Lylat Wars. It's a shoot 'em up. And, at a mere £30, it's a steal

FG checks out Nintendo's cut-price classics...
James Price

There were three main criticisms that gamers and critics alike had to level at Lylat Wars after its first release. One, it has a stupid name. Two, the bits where Fox trades his customary attack craft for a tank are... well, a bit pants, really. Finally, and most tellingly, it was mooted that the SNES original was, somehow, a more impressive title in its day.

Like many first-generation N64 titles, Lylat Wars struggled to meet the (perhaps inflated) expectations of a Nintendo-worshipping audience. The irony, as with its stablemates, is that it is a positively excellent title. Sweeping through arches and banking sharply during high-speed dogfights are two tiny examples of its manifold pleasures. And, while the ground-based sections are a trifle shite, other levels more than compensate for the un-Nintendoesque design flaw that they are. Those who hanker for a shoot 'em up will struggle to find a better title.