Saucerer

Overview

The Saucerer is a boss from Star Fox 64 that appears on Katina. Unlike most other bosses in the game it has a persistent presence throughout the stage and can only be defeated at the right time. It deploys fighters through four launch bays as it flies over the battlefield.
 

Tactics

As a mothership of the invasion forces, it makes no direct attack against the player as it flies around the stage. Occasionally four hatches on its underside open up to deploy fighters, but each one can be destroyed. Eventually it will charge up its beam weapon and leave players a minute to destroy it before it fires.
 
Firing the beam weapon requires it to flip completely over.
 

Trivia

Its design is obviously similar to alien motherships from the 1996 Hollywood movie Independence Day, from the way it constantly deploys fighters and uses a massive laser beam to destroy ground based targets. Its even defeated in a similar way by shooting its core when its beam weapon prepares to fire.
 
The official Nintendo player's guide also makes light of the Saucerer's movie similarities by explaining that Andross is rumored to have stolen the designs from a distant alien race. After some modifications, It was designed for invasions and states that its core weapon is powerful enough to level any city in the galaxy.