Way before Starfox emerged on the Super Nintendo, featuring our bushy friend Fox McCloud, there
was another game to bear the Star Fox name... well actually, there was more than one.
But this review is going to focus on one specific release developed by Realtime Games Software
and published under Ariolasoft's Reaktor label in 1987.
A German publisher which initially began as a subsidiary of Ariola Records and by 1993
would become part of MicroProse; the same year our Super Nintendo release would arrive.
You might be forgiven for thinking that this is actually a predecessor to the Star Fox
we're all familiar with, especially given the similar game play, but it's not at all.
Rather than being thrust into the Lylat System, this game is set in the Hyturian System, but
like it's future namesake, has you thrust into a ship surrounded by a wonderful universe
of vector graphics, which unlike other platforms, are solid in this C64 iteration.
If you can even call these vectors?
Probably not.
It's at this point that I wonder why there are so many games, and things in general which
bare "Fox" in their title, and indeed the name of Star Fox builds upon two earlier games
Ariolasoft published; Skyfox and Arcticfox, hence why we see the words "The Fox is Back"
emblazoned over the cassette insert.
Although for some reason the Commodore 64 North American release of this game broke
form and went under the title of The Rubicon Alliance.
Most likely because this game was published by Datasoft Incorporated in that region.
Talking of name changes, this game isn't the reason that the 1993 Star Fox was renamed
Star Wing here in Europe.
No, that's apparently due to how similar Star Fox sounds to the German company StarVox,
especially when pronounced in a German accent.
So, onto the game then.
I have the Commodore 64 tape version.
Presented in a double cassette box, but held only on a single cassette.
A method which helped draw attention to games in the sea of titles strewn in computer shops
of the 80s.
The front cover depicts are fairly vigorous sci-fi scene, whilst inside we find the double
labelled tape, a thin instruction manual and a black sheet offering some amendments for
the Commmodore 64 version.
The rear of the package reveals It's 2746, and after many centuries of internal bickering,
invasion and counter invasion, broken or dishonored treaties.
The eight planets of the Hyturian System had found themselves embroiled in full scale,
unwinnable war.
Every planet at war with each other.
Finally a mixture of good sense and sheer exhaustion prevailed.
The eight planets hammered out an alliance which not only prevented interplanetary war,
but also the best brains in the system constructed a cubic barrier of anti-matter around the
entire system.
This was the Rubicon, and for many decades the peace remained undisturbed.
That peace has just been shattered.
The Rubicon has been breached.
It's up to you to save the system and find out how it happened.
And like many of these 1980s game blurbs, the grammar is pretty appalling.
Also, like the 1993 StarFox, the story is fairly similar.
There's war, and we're here to sort it out.
In many ways, I get the feeling that the developers of the later Star Fox, were probably quite
familiar with this version, although game play wise it's very different and this feels
more like a cut down Elite, or a Star Raiders type game than the familiar railed 1993 shooter.
You certainly won't be able to "Do a Barrel roll" here.
*crappy ring tone music*
Although, it does actually look like it's doing a barrel roll here.
*ahem*
There are 8 missions to cut through, each at a somewhat sedentary pace.
Your mission task is outlined at the start of each round, usually involving destroying
a number of enemy ships in your trusty StarFox ship, after which you can then journey to
the edge of the Rubicon cube to be handed your next mission.
The ultimate goal is to find the new ninth planet known as "NONO" which has infiltrated
your Rubicon defenses and annihilate the base of the Star Thugs... and yes, that is the
actual name of the race you're up against.
During the missions, you'll need to watch out for electron and ice crystal storms as
well as refuelling, which you can do at any of the star dock's which orbit the 8 planets.
You'll need to locate the planets to begin with, but once you have, they remain as a
fixture on your holographic map, which actually works quite well for navigation purposes.
You can then use wormholes to move from place to place, although hitting the edge of a wormhole
- if that's even a thing - will damage your shields.
Overall it's quite an engrossing game, once you get into it.
There are times when the pace can be a little slow, especially when you're hunting planets,
but that's all part of the charm.
It's clear the programmers knew this as the manual offers an immediate hint to find the
first two planets, to deter people from chucking the game directly in the bin.
Weapon selections and upgrades help to keep interest high, along with the ability of the
enemy to adapt to your upgrades, offering some further strategic elements, and the whole
thing feels like a neat little package, delivering you directly into the Hyturian System.
So if you fancy some Elite style action, but without the extra baggage, then plug in your
64 and grab yourself a copy of Star Fox, to soothe your interstellar desires.
*German computer voice ending..
thank you, etc...*