"Rareware attempts to cover up fairly generic gameplay with impressive visuals, plot, and atmosphere, and it worked."

I am not a fan of the Star Fox series. I have never played Star Fox games before. Star Fox Adventures, though, looked great. So, I tried it. Is it worth it?

First of all, I should explain the game's creation and ideas. This game was originally going to be called Dinosaur Planet, and feature a main character as a dinosaur whose part of a dinosaur rebel group wanting to overthrow the evil General Scales. This was originally planned for the N64. However, most likely after seeing how N64 games don't really sell anymore (Conker's Bad Fur Day, although excellent, didn't find the large audience it deserved,) Nintendo told Rare to cancel the N64 release, and put Dinosaur Planet on Gamecube. Apparently, some time after this, Nintendo stepped in, and requested that Rare completely change the game's storyline by making it a Star Fox game. Nintendo is either showing that they see no shame in constantly milking their franchise characters, OR they just didn't think a game about a group of dinosaur rebels would sell. Whatever the case, the game was completely changed to a Star Fox game. And it has some great things about it. Great things that actually manage to cover up the generic gameplay.

The graphics are amazing. I think that this is the best-looking game on Gamecube so far. Not only does Fox feature incredible fur shading, but all the dinosaurs really look like a lot of work went into them. Environments are amazing, with very convincing changes to day and night. Different areas on this planet are each very well done, and each area has it's own layout to fit the personality of the dinosaurs that live there. So there's occasionally some slowdown in combat; big deal. The game's great art direction definitely makes up for it. Some areas do look bland, but for every bland area, there are two very detailed ones. Cape Claw looks MUCH better than anything in Super Mario Sunshine, managing to look both warm and vibrant, yet prehistoric at the same time. The music is another plus. The music almost always fits the environment, and seems to even feature a touch of many different culture's sounds. Even better; when day turns to night, the music changes to a much softer, much more relaxing tune, as all the dinosaurs fall asleep. It was amazing how well the visuals and music are incorporated into the game's overall atmosphere. As usual with Rareware games, the voice acting's great. Some voices are a little off, but most of them fit the characters perfectly, and they definitely add much to the game. The dialogue's great, as is the lip sync.

The plot's also very interesting and well-presented. Star Fox Adventures actually consists of two good plots (only having one of them would not have been enough) combined to make one great one. Dinosaur Planet is not only being torn apart by General Scales, but Krystal, a blue fox that Fox saw in a mission briefing, has been captured, and Fox must save her. Not only must he collect the 4 spell stones to put the planet back together, but he must collect the 4 Krazoa Spirits to free Krystal. (4 always seems to be the magic number in these games.)

Anyway, although Fox is not thrilled about it (he only does missions if he sees something in it for him) he decides to help this planet out. And this is where the gameplay begins.

And this is where the game becomes somewhat average. Despite the innovative concept, the game becomes as generic as many of Rareware's N64 titles. While this gameplay may have once been revolutionary, it began showing its age by the time DK64 came out. You wander a 3-D world. Someone tells you to get objects for them. You do. Repeat. Meet someone else. They tell you to collect something. You do. Repeat.

That's basically the mission structure, and while Rare DOES try to insert cool RPG-like dungeons into the game, they don't really manage to hide the game's archaic structure. But while the gameplay is as generic as it gets, the game's still fun and addictive, as well as interesting to play....mostly due to the excellent atmosphere, the great presentation, the memorable locations and dinosaurs that inhabit the planet, and the excellent music. It makes the experience feel fresh despite the aging gameplay. Maybe Nintendo should learn something from Rareware and try to make their own games start to appear less generic. The developers have even went as far as to insert flying missions into the game. To get from one part of the planet to the other, you control Fox's ship, and shoot misciles at stuff (from what I hear, somewhat like the older Star Fox games.) But these missions, while fun, don't feel very fleshed out. Things like power-ups, ship upgrades, fuel cells, etc. are available to be collected but never seem necessary. They feel like something inserted in at the last minute in order to help pass this off as a Star Fox game.

Let's be honest, it's evident from the start that this was not a world designed for Fox in mind. There are some loose ends, such as the fact that Fox doesn't even speak the Dinosaurs' language, that are too easily tied up. "I've invented a translator!" Slippy informs you early on in the game. And despite Fox's commanders lecturing him on his unfortunate habit of "shooting first, asking questions later," the game certainly gives Fox plenty of chances to use his handy combat spear to kill off tons of dinosaurs.

Still, it's surprising how well Rare's managed to pull this off. Throwing Fox into a Zelda-like adventure might not what they had in mind, but aside from some strange instances, it ends up feeling very seamless and works out well.

Combat's fun, but basic and repetitive (and generic...oh, there's that word again.) All you do is hit the A button. Yeah, that's it. You fight every enemy the same way (the exceptions are the game's bosses; I think there were 4 of them; Hey, it's that number again!) Bosses are often innovative, and the game's plot always kept me playing through the end. It's the end where they completely mess up. Another likely ill-fated effort to please long-time Star Fox fans goes completely wrong, and I'll leave it at that.

Star Fox Adventures features generic gameplay, yes. Admittedly I had hoped that Rareware would have shot for something a bit better, with this being their move to the next generation. But the game's great story, visuals, presentation, characters, as well as great sound, atmosphere, and memorable locations and music attempt -successfully- to cover up the generic gameplay like sweeping dust under a rug. Aside from Conker's Bad Fur Day it's the best platformer/action-adventure game I think Rareware's ever made since going 3-D and should definitely be played.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/04, Updated 07/21/08

Game Release: Star Fox Adventures (US, 09/22/02)