Welcome to the first installment of Games From The Crypt, where I go backpacking through the nostalgic depths of the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console — home to vintage games from the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Turbo Graphix 16, and NeoGeo — see what hidden treasures or ghoulish abominations are buried there, and report my findings.

First up: the Nintendo 64 classic, Star Fox 64.

What The Hell Is It?
The 1997 N64 sequel to the original Star Fox for SNES. Star Fox 64, like its predecessor, is an onrails sci-fi shooter, though certain sections allow for limited 3D flight. Players assume the role of Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox team of anthropomorphic space pilots, controlling three types of vehicles in the fight against the armies of the evil Andross: the Arwing space fighter, the Blue Marine underwater sub-fighter, and the Landmaster mini-tank. Teammates Falco, Slippy and Peppy all help out and have their own specific strengths (Slippy, for example, analyzes bosses’ shields, so if he’s shot down earlier in the level, you’ll have no idea how much damage you’re really doing during the battle). The game also features branching paths, meaning you can play through different levels each time on your way to beating it.

Fun fact: The game was originally released with the “Rumble Pak,” a small device which plugged into the back of the N64 controller and made subtle vibrations that corresponded with the onscreen action. (Sony and Microsoft would both shortly ape this innovation.)

It’s also worth noting that the Star Fox franchise is really the last great character-driven IP created by Nintendo; sorry, but I don’t really count Pokemon, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs or Wii Fit.

The Game Then
Star Fox 64 garnered raves back in the day, and is still considered a classic. With an epic feel, diverse levels, and fun characters, this was a landmark game of the 64-bit era. The graphics were terrific, the controls perfect, and amazingly (for a cartridge-based game) contained tons of voice acting, something not thought possible.

Subsequent sequels Star Fox Assault and Star Fox Command have underwhelmed, usually garnering the same criticism — “It’s not as good as Star Fox 64” — and indeed, the franchise today stands on the brink of irrelevance thanks to these disappointing entries in the franchise.

The Game Now
For those who played it (and perhaps those who didn’t play it) back when it came out, the first thing you notice is the graphics. They fall somewhere between still-impressive and impressive-for-the-time, but overall, the graphics don’t live up to my memory. It’s amazing how simple everything looks by today’s standards, and how empty many levels feel. When it first came out, the war-torn stages felt like something out of Children of Men, and now, it’s not even close. The graphics are still decent, however, in that blurry, N64 polygon way we all loved/hated.

But there are still an impressive number of enemies onscreen, the game does retain its frenetic pace, and most importantly, the controls hold up. The Arwing, Blue Marine and Landmaster are all frighteningly easy to control, and the levels are still very, very fun, plain and simple. The boss battles are still awesomely epic, and the bosses’ insults are still awesomely cheesy (”Don’t party just yet!” and “Cocky little freaks!” are my favorites).

I devoured this game when it came out, playing it endlessly. One thing I’d forgotten, however, is that it will not save your progress until you beat it. That’s right: you have to play through the whole thing in one sitting before being able to start from the level you want. Otherwise, you have to start at the beginning every time. It was bizarre then and it’s bizarre now.

Key Nostalgia Moment
Being able to perform barrel rolls, loop-de-loops, and reverses from memory without having to look it up. Sometimes all the meaningless crap locked away in our brains is scary.

Is It Worth the Nostalgiabucks?
I’m happy to say that it is (and it’s $10 nostalgiabucks, to be exact). I’d argue that even for people who never played a Star Fox game before, this is still worth trying out — the graphics may have aged, but not much else — and the fun factor is high. The goofy sci-fi cheese is charming, and this is indeed still a great game. It’s hard to believe that Nintendo has seemingly run this franchise into the ground, so just play Star Fox 64 until they figure out that all they really need to do is make this same game with today’s technology.

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