Collection essentials #428: Star Fox 64 (N64)

The original Star Fox was a very significant title on the Super Nintendo, since it had 3D graphics before that was the norm for home consoles. The console wasn’t built for 3D, so the graphics were primitive and the game had a “choppy” look as there weren’t many frames of animation. But thankfully the core gameplay behind it was really solid, so the game wasn’t just a short-term “style over substance” package that would quickly lose its appeal. You can read more about Star Fox 1 in my post about it here.

With the Nintendo 64, Nintendo was able to greatly polish up the formula from the original Star Fox with much better graphics, sound and gameplay. Of course, Star Fox 64 would not be as novel as the original, which had the unique status of being a 3D game when the gaming world was almost all 2D. But 64 would make up for it and stand out by simply being fantastic.

Star Fox 64 mostly keeps the gameplay fundamentals from the original, being a dogfighting (or I guess Foxfighting??) rail shooter that lets you maneuver within the confines of the screen and gives you various moves such as brakes, acceleration, and a barrel roll to deflect enemy fire. There are a few different weapons too, such as the basic shot, a charge shot that locks onto enemies, and a powerful bomb of which there is a limited supply. Star Fox 64 has even more gameplay features, such as a somersault move, and “all-range mode” where the player can maneuver freely within a fairly large space (as opposed to being “on rails” in a set path), and some stages where you control a tank vehicle on the ground instead of an aircraft.

Like the original Star Fox, the game features branching paths, a feature that varies up each playthrough of the game and you cannot see every level in one go or even two. But in the original, you choose one of three paths from the very beginning, which you’re then locked into for the whole game. In 64, you don’t actually choose in a menu. Instead, what you do during the game determines which level you go to next. There are certain levels that are the “easiest” to get, which most uninformed players will wind up with their first time playing the game. Going to “less easy” levels requires some kind of condition which takes some effort. For example, to get to an alternate second level you have to fly through a series of stone arches in the first stage, which isn’t made clear to the player at all. Other times you may have to do something like defeat a certain number of enemies or clear a stage within a limited amount of time. There’s a “true ending” that you can see if you manage to reach all the “hard” alternate routes in a single run.

Star Fox 64’s presentation is really excellent. Like in the first game, you are briefed before each mission, and you have three squadmates who accompany you and often talk to you as things unfold. This time, they made the game fully voice-acted rather than having different gibberish sound effects representing character speech. Since this is an arcade-style game that is meant to be played over and over, you’ll be hearing a lot of the same voiced lines an awful lot. And so, anyone who has played this game knows just how incredibly quotable it is, and when such people meet they always enjoy throwing out random lines amongst each other. Some lines such as Peppy’s “Do a barrel roll!” went on to become internet memes. The characters are more interesting this time around in general, too, and a rival “Star Wolf” team is a new recurring bunch of antagonists.

As this was Nintendo 64, it’s not a surprise that there is a four-player versus multiplayer mode added here. I actually can’t comment on it too much, since I’ve barely ever spent any time on it, but it’s cool that it exists.

My biggest gripe with Star Fox 64, for sure, is that there’s no way to save your progress in the middle of the game. Yes, the game is short enough that a given session ought to be less than an hour, but it’s unfortunate that you can’t suspend in the middle of a run and pick it back up later. I feel like this game could have been good for short play sessions if that were the case.

One thing you may notice from the photo is that the game comes bundled with an accessory. This is the “Rumble Pak”, which inserts into the back of your controller and causes it to rumble as a response to things that happen in the game. It is by no means required, but it’s a nice little bonus that makes things feel a little more immersive.

As a kid, I first played Star Fox 64 at other peoples’ houses and was immediately impressed by it, appreciating what an upgrade it was over the original. I remember specifically that my cousins Kevin and Peter had it, and I remember one time that Kevin defeated the first boss before its health meter even appeared on the screen! In the early 2000s I picked the game up for myself, I believe at a GameStop or EB Games. The cartridge shown in the photo is my same copy from back then, but not the box, manual or Rumble Pak.

Star Fox 64 is still the gold standard for the series. It’s sold better than any other Star Fox game, even the original which was on a more popular console. And I’m sure the majority of fans agree that ever since Nintendo has never quite been able to fully replicate or improve upon this one, which is kind of surprising. The game has aged as well as pretty much everything else on the Nintendo 64 and is definitely still worth taking out for a spin. This is a remake on a future handheld console that I may perhaps cover someday, but the original version is still very much relevant. In modern times, you can play Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo Switch if you have the Switch Online Expansion Pack. It’s a game you really ought to consider trying out if you haven’t already. A tried and true Nintendo 64 essential.