Written by: Rik
Date posted: November 11, 2022
The GOG version of X-Wing comes complete with a scan of the strategy guide, which comes in handy for those missions when you can’t quite figure out the best, er, strategy.
I was never one for official strategy guides back in the day, preferring GameFAQs for walkthroughs and cheats. It’s tempting to say the internet killed them off, but they persisted for quite a long time considering they cost quite a bit of money. For the struggling X-Wing fan in the 1990s, though, this kind of thing would arguably have been the only option, aside from magazine walkthroughs and/or having a mate who knew what to do.
It doesn’t take a straightforward approach, though, offering an expanded tale of the campaign and giving guidance in first person. Your pilot even has a name, Keyan Farlander, and this being Star Wars, nerds on the Internet have decided some random extra in the first film ‘is’ Farlander. (To get around the fact Farlander didn’t blow up the Death Star, you’re technically playing as Luke Skywalker at that point).
Your brow may furrow as you read Farlander’s guide to completing a particular mission, only for each entry to be supplemented by debriefing notes from your commanding officer (referred to only as Lagrane) that sometimes suggest additional things to try and/or bear in mind. The need to combine narrative with practical guidance is sometimes an awkward mix, and a lot of these interludes contain exchanges along the lines of the following:
“What’s wrong, Farlander?” asked Lagrane.
“It’s Red Two, sir. I wish I could have saved him.”
“No time to worry about that, Farlander. Not when there’s a war to win for the Rebel Alliance.”
There’s more background story stuff, too, which apparently builds upon a book included in a limited edition of the 1993 X-Wing release by Rusel DeMaria called The Farlander Papers (DeMaria is the lead author on this guide, too).
Perhaps back in the day when we were all clamouring for more Star Wars all of this Expanded Universe stuff might have been a bit more exciting, but I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t even vaguely tempted to read any of it. It’s certainly good to have the strategy guide included though, both from a practical point of view, and as a piece of gaming history.
Posts