Star Fox

"A Revolutionary Game That Just Isn't Much Fun Anymore"

Star Fox was a game that definitely broke new ground. Using the ''Super FX Chip'', the game was able to do something quite revolutionary at the time - display fully 3D polygonal graphics. While being revolutionary has earned StarFox a place in video game history, it doesn't change the fact that time has not been kind to Fox McCloud and his crew. Although in my reviews I always judge things graphics and story in relation to games of comparable age, I feel that StarFox has aged so poorly and become such a different experience that I cannot review it in the same way I can review other SNES games.

Story: 8/10
The story, while nothing groundbreaking, is a solid one. An evil scientist named Andross has been banished to a deserted planet called Venom from which he starts launching attacks on the Lylat system - planet Corneria in particular. You take the controls of Fox McCloud's arwing ship, having been sent by General Pepper to rid the galaxy of the threat that is Andross. On your mission, you are joined by your trusty companions: Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare.

Graphics: 4/10
The graphics here are more of a gimmick than anything. Pretty much the whole point of this game was to be able to show the potential of the Super FX chip and to show how far graphics had come since the 8-bit days. While the fact that the SNES can display the 3D polygonal effects that are shown in this game is impressive, it sure doesn't mean that the game looks all that good. The polygons are great, but the game itself seems fairly drab and devoid of personality; the backgrounds and environments are very lifeless as if they had all the personality and color sucked out of them. The obstacles in this game are often simple blocks arranged on the terrain, and the enemies are usually fairly simply done ships and ''Robots''.

Sound/Music: 8/10
If you have ever played this game, you know that the score in sound and music was docked a couple points simply for those annoying ''bleep bleep blip'' voices of the characters. Instead of attempting any character voices or even simply leaving the speech as text, Nintendo chose to insert some random bleeps and blips and call them ''speech''. Other than the voice effects, the other sound effects are very nicely done, with the laser shooting effects and the sound of the ship exploding standing out in my mind. The musical score in the game is excellent, with the boss theme and the music from Corneria being my favorites.

Gameplay: 5/10
This area of the game has suffered with time, just as the graphics have. The plane controls fairly well, and it responds to your movements fairly reliably except in the cases where the game slows down, which is often. The perspective is behind the plane on every stage with exceptions where you can choose from either behind the plane or first person view. The damage your ship takes is recorded on your shield meter, which can be replenished by flying through rings left by certain defeated enemies. Your options for destroying enemies are between your trusty laser blaster (unlimited) and your nova bombs (limited). During the levels there are several places where more nova bombs can be collected, usually entailing you taking a more dangerous flight path to get the reward.

While the ship generally controls smoothly and the buttons are responsive, the laser cannon doesn't seem to be as accurate as it could be, and frequent slowdown plagues the game when many things are going on at once. This game is not truly bad in the gameplay department, but there is that certain fun lacking.

Challenge: 7/10
The challenge can be adjusted because there are three different flight paths you can take in order to get to Andross. Even on the easiest path, the game certainly doesn't roll over and let you win. Experienced gamers should be able to beat all three flight paths in a week or so maximum while novice gamers will find the toughest path a considerable challenge.

Overall: 5/10
Many games that are considered classics can truly stand the test of time because the games remain just as fun to play as they were back in the day; Star Fox is not one of those games. Not only do the graphics look dated and the backgrounds dull and uninspired, but the gameplay just isn't as much fun as it used to be. If you are a person that has fond childhood memories of playing Star Fox, I would suggest to you that this game will not live up to the experience that you remember it being. Some memories are best left alone.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/02, Updated 12/18/02