Like nearly everyone in my generation, one of my first experiences on the Nintendo 64 was the action-packed Star Fox 64. Being able to get behind the sticks of an Arwing and blast enemies to polygonal bits was exceptional fun, all while thwarting the evil Andross. Nintendo’s insistence on delivering a backstory that gave the animal-appearing characters more meaning than “a cool fox that shoots lasers” landed with exceptional poise. So when I got the chance to take flight early as a member of the team (briefly), I said, sign me up.
Now, nearly 30 years later, Star Fox 64 is back, and it looks better than it ever has in the renamed Star Fox. Unlike the 2011 3DS release, this title drops the numbers in favour of a more conventional approach. With lush new visuals, new accessibility and an entirely represented world, this feels like the new beginning of Star Fox. Without the equation at the end of the title, it sounds like one too.
My preview demo threw me right into the thick of things, in the first stage of Star Fox, Corneria. It’s made abundantly clear that visuals explode off the screen, and it’s apparent that this is the best Star Fox has ever looked. Waterfalls and foliage are abundant in the foreground and are subtle against the rigid, hard lines of Andross’ fleet, which you will have to shoot down. This contrast shows the gentle nature of the Corneria planet, and what the team must accomplish to eradicate Andross from the planet’s surface.
Star Fox doesn’t completely overhaul everything. The iconic soundtrack originally composed by Koji Kondo and Hajime Wakai is faithfully brought to the equation, with some tweaks, updates, and adjustments, but the tracks are still undeniably Star Fox, and the Nintendo equivalent of the Imperial March for the good guys can still be heard in the title’s opening screens. Star Fox has never been so back.
“With lush new visuals, new accessibility and an entirely represented world, this feels like the new beginning of Star Fox.”
While it looks and sounds excellent, I’m happy to report Star Fox plays just as good as ever. Shooting down enemies is infectious, and each unit brought down congratulates you with sound effects that sound like crumbling infrastructure. In my brief demo, I was able to pilot the Arwing only, and it is a dream to control. You can perform 180-degree turns, full loops, and the iconic barrel roll (without Peppy’s demands) at will.
While flitting around Corneria’s lush surface, your team will banter amongst themselves (and at you) to fill the silence. These are often funny quips from the resident toad-on-team, Slippy, seasoned demands from Peppy, or arrogant-leaning challenges from your teammate Falco. All this banter feels like these characters know each other, and lands like a conversation someone might hear at The Hard Deck in Top Gun: Maverick. These conversations extend between missions, when the team is sat down at the Great Fox (the team’s Arwing carrier and base of operations) and on the receiving end of orders from General Pepper.
During these scenes, Falco can be seen staring at the ceiling with an “is this over yet?” expression while kicking himself in half circles in a swivel chair like a bored child. Fox wears the leader role with confidence and talks to the General with respect, and Peppy is as wary (and prepared) during any mission as ever. These character traits are even expressed on the Arwings that each pilot slips into the cockpit of. Peppy’s Arwing is coated in a sheen of damage from the extensive battles he has seen in the air, and Falco’s is tattooed with blue wings like the pilot himself. Star Fox oozes character.
These deliberate choices add needed character to the team’s vehicles and make it feel like you’re on the team and on a high-stakes mission, instead of being a nameless ship endlessly gunning down other nameless ships like in other on-rail shooters. Gameplay in Star Fox is the highlight, and everything else is meant to extend that highlight as much as possible, and it works.
Back on Corneria, I noticed Falco was in a spot of trouble being chased by a few goon ships, and you’re able to intervene and take down these goons before Falco gets taken down himself. In this instance, Falco stays on the map and can show you a new route later. If you don’t shoot these enemies down and Falco isn’t on the map, you can miss potential goodies, so it’s a good idea to keep your eyes (and ears) peeled in case teammates need help, and Star Fox does a great job of letting you know when things are happening.
“Star Fox has never been so back.”
Throughout the stage, I was able to tear up basically everything on screen with the Arwing’s firepower, and when destroying the mechanical menace, they drop necessary upgrades that can boost this firepower further. After collecting three gold rings (dropped by enemies and obstacles), I got a generous health boost, and after collecting silver rings, my Arwing can blast enemies with even stronger dual cannons. Throughout all of the on-screen mayhem, I still can’t get over how well the Arwing moves. Star Fox genuinely feels like a next-level reboot.
Like the original (and the 3DS version), these new paths will lead to new story developments, and a new route through the game’s narrative (similar to Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse’s branching paths), so the straight path might not always be the best choice available. At the end of Corneria, I faced a huge boss carrier that dispensed enemy units in droves, and I had to take it out with the Arwing’s multitude of weaponry.
The charge shot homes in on enemies and tears groups to shreds, so while alternating between the two shots, I was able to take down Andross’s Ape pilot with efficiency. While the normal path takes Team Star Fox to Meteos, if fans follow Falco after saving him from being shot down, he will lead them to a new path forward through the narrative that will help Star Fox see perspectives differently.
Star Fox also features a multiplayer and co-op mode. In Co-op, I was able to play Gunner using the Nintendo Switch 2’s mouse controls, while my teammate controlled the Arwing’s movement. This can make for hilarious antics, whether you work together or not. My teammate kept purposefully smashing into stuff to ‘help out,’ while I tried to shoot enemies, which wasn’t helpful, but it was funny. What this mode amounts to is a crazy, hard-to-script, fun romp through the Corneria stage in a new light. A fun addition.
Other multiplayer modes are more competitive affairs and have Team Star Fox clash against Team Star Wolf in a dogfight. The mode we played involved collecting cores and capturing them back at base. Of course, you’re also able to shoot each other down, and this mode shines when everyone’s all in. Admittedly, this was the exact scenario our group was in while playing. Although Star Fox will feature online gameplay, we were all stationed together like an old-school LAN party, and this was the best possible scenario for this mode. Speaking to each other in person just hits different.
However, Star Fox does include GameChat functionality, so I was able to embody Team Star Wolf’s Pigma with facial effects when my mouth opens or closes at the bottom of the screen. Pigma’s eyebrows even moved alongside mine, and he copied my expressions with solid precision. During multiplayer, though, I never looked at the faces. Multiplayer dogfights are a genuine blast to play, and seeing who was most effective in flight at the end can score you bragging rights.
All in all, Star Fox is shaping up to be a return to form for the series. Although I was only able to get a small taste of what the title has to offer, new multiplayer modes, excellent visuals with equally excellent controls, and of course, that returning and iconic soundtrack are all in place to give this launch of Star Fox possibly its best one yet.
All I know is I’m signing up for Team Star Fox service when the title drops exclusively onto Nintendo Switch 2 on June 25. Then, I can embody my best Top Gun pilot, but with more fur.
