In Nintendo’s arsenal of iconic video game series, Star Fox has occupied a precarious position for the past 2 decades. An assortment of high profile crossovers and cameos have kept the characters and iconography as recognizable as ever, but the Star Fox games themselves have had 5 to 10 year gaps between new releases and virtually all of them have been failed reboots modeled after 1997’s Star Fox 64. Growing up I absolutely loved playing as Star Fox characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but the one time I considered jumping into the series properly was near the release of 2016’s Star Fox Zero. I was promptly dissuaded from playing said game after hearing bad word of mouth surrounding the clunky motion controls. So here we are in the year of our Lord 2026, Fox McCloud was just featured as a supporting character in the recently released Super Mario Galaxy movie, and in just a few weeks a brand new Star Fox game will be released on the Switch 2. Unfortunately for Nintendo, I’m not willing to spend $500 for yet another retread of Star Fox 64 when the original version is still readily accessible to me on Switch 1, so today I’m going to see for myself what makes Star Fox 64 such a beloved game and why Nintendo seems incapable of moving on from it.

Star Fox 64 is technically a remake of the original Star Fox from 1993, featuring many of the same characters, locations, and plot points. The titular Star Fox is a team of elite mercenaries led by Fox McCloud and his wingmates Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad, who are hired by General Pepper of the Cornerian Army to help defend the Lylat System from an invasion by the mad scientist Dr. Andross. Star Fox 64’s story isn’t completely without new ideas however, as it does expand on the backstory by introducing the fact that Fox’s father James McCloud had previously led the Star Fox team alongside Peppy and the traitorous Pigma Dengar, who led them into a trap set by Andross years prior. This game also introduced Fox’s most iconic rival, Wolf O’Donnell, leader of the Star Wolf mercenaries hired by Andross as a direct answer to team Star Fox. Star Fox 64 is still a pretty simple and straightforward narrative experience when all is said and done, but the expanded cast of characters and new locations provide a grander scale to the conflict that absolutely makes up for its status as a reboot.

Games originally released on the Nintendo 64 system aren’t known for aging gracefully as modern games continue to push the boundaries of audio and graphics, but in my opinion Star Fox 64 has aged better than most of its contemporaries. Since the game’s characters are all anthropomorphized animals their cartoonishly exaggerated appearances and oddly geometric vehicles are a lot easier to swallow. The same can not be said of the level environments which are all quite rough and muddy looking across the board. The music features a number of memorable tracks such as the Main Theme and Star Wolf’s theme, but remastered versions of these songs in future games easily surpass the originals. Dialogue between characters is surprisingly fully voiced. Honestly the cheesy acting fits the cartoony characters, and the compressed audio oddly helps sell the idea these voices are coming through the ship’s radio. All of this is to say Star Fox 64’s presentation isn’t great objectively speaking, but put together its limitations have a certain charm I can’t help but enjoy.

The true selling point of Star Fox 64 is without a doubt its gameplay. The player takes control of Fox’s signature Arwing, a spacefaring fighter jet, in an arcade-style on-rails shooter to blast their way through waves of oncoming enemies and obstacles. The Arwing comes with a variety of neat tricks to dodge attacks and chase enemies like boosting, breaking, somersaults, U-turns, and of course: BARREL ROLLS! By defeating enemies the player can find power ups which can repair damage, empower their primary laser, and stock up on powerful bombs. Additionally, some levels will require the player to temporarily pilot different vehicles including the Blue Marine, a submarine, and the Landmaster, a tank. These vehicles come with their own handling quirks, especially the Landmaster which needs to expend boost energy to move vertically, but both function similarly enough to the Arwing that it never feels too jarring.

The player also needs to look out for Fox’s wingmen, who can be taken out of commission by enemies that pursue them. Saving teammates also comes with special rewards, such as Falco’s ability to find hidden items and paths and Slippy’s ability to reveal enemy shield gauges. That being said, teammates can take damage if the player shoots them, so it’s important to aim carefully and utilize homing shots to avoid causing friendly fire.

The game is also rather short, with each playthrough only consisting of 7 levels. That being said, the levels the player plays through change based on their mission performance and ability to complete side objectives leading to harder levels. The side objectives can be a little esoteric at times, but for most of them Fox’s wing mates will chime in with a hint. Finding paths to alternate levels is a great idea not only as a means of encouraging multiple play throughs, but also as a dynamic difficulty system that keeps inexperienced players away from more brutal and unforgiving levels. The robust mechanics combined with the replayable levels make it easy to see why so many Star Fox fans see Star Fox 64 as the pinnacle of the series.

From the Catholic perspective, I think it’s very fitting that I chose to play a game about fighting a mad scientist who fancies himself a technocratic emperor so close to the release of Pope Leo XIV’s first Encyclical: MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS. In this encyclical the Pontiff discusses human dignity in the context of rapidly emerging technology, particularly in regards to the rise of Artificial Intelligence, at great length. Pope Leo emphasises the fact that no technology, including AI, is inherently evil, but its use must be ordered towards good ends that promote human flourishing. However, he also points out that much of the modern world’s technological development and infrastructure is controlled by technocratic corporations with global influence surpassing most governments with every incentive to maximize efficiency and profit over human dignity. Reading the Pope’s concerns of technocratic overreach, I can’t help but imagine in the most extreme scenarios we might end up with an Andross-like figure who believes his mastery of technology makes him inherently superior to others and by extension entitled to subjugate those deemed lesser. These possibilities should not be cause for concern however, but a call to action. Just as team Star Fox bravely flies into battle against Andross, we must be brave enough to defend human dignity in whatever small ways we can against technocratic corruption.

So if Star Fox 64 is such a timeless classic, why would the subsequent stream of remakes be a problem? Well as far as I can tell Nintendo took the wrong lessons from their attempts to make proper sequels and spin-offs by assuming they underperformed because players disliked the new stories and characters rather than the unpolished gameplay mechanics. When a franchise is on the verge of its 5th reboot, it doesn’t need a 1-to-1 retelling of the original story, it needs a new story that is simultaneously accessible to new players and intriguing to old fans. As for the gameplay mechanics, use Star Fox 64 as the foundation and create brand new levels and locations that build upon them. I know that sounds like a lot to ask on paper, but none of these suggestions are mutually exclusive.

Regardless of the future ahead of Star Fox as a series, Star Fox 64 remains a great game. Sure, the game’s presentation has aged alongside its original hardware, but the exceptional gameplay mechanics more than makes up for every crusty looking mountain. Whether you’re interested in Star Fox from Smash Bros., like I was, or you’re in the market for a good on-rails shooter(which is honestly a pretty niche genre these days), few games can match what Star Fox 64 has to offer. Thank you for being my wingman for this review and wherever you fly next I pray God blesses you with clear skies.

About Gaius Requiem