Star Fox 64
Review by J.M.Vargas
"Star Wars" meets the gang from "Sesame Street"; that's the
first thing that sprung to mind when I played Nintendo's
blockbuster summer release "Star Fox 64", which I've been
playing for quite a while trying to get all the medals and
dig out all the secrets.
A little background: I saw the "Star Wars" films for the
first time ever earlier this year when they were
re-released in theaters, and with the exception of "Return
of the Jedi" (which had a few good moments) I thought they
were dumb. The special effects were cheesy and
lackluster (even by 1970's standards), the characters were
shallow thin cardboards and there were moments that made me
burst out laughing out loud (an AMPEX TV switcher
controlling the Death Star's deadly rays...please!).
"Star Wars" is, however, a pop-culture religion with
countless devotees; TV shows ("BattleStar Gallactica"),
cartoons ("Sailor Moon"...think about it!) and video games
(the "Wing Commander" series, featuring George Lucas
refugee-extraordinarily Mark Hamill) just can't stop ripping
off the winning formula. Nintendo's designer-in-chief, Dr.
Miyamoto, must be a big fan of the "Star Wars" series and
the many sci-fi wannabe flicks that resemble that series
("Independence Day"). "Star fox 64" resembles the 16-bit
"Star fox" game in play mechanics and basic concept
(many reviews have called the game a souped-up remake of
the original), but the 64-bit technology of the Nintendo 64
and some clever use of compression have turned this game
into a cinematic experience that takes itself as seriously
as David Letterman reading viewer mail. Make no mistake
about it: this game is another "Star Wars" ripoff, but
sanitized with that cute-until-you-puke character design
that has become Nintendo's trademark. Add to that the magic
touch of Dr. Miyamoto and his team, and you've got the best
"Star Wars" game ever made without the characters and the
settings of the movies. This game makes Lucas' "Shadows of
the Empire" look like an incomplete Beta version.
In a nutshell: the Lylat galaxy system is being threatened
by an evil scientist/mutant freak called Andross, which
just happens to be the gigantic head of an ape (think about
a bad-ass cranky old ape like the one in "Donkey Kong
Country"). His minions have taken over several planets and
territories that, if not promptly freed, will become the
launching platform for an intergalactic war. In
desperation, General Pepper asks for the help of the only
squadron of pilots talented enough (crazy?) to take on such
monumental task: the Star fox team. These four ace pilots
quickly jump into their state-of-the-art Airwings and set
course for Corneria, the first out of fifteen potential
conflicts that will lead to a face-to-face match against
Andross, with the Lylat system's future at stake. Cliche'
to the chore? Yes! Totally lacking in any emotional
involvement whatsoever? You could say that. A fun romp
through Nintendoland? Absolutely! A few flaws aside, mostly
dealing with the game's length, difficulty and lack of save
features, this is the glorious 64-bit rebirth of a classic
16-bit game many of us skipped in its original incarnation.
GRAPHICS/VISUALS: A-
Consider the extreme amount of polygons being pushed
around, the blistering 30 frames-per-second, and the lush
and creative textures used to convey an intergallactic soap
opera. Now consider the cartridge format limitations and
you'll see that this is Nintendo's most ambitious title
ever released from a graphical point of view. I can't think
of any two levels looking the same, and when you consider
the amazing special effects seen in most of them you can
begin to appreciate the effort behind the product. The
showdown with Andross and the Katina level (a shameless but
enjoyable "ID4" ripoff) are my favorites, even though there
are more impressive fireworks elsewhere (Titania, Zoness'
Toxic Waste Area, etc.). With the exception of the Aquas
level (a serious misfire), "Star Fox 64" shines bright and
mighty over all console shooters currently available
(although Working Design's debut PSX title, "Raystorm",
comes awfully close).
Part of the appeal comes in the form of the cinematic
sequences, which use polygon sequences instead of the
traditional FMV segment (which the N64 wasn't designed to
handle). These scenes set up the conflicts about to take
place, and although not as good as a rendered movie it adds
to the cinematic aspect of the game. During multiplayer
gaming, the screen will split into four screens (even for
two-player sessions) which will be filled with either
gaming data or a player's perspective. The scrolling is
fast, smooth and slowdown-free; no "Mario Kart 64" or
"GoldenEye" choppiness to be found here, although the
blandness of the two multiplayer levels' background is
quite obvious.
MUSIC/SOUND EFFECTS: B+
Out of this cartridge's 96 Megabits, 32 were employed for
the game's music and numerous soundbytes. Sadly, whatever
space was occupied by the musical score is wasted, since
the music in the game is unremarkable, uninspiring and
bland to the chore. Nintendo's musical maestro Koji Kondo
must have poured his heart and soul into "Super Mario 64",
because none of the catchiness and rhythm of his previous
work can be heard in "Star fox 64". A darn shame, since a
rousing score can go a long way toward making a game a more
immersive experience. The sound effects are your typical
space lasers, bombs, explosions, etc. Nothing terribly
remarkable or original, but functional and adequate.
The real star of the game, however, are the numerous
soundbytes uttered by Fox McCloud and his gang: Peppy Hare,
Slippy Toad and Falco Lombardi (not to mention lines by
Andross, General Pepper, etc.). The four main characters
develop a rappaport that can be incredibly amusing and
effective against the enemy: Slippy will analyze the
end-level bosses and inform you (Fox) of their weaknesses,
Peppy will provide fatherly advice (and some useful
pointers too), and Falco will basically taunt you with an
in-your-face arrogance that serves no purpose other than
being a comedic aside. If you assume that Falco is Han Solo
and Fox is Luke Skywalker, the abusive dialogue ("Look at
my ship, does it look OK to you?") becomes truly amusing.
The voices are acted quite well, and have the quality of a
well-made B movie in which characters are dead serious in
their purpose despite the silliness of the whole thing; the
British actor that voices Star Wolf (McCloud's nemesis) by
himself blows away the entire vocal cast of Capcom's
"Resident Evil". Slippy's voice is kinda childish, but it
will appeal to Nintendo's target audience and give the
tykes someone they can relate to; Peppy is cool and
fatherly but can get a bit overbearing as the game
progresses. Forget the music (mute it in the options
screen); "Star fox 64" provides plenty of speech and
personality for its characters, and raises the bar for
future N64 releases ("GoldenEye" has already flunked by not
providing witty Bond tongue-in-cheek one-liners).
GAMEPLAY/FUN FACTOR: A-
Even people who can't stand shooters will like "Star fox 64"
and it will mostly be because of the appealing characters.
Those 700+ one-liners in the game really go a long way
toward establishing the personalities of Falco, Peppy and
Slippy; Fox McCloud is kinda square and bland, and his
stiffness is a sharp contrast to his co-pilots' wackiness
and the bosses' charisma (another element the game lifts
from the big screen). Falco Lombardi is like a cross
between Han Solo and Val Kilmer's character in "Top Gun":
rude, arrogant, impatient, etc. This contrasts sharply with
Slippy's infantile attitude ("Slippy's hit!") and Peppy's
subdued commentary ("You're becoming more like your
father"). Since the lines vary depending on where you go on
a certain level, the way your squadron reacts can yield
different dialogue (although there are limits to the number
of secrets available). In Sector Y, if you follow Slippy
into the destroyed remains he'll start chasing some bad
guys: "Take that!", "Escaping, I don't think so."; when the
bad guys organize and ambush Slippy he'll scream "Leave me
alone!", at which point you must bail his sorry ass again.
That is one of the many one-liners that will go down as
classics, and this game packs plenty: "I saw my life flash
before my eyes" is one of my favorites.
Shooters usually have a short lifespan because of limited
replay value, but with the hidden goodies and incentives to
finish the game those who want to stick a rocket in the
backside of Star Wolf and his gang will gladly take-off on
a regular basis. Many criticize the game for lacking a save
feature, but the game's is so short it would be foolish to
play 35 minutes until the end only to save and attempt to
get the last couple of obstacles in a few minutes. "Star fox
64" depends heavily on atmosphere and role playing for its
success, and that need makes the lack of a save feature
necessary. Besides, as your skills get better you'll be
able to form a path of your liking toward Venom. I usually
skip Aquas and head instead for Katina, since I have a
blast emulating the best moments from Roland Emmerich's
"Independence Day" which this level recretes right down to
the destructive beam of light. You can only play through 7
or 8 levels at once, and since there are 15 levels in the
game there are plenty of variables to experiment with (if
you're good enough).
The forced-scrolling perspective has ruined other shooters
because they attempted to steal the original "Star fox"
mechanism outright; Crystal Dynamics is particularly guilty
of this with their first-generation shooters "Total
Eclipse" (3DO/PSX) and "Solar Eclipse" (Saturn). "Star fox
64" adds to the virtually unchanged gameplay of the
original the accuracy of analog control and several "All
Range Mode" levels where you can freely fly wherever you
want. Its so simple, yet challenging enough to momentarily
forget your controls and screw up. Fun for the whole family
except for a crucial flaw: the multiplayer levels suck,
since you are only given a couple of levels in which you
compete head-to-head by aiming for each other, for a high
score, etc. It is OK, but my gaming partners and me still
reach for "Mario Kart 64" and "GoldenEye" for multiplayer
fun. "Star fox 64" is a hell of a one-player game with a
dead-average multiplayer distraction attached as a bonus.
OVERALL: A-
As good as "Star fox 64" is, one can only hope that a sequel
will materialize and take the defense of the Lylat system
to the next level. It should have considerably more levels
(15 are fine, but we need about 6 or 7 more to be
satisfied), better music (Koji Kondo can do better than
this...who could be possibly be buying the CD?) and a menu
of characters from which to choose with different
attributes and weaknesses. Wouldn't you love to be Slippy
in the game and seek the approval of your teammates? How
about Falco seeking to prove that he doesn't need to be
part of Fox McCloud's team to be the man? Imagine that the
entire dialogue of the game changes depending on your
character selection (sky-high replay value!); suggestions
Nintendo should seriously think about for the next chapter
of this venerable series.
"Star fox 64" is the second-best single-player game ever
released by Nintendo for their 64-bit machine ("Super Mario
64" is till tops). The challenge, the cinematic atmosphere
and the visual/aural feast (music not included) makes up
for the unpolished and tedious split-screen multiplayer
option. The Katina level, the boss encounters and the
appearance of secret characters like Bill the Dog and Kat
(doo doo doo doo tu tu, tu tu...!) are worth the $60
admission price by itself (Rumble Pack inclusion seals the
deal). Just don't forget that somewhere in California
George Lucas is sitting on a pile of your dough he got by
selling you (not me!) a "Star Wars" game that is nowhere
near as fun as this one. Who loves capitalism? You do!