NGO Reviews: Star Fox

I recently had the chance to blast my way through the campaign of the most recent entry in the Star Fox franchise. While disappointed at yet another remake, I have to say I was blown away at the sheer quality of key game elements. I would have preferred that the Star Fox team had gotten themselves a brand new story, but this may very well be the best way to enjoy the original game. I wasn't a super fan of Star Fox growing up but there was a brief stint where Star Fox: Assault was my couch multiplayer game of choice.

Star fox 64 came out in 1997. It is a fairly straightforward space rail-shooter in which you lead a no nonsense merc group as Fox McCloud. There is barely any narrative and only a smidge of loose characterization for Fox and his three squad mates. It works really well for the N64 game because the game is extremely fast paced; you are in and out of levels quick, and one playthrough of the campaign is intended for one sitting. Let's get my only real gripe about the game out of the way first. The fast pace of the original. . . doesn't work as well for me here. You see, the new game has quite a bit of dialogue and on first read you would think hey that's great! Unfortunately, extra dialogue sort of builds a certain expectation of a deeper narrative and we certainly don't get that. The squad dynamics are exactly the same from the original game; "the hot shot ace disrespects the leader until begrudging respect forms", "the wise mentor figure always knew you had it in you to be a good leader" etc. These simple tropes, funnily enough, work better with less dialogue because you can fill in the gaps yourself. But, because the characters yap so much it makes the extremely simple and played out story fall flat for me. Star Fox(2026) also happens to be the 3rd remake of Star Fox 64, or even technically the 4th remake of Star Fox on the Super Nintendo. And that, ultimately is the most potentially disappointing bit here. Potentially only because, if this is the beginning of a modern Star Fox era I have no real complaints. But if this is all we get for Star Fox for another twenty years before the 4th remake comes out, that would be a great shame. Aside from a few nitpicks I really am out of things bad to say of the game. Let the glazing begin!

I'm going to kick off the positives with the number one best thing they for sure absolutely nailed. The soundtrack. It would be no exaggeration to say that this is the best example of orchestrating an old midi score. Every theme hits so hard. It is the definitive way to listen to Star Fox. Stephen Barton cannot be praised enough for doing Justice to Koji Kondo's original tracks. Sound design too is punchy and tactile, exactly what it needed to be. The arwings control like a dream outside of the frustration that laser and bombs are mapped awkwardly and cannot be changed. There's nitpick number one. This game is a very strict, one to one remake. Love it or hate it, nearly everything that I have not already mentioned is taken directly from Star fox 64. It was a very nostalgic evening hopping back in the cockpit, and taking in all of the familiar sights. Not just familiar however, taking full advantage of the Switch 2 hardware the stages have never looked better. Everything looks vibrant and lush, and there is a great sense of speed. I already said that the game controls well, but there really is nothing quite like that arcadey gameplay loop! You can pick it up and start having a blast in seconds. Its a rail-shooter, so you really just have to point and shoot. If I had to whine about one last thing, it would be the feedback from shooting an enemies weak spot is very light in the remake. N64 they flash bright when you shoot em, not so much here. It didn't come up for every boss, but there were a couple that I wasn't really sure if I was doing the right thing or not. Nitpick number two I'm done I promise. One thing that surprised me in a good way, is its difficulty. It isn't brutally difficult and punishing ala Dark Souls, but the later stages require some skill and planning to ensure your squad is healthy and you have max laser upgrades (something I failed to do and had to hand off the controller to real gamer hehe). It's good to know that I would need to spend some time with the game and really sink my teeth into it in order to see all of the routes through to the end. The main thing that got people talking about the game initially was the new visual style. A quite bold departure, with its more realistic styling of the animal characters, I too was not in favour initially. Once I saw them in motion however, I changed my tune pretty quick, they look great. Its cool, unique!

If this game does well and we get a proper sequel or two in the next few years then I will consider this game a mega success. If not well, its at least a very competent remake with a best in class, banger soundtrack. With such a one to one remake, it leaves me very curious at what is coming down the line. We know Ocarina is coming very soon. Is Star Fox 2026 a precursor for remakes going forward? If nothing else I would be happy enough to hear my beloved Zelda soundtrack done as much justice as was made for Star Fox.