Ex-Zodiac [Review]

Ex-Zodiac is a dogfighting game that follows a similar structure and aesthetic to Star Fox 64 and Star Fox for the SNES. The planes are polygonal and the backgrounds have a lot of solid and bright colors with blocky structures. The characters are human-like animals with the main character being a monkey named Kyuu. The antagonists are a group of terrorists known as the Zodiacs, Kyuu being the ex-zodiac that turned good. The rest of the Zodiacs are all the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The gameplay is very similar to Star Fox in that you control a ship and shoot at enemies that fly in front of you. Instead of a dodge roll, Ex-Zodiac has a boost and break mechanic. This actually allows the players to fly past enemies or traps. The game can get difficult so it’s good to learn when you should fight or fly past as quickly as you can. It took me some time to get past just the first level, the difficulty comes from the bosses, once you get to the end of the level you fight the boss which is what took most of my lives. And you only get three of them before a game over.

While I might not be the best at the game I do still enjoy it. The levels are short so when you die it isn’t too frustrating, you can usually get back to the boss quickly. There are also data discs you can find in each level that unlock a bonus level where you are flying with a jetpack and shooting down enemies. It’s a nice break from the regular story, and you can even select the bonus level from the stage select screen. The only thing that I think the game is lacking is that there’s no voice acting. I never thought about how necessary it was in the original Star Fox game, but a game like that is very difficult to read while playing. You’re gonna be far more focused on not getting shot than trying to read the text that’s popping up. Other than that I had no issues with the game and very much enjoyed it.