Seeing Star Fox on Switch 2 makes me feel like I’m 10 years old again

Video Games
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Something about the reveal of this game hit very different from every other SF project since the n64 title came out 29 years ago.

It isnt even the first time this game has been remade. We had a 3DS remake too. But this version just feels completely different somehow.

The graphics and reimagined cinematics really lean into what impressed with the original release. It was a hardware showpiece at the time (as a rail shooter should be!) and this version appears to be a new graphical standard for a Nintendo game.

Am I disappointed it’s the same game I’ve been playing for decades? Maybe slightly. I’ve probably beaten sf64 about 1,000 times in my life. I know every line of dialogue, every enemy placement, every scoring trick, and every single boss pattern like the back of my hand. I can beat some bosses way faster than intended and Star Wolf within 60 seconds in any of the 3 scenarios where they appear.

The devs nailing the feel of this game with the n64 wireless controller will be key for me on this. The muscle memory I have is so ingrained that I can’t play this title with anything resembling a modern gaming controller.

the thing I’m most excited about is experiencing the blue marine in 60fps. It ran far too slowly on og hardware.

You guys as psyched as I am? Hopefully a new game with this engine and a focus on the sf64 gameplay is in the works.

I have enjoy other titles in the series, but always with a caveat. Star Fox Zero, for example, was fantastic at times, but definitely felt rushed. The forced helicopter sections were far too slow and the gamepad controls, while I got used to them, never gave me the same precision I longed for with the n64 game. They were somewhat clumsy.

The repeat boss fights for some parts and the chicken walker sections also felt like they were not quite as well thought out as they should be.

When the all range mode dogfights were happening with Starwolf though, that’s where the game shined with some magic.

I’d love for a new Star Fox that was ambitious like Zero but with the graphics and gameplay focus of this remake someday. That’s the real dream.

Finally, I just have to say, the graphical leap here from SF0 is wild. Like sure it’s been a decade and we’re are two hardware cycles further, but I still didn’t expect anything this gorgeous.

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If nothing else, a normal Star Fox game with the great gameplay and insane graphics is just exciting. Plus being a high end arcade game without open worlds, skill trees and all that cruft

Surely they’re planning on essentially going from here as a reboot to.

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I’ve never really connected with a Star Fox game but this post makes me want to ASAP!

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Do we know who the developer is? End of video credits implies Nintendo in-house?

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Star Fox 64 is a basically an arcade game. It’s still the best in the series and is meant to be completed in one sitting. Think of it as a 3D shoot-em-up with branching pathways meant to be replayed over and over again for high scores. Each run will only take you through a small portion of the levels available in the game. To access alternative (harder) levels, you will need to accomplish certain objectives in preceding levels which are often hidden and may require some experimentation to figure out.

Like any Miyamoto masterpiece from the 90s, there are a ton of little secrets to discover, including the different routes through the map.

Then there is a medal system for masterful play as well. If you destroy a certain number of enemies, you will unlock a permanent medal on that level.

Unlock them all and an expert mode for the main campaign unlocks with harder (more voluminous) enemy patterns on every level.

In expert mode you are, again, able to earn medals for masterful play by defeating a certain number of enemies.

If you earn all of the expert medals, then you can truly say you have completed Star Fox 64. Like most Nintendo Arcade-like games from that time, (F-Zero X, Wave Race64, Mario Kart 64, etc) it was actually possible to beat 100% of the game without it overstaying its welcome or feeling too difficult, while still offering a nice challenge.

That was back when they really understood how to dial in the difficulty levels to make a satisfying experience for beginners and experts, from the first time you picked up the controller to months later when you decided to go back to try and beat your best scores.

Modern Nintendo games have flattened that out too much and are crammed with too many trinkets to collect.

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Trailer for those that haven’t seen it.

@Peltz I remember you spoke very highly of SF64 when I beat it for the first time a while back, hopefully this lives up to the legacy.

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I first saw this game (and the n64 in general) at my cousins house when I was like, 5 or 6. Out of all the games I tried over there, I became obsessed with Star Fox 64 the most. Something about the little animal heads talking and the giant robots.

After my family finally got a n64 on Christmas (me and my brother’s first ever video game system) I remember going to Funcoland with my mom. I bought a used cartridge of Star Fox, the first game I ever bought with my own money. I still have that cart, and I still play it, do a run or two as they only take an hour or so.

The n64 was my first experience with video games that weren’t PC educational games like reading rabbit and math blaster. And Star Fox 64 was my first video game obsession. I’m surprised I never became a furry haha.

All that to say, this remake may be the game that makes me pull the trigger on a Switch 2 before the price increase.

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