Nintendo does the world a solid by bringing back one of the best games in the entire Star Fox series. With Star Fox 64 3D, fans of Fox McCloud and the team get a blast from the past in a completely remastered game. Plenty of fans, including myself, were a little disappointed when hearing of a new Star Fox game turning out to only be a remaster. To be honest, ever since I was a kid I’ve wanted some way to play Star Fox 64 on the go, but with this game I’m now finally able to. Thankfully, instead of a direct port to the 3DS, Nintendo;s kind enough to throw in a few new features here and there, making it enjoyable for fans new and old.
Upon selecting this game from the 3DS menu, you’ll be greeted with the classic Star Fox 64 intro, of course completely remastered. I have to say, this game is so beautiful compared to its Nintendo 64 counterpart. Being a remastered masterpiece, the game sticks with its original beauty, and fixing minor “holes” in the game here and there, such as the Training Mode teacher’s voice, he actually speaks now! When beginning a new game in Story Mode, you’ll be asked if you would like to play in N64’s Classic Mode or the Nintendo 3DS’s improved mode, which the game will point out its modification for the new thumbstick.
If I haven’t yet mentioned the remastering of the game’s soundtrack, now would be a perfect time. If you already enjoyed Star Fox 64’s soundtrack, get ready for quite the upgrade. Every level, menu, and most character’s voice clips have been re-recorded and remade. Nintendo even went through the trouble of looking up original voice actors for Star Fox 64 for recording. Sadly, you can tell the difference from how the game has aged, Mike West doesn’t do Fox McCloud as good in 3D as he did in the original 64, but it’s still great to hear him as Fox again – the same goes for other characters.
A really cool (and very needed) feature that has been added is a Score Attack mode, which can also be used for Stage Select when you’ve beaten a level. While you can go back and play any level at will (after its completion), you’ll be challenged this time around to get the higher high score. Corneria’s original medal score is 150 hits and on Score Attack mode, the gold medal will be a challenging 190. There are 3 different kinds of medals you can get in Score Attack; Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
Multiplayer mode’s been drastically remodeled, I almost want to say Nintendo actually remade it. You have a wider selection of levels; including Venom (which looks awesome) and Meto Field. A new feature they’ve added was being able to play against bots (being the other 3 Star Fox members) in Multiplayer. You can choose their difficulty, although I would recommend trying out easy before anything else, these aren’t just ordinary bots.
Star Fox 64 3D is a game I would recommend to absolutely anyone who owns or doesn’t own a 3DS. It’s about as perfect as a game can get and since it’s portable, you can do a barrel roll anywhere (as long as you’re pressing L or R twice!). While the story may be fairly short, it’s something I can find myself playing over and over again, for love of the characters’ witty dialogue and for the game itself. This game’s definitely a classic to be treasured for many years to come.