Star Fox

"Great Gameplay, Weird Music, And Animals That Can Pilot Spacecraft. It Doesn't Get Much Better Than That!"

Any Nintendo fan would know of the Starfox games, such as the epic Starfox 64 and the disappointing Starfox Adventures. However, we can't forget the one game that started it all, the original Starfox. Released during the middle of the SNES's life, in 1993, this was one of the earliest games that used the revolutionary Super FX chip. The Super FX allowed for graphics superior to anything else at the time. But I'm already ahead of myself now. I'll get to the graphics later, but first, I'll talk about the other components of the game.

Gameplay 9/10: Let's face it, joysticks are much better suited to flight sim games than the D-Pad. Sure, the D-Pad is acceptable, but I would prefer a joystick over it any day. That's the only problem I can find with this game. Aside from the movement controls, everything else works just fine. If you don't like the way the controls are set up, then there are four different ways you can set them up. Gameplay gets a solid 9.

Challenge 10/10: Of all the Starfox games, this one's the hardest. This is definitely not a game for newcomers to the Starfox series. The enemies are crazy, constantly shooting at you, and eventually, trying to crash into you. Most of the bosses are extremely difficult, especially Andross. If you are new to Starfox, then play 64, it's by far the easiest of the three. If you want a true challenge though, stick to this.

Story 3/10: An evil warlord named Andross is trying to destroy the galaxy. It's up to Starfox and his friends to stop him. And just to spice things up, Fox and his crew are all woodland animals! Ok, so the story’s no Ocarina of Time, but I guess it's safe to say that the only reason this game became so popular is because of the graphics.

Graphics 10/10: Remember, this game came out many, many years ago, when 3-D gaming was in its infancy, so don’t expect Gamecube graphics here. But back in the day Starfox came out, these graphics were astounding. Nobody had ever seen anything like this on a home console before. Using the new Super FX chip, the SNES would be able to take graphics to an unheard of level. Sadly, most of the Super FX games were horrible, so not many were made. Basically, Starfox was in a 3-D environment full of bright, flashy colors. All of the levels were very unique and detailed. Probably the most visually stunning level level where you have to take on an entire fleet of ships. Either that one or Venom, the last level, I don’t know. That's all I can say about the graphics.

Sound 9/10: Not much to say here. The music was okay. It was a little strange, but each track seemed to fit its level rather nicely. The laser and explosions were very well choreographed, and thankfully in this game we didn't have to hear Slippy's annoying, gay little voice, like in 64 and Starfox Adventures.

Playtime/Replayability 10/10: You'll still play this game even after you beat it a few times. Trust me. After you beat it once, go back and play it on different skill levels.

Rent or Buy? Let me put it this way, if you don't BUY this game...then you've got some nerve mister. Seriously though, I recommend that you buy this game if you are interested in revolutionary SNES games, or if you like good flight sim titles. Even if you don’t exactly enjoy flight simulators, at least try this out.

There you have it, my review on the great game Starfox. I can only hope that Starfox Armada is this good. This game in my opinion, is the second best in the entire trilogy, the best being Starfox 64. THAT was an epic.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/03, Updated 04/29/03