This is a game I've owned since I was little but sold before I moved to Japan. While I have beaten it before, it's got a lot of nostalgic value for me, so I picked up this Japanese copy before too long, but only just got around to playing through it. I played through it twice by myself and then twice on stream on Twitch, and it was twice through the normal ending and twice through the harder ending. I wasn't sure if I wanted to write a review for it, but since I not only haven't written one before but also wanted to comment on changes between the English and Japanese versions, I felt one was warranted. I actually managed to get onto the high score table of my own second-hand cartridge, so I call that beating it enough for me (got a very respectable 1138 points~).
Star Fox 64, like the SNES original, is a rail shooter where you play as the titular Fox McCloud. Years ago, the evil Dr. Andross (or "Andolf", as he's hilariously called in Japanese XD), threatened the Lylat system with destruction, but he was thwarted by the actions of Fox's father. However, Fox's father was betrayed by Pigma, one of his companions, and didn't make it out alive. Now that Andross once again threatens the safety of the system, Fox has taken up his father's mantel with his mercenary group Star Fox to take down this threat. It's a fine story that sets up the stakes in a good way and the way the characters banter back and forth during missions (between both friend and foe) is really entertaining and memorable.
The Japanese script is more or less pretty similar content-wise to the English version, but the tone is quite different in the slight deviations and especially the delivery. Where the English version is very silly and campy from start to end, the Japanese version is played much more straight and has moments of silliness in it. It can even get quite dark, with at one point Pigma taunting "Your daddy's waiting for you in hell!" (with the much deeper voice he has in Japanese). I don't really think it works as well as the English version does, but it does go a long way to explain the darker tones in later Star Fox games like Command and Assault. One last weird note is that the audio quality on the VA seems significantly less good in Japanese than it is in English, which is a shame, as this VA IS good, but it's just overall not quite as good a package as what the localization would become.
The game itself is a series of 7 missions where you always start on Corneria and end on one of two possible versions of Venom (the normal one or the harder, true ending one), and there are 25 possible paths to take between the stages. Most of the stages have two possible ways to complete them, with one normal route and one secret route, with the secret routes generally leading to levels that give more points but are more difficult (and lead to the true ending fight).
As a rail shooter it's super solid and well-remembered for a reason. Damn near everyone reading this likely knows just what Star Fox 64 already is and is like, so I'll be light on the details of the actual combat. You fly around collecting rings for health (or even health extensions), powerups to increase the power of your main fire, bombs to fire in emergencies, and even repair tokens to repair your wings if they get slammed off. You've gotta shoot all the enemies you can for a high score (and you know, not to die), and you can even use charged normal shots to kill several enemies at once for extra points~. Just be careful not to shoot down your companions! The bosses are super fun and challenging, and while most are in the 3rd person rail shooter sort of style most of the rest of the game is in, a handful of bosses (and even levels) are in an "all range mode" where you fly around a set map and dog fight with enemy fighters. Some levels don't have you in your spaceship at all, and you're in the land-bound Landmaster or the underwater submarine. Not all levels are made equal, but damn if they aren't super solid as a rule, and trying to get higher scores and different routes means that the fun you can have extends far beyond just getting the best ending.
Verdict: Highly recommended. This verdict likely comes as no surprise. Y'all already know this is a great game, and I'm not here to contest that. It's a game I definitely prefer in English, but its quirks in Japanese are still very interesting and I'm glad I saw what the game has to offer in the differences present in the original.
Star Fox 64, like the SNES original, is a rail shooter where you play as the titular Fox McCloud. Years ago, the evil Dr. Andross (or "Andolf", as he's hilariously called in Japanese XD), threatened the Lylat system with destruction, but he was thwarted by the actions of Fox's father. However, Fox's father was betrayed by Pigma, one of his companions, and didn't make it out alive. Now that Andross once again threatens the safety of the system, Fox has taken up his father's mantel with his mercenary group Star Fox to take down this threat. It's a fine story that sets up the stakes in a good way and the way the characters banter back and forth during missions (between both friend and foe) is really entertaining and memorable.
The Japanese script is more or less pretty similar content-wise to the English version, but the tone is quite different in the slight deviations and especially the delivery. Where the English version is very silly and campy from start to end, the Japanese version is played much more straight and has moments of silliness in it. It can even get quite dark, with at one point Pigma taunting "Your daddy's waiting for you in hell!" (with the much deeper voice he has in Japanese). I don't really think it works as well as the English version does, but it does go a long way to explain the darker tones in later Star Fox games like Command and Assault. One last weird note is that the audio quality on the VA seems significantly less good in Japanese than it is in English, which is a shame, as this VA IS good, but it's just overall not quite as good a package as what the localization would become.
The game itself is a series of 7 missions where you always start on Corneria and end on one of two possible versions of Venom (the normal one or the harder, true ending one), and there are 25 possible paths to take between the stages. Most of the stages have two possible ways to complete them, with one normal route and one secret route, with the secret routes generally leading to levels that give more points but are more difficult (and lead to the true ending fight).
As a rail shooter it's super solid and well-remembered for a reason. Damn near everyone reading this likely knows just what Star Fox 64 already is and is like, so I'll be light on the details of the actual combat. You fly around collecting rings for health (or even health extensions), powerups to increase the power of your main fire, bombs to fire in emergencies, and even repair tokens to repair your wings if they get slammed off. You've gotta shoot all the enemies you can for a high score (and you know, not to die), and you can even use charged normal shots to kill several enemies at once for extra points~. Just be careful not to shoot down your companions! The bosses are super fun and challenging, and while most are in the 3rd person rail shooter sort of style most of the rest of the game is in, a handful of bosses (and even levels) are in an "all range mode" where you fly around a set map and dog fight with enemy fighters. Some levels don't have you in your spaceship at all, and you're in the land-bound Landmaster or the underwater submarine. Not all levels are made equal, but damn if they aren't super solid as a rule, and trying to get higher scores and different routes means that the fun you can have extends far beyond just getting the best ending.
Verdict: Highly recommended. This verdict likely comes as no surprise. Y'all already know this is a great game, and I'm not here to contest that. It's a game I definitely prefer in English, but its quirks in Japanese are still very interesting and I'm glad I saw what the game has to offer in the differences present in the original.