Star Fox

"Polygonal madness!!!"

If you owned an SNES, you've probably heard of StarFox. I feel StarFox was a preview of the future 3-D games that later came out for the Nintendo 64. StarFox is revolutionary, not only for its graphics, but also for its gameplay.

StarFox was the first game to use the Super FX chip technology. The Super FX chip is a special microchip which was placed inside the game cartridge to boost the graphical power of the game. It basically allowed 3-D polygons to work with the Super NES, creating a 3-D environment for the SNES games that used this chip. Without the Super FX chip, I don't think StarFox would have been as popular at it was.

StarFox is a flight simulation/action game. You take the role of Fox McCloud as you fly your way through the galaxy to battle the evil Andross. Accompanying you are your teammates: Peppy, the rabbit who is the smarts of the group; Falco, who is the big shot; and Slippy, who is the frog who for some reason is always getting in trouble.

When you first start the game, you will see a map of the galaxy. You may then choose one of the three different paths to Venom, the final stage. Each path varies in difficulty. After selecting which path you want to take, you will get a little information about the area from General Pepper, then you will start your adventure.

The game is set up like most action games: you go through a level, fight the boss, and go to the next level. But what makes StarFox so different from other games are the little things. For example: your teammates talk to you via an intercom at the bottom of the screen. This adds interaction between you and the game. At times, your teammates will get in trouble, and it's up to you to save them. I always liked this feature because it makes you feel as if you are actually flying the plane and trying to save someone's hide.

The graphics in StarFox can be described in one word: polygon. Almost everything in this game is is a polygon! However, all the polygons in the game are well animated, and Nintendo obviously took a good amount of time at making them. The backgrounds of the stages are also very well done. I would have liked to see some more color for some of the enemies, but I'm happy with what I got. I also found it hard at times to see what was going on - mainly because of the slowdown problem. There is slowdown at times when a lot of enemies come into the screen at once, but none of it that bad to make you not want to play the game. Overall, the graphics are very nice.

The sound effects bring out the space theme in StarFox. Everything from blasters and explosions to crashes and bombs (Star Wars, anyone?) are top-notch. I also thought the music in this game was great. Each tune fits in perfectly to each level, and they never get old or repetitive, and it always seems to add to the action.

Controlling your ship is something that takes a while to get used to. There are four different control configurations. If you don't like the standard ''down is up, up is down'' flight control style, you can change is so it is the other way around.

For the most part, the controls are responsive, but when the slowdown occurs, they seem to get less responsive. Once again, this doesn't severely affect the gameplay, but it can get annoying. The controls are also somewhat loose, which take a while to get used to. But once you get used to the slowdowns and the looseness, you shouldn't have too much trouble controlling your ship.

StarFox is a pretty challenging game, even on the easiest setting. You have to be a good pilot in order to finish this one. Many of the boss patterns are easy to figure out, yet they seem to become unpredictable at times, which of course, makes the boss battle harder.

The replay value is also pretty high. You can try to beat the game using all three paths, which I have yet to do. There are also a few hidden levels to explore (which are pretty hard to find if you don't use a guide). The ending is also pretty good, so I sometimes play through it just to see it (even though I have a blast playing through it).

All in all, StarFox is a great flight simulation/action game. With groundbreaking graphics and superb gameplay this is a must get game.

Scores

Graphics: 9
Sound: 9.5
Gameplay: 9
Control: 8
Replay: 7.5

Overall (not an average): 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/01, Updated 06/16/01