Having not written a review in awhile, I felt compelled to write something before I get outta practice and get further and further away from alex and luben. So I decided to write a review of Star Fox 64!
Release Date: April 2(NA),17(JPN),20(AUS)(EUR)
Price: 1000 Wii Points ($10)
In Star Fox 64 you take control of an Arwing driven by Fox McCloud, an ace pilot out for a little revenge from the evil scientist Andross. Andross, who years earlier was banished from the planet Corneria, had a hand in the death of Fox's father James. Fox, along with his team of mercenaries, make up the Star Fox Team. You'll quickly be acquainted to Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad and Falco Lombardi. Together you four are hired by General Pepper to journey across the Lylat System and stop Andross from taking over the galaxy. I can't say it's the most original plot line, and some of the missions remind a little too much of Star Wars, but in general the storyline is enjoyable and makes for some great moments in the game. The only real weakness is that fact that it isn't mentioned so much throughout the game except for the last level, meaning each world seems to have its own little story rather than a generalized story driven along by the levels. The story is only further diminished by the multiple levels which have no consistence.
The story is driven along by generally well down graphical work. Thanks to the higher res textures possible by the Wii, the graphics are more shiny and sharper thanks to the added power. The only real problem is the framerate, which can be quite chunky when the screen is filled with enemies. Seeing as how the game was released two generations ago, you would think that the framerate would be smooth and consistent which isn't the case. Another problem with the graphics is the level design. Some of the levels, particularly when you're flying through straight space, are bland and uninteresting. Mainly all you're seeing is the same pattern of stars and rocks flying at you.
The music isn't what you would call memorable, but what's there is enjoyable for the time you're playing. It's all MIDI, but sounds reasonably well on the TV. Each stage has its own background music, with a single tune being used for every boss except the last one. Other sounds in the game include the sounds of your Arwing, the lasers and movements, and the voice acting.
The voice acting is a huge leap above what was heard during the same era. Each character, including many of the bosses, has all their dialog spoken. All the voices are acceptable, with only a few being so annoying that you'll want to lower the volume quite a bit when they speak. All in all a very nice effort to include voice acting in a video game, which was pretty new at the time.
If you get bored with storyline or just want to play around, you and up to three friends can plug in more classic/gamecube controllers and fire up multiplayer mode. Each of you gets control of one of the four members of the Starfox Team. At first you only get to play as Arwings, but as you accomplish certain objectives within the single player mode, you'll unlock the ability to play as both the Landmaster Tank and as your pilot on foot. Sure there are only two stages to fight on, but they're large enough for four player combat. Mutliplayer is enjoyable but seriously lacking features. Where's Capture the Flag? How about a racing mode? And what about Online? Sure it's a Virtual Console game and they want to have perfect emulation, but not adding features to the game and expecting us to pay for it again? I dunno if that's going to work Nintendo...
Final Scores
Story: 5.9/10 not the most original storyline and doesn't have much continuity, even within itself.
Graphics: 8.7/10 Sleek and shiny with 480p upgrade only adding to the graphical performance. Clunky framerate hurts score.
Music: 7/10 not memorable enough for my taste
Multiplayer: 6/10 Enjoyable but could've been so much more if Nintendo had put just a little more effort into it.
Overall Score: 8.9/10
Bottom Line
Star Fox 64 is an enjoyable game that even players who've purchased it before will want to look into again. With a few shortcomings that are easily overlooked, Star Fox 64 is one of the few gems hidden amongst the stuff on Nintendo's Virtual Console. I whole heartedly recommend it and tell that it is indeed worth the $10.
Alright Joe. Rise and Shine. Stand and Deliver. Get the hell up!
