Retro|Spective 008: Starfox

[Neon Ignition]

The next of our revisits to classic franchises, we also lost the original thread in the purge so here it is reborn and taking a look at the classic Nintendo franchise that has bravely fought its way across the years through Nintendo's mishandling. Led by Fox McCloud, the ace pilot haunted by the loss of his father, as he battles the forces and assaults of Andross alongside his friends over land, sea, air and the depths of space. This time we are looking over the entries into the franchise:


Starfox
"Andross won't have his way with me!"


Game 001 - Starfox / Starwing
The original and early 3D era game for the SNES making use of the SuperFX chip, the rail shooter still forms a core part of fans love for the franchise. Giving players a choice of routes to take, the linear game offered an illusion of choice that meant players returned to retry levels and routes through to Andross at the end. The player was joined by computer controlled wingmen characters who you would rescue at prescripted moments. A competition by Nintendo led to the creation of a limited version of the game with time limited modified levels and an exclusive bonus level as well.





How much of a fan of the game were you and has it now aged too much?

[Asura]

How much of a fan of the game were you and has it now aged too much?

This is one of the "white whales" of my childhood.

As a young kid in the 90s, I went through that daft tribal phase where not only did I own a Megadrive and not a SNES, but being a Sega fan was a strong part of my identity; in the way that previous generations might've been a Led Zepplin or The Who fan, I guess. I was never some weirdo who would literally baulk at the idea of playing Nintendo games, but still, I always felt they were inferior to Sega's output, mainly because Mario wasn't cool and Sonic totally was.

->Open Spoiler<-

Narrator voice: "He wasn't."

With the way consoles worked back then, we didn't have many multiplatform games, and those that were, were often very different on each platform anyway, as I'm sure everyone here appreciates. But most games had equivalents.

So the Megadrive didn't have Final Fight, but we had Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and a pretty good Turtles beat'em up. We didn't have Mario
but obviously we had Sonic 2. Most games had something you could play, and even if they weren't quite as good, they were good enough for most of us.

Starwing was the game which totally broke this rule. The Megadrive just had nothing like it. The MegaCD and 32x got a few titles which you might compare, but you could debate if those were better.

And it was also tailor-made to be something kid-me would like. I'd grown up watching shows like Bucky O'Hare and Ulysses 31 (truthfully, I've always felt that Starfox feels a lot like Bucky O'Hare), as well as being interested in anything themed around "virtual reality", from early 3D games on platforms like the Amiga to TV shows like The Cyberzone (remember that? With Craig Charles?).

This felt like a mish-mash of all of that, in videogame form.

This is why I often say that StarLink is something that kid-me would've loved, because StarLink is what was in my head when I was looking at Starwing in shops in the 90s.

But as someone who didn't (and never would) own a SNES, I've only ever really played it at other people's houses. I could fire it up on the SNES Classic, but I don't know if it'll just destroy my memories, given that I suspect it's going to be really jerky etc. Maybe I'll do it next time I turn it on.

[Dogg Thang]

I've only ever really played it at other people's houses. I could fire it up on the SNES Classic, but I don't know if it'll just destroy my memories, given that I suspect it's going to be really jerky etc. Maybe I'll do it next time I turn it on.

Your experience is very similar to my own except that I did play it later. And yeah, it's very jerky and by the time I actually played it properly I found it borderline unplayable.

That said, there is no denying the magic that it managed to pull off back in the day. I think had I experienced it back then I probably would have a strong connection to it.

[Hirst]

You know, right, I'm going to be crucified for this one. I played it back in the day on a mate's console and wasn't fond of it - flat-shaded 3D was novel but I didn't find it that impressive. Felt it played slowly and was a bit dull. I picked up a SNES a few years later when they were dirt cheap and by sheer chance it came with Starwing. I've tried again and again, but I'm just not bowled over and usually turn it off within 30 minutes. I just can't get into it.

Also I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers Cyber Zone.

[Neon Ignition]

I enjoyed it back in the day, mostly experiencing it via my cousins house. Stunt Race FX was always the go to 3D SNES game that impressed for me though, so much more complex than Starfox but this still impressed simply due to the hardware it ran on. For the franchise it was only really when the sequel landed that it drew me in fully. Speaking of...


Game 02 - Starfox 64 / Lylat Wars
In many ways the game was more of a second attempt at nailing the first, allowing the more advanced tech to do most of the work in bringing an expanded experience with 3D open combat sections and other vehicles brought into the action. This came off the back of cancelling the completed SNES game prior to its release due to manufacturing costs and its late arrival. Many of the ideas were repurposed for this game with added N64 spit and polish added. The game is often cited as one of the systems best and of the franchises too.




What were your thoughts of the game coming at the franchise for this second attempt?

[Wools]

I'm much the same as others.

I had already played or seen footage / screenshots of Doom, Virtua Racing and other 3D or pseudo 3D games before I saw and then played Star Fox. Much like the Mega Drive port of Virtua Racing, you could feel the SNES and Mega Drive creaking under the weight of those games. Much like how me and a friend gave up playing Perfect Dark in Co-Op thanks to the awful frame rate and lag, Star Fox was impressive to see on opening but after playing for a few minutes, we were left very unimpressed.

Star Fox 64 is the much better game. The characters are more characterful, the graphics more stable and the game has a really nice pace, along with a far greater variety of missions. The 3DS port was a nice game to play and enjoy, too.

[Asura]

Game 02 - Starfox 64 / Lylat Wars

So after the previous entry, it should probably surprise no-one to know that I didn't let history repeat itself. I got Starfox 64 imported from the US (my dad was working there at the time), along with a guidebook. Honestly absolutely loved it; I must have played every route countless times; the guidebook wore out and fell apart before I was done with it.

It was a fantastic game which really pushed the envelope in places; like the level which was an Independence Day ripoff, or the Landmaster levels, or the weird trippy hyperspace levels. Helps that it was on-rails but I remember so much of the game with perfect clarity.

And it's a genuinely great score-attack game, too.

Only shame was that there's no level-select, as I would've loved to be able to play individual levels. It means that there are a few, towards the top-end of the hard route, that I played much less than others (I seem to remember one of involved chasing a train in the Landmaster?).

Definitely the apex of my time with the N64.

[fuse]

I can't remember if I bought or only ever rented the original? It has some nice moments (that intro -> first stage with the music is still the absolute business) but it was not the huge revelation of "oh ****, 3D!" that I think some wanted to believe it to be. It's an amazing technical achievement though; I might not look so fondly on early 3D games, but this predates most of those by a good margin and is still a very competent game, even if I might not love it.

Didn't ever get as much time with the sequel as I'd have liked (I never had an N64), but even from brief sessions on friends' consoles I could tell this was very much the full realisation of the ideas they were shooting for originally. Nailing that smooth control feel and getting proper score attack mechanics felt like the biggest improvements to me. I should really give the 3DS version some time.

[Mayhem]

The original was good (pushed the Super FX beyond its design though) and I paid like the usual £70 or so on Japanese import. The N64 sequel is the best in the series, it did everything brilliantly, even with a few pastiches (such as the Independence Day inspired mass dogfight). The tank levels were a welcome break from the flying and the Macbeth level with the alternate way to beat it was inspired.

[phillv85]

I was blissfully unaware of the original Starfox for years. In fact I think I only found out about it in my teens when I was playing Lylat Wars. Going back to Starfox from Lylat Wars was pretty difficult. I can imagine at the time it was mind blowing, but my brain stayed firmly inside my skull due to my ignorance of it.

Lylat Wars is easily one of the best games on the N64, especially now that it’s matured better than some of the other big 64 titles of the time.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 03 - Starfox Adventures
Taking Rare's N64 project Dinosaur Planet and reworking it to be the third Starfox game, this melded the space shooting action of the franchise with the adventuring of a Zelda title. The game was generally well received and was also Rare's final Gamecube title, though its appeal amongst fans has faded with time it remains one of the more notable ventures the franchise has attempted.




What did you make of this first departure for the franchise?

[Asura]

Main thing about that game is how you can see it was a tarted up N64 game. The characters and objects are extremely detailed, and it moves at a cracking pace - but the environments are still very N64. Like they have detailed stuff in them but the terrain, rooms, it feels very N64.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Starfox - a SNES classic, revolutionary at the time but badly aged now.

Starfox 64 - the franchise's gold standard and an N64 essential. One of the best things Nintendo have ever done P4P.

Starfox Adventures - the franchise's worst. Simply crap. Wasn't even meant to be a Starfox game and had Starfox IP attached to it at the last moment - shows you the lack of respect that Nintendo would come to have for Starfox.

[Asura]

Starfox Adventures - the franchise's worst. Simply crap. Wasn't even meant to be a Starfox game and had Starfox IP attached to it at the last moment - shows you the lack of respect that Nintendo would come to have for Starfox.

You think? Personally I found Starfox Command to be the series' nadir.

If anything, it's one of those franchises that's best described as inconsistent. I mean it only has one pretty-universally-agreed good game - Starfox 64.

I should say here I've never played Assault. Where I lived it sold out immediately on launch, and I waited to see a copy for <£70. It's been decades now and I'm still waiting.

[Nu-Eclipse]

You think? Personally I found Starfox Command to be the series' nadir.

If anything, it's one of those franchises that's best described as inconsistent. I mean it only has one pretty-universally-agreed good game - Starfox 64.

I should say here I've never played Assault. Where I lived it sold out immediately on launch, and I waited to see a copy for <£70. It's been decades now and I'm still waiting.

No doubt in my mind. I don't want my Starfox trying to be a 3D platformer/explorer. Garbage.

Granted, Command wasn't great, but like I said, Nintendo clearly stopped giving a damn about Starfox by that point. Would still rather play Command over Adventures though - at least Command feels like a Starfox game.

Assault is definitely worth playing IMO. Better than Adventures and arguably better than Zero IMO. Assault is nowhere near as bad as people made it out to be back in the day, even if it does admittedly fall a little short of trying to recreate the 64 formula. I was lucky enough to snag a mint NTSC-U copy of Assault for £30 off of Flea-Bay years back.

And let's be clear: Starfox's underperformance as a Nintendo IP is solely down to Miyamoto-san's insistence on facking about with the formula time and again. With hindsight, I personally would've preferred that Nintendo let the franchise die á la F-Zero.