Star Fox Review: A Brief But Entertaining Rail Shooter
Star Fox has returned after a long hiatus, and even though it is just a remake of Star Fox 64, it is still a solid game and a great starting point for those new to the series.
It's been quite a while since Star Fox has had a new game. Ever since Star Fox Zero on the Wii U, the series has been sitting on the metaphorical bench with other Nintendo franchises like Earthbound and F-Zero. Yet out of the blue, Nintendo revealed that they were releasing a remake of Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo Switch 2. If nothing else, remaking a classic game like Star Fox 64 is a great way to reboot a franchise (at least in the technical sense).
I only played Star Fox 64 a handful of times way back in the day, and it feels like the remake has been very faithful to the original experience. The best way to describe Star Fox is that it brings the fast-paced rail shooting of the original game to the modern era with significantly improved visuals and modern quality-of-life changes like difficulty settings.
One thing that hasn't changed is the story. The evil monkey scientist Andross is trying to take over the Lylat System. The military is overwhelmed by his brutal assault, and the only ones who can stop him are the group of mercenaries known as Star Fox.
While the story is the same, it is now told through high-quality cutscenes between missions rather than scrolling text and talking portraits (similar to mission briefings in the original StarCraft). There is also a prologue cutscene at the beginning of the game, which helps set the scene for those unfamiliar with the story. To me, this approach to storytelling was a welcome change as it really fleshes out the personalities of everyone in Star Fox. Fox feels more like a legitimate mercenary when one of the first questions he asks General Pepper is how much they will be paid.
If you've ever played any Star Fox (excluding Star Fox Adventures) game or any rail shooter/shoot 'em up before, then you will likely already know what to expect with Star Fox in terms of gameplay. For the most part, your ship flies on its own, and you just focus on shooting down enemy ships and dodging attacks/obstacles. You also periodically enter a free roam mode (for lack of a better term), where you can fly around off the rails and try to outmaneuver your foes.
At the end of each stage, you encounter a boss of some variant. Most boss fights are pretty standard fare, with shooting glowing weak points while dodging attacks. Periodically, you have to fight a group of fighters piloting ships similar to the Arwings, and these fights are some of the most frustrating parts of the game, considering that you will spend most of your time trying to get them in your crosshairs rather than actually shooting them.
There isn't a whole lot to say beyond that. The gameplay is solid and feels well-polished aside from a few frustrating boss battles. Fighting Andross and his forces feels really good with modern graphics and 60 FPS. Since Star Fox is still an arcade-style game, it doesn't have a particularly long runtime. Unless you get stuck on a mission, it will take you about two hours or less to beat the game.
This may seem too short for a $49.99 price tag, but Star Fox does have a great deal of replayability. Not only are there different paths you can choose on your way to Venom, but there are a bunch of challenges you can take on as well. On top of that, there is Battle Mode, which can be enjoyed online or offline with bots.
Overall, Star Fox is a solid and faithful remake of the beloved Nintendo 64 classic. If you are a Star Fox fan and you don't mind the price tag, then I heartily recommend picking up Star Fox.
Comments ()