Wii, because statistically, everypony has a ruddy Wii. Some are supposed to have several, considering the numbers. Gameboys were everywhere when I was growing up because Pokemon. Friggin' Pokemon made the mighty Gameboy and all of it's descendants a must-buy around here.

Not only was it more reliable than The Universe but Pokemon also gave you subtle hints about moving out of your parent's home years before your parents will.​

But I saw nearly nothing but Playstations, Xboxes and Mega Drives. The Home Computers of the 80's died and we jumped on the Sega Boxes rather than the Nintendo ones, it seemed to me. I've never understood why. So, actually owning an N64 feels like a bit of an education for me because I never got to play on one very often. Of course, I've played a few but never to the same extent of my other consoles.

Secondly, I got it at MCM London (I'll put up a video when I'm finished setting up my machine again) for about £29 ($48.59). That's awesome! I got the cheapest unboxed and fully-functioning N64 available at the whole thing as the others were over £30. And it let me buy todays subject for about £5 ($8.37)!

Sums up by trip home after the purchase rather nicely​

So, I need to clear something up because I just know someone is readying a sternly worded comment for me below saying something along the lines of:

"Ahem! I think you'll find, So-Called Tyro the So-Called Fox that we trusted to inform us about games you've randomly decided to look into, that the image you have attached to this review is actually Starfox 64. Dodo and Rainbow Dash 1989 wouldn't have gotten that wrong! What kind of mook are you?"

"Crimson suffers for his reviews! You got it cushy, Fox! Don't screw it up!" - Imaginary Leather Bound Book Review Enthusiast​

Well, possibly something like that, if your American. The reason for this is that Lylat Wars and Starfox 64 is essentially the same game. Over here, it's Lylat Wars to avoid a copyright issue but it's Starfox 64 otherwise. So, there!

So, what do I think of it? Do I like it?

Of course I do! It's bloody Lylat Wars/Starfox 64! We have people referencing the imperative requirement for a full rotation of the aerial vehicle over a decade after it's release! It's a solid, enjoyable little arcade Shoot-'Em-Up! It's a surprisingly solid piece of execution of a simple concept: shoot stuff before it kills you. So simple but so well done.

It's not too challenging but it's so satisfying to fly around once you get the hang of it. It's a great elevation of the standard Shoot-'Em-Up genre and extension of the original concept.

The plot is surprisingly movie like. Not an especially good movie but who cares? Your Fox McCloud. Your father has been betrayed and left for dead in the clutches of the Evil Mad Scientist Andross. You lead a team of space pilots called Starfox, a mercenary group hired by General Pepper (who has since been promoted since The Beatles Album (couldn't resist, forgive me)). You are tasked with travelling across the galaxy to Venom to defeat Andross once and for all.

Your team consists of Falco; an arrogant git that's sadly too handy to keep around to not sock in the beak after every ungrateful remark about being rescued, Peppy; a close friend of Fox's father and an aging pilot that will offer advice whenever he feels it necessary and Slippy; a strangely overly-confident Engineer of some kind that regularly ends up with far more than his flying skills can actually handle. This is Starfox and each one has their strength and weaknesses.

It's very likely none of this is new information. However, I actually kinda like Peppy and Slippy over Falco. Granted, I found I was working the best with all members flying and fine. However, Peppy just stays out of trouble and Slippy is excellent bait. Trying to pick off the members of Starwolf is a little easier when they're chasing down Slippy. Plus, being able to see boss' health is surprisingly useful. It helps making sure you understand whether you're attacking the right part of the boss every time you fight them. Not all of them have little 'shoot me' lights on them to indicate where you're meant to direct your fire.

I'd like to stress I find him strangely useful when the consensus is that he's annoying and useless, not love him dearly. I'll save him because it means lining up a few decent shots on a Starwolf ship but he's not invited to my Birthday parties or anything. I mean, just look at him for starters.

What are they doing to you outside the frame and how do we make it stop?​

Now, here's the thing: Lylat Wars/Starfox 64 feels like it should be a 2014 Indie Game. Seriously, it's weird to me. The structure feels like it. You don't play though all the levels. Instead, you play through only about five until you fight Andross, moving across the map of levels. Furthermore, you can unlock more directions and paths across the game by performing certain tasks within certain levels. Some will require something special to be completed (usually destroying something specific) before you can be allowed to continue a particular level. Some are open ended, letting you go in two directions in the game map as you move towards Venom and Andross. Weirdly for a game of it's age, doing this will vary the general difficulty of the game. You can move left more and more to get a greater challenge and this is the reason you'll want to reply, in order to get onto every single level. Some are as simple as destroying stuff and some are kinda cryptic like having to fly through arches while Falco is flying with you.

It starts feeling like a Modern Indie game at this point. The simple, 'pick up and play' gameplay style. How you have to replay in order to get the most benefit out of it, hence extending the lifespan of the game. The quick nature of the full gameplay stint. A game will last you about half and hour if your even semi-competent. It feels weird to see a game from 1997 feel so at home alongside FTL, The Binding of Isaac and Audiosurf. I always expect them to be these massive, long, sprawling quests that eat up as much time as they can because games are expensive and you demand your money's worth with each purchase.

This isn't like that. It's just quick, pleasant and highly enjoyable. You pick it up, blast through the levels, defeat Andross and put it down again feeling rather pleased with yourself for your brief burst of starship dogfighting.

There's one last thing here: make sure to switch the language to English. I played with the setting on Lylat because it was the default and, well...It's no where near as fun or enjoyable. The game is solid and engaging but damn does it lose it's greatest piece of charm without the English voice acting.

In Lylat Mode, all the characters will speak in that weird mumbling gibberish that's similar to Banjo Kazooie. It's fine. I guess. It's a touch distracting to have to read the subtitles to understand what is being said to you though. Your fighting space ships, why must I have to check my intergalactic Skype messages in the middle of a heated battle?

All that cheesey, enjoyable, iconic quotes from the game? Yeah, English mode only. The game gains that necessary surge of life when the characters are speaking English. The voice acting is notably corny but it just cements the feeling of being in this slightly silly but epic environment. Everything is hyped up, just adding to the excitement of your mission. I love it, mainly because it just pushes these little sprites on your screen belching words into characters you can relate and enjoy.

OK, a niggle: I'm not a fan of the All-Terrain Mode. Yes, it's really cool to be able to engage in full on dog fights against all these varied and challenging enemies but I could never comfortably use it. It always felt like I could never turn sharply enough for my liking. It was never a game breaker but attempting to actually line up for an attacking run on something was always a bit of a faff for myself.

So, Lylat Wars/Starfox 64, in my opinion, holds up far, far better than I ever thought it should have done. Seriously! It's a little freaky now how much it felt like the Indie Game scene of today. I'm tremendously happy I have it to play whenever I like. The Legend of Zelda games are long adventures to get lost in. Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie are just playgrounds to go hunting around for all the goodies.

Lylat Wars is now my little burst of excitement whenever I like. It's just that simple. I'll play this just as I might play FTL or Starbound. It might not be much but it's a finely crafted sandwich. It'll tide you over until the next big meal of a game but you will never regret sampling it's enjoyable flavour.

Huh, weird but apt metaphor.

Pictured: This Game. Just roll with it, I'm done now...​