Ex-Zodiac (Early Access)

So, who remembers the SNES Starfox (or Starwing in the UK given the copyright issues of the time?) Well, thanks to Ben Hickling you can travel back in time and play this loving homage to Nintendo's groundbreaking 3D classic, complete with barrel-rolls, chunky lasers and garbled communication between pilots!

There's an undeniable charm to Ex-Zodiac, the love for Starfox is strong and Ben has captured the feel of that first game almost perfectly. The opening level on a lush green world, the music by Plustek could be plugged into any of Nintendo's game and feel right at home, it all just feels "right" and comes together with a certain retro swagger that really makes you smile while you're playing. 

Well, all right, eventually it made me smile - initially I realised just how long it had been since I played a game like Ex-Zodiac and I was struggling to get to grips with the controls. All the original issues with Starfox are also present here, with some attack angles being a little hard to fathom, especially when, for example, the claws of the Scorpion boss at the end of level 1 are off screen behind you and you're trying to figure out where to move to. 

Enemies are big, bold and very smooth

But then of course it all comes flooding back, a sort of "cycling" instinct where you can pick up attack patterns, barrel-roll out of problems and (after inverting the axis) steer the ship properly. The lock on system works well, allowing up to 3 missiles to lock on, though you can't fire while acquiring your target which leads to a risk/reward mechanic that's fine, but I didn't feel as though using the missile lock gave me much of an advantage when trying to take down larger enemies - hitting them with the lasers, especially when powered up, is more satisfying. Adding power-ups as an incentive to use the lock-on attack would have made it seem more worthwhile. 

The garbled messages from your crew are very cute, but there's no real time to read them - that's a shame, because it's important in a shooter to have some attachment to your in-game crew, and without using pause there really wasn't much chance to get to know anyone. Starfox was smart enough to either slow down the action or provide a set piece that allowed time for a panicked crew-member to shout for help over the intercom. 

The game also has elements of Space Harrier, with your pilot hanging on to a booster rocket as early as level 2 and taking the fight to a more personal level. This variety is nice, but I prefer the ship levels, especially Oasi-5, the sea level, if only for the feeling of skimming the ocean and taking down frenzied fish. The final mode of play sees you riding a bike and avoiding falling blocks on a dangerous highway, which is quite a bit of fun and, again, breaks up the feel of the game to provide some variety.

At 11 levels the game might feel a little short, but even at £9.99 retail it feels like a bargain for a very smooth game that clearly has a lot of love for the source material. It's well worth supporting indie developers and more levels are promised as things go forward, especially if improvements are made along the way. It's also worth pointing out that it runs like a dream on Steam Deck, so if like me you're a handheld PC gamer, this is a great game on the go.

It's Achilles heel is also its strength - yes, it's just like Starfox, but it isn't better. I still have my boxed original SNES cart from the 90's, so I booted it up for a quick go, and despite all of Ben's excellent attention to detail, the level design isn't as tight, the pacing just doesn't sing like the original and if you're going to ape a beloved classic, you have to use that keen eye to make improvements where you can and match the majestic moments of the original.

So for me, this is an accompaniment to Nintendo's main course, more of what I love but a step down. Taking on a beloved game that sold more than 4 million copies is certainly brave and this is a very worthy copy, but copy it is and for all that we might move on from our first love, there's never anything quite like it.