Star Fox 64
Reviewed by Tim Steffes
If you walked into any gaming store on the first of July, you might of seen a
mob around the video game area. Why? Nintendo's next (and currently best)
game has hit the store shelves. Is it Super Mario 64 2? Nah. Is it Zelda 64?
Nope, just a few months too early. It's Star Fox 64, one of the greatest
things to appear on store shelves since sliced bacon. Now, if you don't own
this game (and why the heck not?), you might be wondering why I feel this
way about this game. It's simple. This game rules. From the opening cinema,
all the way to the ending credits, you are treated with 64-bit greatness. You
have a game that is not out for any other gaming system. You have something
that shows the true power of your N64.
But back to the game. After plugging in your Rumble Pack, and the game,
and flipping on the power, you are treated like you are watching a movie.
The opening cinema is simple: Star Fox... In... (short lens flare) N64...
(Nintendo's way to gloat I guess). After that, you see the Great Fox
zoom out through the fading N64 logo and slowly fill your screen. Then you
get speech. A heck of a lot of speech (considering this is a cart), explaining
the story. In short: Andross is taking over the Lylat system (for the first
time it seems), and the Star Fox team is the only ones who can save it. Cut
to the inside of the Great Fox, and watch as you and your 3 teammates, in
full polygon glory, run down a VERY long hallway. Basically this is Nintendo
saying: We don't need no stinking FMV! It introduces everyone, then cuts
to the loading bay. Watch them load up, and off they go.
Finally, an outstanding opening sequence on an N64 cart. This (in my opinion)
ranks up there with Guardian Heroes (Saturn) and Lunar the Silver Star
(Sega CD) in outstanding, get yourself ready for a great game intro. But off
to the game.
Starting up, you are treated with the Arwings flying by, and then you hear
everyone for the first time. Not the gibberish that they spoke in the
original (except for a few parts), but in full, clear, English. Now, at
first, the characters might sound a little weird (especially Slippy), but
they kinda grow on you. And finally, you fight. And when you finish the game
for the first time (in an hour and a half or so), you look back at the game,
remember the excitement of some boards, how much fun you had in others, the
excellent speech overall, and then you decide to go right back and play it again.
But enough of a description, on to the review.
Graphics: 4.8
Star Fox 64 is filled with outstanding, polygon filled worlds. This is the N64
at it's fullest. Beautiful worlds abound, from the wrecked Corneria city, to
an asteroid filled Meteo, to the water filled Zoness, to even the sun, Solar.
Time, thought, and care were put into the game worlds. No world feels even
remotely like the next, and you feel like you are actually
flying/driving/traveling through some distant galaxy. Enemy ships abound,
with at times 40+ enemy fighter craft all moving, shooting, and exploding all
around you, all at the same time, all without the slightest hint of slowdown.
And the bosses... All 15+ bosses show off what evil and wicked creations one
can construct if you have the time. For fun, they even tossed in the first
boss from the original Star Fox, just a heck of a lot mode advanced in detail.
This game definitely shows off the power of the N64. This is one game
that can't be matched in detail on any system.
Sound: 4.4
Unfortunately, the music/sound category is the worst part of this awesome
game. First, the music. Star Fox 64 is filled with some 35 different sound
tracks (many of the tracks are repeated in the music test mode). Once again,
while Nintendo shows that while they have the most powerful system on the
market, they've forgotten how to make good music since the good old days of
the SNES. And yes, I'm sorry to say, the original Star Fox had better music.
But, I'm not going to say that the music sucks. It has some of the best music
for the system (next to Shadows of the Empire), but mostly it's music that
could almost be done on the SNES. But while the music isn't that good, it
works for the game, since you are too busy shooting and dodging to listen in
great detail to the music. Fortunately the sound effects and the speech more
than make up for that shortcoming. Star Fox 64 is filled with some good sound
effects, from shots, to explosions, to even bigger explosions. But the speech
is where the game shines. Your wingmen, partners, and even the bosses all
talk. Not the gibberish in the original, but full English. If it says
something on the bottom of the screen, the game says it. Are your wingmen
getting attacked? You hear them call for help. Are you wasting the boss? You
hear them yell in frustration. You want to hear useless chatter (it makes the
game more life like)? You got it. You want to hear taunts, and helpful hints?
You got it. According to Nintendo, one third of the game is speech. It shows.
And it works. This game has more speech than most CD titles. It's a
fantastic effort by Nintendo.
Control: 4.7
Considering you are flying the most advanced starfighter ever (where have I
heard that line before?), it is very easy to control. Every button on the
joystick is used (short of L and the digital pad), and after playing for 15
minutes, you have every control down. While you can't configure the controls,
everything from shooting, bombing, locking on, looping, and spinning, is
within easy reach and use. Control of the Arwing is almost perfect, with a
very fine movement of the analog stick, you can slowly track your opponent.
The Landmaster is a bit worse, with up and down movements moving your
targeting sight quite a bit. And the Blue Marine is almost as good as
the Arwing. If you get killed, it won't be because the control stinks.
Gameplay: 4.8
This game is filled with options and difficulty choices to help you have a
long and enjoyable game. The Easy courses (in blue) are great for first time
plays, the Moderate courses (yellow) are a noticeable step up, and the Hard
courses (red) take quite a bit of experience to get through with everyone
intact. And then there is Expert mode... It just pumps up the number of
baddies (by quite a bit!) and then the Easy courses become a challenge. And
for the first time player: Did you go to a more difficult level? No problem.
Before you start the next stage, you can select to change courses to go to the
easier level. Great for the first time player. And there is a reason to stick
with the 1 player mode. If you do well enough, you get 2 different endings, 2
extra bonuses (just some pictures), a music test, and for the best part,
being able to drive the Landmaster and walk around on foot (I haven't gotten
the later yet) in VS mode! Just think, one person in the Arwing, one in the
Landmaster, another on foot running around all at the same time, all shooting
at one another! And playing with 4 players at once involves NO slowdown, no
limitation in view distance, and a total shooting fest! But mostly, this game
is FUN. Like the original Star Fox (which I still pop in every once and a
while), you have fun playing this game. I've never had so much fun going
around and shooting things down.
Lastability: 4.6
This is a difficult category to put a number to. It will take some time to do
everything in the game (mainly getting all of the medals), and until then you
will keep playing the game over and over again. Afterward, you will play the
VS mode (since it is one of the best party games since Mario Kart 64). Even
then, you will keep coming back to the single player mode, just because it is
fun. There is something enjoyable about taking down a boss, hearing it scream
as it explodes, and then hearing your wingmen congratulating you on your
fantastic victory. The game has 3 very noticeable difficulties, with an
expert mode thrown in to make the whole game harder (but just as fun).
Basically this is a game that you will keep coming back to again and
again (like the original).
Overall: 4.8.
Is this an outstanding game? Yes. Is it better than Super Mario 64? Heck
yeah. Is it the best game out right now? Yes. Is this the best game of the
year? Maybe, if we don't see Zelda 64 by the end of the year. If you even
like shooters in the least bit, you must buy this game. This is the number
one shooter out there (derailing the great Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn)).
This game does to shooters what Fighters Megamix (Saturn) and Tobal #2 (PSX)
have done to fighters. It gives you a fantastic game that will keep you
enjoyed and entertained for many months to come. Buy this game, you will not
regret your purchase. Just make sure that you have some extra AAA batteries
available (for when the ones supplied with the Rumble pack run out).
A couple other comments to this awesome game that just didn't fit into the
review anywhere. First off, what ever happened to the first game? It seems
like it never existed. And for that matter, why did Nintendo change the Star
Fox team from heroes to just simple mercenaries? As in the original, and
Nintendo Power's comics (stop booing, I liked them) show, they were heroes
trying to save the galaxy. Now they go around, saving everybody for some
measly cash? Second off, if anyone can tell me who actually did the voice
for Fox, I want to know. I own this game for the PC, in which there is a
voice actor who sounds just like Fox. And strangely enough, in that PC game,
he plays a fox (the animal) too. Third, Nintendo did a great job of ripping
off some of the best movies (not that I'm complaining or anything).
From Star Wars to ID4 (both copyrighted by their respective owners),
some of the lines, actions, and even stages can be seen in this game if
you look hard enough. Just go to Katina and you'll understand.
I can't stress this enough, get this game.