@Zero
@PogueSquadron

Funnily enough, Nintendo actually published a side-by-side comparison of a counterfactual Switch 1 Bananza as part of Ask the Developer.



Star Fox 64 is so simple that it'll be sort of a pure graphical benchmark, yeah. The art style doesn't do much for me personally, but realistic graphics connoisseurs seems to have given it the thumbs up.

@Secret_Tunnel I think that’s what I’m trying to say. DK looks great and has great art but SF seems to be using more modern rendering techniques to really cement it as a graphics showcase on the new technology. Like I said DKB looks really good but you can definitely see it’s Mario Odyssey roots in there.

I'm hoping Nintendo uses this graphical technology to make a really awesome-looking F-Zero game next!

Another thing just popped into my mind: I'm looking forward to this remake to see (er, feel) what the new "HD Rumble" is like.

The original release came packaged with the Rumble Pak and it was kind of a big deal. Subsequent releases also emulated the experience, but it was never exactly the same, IMHO. But with the Switch 2's new capabilities? This game could literally feel brand new.

Kind of a shame the 3DS version lacked this feature entirely.

Another thing just popped into my mind: I'm looking forward to this remake to see (er, feel) what the new "HD Rumble" is like.

The original release came packaged with the Rumble Pak and it was kind of a big deal. Subsequent releases also emulated the experience, but it was never exactly the same, IMHO. But with the Switch 2's new capabilities? This game could literally feel brand new.

Kind of a shame the 3DS version lacked this feature entirely.

DOUBLE POST

play video games

@TheOldManFromZelda

Okay.

I mean, if you insist.

I thought the demo was pretty sweet. Yes, it’s Star Fox 64. But the cutscenes seem fun and the game plays incredibly smoothly. Apparently it’s an indie studio, Velan Studios doing the game? Very cool for them.

Graphics really pop. Definitely a showcase for an OLED with all the lasers contrasting against the darkness of space.

The thing that just strikes me still is how much better Star Fox 64 was than every Star Fox game that came after it. They get so caught up with having to do something new with Star Fox that they just forget to make a really good shooter at its core.

Why don’t they just make a new, generally “normal” Star Fox game with secret paths, high scores, big set pieces, etc? I get that it’s a lot of money to throw into such a short game, but maybe just embrace that style of gameplay? As long as it’s good I don’t think people will care if it’s on the shorter side.

Is the non-charged shot in this game any good? I feel like I can't hit anything without it! Will I get better at aiming?

PogueSquadron said:

Why don’t they just make a new, generally “normal” Star Fox game with secret paths, high scores, big set pieces, etc? I get that it’s a lot of money to throw into such a short game, but maybe just embrace that style of gameplay? As long as it’s good I don’t think people will care if it’s on the shorter side.

I think it is like asking why other people don't just make a new, generally "normal" Mario game. It's REALLY hard. Even for the Mario guys, who made Mario, it is hard. And as a result, I think they try to do more and add stuff few people really want.

There's a reason there's not a ton of amazing Star Fox games, and it isn't because people don't want to make one.

Now, if Star Fox Switch 2 (why they called it Star Fox I will never grasp) sells decently, it is possible the studio will be brought on to do another. After all, the engine will be fully complete, and they have a good starting ground. Will that happen? Depends on sales, I reckon.

@J.K. Riki Oh I don’t doubt it’s hard to follow up a game like Star Fox 64. I just think they haven’t nearly exhausted what they can do with that style of game. If this remake sells well, I’m hopeful in the future we can see another entry that doubles down on what made the first two games so great, while doing some new and exciting things while taking advantage of modern hardware. . .

This feels like Nintendo's attempt to re-educate people what an arcade game is. You've got achievements and challenges, a ton of pop-ups explicitly explaining that the point of the game is to replay it, and the ending of a normal playthrough doesn't even have an ending!

It's all so coherent and modern that maybe it does lose a little stylistic punchiness, but after 30 years of "Star Fox 64 is a 45 minute long game" maybe audiences deserve to be condescended to a bit. If you want the quirky version, then you have to culturally earn it by proving literacy (or just go play the original which is easily available). It's not exclusively on Nintendo to continue taking beatings from critics to change minds.

But I say this as someone who's played Star Fox 64 for a total of about two hours. We'll see if I change my tune when it comes to Ocarina of Time. The glimpse of OoT we've seen comes across way more like cheap crowd pleasing storytelling to me than the cutscenes in Star Fox do, given my adoration for the original OoT's style. Star Fox so far has heart as far as I can tell, and I'm curious if you guys who love SF64 feel the same way.

@Secret_TunnelI think we haven’t seen barely anything of Ocarina of Time so it’s hard to even tell what kind of remake it is at all.

Regarding Star Fox- the style is a bit of a mixed bag for me, and mostly I love it. I don’t know what sauce is going on here, but the combination of the orchestral music and the cutscenes really have brought me back to playing this game for the first time. I remember how EPIC it was that all these scenarios in the game were mimicking movies like Independence Day and Star Wars. It was crazy to actually play scenarios like that in real time. For me, it was the most cinematic N64 game I had played up until that point. Truly a revolution and innovation for games at the time. I do remember even at the time though thinking the game felt remarkably short. Of course, I then spent dozens of hours trying to get medals and find all the different exits.

That being said, while I like the game taking a more serious tone- I’ve totally bought in on the characters and the stakes at hand- the characters lose some juice with the new voice acting. I like it, but it’s just…TOO subdued? I’m not saying I need some 1:1 re-enactment of the original, but some of the delivery is so clearly a downgrade, that I think just a liiitle bit of cheese would’ve been preferred.

Current high score:



This game is fun. It's not nearly as crazy or dense as Sin & Punishment, but it doesn't need to be. Learning to pilot the Arwing has been rewarding; it's satisfying to let off a charge shot and then pivot to gun down other enemies while it's still in the air. The initially bizarre all-range mode levels get fun once you understand the controls too.

And I'm digging the overall presentation! I love these weird animal muppet guys. The dialogue is great. Functional, at least. Maybe some of the characters' appeal is inherited from past works, but that's fine by me.

I don't know if it's just years of practice or if something about the remake makes acquiring targets easier, but it really feels like I'm taking enemies down from further away then in the original. Which increases my opportunity to get higher scores.

Nice scores!

I borrowed this from a friend and played through it in one sitting--taking the hardest path! I have many thoughts so I'll shotgun them quickly: the polish is generally fantastic here. If it was a new game, I would've bought it myself. Hopefully they'll use the engine to make a new game. The Hard path has some of the most irritating stages I think (Aquas, Sector Z, Venom 2), but that's how the original was as well. Zoness is still fantastic though. I miss Katt's Mae West style. I miss some of the classic lines but there are some very good new ones. The main 4 are still great and I enjoyed their new scenes. The bosses are nowhere near as hammy and thus not as fun.

Does All-Range Mode suck? After nearly 30 years of playing this I think it might? Just so much frantic turning and getting a couple shots on Star Wolf as they whiz by, smashing into things after U-turning, and a bunch of other kind of jankiness.

Big props for the orchestra punching up some of the songs (I like the choir during the boss theme). Makes me really really miss the SNES soundtrack though. I've been complaining about SF64's underwhelming OST since it came out and I have no plans on stopping. Compare the Corneria themes, for starters!

Otherwise, a fine game for sure. They really give the idea that Team StarFox is a renegade group of scrappy but inexperienced kids who suddenly become heroes after taking on the right job. I really like that and it's a through line that's much stronger in this version of the game. I'll play more of the levels later, looking forward to Macbeth and Sector X.

Dare I say I think this is better than the original? I can’t divorce my hype going into the original from my enjoyment of that version. The Nintendo Power VHS? I must’ve watched it a hundred times. The voice acting? The rumble? Aside from being disappointingly short at first impressions, I have such fond memories of the original.

But man, the high framerate in the new version alone just shows how good the game really is. Everything good about the original’s gameplay can really shine here.

And again, this game is like- it gets what makes Star Fox so good. It shines a huge spotlight on what made this series great, simply by smoothing it out and making it super responsive.

It makes me want more of this. It shouldn’t be such a “B” level franchise. I want to see someone do with Star Fox what Retro did with DKCR. Maybe not in terms of controls, but just thinking of all the cool levels they could do with modern tech. Maybe you have to trigger an explosion on a moon in one level, thus raising the water level on another planet to change how it plays? Maybe play with some kind of time travel stuff, where Fox flies through wormholes only to assist himself in the past/future? There is sooo much cool stuff they could do that has nothing to do with:

- gimmicky controls
- slow on foot missions
- poorly implemented strategy components

Just…give us an awesome new shooter with really creative level design that goes beyond what an N64 was capable of.

TriforceBun said:

smashing into things after U-turning

Is u-turning a scam, expert @Shadowlink? In Venom 2 Wolf seems to prefer hard turning, so I started copying him and having more success. I figure incorporating a brake too might be optimal.

@Secret_Tunnel
Could be. I tend to use the somersault the most so I can flip over on anyone shooting up my tail. And then like you suggested sharp hard turns mixed with the brake function for general target tracking seems to get the best results. I can't say I consciously use the U-turn much at all.

But I'm sure it has its uses for strafing targets like the Bolse core or the Katina mothership. It's just dogfighting that it's of less use.