Nothing But Good Felines
HIGH Experiencing this absurd, colorful shmup.
LOW Onscreen chaos makes detecting incoming bullets tough.
WTF The game is about flying bulletstorm cats.
It’s rare when I finish a game and think to myself “what the hell just happened?!?” It’s even rarer when I finish such a game while enjoying every single minute of it. Neko Navy Daydream Edition, a madcap, flying cat shmup, is one such.
Even for a shmup there’s not much story, but the craziness happens right from the start. Players take control of an ordinary looking housecat… except the cat can fly.
And shoot bullets.
And launch bombastic, screen filling attacks.
The graphics are bright and colorful, resembling a hand-drawn cartoon. In addition to the cats, there are various cheerful looking adversaries, like biplanes, sausages, medical mannequins, and toadstool canons, all trying to strike down the flying felines.
When defeated, enemies leave behind glowing cat icons. Collecting these icons charges each cat’s secondary attack – huge explosives that take out multiple enemies at once. This leads to plenty of chaos, as the screen fills up with more and more enemies and explosions.
Navigating this chaos is effortless, as controls are smooth and precise. I would recommend the control stick over the directional buttons, but thankfully the developers have made the control scheme fully customizable to fit a player’s needs.
There’s not much to complain about with Neko Navy, but it is a little on the short side. With only seven stages, shmup pros will have no problem beating the game in less than an hour. Fortunately, the developers have included plenty to keep players coming back – unlockable cats, hidden bosses, a “Death” difficulty, and an endless wave mode.
Having beat Neko Navy: Daydream Edition, I’m still coming back for more, Yes, I’m still not exactly sure what is going on – who’s attacking and why are these cats called in for defense? But honestly, there’s no need for a coherent story when everything else is done so well.
Disclosures: This game is developed by DeathMofuMofu and published by Fruitbat Factory. It is currently available on Nintendo Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 4 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E and contains Mild Fantasy Violence. The game is full of happy looking cartoon adversaries that shoot at a flying cat. When defeated, enemies and cats explode in a bloodless eruption.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game has very limited story and in-game text. Text size is not adjustable. When bosses approach, the sound effect is accompanied by a large, flashing “Warning” text on the screen. There are no other noticeable audio cues. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.
When he does find time to play, Brian’s preferred games of choice are platformers, beat-‘em-ups, or a good adventure game.He still enjoys the retro gaming scene, could talk about the Nintendo 64 more than he might like to admit, and misses playing in actual arcades. Brian also gets to pass on his love of gaming, as his oldest son is just now starting to join the fun.
As for that GameBoy - it’s sitting in Brian’s nightstand, waiting patiently for four AA batteries.
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