Star Fox 64 3D: review

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As well as being a fairly secure computer password, Star Fox 64 3D is also the title of Nintendo’s latest 3DS update of a classic game. With the rose tinted glasses swapped for a new fangled 3D display, it’s time to see if Old Father Time and Granny Remake have been kind here.

If you’re unfamiliar with the N64 original, then the prospect of paying full retail price for a fourteen year old on-rails shooter may not be terribly appealing. Make no mistake however: Star Fox 64 was – and happily still is – great fun to play. The basic premise is that this is an into-the-screen scroller, where you shoot anything and everything that gets in the way. Well, not quite everything; shoot your team-mates, and they’ll express their displeasure over the radio. Oh, did we mention all the characters are anthropomorphised animals?

The plot’s thinner than a pair of tights stretched over a fat bank robber’s head, but for some reason this is a universe where mammals and amphibians have mastered space travel and highly advanced weapons (perhaps this is why there are no humans to be seen). Thus the eponymous Star Fox has on his team Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco… er… Lombardi. The final boss is a gigantic ape’s head which, um, eats spaceships and – look, don’t ask.

You’ll spend most of the time flying in your Arwing fighter, which affords you a surprising range of tactics despite the on-rails nature of 90% of the game. As well as being able to move around to all corners of the screen, holding down L or R tilts your craft 90 degrees in the relevant direction. This allows you to squeeze through vertical gaps, or make sharper turns. Double tapping either button results in a barrel roll, allowing you to deflect enemy fire.

Sometimes even the scenery will try to crush you, necessitating careful use of the boost and brake buttons. Combine up or down with the boost – or better still, use the d-pad shortcuts – for a somersault or backflip respectively. The somersault is mostly used for putting enemies on your tail in front of you, while the backflip will reverse the direction you’re facing (used in the freedom of movement afforded by the small ‘all range mode’ areas).

A few levels plonk you in the tank-like Landmaster on the ground. With no somersaults or backflips – not to mention the fact that you can only move left and right (brief hovering excepted) – it’s simply not as smooth to control as the Arwing. These levels are still great fun, but putting most of the enemies in the air seems rather mean.

Large and inventive bosses aside, almost all your enemies can be taken down with just a few shots of your laser or a well-timed bomb explosion. Start playing for the first time, and you may be surprised to find that just seven short levels and perhaps 30 minutes later, you’re watching the credits. If you’re asking “is that it?”, we’re happy to tell you “no”.

There are actually a total of 16 missions in Starfox 64. Several have hidden objectives that open up alternate paths in the level map, and half the fun is working out and achieving these objectives. Did I have to make sure Falco survived? Should I have tried to weave through all those hoops? Did I let enemies past me where I shouldn’t have? And so on. Choices such as these often result in different bosses as well as whole new levels, including the final encounter.

Star Fox 64 3D introduces a level select to the mix, in the form of ‘Score Attack’. Any level you’ve completed in the main game shows up here for you to practice – or, of course, go for high scores. This proves to be infuriatingly addictive and far from easy. Each level has bronze, silver and gold medals to be won according to how many ‘hits’ you score. It’s only when you go for these target scores that you suddenly realise shooting everything isn’t as easy as you thought, and some paths yield more points than others.

Obviously, the 3DS version also means the sound and graphics have been given a polish. Music and voices are now crystal clear, and the visuals have been smothered in 21st century loveliness. It’s especially impressive if you turn the 3D up full; this is an excellent choice if you want to show off what the 3DS can do to your friends (well, not actually do to your friends), and it makes you realise how little most developers have made of the effect so far.

Another new addition is gyro controls for movement which, thankfully, are optional. Moving the console around to control your craft is an interesting experience, but not one to stick with if you want to do particularly well. It’s telling that there are two options for gameplay; Nintendo 3DS, which is “balanced” (easier) for gyro controls, and the “challenge” of Nintendo 64 mode.

The deathmatch style multiplayer has made the journey across the years but, sadly, this is yet another 3DS game without online features. It does at least support local download play, meaning only one of you (up to four can play) needs a cartridge. You can play against the CPU on your own if you wish, but you’ll soon abandon it for the main game.

If dated graphics and sound put you off trying older games (philistine!), then this is the perfect way for you to finally enjoy Starfox 64. Score Attack should prove to be more than enough to force the hands of existing fans (into their wallets). Now, if we can just get a brand new sequel…

 




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Written by Luke K

He plays lots of videogames, now and again stopping to write about them. He's the editor in chief at Critical Gamer, which fools him into thinking his life has some kind of value. He doesn't have a short temper. If you suggest otherwise, he will punch you in the face.

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