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| + + + N64 Nostalgia: Volume II - Star Fox 64 + + + | ||
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| Wu-banga |
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Registered Member #49
Joined: Tue Dec 06 2005, 01:37AMPosts: 1561 |
 I n t r o d u c t i o n 2006 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Nintendo 64. Throughout its lifespan, the system experienced many ups and down,but one thing can be said for certain about the system: it brought us some truly memorable games. The purpose of these threads is to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the system by reflecting on and remembering those great games. It was truly a great time to be a gamer, and anyone who owned a Nintendo 64 and had the pleasure of playing these games will most likely attest to this. These threads will be broken down into several parts. S . T . A . R . . F . O . X . . 6 . 4   T h e . G a m e Star Fox 64 (also known as Lylat Wars in some part of the world) is a pseudo-sequel to the SNES hit Star Fox. In actuality, the game is a remake of the original, featuring a slightly revised story and incorporating many elements of the cancelled Star Fox 2 game. What emerged from all of this was a solid and very fun on-rails space shooter from the boys at Nintendo. The game is set in the fictional Lylat System. You are Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox team, and you are charged, with the help of your wingmates Peppy, Falcon, and Slippy, with the task taking down the evil scientist Andross, who is bent on conquering the solar system. You travel from world to world, defeating Andross' forces as you go, until you are faced with the final confrontation with the giant monkey himself. The gameplay is quite simple: situated in the cockpit of your arwing spaceship (the Arwing), you are forced forward and various enemies and other baddies attack you. Using lasers and bombs, you blast them out of the sky. This is all done with very fine control, and the handy lock-on feature helps you take down multiple enemies at once. Some levels also feature all-range mode, in which you are allowed you fly around in 3-D space and confront adversaries from all sides that way. A few levels also feature the landmaster tank and blue marine submarine, which help to change things up a bit while still keeping the same fun style of play. Graphically the same is fairly good-looking, and each world is designed with a unique style to differentiate it from other levels, such as the desert-themed Titania or the underwater Aquas world. Framerate is never a problem, as the game runs very smoothly. Star Fox 64 also contained a very memorable score, and music such as Star Wolf's Theme and Zoness provided plenty of aural pleasure. I couldn't go without mentioning the voice acting, with its enduring phrases and hilarious deliveries (some unintended, albeit). Do a barrel roll! Of course, Star Fox 64 did have one big detraction, and that was its length. You could reach the game's credits in under an hour easily. However, the game did feature three levels of difficulty depending on what path you took to the final planet. Replaying the game over and over to obtain medals and unlock special bonuses was also a worthwhile goal, and the game's multiplayer, while somewhat limited, was still very fun if you have a few friends to play with. And there where secret bosses on most levels. There are different ways to see these bosses, and you have to achieve certain goals like Flying under certain structures or destroying certain mini-bosses in time to fight the secret boss, which led you on a different path through different planets, all which eventually end up at the same place to achieve your goal. All in all these things really helped to give the game added depth and increase replay value more than most realized. Map of the Lylat System  I m p a c t . a n d . L e g a c y Star Fox 64 had an immediate impact on the gaming industry. This was because it was chosen to be the title which helped debut Nintendo's latest innovation to the console world, the Rumble Pak. This little device would attach itself to the back of the Nintendo 64 controller and provide force-feedback to games specifically designed to use it. Star Fox 64 was the first of such games, and even better, it came bundled with a free Rumble Pak during its initial launch. The game went on to sell a very respectable 4 million copies worldwide, and is still considered to be one of the top games available for the system, despite its aforementioned length issues. The game has since produced several sequels, including Star Fox Adventures (which is entirely different in its gameplay style but still retains the franchise name), Star Fox Assault (which went back to the traditional flight levels but added ground-based missions as well), and the upcoming Star Fox Command, which will be released for the Nintendo DS in August. Star Fox Assault did not touch the classic Nintendo 64 StarFox. The Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak attached to controller  "Star Fox 64 is one of the best games ever. From the get-go, you are put into action on the planet Corneria, you get a quick tutorial (Do a barrel roll!) and are thrown into the fray. Surely the first time you play it you will go straight to the asteroid field, but as you get to know the little details you get an inmense number of routes and storylines you can choose depending on how you beat a stage. The stages are short and sweet, with alot packed into them. And in the end there is always a challenging boss that will give you a run for your money for a long time. Now the best part about this game is its replay value. You can go again and again and always find something you never saw before, or a new way to beat the stage. And if that is not enough you can always go for the medals and even then a harder dificulty is unlocked for more hours of fun. There is just something about this game that just makes you feel good every time you beat a stage, no matter how many times you have done it." I m a g e . a n d . M e d i a       F i n a l . O p i n i o n Star Fox 64 was truly a work of genius gameplay design. While sort, it was the perfect length for a game that you felt like playing over and over again. There were even some levels, like Katina, that were so fun that I'd forfeit a life after beating it just so I could play it again. This game was a true testament to old-school shooter games while also combining in the latest advancements in 3-D gaming. It really is hard to find one negative thing to say about this game. It is simply so enjoyable on so many levels, and the fun and memories I had of playing this game will no doubt endure a lifetime. Star Fox 64 is one of the best examples I can offer as to why I still own a Nintendo 64 to this day, because every now and then I like to pop that cartridge in and enjoy it once more and look back on the good times i had as a kid playing this with my friends. Long live Star Fox. --------------------------------------- Thank you for viewing Volume I of N64 Nostalgia. Be on the lookout shortly for Volume III: Diddy Kong Racing. If you would like to contribute your opinion of this upcoming game for inclusion, please PM me letting me know you're interested. Thanks Edited Sun Jul 23 2006, 08:20AM |
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| emerican |
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Registered Member #164
Joined: Tue Mar 07 2006, 12:07PMPosts: 3146 |
I never really liked tje star fox series. But good review/w/e it is. DIDDY KONG RACING!!!!! i loved that game. |
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| joker |
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Registered Member #14
Joined: Sat Nov 19 2005, 05:27AMPosts: 157 |
star fox <3 | ||
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| kremit |
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Space Monkey
Registered Member #1
Joined: Sat Nov 12 2005, 03:26AMPosts: 378 |
if you guys want this game, i got the ROM and emulator... I bought it the first day it came out and thought that rumble feature was the SHIT. Then I got Mario Kart 64 (top 5 bes games of all time) But still starfox is nice |
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