Do A Barrel Roll!
Nintendo have been gearing up for a wave of remakes for the still pretty new Switch 2. With a library like Nintendo you would be mad not to rummage through the archive. They have proved time and time again a slap of new paint on an old classic is a winning formula; for new and old players alike. Nintendo are taking a trip back to the N64, which is totally reasonably. The awkward youth of 3D games was certainly hit and miss visually speaking, with gameplay being mostly top notch. Star Fox first and Zelda : Ocarina Of Time poised for later this year, we are in for some serious classic action.
Star Fox is a brilliant starting point for the Switch 2 Remakes. Way back even before the N64, Star Fox stunned gamers with 3D graphics on the SNES. To my knowledge the first 3D game on a Nintendo home console. While looking like six triangles awkwardly glued together by current visual benchmarks. At the time Star Fox (1993) was mind-blowing. Appreciation of Star Fox history aside lets look at the latest instalment.
Star Fox is a remake of the N64 game Lylat Wars/Star Fox 64, region depending. It follows the titular band of mercenaries Star Fox. Saving the Lylat system for a price while uncovering mysteries from the past. Story wise the original is almost entirely told through radio chatter whilst playing. Star Fox now treats us to cutscenes that are gloriously detailed that add a lot more narratively. It’s a very welcome addition that fleshes out the Star Fox crew while really solidifying their characteristics. Radio chatter still remains, so fear not we will be told to “do barrel roll” a plenty. While the story is nothing groundbreaking Star Fox gives us a solid narrative glue that adds context to gameplay.
Rail Shooting is what Star Fox is about. Taking control of Fox McCloud’s Arwing, you fly through multiple worlds shooting down enemies. Star Fox retains a very 90’s feel that’s aged like fine wine. Simple, effective and most of all fun. During levels differing actions can cause the game to go change paths. Adding some much needed re-playability in what is a very short game. Booting up to fin will more than likely take around 90 mins or so. Granted unlocking all of the differing paths and levels will take much longer. The addition of a challenge mode adds further re-playability to each unlocked level as well. Personally I find a short game refreshing amongst the ocean of multi hundred hour experiences.
The battle mode from the original is still present delivering multi-player chaos. With bots, game share and online play there is plenty of choice to battle. 4 vs 4 dogfights in small open arenas with occasional objectives popping up to spice matches up. It is chaotic fun however I must admit I didn’t spend a fat lot of time with this mode. After totally smoking the bots on the few maps available at launch I was kind of done with it. My experience felt a little hollow and left me wishing I had done it with friends. It is clear that I would have looked a lot more fondly on this mode if I had played it in a party environment.
Being a one for one remake its important that the visuals shine. I am very happy to report the game looks absolutely stunning. It feels like a real example of those “old games in ‘x’ engine” videos that plagued YouTube years ago. Comparatively the level of detail from the original has been multiplied several times over. Frankly it should look great with the nearly 30 year gap between releases. The environments look lush to the point that the water in the first level looks like it’s about to splash out of the screen. Each of the characters look like they could easily belong in an animated movie. The Switch 2 also runs this graphical upgrade with grace. With a constant frame rate of 60FPS and sharp resolution while doing so.
Star Fox doesn’t leave me with much more to say than that quite frankly. A beautiful looking, well crafted remake of a legendary classic. Although rail shooters by todays standard are niche, Star Fox is well worth the trip down memory lane. A short blast that is perfect for time lacking gamers. Star Fox has firmly set the bar high for what a current Nintendo remake should be.
Review Code Was Kindly Provided By Nintendo
