I remember being so excited for this game, wearing the tape out on the promotional VHS and trying to draw Star Fox and Falco with magazine articles as a reference, but like really buff, just super muscular and ripped, then thinking "this is weird," and hiding them under my mattress. This is the game that introduced RUMBLE™ Technology, for chrissake, it makes you feel like you're in the game! Star Fox 64 was a big deal, both for gaming and myself.
It's also one of the games I played a lot with my grandpa, so I'm very nostalgic for it and incapable of hating almost anything about it. Just adding that as an asterisk. Not that I need to, really, because I think most people agree that Star Fox 64 is the best entry in the series. That's actually a little sad if you think about it. Like, this came out in 1997 and they haven't been able to top it. Not that it would be terribly hard to, Ex-Zodiac is being developed by one person and I'd actually say I find it more enjoyable, but Nintendo is over here shitting these up by adding forced gyro controls. It's like they're trying to compromise their own efforts.
Star Fox 64 is about as straight-forward as a sequel can get. Much like Ocarina of Time, it is in a lot of ways something you're already familiar with just in 3D, and that's all it ever needed to be. The controls feel great and are well tailored to the Nintendo 64 controller, and there's some good mission variety thanks to the inclusion of the Landmaster and the Blue-Marine. There's also a few dog fights against Star Wolf, although these levels are probably my least favorite in the game. The arenas just feel a bit too small and the members of Star Wolf are squirrely. Star Fox is at its best when it's on-rails, I'll play Rogue Squadron if I want something more liberating. Thankfully, there's a very small amount of those levels, and for the most part Star Fox 64 curates its pacing carefully, keeping you locked to mostly linear paths with optional objectives and hidden branches opening up new routes through the overworld (much like Shadow the Hedgehog), offering a tremendous amount of replayability and encouraging experimentation.
I can just close my eyes and think about this game and be taken back to the mid-90s. Mario getting his head placed in the vice, refusing to give up trade secrets, Joe Pesci yelling "You make me pop your fuckin' eye outta your head to protect that piece of shit Miyamoto!?" It all comes rushing back to me as vivid as the day I lived it. Thank you, Star Fox.
It's also one of the games I played a lot with my grandpa, so I'm very nostalgic for it and incapable of hating almost anything about it. Just adding that as an asterisk. Not that I need to, really, because I think most people agree that Star Fox 64 is the best entry in the series. That's actually a little sad if you think about it. Like, this came out in 1997 and they haven't been able to top it. Not that it would be terribly hard to, Ex-Zodiac is being developed by one person and I'd actually say I find it more enjoyable, but Nintendo is over here shitting these up by adding forced gyro controls. It's like they're trying to compromise their own efforts.
Star Fox 64 is about as straight-forward as a sequel can get. Much like Ocarina of Time, it is in a lot of ways something you're already familiar with just in 3D, and that's all it ever needed to be. The controls feel great and are well tailored to the Nintendo 64 controller, and there's some good mission variety thanks to the inclusion of the Landmaster and the Blue-Marine. There's also a few dog fights against Star Wolf, although these levels are probably my least favorite in the game. The arenas just feel a bit too small and the members of Star Wolf are squirrely. Star Fox is at its best when it's on-rails, I'll play Rogue Squadron if I want something more liberating. Thankfully, there's a very small amount of those levels, and for the most part Star Fox 64 curates its pacing carefully, keeping you locked to mostly linear paths with optional objectives and hidden branches opening up new routes through the overworld (much like Shadow the Hedgehog), offering a tremendous amount of replayability and encouraging experimentation.
I can just close my eyes and think about this game and be taken back to the mid-90s. Mario getting his head placed in the vice, refusing to give up trade secrets, Joe Pesci yelling "You make me pop your fuckin' eye outta your head to protect that piece of shit Miyamoto!?" It all comes rushing back to me as vivid as the day I lived it. Thank you, Star Fox.
Weatherby
1 year ago