Star Fox (Video Game Review)

Video Game Review
Star Fox
Super Nintendo
1993
Developer: Nintendo EAD & Argonaut Software
Publisher: Nintendo

Before the second half of the 90s, 3D graphics in video games was used mostly as a buzzword to hype a new game very little use of the third directional plane. Some games used multiple scrolling backgrounds to create a fake 3D effect or in the case of the Super Nintendo used something called Mode 7 graphics that rotating and scaling of the background which is sort of similar to how Google Earth used to function a couple of years ago. Star Fox also hyped it’s pseudo-3D (and it’s Super FX chip) which was that most of the ships and enemies were made out of multiple multi-dimensional polygons to give the game a 3D feel. In 1993, it was revolutionary but now it looks a bit dated. Luckily for the game, it’s gameplay has stood the test of time.

You play as Fox McCloud (who is a walking, talking fox), leader of the Star Fox crew. They are a team of mercenaries who are commissioned by the planet Corneria to save them from the evil Andross who is coordinating attacks from his planet, Venom.

The game is played as on-rails shooter where you control a ship called an Arwing. The ships travel from planet to planet and places in-between (such as an asteroid field). Levels take place on a planet’s surface, in space, or even within the core of a base. The game can be played from either the first or third-person perspective. There are three skill levels, each of which requires the player to start on Corneria but each difficulty setting sets off different paths to Venom (meaning that the second level is different for each difficulty setting). The Arwings can take multiple hits but once too much damage is taken, the ship explodes.

The main hook at the time of release for the game was it’s graphics. At the time, they were spectacular. Polygonal graphics were not exactly new in 1993 but usually they were wire-spectrum graphics without too much detail. Star Fox not only had plenty of colours but quite a bit of detail. Sure the Arwings looked like something you would have seen in a advanced Geometry textbook but the game took one of the first steps into making real 3D gaming a reality. It doesn’t hold up much today as sequels of the original game are far prettier. While other older games like the NES Mario games still have a nostalgic quality to them that people can appreciate, Star Fox looks like something left over from the 90s that people would just rather leave there. Even from an artistic standpoint, it doesn’t hold much value. The only thing that is still impressive graphically about the game is when the player’s Arwing explodes as the game’s camera begins to move around, adding a bit of cinematic flare to a dramatic moment.

Like stated earlier, the gameplay helps keep the game fresh even after all these years. As a shooter, it is top notch. There is always plenty of action on the screen and it takes quite a bit of skill to beat the game; even on the easiest setting. The game mechanics are kept simple; you have a regular blaster with unlimited ammo and a few mega bombs which blows everything up on the screen. There is little that can be added to the Arwing like more bombs or improving the blaster’s fire power but not much more. It keeps the action strictly on destroying enemies and keeping from getting destroyed yourself rather than constantly trying to find power-ups. The boss fights at the end of each level are exciting as there is always a system to defeating the enemy but as the game progresses, the enemies become more complex and better at not only protecting themselves but counterattacking your offense. There are plenty of tense moments as some battles can take several minutes to wear down the enemy while avoiding their dangerous attacks. Even with the toughest battles, you never feel truly defeated; you always feel you can defeat the boss during the next battle.

The game tries to be a bit different by offering three teammates to help you out during the game but it doesn’t do much for the game. They are computer controlled and cannot be controlled by a second player. The computer assisted ships offer absolutely no help whatsoever. The only thing they seem to do well is get themselves chased by a marauding enemy and its up to the player to player to take save the useless teammate. It was an interesting concept on paper but the execution is flawed. It doesn’t hurt the gameplay but it adds absolutely nothing.

The sound in this game is great. It really gives the sense of an epic space adventure. Each level has it’s own music and gives the feeling that the solar system is solely dependant on your actions. The pace is lively to match the action and there are plenty of great sounding effects that really adds to the sense of action. There is no spoken dialogue as the story is played out through text, although there is gibberish sounds that play when the characters speak which seems annoying in games today but considering the technological limits of the time, is kind of creative and still can give the player a chuckle or two in today’s age. There is a bit of spoken dialogue but it is limited to the computer system warning of a major enemy attack or when you gain a power-up.

Star Fox is one of those games that was very fun to play back when it’s graphics were considered outstanding and is still great fun even if it looks dated visually. The game offers plenty of challenge although it may be a bit too difficult for players who are used to the watered-down difficulty set by today’s games. Hopefully Nintendo will be able to overcome the problems porting this game over to the Wii’s Virtual Console and make it available for a new generation of gamers (rumours are that there is problem creating an emulator for the Wii that can handle running a processor native to the SNES and a processor built into the game itself).

☆☆☆☆☆