The Last Starfighter (NES video game)
A rebranded port of the Commodore 64 shooter Uridium.
The Last Starfighter is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990 by Mindscape. It is a rebranded port of the Commodore 64 game Uridium, originally designed by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1986. Mindscape purchased a license based on the film The Last Starfighter and recycled the existing game, modifying only the title screen, sprites, and soundtrack while keeping the levels and gameplay identical.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Graftgold
- Publisher
- Hewson Consultants
- Designer
- Andrew Braybrook
- Programmer
- Andrew Braybrook (C64)
- Dominic Robinson (Spectrum)
- Nick Eastridge (NES)
- Composer
- Steve Turner (C64); Rich Shemaria (NES)
- Released
- 28 February 1986
- Genre
- Scrolling shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The solar system is under attack. Enemy Super-Dreadnoughts have been placed in orbit around each of fifteen planets, draining mineral resources from the planetary cores. Each Dreadnought seeks a different metal for its metal converter. The player pilots a Manta class Space Fighter, tasked with destroying each Dreadnought by attacking its defensive screen, neutralizing surface defenses, landing on the master runway, pulling fuel rods from the metal converters, and making a final strafing run as the Dreadnought vaporizes.
Gameplay
Each level takes place at a fixed altitude just above the Dreadnought's surface, with the screen scrolling horizontally in both directions. The player must negotiate walls and structures to reach the landing zone while facing squadrons of enemy fighters and homing mines released from flashing ports. Only after enough defenses are destroyed does the "Land Now!" signal appear, allowing the player to slow the Manta and land on the sternward landing zone. The pilot then presumably enters the mothership to set its nuclear reactor to self-destruct before taking off for a final strafing run as the Dreadnought crumbles. Later Dreadnoughts feature narrow wall gaps requiring the Manta to turn sideways to pass through. Players can earn more points by ignoring the landing signal and destroying elite fighters. The final Dreadnought, Uridium, contains only a few screens of gameplay, with the bulk consisting of a "congratulations" message reading "GOOD ZAPPING... TURKEY." initially blocked by an impassable wall but visible during the final overflight.
Technical details
The game simulates parallax scrolling: the Dreadnoughts' surface scrolls horizontally while the stars in the background remain still. On the Commodore 64, which does not support parallax scrolling, this was achieved by making the Dreadnoughts' surface the background and the black empty space and stars character glyphs on the foreground. As the screen scrolls, the character glyphs representing the stars shift their single lit pixels to counter the scroll, giving the impression they were stationary.
Reception and legacy
Critics lauded Uridium for its strong controls and graphics that conveyed a sense of depth. Zzap!64 gave it a 94% rating, calling it visually impressive, technically polished, and a top-tier shoot-em-up. The game was named best shooting game of the year by Crash magazine's readers and won Best Arcade-style Game at the 1986 Golden Joystick Awards. It topped both the Commodore 64 and all-format sales charts in early 1986.
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