The Star Fox series

[llsaidknockyouout]

For an intellectual property, so popular with gamers, it managed to have very few titles and with mixed results. I think the majority of the hype is nostalgia. Thankfully, Star Fox Zero is coming out and it looks like a great game in its own right, but I'll review the series so far.

Star Fox (SNES) - Will give it credit for starting the franchise. Was a competent game for its time. 3D graphics in 16-bit look awkward. Also, the visuals mostly consisted of basic polygons and shapes rather than any real atmosphere.

Star Fox 64 - This is the popular one that brought more fanfare to the series than all the other titles combined. It brought the game to 3D, has smooth controls, great atmosphere and visuals for N64. Also brought in characters and voice acting. The lack of saving hurt this one for me.

Star Fox Adventures - It's a very good Zelda-like 3D adventure game, but an affront to Star Fox fans, as it had few characteristics of a Star Fox. If it had been released shortly after a traditional SF game, I don't think fans would have minded this project.

Star Fox Assault - This is the great Star Fox game for the Gamecube that nobody played. It plays out like a traditional Star Fox game (with saving). Has good split screen multiplayer. It has land based combat with third person shooting and tanks, which some hated, but me personally, I thought it was good to have variety in the game. I feel like both aspects of play: flying and land were pretty balanced.

Star Fox fans who say they've waited 15 years for a classic Star Fox game but wouldn't even give Assault a chance are total hypocrites.

Star Fox Command - This was a disaster. It was a really watered down RTS mixed with repetitive simplistic dogfights. The game didn't come together as a whole and felt segmented all around.

 

[Saelune]

I played Assault. Gameplay was fine, but it was not even close to as memorable as 64. I do remember Pigma being important and a Panther guy in Star Wolf, but it would do better to stick in my mind more. I was going to criticize it as short, but so is 64 which is the point. You are supposed to beat the game in one sitting, hence the lack of saving. Starfox is really an evolution of shmups that few if any others ever tried to explore. Another issue with Assault is the lack of multiple paths. Zero will do well to have that, cause its fun to try to get the requirements for the red path, and the yellow path was interesting too. X Sector is one of my favorite missions. (The giant robot in the junk field)

 

[DefunctTheory]

I played Star Fox and Star Fox 64. I loved both of them. Perhaps one of the first games to take the classic side scrolling flight game play and translate it into 3D. Star Fox 64 in particular was a game I just could not get enough of.

Star Fox Assault... I never played it. I make no apologies though - When it was released, I was in the middle of prepping for Basic Training. I think I can be forgiven for missing it.

I played Adventures at a friends house years after it was released. Was not impressed. At all.

I'm really hyped for Star Fox Zero. Is it because of nostalgia? Perhaps, but I don't care. Gimme.

 

[Guffe]

I actually bought the StarFox64 from the Eshop a few days ago and played it through a few times.
Waiting for Zero and hoping it will be good, looks like fun!
Can't remember which one I remember playing, it was the one with a dinosaur and some ladything, Fox weilded a staff of some sort, remember enjoying it.

 

[llsaidknockyouout]

That's Star Fox Adventures you're referring to. It was originally going to be a new series to begin with, but Nintendo decided to make it a Star Fox game.

 

[Spider RedNight]

I used to have the first one for SNES (and it had a creepy guy in Fox furry suit on the cartridge) but I didn't really get into it - too much shooting and space and not enough.... of anything I'd like as a gamer.

I never owned an N64 so I missed out on SF64 but I remember when Stairfax Temperatures-- er... Star Fox Adventures came out for the Gamecube and.... Nnnnno thanks. I'll just play Zelda and not accidentally experience a sexual awakening by playing as a blue fox girl with tits and no clothes for the first ten minutes.

So in essence, I've only played the one for the SNES and I liked the music but everything else was "eh?" to me but that just means it's not for me. I'm glad people like it for... whatever reason.

 

[Jadak]

I loved the N64 version, Nintendo not putting out a good console since (sure, some people like the gamecube, but it was not PS2 and controllers were flimsy shit) has held me back from spending much time with the others, and as good as the new one looks, that still holds true and I'm not buying a Wii U for that.

I briefly tried Star Fox Assault while at a friends and wasn't impressed. Can't specifically remember why.

I've actually gone and bought an N64 within the last few years specifically so I could play Star Fox again.

 

[DefunctTheory]

I loved the N64 version, Nintendo not putting out a good console since (sure, some people like the gamecube, but it was not PS2 and controllers were flimsy shit) has held me back from spending much time with the others, and as good as the new one looks, that still holds true and I'm not buying a Wii U for that.

I briefly tried Star Fox Assault while at a friends and wasn't impressed. Can't specifically remember why.

I've actually gone and bought an N64 within the last few years specifically so I could play Star Fox again.

What are you, the Hulk? I've only ever seen one Gamecube controller break, and that's because my cousin had fingernails like razor blades and liked picking at rubber. I still have two Gamecube controllers that work fine, and unless I'm mistaken, the Wavebird is still considered one of the greatest controllers of all time, per time period.

On the other side we have PS2 controllers, of which I've seen dozens break, including two that were literally twisted so hard they snapped down the middle.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Mm, I can tell Assault might be your fave choice in the series. Lemme give my thoughts on the series, this seems fun.

Star Fox: Despite kicking my balls for how tough it is, I actually really like playing this one. It didn't look the best, sure, and it needed an updated version to not run even slower, but it was still a good game. Fun gameplay, music was good, and it set things in motion.

Star Fox 64: It's Star Fox 64. I think we all know how amazing it is. It's still incredibly fun to play, and holds up incredibly well.

Star Fox 64 3D: Why am I adding this in? Well, let's see the differences. It looks great, for one thing. It still handles just as I remember it. Now for the issues... The music was given more depth with some extra channels, but they sound kinda crappy. The trumpets don't have the same fanfare anymore, they gave the final fight with Andross a fuckin xylophone instead of the string section, and the multiplayer music is just a jumble of noises. But it's Star Fox 64 on a handheld. I can still play it fine with that in mind.

Edit: Listened back to the changed music. Know what? It's pretty garbage. Area 6, Boss Theme 2, Macbeth/Titania, Star Wolf, and Meteo sound alright, but rest... I dunno. It doesn't sound like the rest instruments were chosen at all. Or at least not high enough quality ones.

Star Fox Adventures: Mediocre Star Fox for sure, I wish they kept it as Dinosaur Planet. Not getting the fight with Scales pissed me off. But, I like the atmosphere. I liked the world for the most part. It was fun to run around areas. I remember just sitting in SnowHorn Wastes having fun when I played it as a kid. Music was nice, if a bit lackluster in places where it needed it most. But, over-all a decent game.

Star Fox Assault: Looks good, music is quite lovely (Except for most of the normal boss themes, they're rather forgettable, save for the final boss themes), and levels are decently fun. In my opinion though, I feel it really needed the multiple paths. There were a number of levels I liked, some I didn't like, and some I didn't wanna bother with ever (Aparoid City gets most people in a grump over it). While the ground stuff was cool, I think it needed much more depth to be worth much. A cool concept, but I personally didn't rush back to replay levels that heavily relied on it.

Star Fox Command: Good god, ugh, bleh. It's a lot like the old Star Fox 2 in ways. That was awesome. What wasn't awesome was how frustratingly boring a lot of it was. Always in all range mode? I don't think those were everyone's favourites. Multiple endings? Why? Few of them were good, but several of them were neat what-if scenarios. The G-Zero ending was a fun little call back to a different series. And the less we say about the crap Anglars and "Andross's Ghost" the better. The online was a brilliant idea, but it quickly just became a pissing match of who does a Somersault first, or who tricks who with a U-Turn instead. The art direction wasn't a top choice in my mind either (And the new Great Fox looks booooorrring)

So there you have it. My thoughts... that nobody cares about I'm sure. But eh, I need to post more. And I'm too excited for Zero to release. Just 6 more days

 

[Wiggum Esquilax]

Star Fox (SNES) - Will give it credit for starting the franchise. Was a competent game for its time. 3D graphics in 16-bit look awkward. Also, the visuals mostly consisted of basic polygons and shapes rather than any real atmosphere.

You're on the nose, the 3D graphics were exciting mostly for being 3D, to an audience that had never seen such a thing before. Pure rose-tinted goggles.

That said, most atmosphere wasn't derived from basic 3D enemies. It was from the better environments (not all of them), the music, the menagerie of 3D bosses, and the chatter between pilots. Yes, the chatter's annoying today, but at the time it added character to a genre that had rarely, if ever enjoyed it.

Changing difficulty actually sends you on another path? Rather than just turning enemies into unbalanced bullet sponges? Even modern games don't do that. In 1993 it was fucking amazing.

To top it off, most titles front-loaded their best content, to encourage uninformed sales. I'm glaring disapprovingly at you, Sonic. Many games still do it. Star Fox actually gets better as you progress, which was almost unheard of at the time.

 

[Jadak]

What are you, the Hulk? I've only ever seen one Gamecube controller break, and that's because my cousin had fingernails like razor blades and liked picking at rubber. I still have two Gamecube controllers that work fine, and unless I'm mistaken, the Wavebird is still considered one of the greatest controllers of all time, per time period.

On the other side we have PS2 controllers, of which I've seen dozens break, including two that were literally twisted so hard they snapped down the middle.

I suppose I misspoke. I didn't mean to imply that they were flimsy in the sense that they were fragile and likely to actually break, just that they felt that way. Unexpectedly tough as they may be, I could never use them without feeling like I was holding some cheap happy meal toy from mcdonalds.

I've also has experience with PS2 controllers actually breaking, but I'd still take holding one of those any day.

Edit: No comment on the Wavebird, I've not seen nor heard of them before now.

 

[Veldel]

Star Fox Assault - This is the great Star Fox game for the Gamecube that nobody played. It plays out like a traditional Star Fox game (with saving). Has good split screen multiplayer. It has land based combat with third person shooting and tanks, which some hated, but me personally, I thought it was good to have variety in the game. I feel like both aspects of play: flying and land were pretty balanced.

Star Fox fans who say they've waited 15 years for a classic Star Fox game but wouldn't even give Assault a chance are total hypocrites.

In other words if we don't agree in tastes we are hypocrites?

Assault was garbage I played and beat it and haven't gone back.

I have been waiting for a proper star fox game for some time now as long as the ground combat isnt as big and horribly implemented as it was in assault il be happy.

Also your forgetting Star Fox 2 in that it was never officially released but the game is complete more or less. I would love if the made a Star Fox like that again and made it GOOD.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I liked Assault but it felt incredibly short to me. I realize that's one of the major appealing factors of the Star Fox games (well...Star Fox 64) that the idea is to play and re-play the game arcade style but even by the standards of 64, Assault just felt short...also I hated the segment wherein you had to third-person shoot from the wing of someone else's Arwing.

What I love about the original Star Fox is that it's a great showcase to just how powerful the SNES was. That game was pretty damn smooth considering how basic the 3D was but when you compare it to 3D games on the Jaguar, the 32X or Sega CD...you know, the pre-PSX competition, it's just no contest.

As much as I loved Star Fox, Star Fox 64 probably is my favorite but when it comes to the series on the whole, it's not an all-time favorite. I'll still play Star Fox on my N64 but I haven't picked up Star Fox 643DS (and probably won't be able to in-future anyway) and even Star Fox Zero...well, who am I kidding: I'm getting that before the month is out. It's not really a series that I've bought into excessively though (unlike Final Fantasy, Pokemon or, Legend of Zelda, of which I own more than one copy of multiple entries in those series). I appreciate Star Fox even if I'm not some kind of a superfan.

The amount of bile Command gets really makes me curious to try that game out. I wound up really liking Sonic the Hedgehog on the 360 and nobody liked THAT game...

 

[Hades]

64 was my introduction to the franchise and I have great memories of it. It was a lot of fun figuring out how to get to each route and I actually never got bored of playing the levels again, even the default path was one I kept coming back to. I consider it a pretty flawless game actually.

I don't really understand the hate for Star Fox adventure. Sure, its a bit out of place but its a decent little side game, the world is interesting and the graphics are pretty good for such an old game. The only thing I really hated were those dammed ''test your might'' sections.

I'm of mixed opinions on assault. I think the airship levels are well up there with anything 64 had to offer...the problem is that there only three of them. I recall finding the land missions fun at first but eventually they started boring me, mostly because the objectives are always the same.
The villains were kinda meh but overall I liked the story. Some moments like the events surrounding general pepper and the return of Tricky were pretty good and the return of Starwolf sat very well with me.
The air levels are very impressive graphically but on the ground Assault is pretty ugly. The model of Fox in particular doesn't sit well with me. In Adventures you could pretty much see the hairs on his furr but in Assault Fox's body looks sorta plastic.

 

[RedDeadFred]

The only one I played was Star Fox Assault. The single-player wasn't memorable in the slightest, but I had a lot of fun doing splitscreen multiplayer with my friends. I remember this city level where we'd turn on all kinds of mobility things (I think that was a thing, hard to remember), and just go crazy against each other with rocket launchers.

 

[Hawki]

Star Fox SNES: Never played.

Star Fox 64: Or, as I knew it at the time, Lylat Wars. Easily the strongest SF game I played. Good gameplay, nice use of branching, and memorable characters. Story isn't that special, but it's not really to its detriment.

Star Fox Adventures: Unfairly maligned IMO. Yes, I was aware of its origins as Dinosaur Planet, yes, I'm aware that it has to be a contortionist to accomodate that (e.g. Fox not using his blaster), yes, I'm aware that this is basically "Legend of Zelda lite." That doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable game. The story, while nothing special, is still the strongest out of all the series. Characters are enjoyable enough as well, and the gameplay, while not the Star Fox we're used to, is still enjoyable on its own terms. And for those who say krazoa spirits and talking dinosaurs don't belong in Star Fox...well, we're in a setting of talking animals which are by far the LEAST strange things the series has introduced. I don't find it hard to believe that Sauira can also exist.

Star Fox Assault: Decent game. It's a return to form for the series, with more story, but without the branching paths, and some frustrating ground sections. Aparoids are entertaining enough as an adversary, if nothing special. Assault is...okay. It's enjoyable. It's average. It takes after Star Fox 64, but fails to reach its heights. But I still think it's enjoyable.

Star Fox Command: Absolute dog-shite. Easily the weakest story of the series. The anglars are a bore. The game feels hollow without voice acting. The control scheme is tedious. The levels basically boil down to "shoot down anglar ships" and "shoot down the big anglar ship." The use of the stylus on the mini-map is a nice use of the device, but that's not enough to salvage this game. Easily the weakest in the series. The only good thing I can say about it is that it gave us the promise of future installments with characters like Marcus and Dash. Which...

Star Fox Zero: Has made clear we won't be having.

 

[Ironman126]

I really wanted to like Assault, but it had exactly one good level. The first level. The rest felt like some drawn out (yet incredibly short) amalgam of a bunch of better games. Pick your favorite Borg/Tyranid clone and that's basically the plot.

Beyond the played out Borg clones, there was the gameplay. The 3rd person sections were pretty awful, being both boring and way too large. The flight sections were few and far between with the gameplay almost always reverting to the 3rd person sections. The tank made a return, but that was the worst part of Star Fox 64, so it's not even worth talking about. And yes, I beat both the underwater level and the sun level, Titania and the train chase were worse.

But that first level. Mmmmmmm... It was so good. Felt exactly like Star Fox should.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

I only played the original SNES Starfox, and honestly the only thing I remember is that I spent about 50% of my time trying to kill Slippy.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Snip

While I'm impressed to hear the SF64 Landmaster stages are the worst in your opinion, me rather adoring slowly breaking down a lengthy military train into nothing, Star Fox Assault didn't really help in making things more interesting. I do agree the first level in Assault is easily the best. The music, the scene of a gigantic space battle, all ending with a classic Andross-like fight at the end all felt perfect. Though, I did like the orbital gate level too, mostly cause that wonderful song makes a return.

I think with a bit more time and effort the 3rd person sections could have been a lot better. But in their original state, they're simply not in depth enough to be exciting. Funny enough, I liked Sauria the most in terms of a 3rd person stage. Was small enough, lots of enemies to kill, looked pretty, and had a good song going. I liked it! The rest? Ehh... Aparoid City, euuuuuugh

 

[Sean Renaud]

I must be the chosen one because I quite loved Command and thought Assault was rubbish. For me Assault was just such a beautiful concept and it brought back a lot of memories of Tactics Ogre (Not Ogre Tactics I got my words in the right order.) Where knowing who you were sending to deal with a particular issue was actually important. I didn't care for some of the memorization necessary. I seem to recall a few levels where because of when new ships/missiles would launch you absolutely had to deal with things in a specific order and if you were doing things in the more obvious order you'd be hopelessly out of position. This is sometimes compounded by guests randomly showing up so you started tricking yourself into ignoring obvious traps.

Assault just felt wrong. I don't know what it was about the controls but it just felt off. Combined that with the on foot sections that felt like they escaped another worse game and I was utterly turned off the entire time.

I think Star Fox's weakness as a franchises weakness is that for some reason the team behind Star Fox makes the games that gamers claim they want. Not the games we actually want. Don't get creative. Just shit out a new game. Kirby's idea of mixing it up is once he brought his friends. Mario once had a backpack (and we shat on that) other than that well twice he had these round planets and that was neat. Zelda. . .Zelda 2 aside they put out very similar games with different gimmicks. Megaman, Sonic (when he doesn't suck), Castlevania and most franchises do the same thing.

Star Fox doesn't. Star Fox 64 is effectively a remake of the original. Dinsaur Planet started out as a different franchise and it shows. Assault is a pretty large departure while trying to lean back on the original stuff. Command was a DS game in the era when that meant you had to use the touch screen making it unique out the gate, but then you had different ships with different capabilities (something I hope they carry over), a map and always all range mode. IT was odd. I enjoyed it but clearly I was alone in that.