"Not for everyone, but a fun thrill ride while it lasts."

So after Starfox 64 (Lylat Wars in Europe), Fox McCloud stepped out of the Arwing in Adventures to save Dinosaur Planet (Now known as Sauria in the canon) from, you know, evil. What follows here is, naturally, a mixture of the foot and flyer styles, plus some new tricks. But the question remains, does it stand up to the other games of the series?

Well, yes and no.

First of all, the graphics. They're okay. Good, and perfectly passable, but not perfect (For comparison, the aformentioned Star Fox Adventures was much richer in terms of visuals). The game can handle multitudes of enemies on-screen with no slowdown whatsoever, and everything flows very smoothely, which is most noticeable in the Arwing missions. I would have appreciated some fur effects on our two main vulpines like last time, but it's a minor graphical shortcoming that can be overlooked. 8/10

Here's something that drew my attention: The audio. The orchestrated Starfox theme is a treat, and the music for the most part fits with wherever you happen to be venturing through at the time. Of special mention is Star Wolf's remixed theme; truly a memorable slice of video game music. The usual sounds such as blasters firing and things blowing up can be found in just about any game of this style, but they still work well. I'll touch on the voice acting in a different section. 9/10

Here's gameplay, arguably the most important point. I'll review each segment seperately.

Arwing: Very smoothe and handles like a charm. Very easy and very fun to use for those who like the rail and all-range action of SF64. There's disappointingly few of these levels in the game, though, so cherish them while they last. The most fun segments come from within the Arwing cockpit, I'd say. You still have to save your comrades from miscellaneous enemy fighters, but hey, don't say you didn't expect it. 10/10

On-foot(paw): Well....aiming and moving around is definitely easier than I initially thought when it comes to these segments. Fox moves at a good clip and firing/dodging is fairly straightforward. It's the actual level design in these sections that gets to me, though. Often, you're on a timed mission to destroy these spread-out enemy spawners with enemies shooting at you from all directions. Not to sound whiny or anything, but it gets tedious after awhile. Then again, if you're a "the glass is half-full" sort of person, it'll increase your feeling of accomplishment after beating these segments a lot more. On the plus side, this is some pretty fun stuff when you don't have to take out spawners. 6/10

Landmaster: Some say that turning in this thing is clunky and awkward. Well, what did you really expect? It's a tank. While it was a lot easier to control in SF64, that's because those were rail missions where you constantly moved forward. Now, we've got a slow and sluggish beast here, that while being a bit awkward to control (Other than the simple aiming), puts a very sort of "Blow **** up" mentality into your mind and keeps it there until you eject. The gameplay in these things usually means you've got something to destroy... 7/10

On-Wing: Now THIS is the true definition of an on-rail shooter. I'm a sucker for this sort of gameplay, sure, but it's insanely fun to be able to pick off enemies without having to worry about your own tail and maneuvering. It's a shame this wasn't used more often, but then again, overkill is overkill. 9.5/10

Here's something that I'd like to touch on: Characterization. First of all, the voice acting that I promised to get to: Fox, Falco and Krystal sound remarkably similar to how they're supposed to be, from SF64 and SFA. I think it's pretty clearly established what they truly sound like by now, and this game fulfills that well. Wolf's British accent isn't quite as noticeable in this one that I found, but maybe that's just me. Andrew sounds much like a rejected Disney villian (although "Work 'em over!" is classic cheese), and the rest of the voices can be let slip without comment. For example...

I'm not even going to touch Slippy's voice, so there.

Character dialogue is very much, mostly, in keeping with the personalities of the characters; From Krystal's anger at the devastation in Sauria to Panther's innuendo-filled words towards said vixen, everything pretty much fits. Pigma's still a futilly sneaky squealer and Peppy still hates him, for example. Falco referring to Fox as "Foxie" was a bit...unusual, but just a bit of playful jabbing between teammates, I suppose. Dialogue based on past experiences is definitely well-done (Such as the Fox/Krystal/Tricky conversation), and overall, interaction was something surprisingly well-done in this game.

Ah, the menace this time around: The Aparoids. Your average hive-minded alien. Now, it doesn't take too many brains to think up "Hey! Let's use insectoids!" but (And some of you will get the joke, I know) it's done okay here. Some of the insect robotics are rather generic (Such as the blue grunt ground fighters), but others, like the moth/butterfly at the end of the first mission, look rather cool. Oh yeah, and I didn't know the Ing had second cousins (Twice removed!) named the Aparoids, but judging from the way the Aparoids possess others in the exact same way as the Ing did in Echoes (Watch and see), they do. Heck, more than once did I accidentally refer to an Aparoid-possessed giant piece of machinery as "Quadraxis". But whatever, it's all good. I also found that Fox teaming up with Wolf was a nice touch; after all, the enemy of an enemy is always a friend. Again, that music rules, even though this isn't the sound section. 7/10

Also, the plot seems much more mature this time around, with more plot twists than ever before in an SF game. One note, though, is that the game falls victim to the "Good guys in video games who 'die'" syndrome: Anyone in the game who "dies" will not die, even if they clearly should have. The baddies, however, have no such magical field to protect them should they fall. Just some interesting trivia, although it won't apply to all games.

Oh yeah...and the length, or lack therof. Well, personally, I don't see what everyone's complaining about. SF64 (Inarguably the most popular of the three [or four, counting SF2] SF games before this) took a shorter time to beat than this. Then again, the lack of multiple paths may hurt this game in some fans' eyes. I see it as a chance for the game to build up plot in a way that wouldn't have been possible with branching paths. Plus, if you like the game, you can always replay it. 7/10

Overall: I highly reccomend this game to any fan of Starfox: With good graphics, (inter)stellar music and passable to excellent gameplay, this should appeal to fans of the genre, as well. For those who like RPGs, adventure games and other such time-eating expansive games, this may not be for you. Overall: 8/10

Those looking for Krystal in her "savage" outfit will be sorely disappointed and perhaps angry, however.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/22/05