Star Fox 64 is one of the classics from the Nintendo 64 (who would have thought?). Even today, I remember very well the moment when I received my N64 and the famous trident controller. Along with them, I also received a promotional booklet with games. Among other things, it contained a page dedicated to Star Fox 64. I remember very well that I could only get one game for Christmas, while I got the console back in the summer. So for a good four or five months, I flipped through the catalog, weighed the options, studied the game images with a magnifying glass, and tried to gauge what I should choose. Zelda and Star Fox remained on the shortlist, since I already got Mario with the console. And by some miracle I chose Zelda, even though Star Fox had been bugging me for a long time.
From today’s perspective, I think it was a good decision, but also the reason why I never played Star Fox 64. That’s why the offer to review the remake actually came to me as a kind of redemption, but also an opportunity to finally see what exactly I missed almost three decades ago.
| Initial price | Reviewed version | Reviewer copy |
| 50€ | Nintendo Switch 2 | Provided by distributor (CD Media) |
For those unfamiliar with Star Fox, it’s an arcade space shooter. In addition to the main fox Fox McCloud, who we manage, the team also includes the experienced rabbit Peppy Hare, the confident bird Falco Lombardi and the mechanic Slippy Toad. We receive orders from General Pepper, a humanoid dog. The goal is to stop the mad scientist Andross, an ape who is trying to conquer the Lylat system.
I know, it sounds like a modern sci-fi fable. The story is not the pinnacle of complexity nor does it try to be anything more than a classic Nintendo “stop the bad guy” plot. If nothing else, the remake brings nice animated sequences between missions, which add a bit more character to the whole adventure. However, there remains the impression that one could have gone a step further. The characters are likable, but mostly remain trapped in their archetypes. There is not much mutual teasing, no significant drama or relationship development. Just another day at the space office.
On the gameplay side, we got almost nothing new in the remake. This remake has remained extremely faithful to the original and, with slightly more pleasant controls and the ability to aim with the Joy-Con mouse, does not change much. As before, it’s possible to swerve, perform a barrel roll to avoid missiles, perform a 360-degree maneuver or shower your opponents with lasers and bombs.
And don’t get me wrong – the gameplay is still great. That moment when you have two enemies on your tail, lock on a target, execute a maneuver and solve the whole situation with one bomb remains as satisfying as before. Each mission tries to throw in something new, be it through different opponents, hidden paths, special objectives or a completely new vehicle. Yes, you don’t spend the entire game in just a spaceship. Some missions will have you jump into a tank to stop a runaway train, while others will send you on an underwater chase and battle beneath the surface of the ocean.
That’s exactly why it hurts that Nintendo didn’t take the opportunity to add new content. Namely, both the original and the remake use the branching system of the path through the campaign. The beginning and end of the story are always the same, but the planets you visit in between depend on your decisions during the missions. Rescuing allies, finding secret passages, or successfully completing special objectives can open up entirely new routes.
For its time, it was a revolutionary concept that encouraged multiple game transitions. That’s exactly why it’s a shame that the remake didn’t get at least one or two new planets. Such an addition would give veterans a reason to return and new players even more content to explore.
It is worth noting that each level has three levels of difficulty, where Hard is unlocked only after passing Normal mode. And since it is an old game, even medium difficulty can be quite demanding, while Hard will easily test the reflexes and patience of most players. In addition, completing the campaign unlocks a separate Challenge mode. Tasks such as destroying three ships with one shot, completing a mission within three minutes or eliminating all robots on the map await you there. For the veterans, it will be another way to prove their skills, while it gave me an additional reason to return to the planets already crossed.
In addition to the campaign and challenges, there is also a multiplayer mode. Battles between multiple players were available in the original through split-screen, but now they can also be played online. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test that part because the game wasn’t officially available at the time of writing the review, so it was almost impossible to find opponents. Apparently, it’s also possible to use camera filters that turn your face into one of the Star Fox crew members during matches. This could be a real little furry arena.
The visual redesign has divided the community, but it looks great to me. The characters are reminiscent of a high-budget animated film based on the original template, while the levels themselves have received significantly more detail and life. Fans of the original will have no problem recognizing famous locations, only now in a much more lavish edition.
The game spins very smoothly at 60 frames per second. During gameplay, I didn’t notice any significant drops in performance, regardless of the amount of missiles, enemies or effects on the screen. True, not all levels are equally impressive and some seem more modest than others, but ultimately it is a very successful modernization of an N64 classic.
That is perhaps the best summary of the entire remake. This is an extremely faithful reconstruction of the original, enriched with Challenge mode and significantly improved graphics. For fans of the original, this will probably be more than enough. At the same time, the gameplay holds up surprisingly well even today and could easily win over a completely new audience.
But it’s hard to escape the impression that Nintendo played it safe here. One new planet, a few extra missions, or a little more room for character development would have turned this very good restoration into something truly special.