Utte Yosili

Cats frequently chew on cardboard boxes, and in retaliation, the boxes make it as hard as possible to allow the cat to climb inside of them. As a result, the relationship between cats and cardboard boxes is strained at best. However, when the earth is under attack by space marshmallows, terrorist cats, and Yeti, even the most bitter enemies must pull together and defend the world from... Weird shit.

In his own way he is perhaps, the most dangerous cat who ever lived!

Utte Yosili (PC)
Developed & Published by: Kanagawa Denshigijutsu Kenkyuusho 神奈川電子技術研究所
Released in: 2003

Utte Yosili is a rather unique horizontal shooter, and not just because you're character is a cat who pilots a cardboard box. You begin the game piloting a cardboard box with a minigun turret. The gun weights the box down, so you slowly sink as you fly, requiring you to reposition yourself. The weight of the heavy gun also gives the ship a great amount of inertia, so stopping while moving will result in some 'sliding'. The ships fire is strong, but can only fire forward.

Breaking all conventions, The Cat can dismount from his vehicle, and fly around. When not using his box, the cat has a smaller hitbox, and sacrifices bullet-strength for the unique ability to fire in any given direction. The cat is also faster, and easier to control, with the ability to stop more precisely than the box.

SUCK IT DOWN! SUCK IT DOOOOOOOOWWWNNN!

You're only given a single life, and no continues, but the ability to mount and dismount your box at will lends itself to a unique metagame; both The Cat and the box have their own lifebars, which are mutually exclusive. You'll die if one of them is drained, but you can easily ditch the box if it's about to blow, and likewise you can seek refuge in the box if The Cat is injured. Wisely managing both of your meters is the key to surviving the onslaught of murderous space marshmallows. Both bars get maxed out at the beginning of each stage, so don't shy away from brute force.

The games enemies are a... colorful bunch. They range from the aforementioned space marshmallows, terrorist cats who fire heat-seeking rockets with reckless abandon, a giant dog, Yeti, a very resilient space marshmallow, and... these guys.

Negative Man's extended family join the ranks of Yeti and Meow-Qaeda

Utte is what's known to the shooter community as a 'Euro-Shmup', a sub-genre that is usually regarded as sloppy, and imperfect. Utte is no exception, because there are times in-which it simply isn't possibly to avoid taking a hit. You have two rather extensive lifebars, but this leniency is offset by the fact that enemy fire knocks you back; it's totally possible, especially later on, to simply get pinned in a corner, and shot to shit. The hitstun on the bullets ispretty severe, but I'm willing to overlook this gaping flaw, as it requires you to keep on your toes, and adds to the games difficulty, as well as forcing you to play smart.

I'd recommend Utte Yosili as a fun coffee break game, an amusing, novel diversion to kill time with, and nothing else. It's certainly not a serious game, both in it's humor, and the bitter fact that there's no community behind it at all. Playing this game won't offer you anything other than a good time, but that's plenty, I suppose..

Ahahah. You thought I was gonna let you get away without watching a subpar gameplay video?

Think again:

Utte Yosili beckons. Answer the call, and take down Meow-Qaeda!

Special thanks to DoujinStyle for the find.

Indistinguishable from a Leone film.