Getting Ready For Star Fox 64 3D: Celebrating Star Fox 64

It’s been a long time coming, but Star Fox 64 3D is finally set to be released in North America and Europe in a few weeks time, the 9th of September, with a subsequent release in Australia on the 15th. With what can otherwise be considered a drought of triple A software available for the Nintendo 3DS system, Nintendo fanboys will be looking to Star Fox 64 3D as the next big Nintendo release, following The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. As well as being the first major Star Fox game in some time, the game will be expecting to reel in a number of old fans as well as new players.

Unlike Ocarina of Time, the number of players who owned and played Star Fox 64 were slightly less in number, and as such, Star Fox 64 3D will be a completely new experience for those players – who may be jumping into the Lylat System for the first time. These players may not know what to expect from Team Star Fox. So, leading up to the release of what is looking to be a high-quality, well-constructed remake, it may be necessary to look at where exactly the game has been, so as to determine where the remake may be going. As one of the most cherished games released for the Nintendo 64, it’s the least we can do to sing the game’s successes, and explore what made this intergalactic escapade with a squad of cute, furry animals (and one slimy, annoying toad) so memorable.

Star Fox 64 was released in North America on the 30th of June in 1997, and in Europe and Australia on the 6th of October, for the Nintendo 64. To give you some context, this was the year after Nintendo had released the ‘64 – gamers had already picked up Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64 and Wave Race 64 at launch the year before, and so far, ‘97 had offered classics such as Mario Kart 64, Blast Corps and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, but there was still the wait for games like Goldeneye 007 to be released in August, and Diddy Kong Racing in November. In the middle of it all, was Star Fox 64, Nintendo’s follow-up to the timeless hit on the SNES that was the original Star Fox game, Nintendo’s Gradius-like on-rails action game with elements of flight simulation, a blockbuster plot, and characters with real personality traits.

Indeed, the sole reason a ‘64 Star Fox game was even being developed was because the SNES game had received immense critical acclaim at the time, and had also risen to be one of the top-selling games on the console. What should be common knowledge by now, the original Star Fox‘s success was attributed to the Super FX chip installed inside the cartridge. This FX technology granted Mode7 visuals, allowing the SNES to render a 3D field with depth control and projection. It was incredible, Super Nintendo gamers had seen nothing like it. So few console games looked as amazing as Star Fox had, and it’s no secret that the series wouldn’t be around today if Nintendo had gone for a simple 2D side-scrolling shooter, without the Mode7 technology. Though nothing special in our HD era, Star Fox was an absolute console marvel at the time, and to this day, no other game in the series has managed to reach the critical and commercial success of the original 1993 game.

As a result of all of the hype surrounding this Mode7 hoo-hah, the development of a sequel (what eventually ended up being Star Fox 64) had, contrary to popular belief, actually started out on the SNES, as a game appropriately dubbed Star Fox 2. The development of this sequel had actually reached the final stages – i.e., the game was done, box art and all – before Nintendo decided to can the project in the fear that it would be too successful and make too much money, ultimately overshadowing the launch of the Nintendo 64, which was to be launched an entire year after Star Fox 2 was planned to release. With that, EAD were instructed to translate the game onto Nintendo’s new system capable of actual 3D, and as a result, many of the gameplay mechanics in Star Fox 2 were either changed heavily or lost in the process. It’s a decision that, to this day, still angers die-hard Star Fox fans to the core, only granted peace with the buggy, unofficial Star Fox 2 ROM that managed to sneak onto the internet a few years back, by some divine magic or trick. Many of these fans regard Star Fox Command, available for the Nintendo DS, to be a type of spiritual successor to this unreleased treasure.

But enough about Star Fox 2 and Nintendo’s company decisions.

It was only a matter of time before fans got their hands on another Star Fox game, and for many of them, Star Fox 64 was definitely worth the wait. Titled Lylat Wars in Europe and Australia, Star Fox 64 took what made the original game so successful and breathed new life into the Lylat universe, with believable voice-acting, an epic, atmospheric space soundtrack and detailed alien planets and satellites. It was the Nintendo 64’s action-blockbuster hit of the year, following Fox McCloud, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad and Falco Lombardi, as well as General Pepper and ROB64, on their quest to Planet Venom to destroy the “evil monkey scientist” Andross, who is threatening the entire galaxy with his armada, so he can gain control of Planet Corneria, the only colonised planet in the Lylat System. The journey will take Team Star Fox to the near reaches of the galaxy, from a treacherous asteroid field, across gargantuan enemy fleets, and even to the galaxy’s sun, where the crew will run into long-lost friends, the infamous Team Star Wolf, and dangerous enemy bio-weapons. If that doesn’t sound awesome to you, you’re reading the wrong article.

Star Fox 64 played much like the original SNES game had. Players are thrown into an on-rails action sequence, where they control a fighter spaceship (known as an Arwing) and take care of the hazards occurring in front of them – taking down robots, protecting allies, collecting collectibles and clearing obstructions. The series of events which unfold on each planet determine your progression through the Lylat System – you won’t visit all the planets on a single play-through, but the ability to take various flight paths, unlock different endings, unlock harder game modes, and beat high-scores grants Star Fox 64 with an incredible replayability value (especially considering the game can be beaten in one sitting). New to Star Fox 64 was the ability for “All-Range Mode” – activated in certain gameplay scenarios as well as the multiplayer mode – which allowed Fox to zoom around the map freely, performing somersaults and U-turns and other fancy tricks.

New, exciting gameplay opportunities were also had with the Landmaster Tank and the Blue Marine; vehicles which allowed Fox to traverse mountainous terrains and ocean floors respectively. Though the Blue Marine was only available on one of the fifteen levels, the Landmaster Tank provided great experiences chasing trains on Planet Macbeth and traversing deadly deserts on Titania. Among the other new additions, the Nintendo 64’s famous Rumble Pak had also launched with the release of Star Fox 64, arriving boxed in with the game, and designed to take full advantage of the Arwing’s intense combat situations. It can even be argued that the success of Star Fox 64 is attributed to launching alongside this peripheral… even though it’s claimed that Sony had stolen the rumble idea and improved on it significantly but let’s not get into that. That’s a story for another day.

It’s also worth noting how Nintendo had gone about promoting Star Fox 64. You don’t need to know much before you watch this video, except that it goes for ten minutes, it was delivered to Nintendo Power subscribers prior to the game’s release, and it features two agents from Sony and SEGA interrogating developers of the game and torturing a Mario doll… all lacquered with classic ‘90s humour. Yeah.

Embarrassed? It was a different time. We watched Seinfeld and wore jeans and sneakers.

With so much going for it, how had Star Fox 64 performed with sales, and in the eyes of critics? Selling over 300,000 units in its first five days on sale in the US (it doesn’t sound like much these days, but games didn’t sell in big numbers back then), Star Fox 64 had risen to one of the top-selling games of 1997, just behind Mario Kart 64 and Goldeneye 007. The game had received respectable review scores from nearly all publications which had reviewed it, for what can be considered high critical acclaim – averaging a score of 88 on Metacritic. While critics praised the cinematic values, impressive voice-work (which still holds up compared to some of the awful voice acting in today’s games), tight controls and refined gameplay, many also expressed dislike towards the repetitive nature of the missions, and the frustrating responsibility of having to constantly rescue your troubled and dying teammates.

Which leads me to my next point. The annoying, adorable and likeable characteristics of each fuzzy, little Star Fox member is attributed to the incredible voice work that went into backing them. Star Fox 64, if nothing else, is renowned to this day, amongst fans and across all gaming culture on the internet, as possessing memorable, amusing, and helpful quotes which can be applied to all kinds of life situations. I shouldn’t have to remind my readers to complete an obligatory barrel roll to avoid danger, but some of the other characters’ lines in the game have also received similar fame and awards for hilarity: “Can’t let you do that, Star Fox.” “Geez laweez, what is that?!” “Hey Einstein, I’m on your side!” “Your daddy screamed REEEAL good before he died!” “Never give up, trust your instincts!” “What the heck?!” “Use the boost to get through!” “Andross’ enemy, is MY enemy!” “Gee, I’ve been saved by Fox, how swell.” The quotes in Star Fox 64 are annoying to the point that they’re just hilarious, and we can only hope that Nintendo decide to keep the original voice tracks in the 3DS remake to preserve Andrew Oikanny’s nasal quirkiness.

So why, now, should you be excited for Star Fox 64 3D? Especially for those who’ve already played the original game, enjoyed it and are more than happy to leave the game in the shameful decade from whence it came. Well, it’s an opportunity to see a classic title enter a new era, with upgraded visuals, portability and new controls. It’s a reason to return to an old treasure, in a series that has otherwise offered average to dismal experiences ever since. All the games that followed have been stuck in the ‘90s, with a design structure that just doesn’t allow the expectations of video games to be met in our contemporary gaming sphere. I like to see this remake as a type of reboot for a series that really needs one, a franchise that has reached its dying point, and can’t seem to offer anything new and exciting. Hopefully Nintendo will figure something out with this remake, and give us a fully-fledged HD Star Fox experience on the Wii U when the time comes around. Then, hopefully we’ll have more classics like this one to celebrate.

Share your experiences and opinions on Star Fox 64 in the comments below! Are you looking forward to Star Fox 64 3D? When was the last time you played a Star Fox game? Did you enjoy Adventures, Assault or Command? What direction do you think the series should take to stay alive and functioning? What changes need to be made? What would you like to see for the future of the series? Good luck, over and out!