When it comes to childhood video game memories I don't have many games to call out. They either weren't played enough or I played them way too much. Star Fox 64 is a latter example. This singular entry is enough to validate anyone who calls themselves a Star Fox fan, it's a game that deserves its love. It's the only game in the entire series that got absolutely everything right and this is not a hot take. Every single thing that you ask for from a 1997 console rail shooter is right here in this N64 cartridge (besides 60fps but who knows, a PC port may be upon us in the near future!)
There's a lot to divulge from this game when discussing what makes it so fucking good to the point that it's almost overwhelming to know where to start. I could start with Corneria, and how as an opening stage it provides the most amount of visual variety, approachability and interaction-based secrets in the game, making it an extremely replayable stage despite not necessarily being the best it has to offer. Or how the branching paths allow you to create your own journey or headcanon as you fight towards Andross, choosing whether it's your fate to defeat a fake Andross, or to become a true hero and face your father's ghost in one final fiery escape; an experience that can be influenced by enjoyment, immersion or picking the stages you're the best at racking up points on. Or the more obvious choices like the fantastic soundtrack and iconic voice lines. Or the fact that the charged shot becomes one of the highest skill oriented tools in any score based game when you realise if it makes indirect contact with a target that it grants you an extra point.
I don't think anyone that hasn't played for hours upon hours realises just how addicting the charged shot is to use and optimise and it showcases just how insane people can get at this game. An average score on Corneria for a casual player varies from 100-150, a more experienced player will reach 200-230 and a world record contender will hit 330. The difference between someone who's good and someone who's REALLY good is huge and it's pure skill. This isn't just about memorising patterns, that's the bare minimum requirement. Becoming good enough to get 300 points on Corneria takes some absolutely unreal level of precision, timing and movement that comes from the result of hundreds to thousands of hours of practice. And think about it, you have 6 more stages to reach that level of mastery at yet.
I don't want to run off the more casual players with my charged shot diatribe, so I'll note more generic points that I find more relevant than given credit. The voice lines, I know everyone recognises how iconic they are. I can't really explain why they ended up being so iconic and at such a high frequency, anyone that played this game a lot knew every line after a certain point before they were even said, myself included. Something about the dialogue is just super charming. It's not bad voice acting for 1997 and the caricaturised character models help sell this cheesy but high stakes sci-fi story of saving the world. The bad guys, they're all bad fucking news. You could tell when you were fighting a boss that they were bad and you were the heroes. It plays into this classic purism where everything is black and white, something that video games have long since tried to steer away from in favour of creating more realistic narratives. Does Star Fox 64 have a well written story? Hell no. But it is a GOOD story and it's sold by your little guys flying through space, interacting every so often. Peppy yelling that it's a trap, Slippy getting cocky before his ass is bitch slapped down to Titania and Falco's no nonsense tone that always makes you feel obligated to take things seriously when he's around -- All of these little moments are what make this game so iconic. Everyone remembers these moments not just because they're fun interactions, but because you're getting these interactions while playing a dope ass game.
Star Fox 64 needs to be played by anyone who finds the characters cool but hears bad things about the franchise. I'll be the first one to tell you - Star Fox as a whole franchise sucks. But I'd say this applies to something like Shinobi as well, yet Shinobi III is one of the best 16-bit games there is. Franchises can be dealt a bad hand by continuously unlucky circumstances. Shigeru Miyamoto has no idea what makes this series special, it's why every game in the past 2 decades they put out every so often is disappointing. What makes this series special, is Star Fox 64. This game has by far aged the best of every game in the franchise and perhaps when the PC port eventually comes out more people will realise how good it really is. It was never replicated or bested, nor in its own franchise nor by indie projects heavily inspired by it. It's in a league of its own as the definitive space rail shooter.
There's a lot to divulge from this game when discussing what makes it so fucking good to the point that it's almost overwhelming to know where to start. I could start with Corneria, and how as an opening stage it provides the most amount of visual variety, approachability and interaction-based secrets in the game, making it an extremely replayable stage despite not necessarily being the best it has to offer. Or how the branching paths allow you to create your own journey or headcanon as you fight towards Andross, choosing whether it's your fate to defeat a fake Andross, or to become a true hero and face your father's ghost in one final fiery escape; an experience that can be influenced by enjoyment, immersion or picking the stages you're the best at racking up points on. Or the more obvious choices like the fantastic soundtrack and iconic voice lines. Or the fact that the charged shot becomes one of the highest skill oriented tools in any score based game when you realise if it makes indirect contact with a target that it grants you an extra point.
I don't think anyone that hasn't played for hours upon hours realises just how addicting the charged shot is to use and optimise and it showcases just how insane people can get at this game. An average score on Corneria for a casual player varies from 100-150, a more experienced player will reach 200-230 and a world record contender will hit 330. The difference between someone who's good and someone who's REALLY good is huge and it's pure skill. This isn't just about memorising patterns, that's the bare minimum requirement. Becoming good enough to get 300 points on Corneria takes some absolutely unreal level of precision, timing and movement that comes from the result of hundreds to thousands of hours of practice. And think about it, you have 6 more stages to reach that level of mastery at yet.
I don't want to run off the more casual players with my charged shot diatribe, so I'll note more generic points that I find more relevant than given credit. The voice lines, I know everyone recognises how iconic they are. I can't really explain why they ended up being so iconic and at such a high frequency, anyone that played this game a lot knew every line after a certain point before they were even said, myself included. Something about the dialogue is just super charming. It's not bad voice acting for 1997 and the caricaturised character models help sell this cheesy but high stakes sci-fi story of saving the world. The bad guys, they're all bad fucking news. You could tell when you were fighting a boss that they were bad and you were the heroes. It plays into this classic purism where everything is black and white, something that video games have long since tried to steer away from in favour of creating more realistic narratives. Does Star Fox 64 have a well written story? Hell no. But it is a GOOD story and it's sold by your little guys flying through space, interacting every so often. Peppy yelling that it's a trap, Slippy getting cocky before his ass is bitch slapped down to Titania and Falco's no nonsense tone that always makes you feel obligated to take things seriously when he's around -- All of these little moments are what make this game so iconic. Everyone remembers these moments not just because they're fun interactions, but because you're getting these interactions while playing a dope ass game.
Star Fox 64 needs to be played by anyone who finds the characters cool but hears bad things about the franchise. I'll be the first one to tell you - Star Fox as a whole franchise sucks. But I'd say this applies to something like Shinobi as well, yet Shinobi III is one of the best 16-bit games there is. Franchises can be dealt a bad hand by continuously unlucky circumstances. Shigeru Miyamoto has no idea what makes this series special, it's why every game in the past 2 decades they put out every so often is disappointing. What makes this series special, is Star Fox 64. This game has by far aged the best of every game in the franchise and perhaps when the PC port eventually comes out more people will realise how good it really is. It was never replicated or bested, nor in its own franchise nor by indie projects heavily inspired by it. It's in a league of its own as the definitive space rail shooter.