The Top Ten Reasons Why Star Fox 64 was the Best Star Fox Game Ever

It is unfortunate that the Star Fox has taken a nosedive in quality over the last decade. Star Fox Adventures was somewhat mediocre, Star Fox Assault was even worse, and the reaction to Star Fox Command was mixed. Back in the 1990s, however, the series had the potential to be consistently good, and Star Fox 64 was proof of that. Considered to be one of the most beloved Nintendo 64 games of all time, the game was everything its successors should have been, but were not. I did a top ten list on why Star Fox Assault was the worst game in the series, and now I shall compile a top ten list on why Star Fox 64 is the best game in the series. This list is as follows...

10. Multiplayer Modes: There were a number of common Star Fox features that debuted in this game, including the multiplayer modes. For the first time, players could take out enemy ships, or try and take down each other. A maximum of four players could get in on the fun, and such vehicles as the Arwing and Landmaster could be used, adding to the mayhem. In the days before online game play became commonplace among consoles, four player game play was the way to go, and Star Fox 64 was proof of that.

9. The Musical Score: This is where the Star Fox theme song used in subsequent games as well as in the Smash Bros. games debuted, and it is quite epic. In fact, the entire soundtrack consisted of tunes that fit the action very well. Despite the Nintendo 64's limited audio capabilities, the songs sounded impressive, and worthy of a Nintendo classic. Among my personal favorites are the Star Wolf, Boss, Versus Mode, and Sector X tunes. Some of these songs were likewise remixed in later games, but their original versions remain classics to this very day.

8. Manageable All Range Areas: Portions of some stages, or entire stages, took place in all-range mode, in which you could roam freely in a specific area in search of targets or ships to destroy. What made these missions fun was that searching for the targets was often exciting, and if your friends found themselves in trouble, it was not very difficult to reach them and help them out. The stages were a bit small, but they never felt crowded, and they added to the thrilling nature of the game. Nintendo dropped the ball when they enlarged the all-range areas substantially for Star Fox Assault, making them less enjoyable. Here, however, the all-range stages are kept simple while still being a blast to play.

7. Multiple Vehicles: While the Arwing was the vehicle of choice in most stages, Fox McCloud would occasionally pilot another type of vehicle. The Landmaster tank could travel through rocky terrain while shooting targets out of the sky. In one underwater stage, the Blue Marine could firing torpedoes at anything that got in Fox's way. Unlike in Assault, in which you would have to switch between modes of transportation in some stages, each vehicle was given to you for use in the entire level, and they were simple to control. The variety was limited since the Arwing was still required for many levels, but this was an important first step in making Fox into more than just a fighter pilot.

6. Star Wolf: Many of the game's boss fights were nothing short of epic and exciting, and the cream of the crop would be the Star Fox Team's encounters with Star Wolf. The team, which consisted of Wolf, Leon, Pigma, and Andrew, were merciless fighters with one goal in mind: to destroy Fox and his crew. Aside from Pigma, who was a part of the Star Fox Team only to later betray them; and Andrew, who is revealed to be Andross' nephew, not a lot is revealed about Star Wolf. However, fighting against them is so exciting and challenging that you do not mind so much about not learning their back story. Nintendo would further develop their personalities in later games, but this was a great first impression for these heartless mercenaries.

5. Debut of the Rumble Pak: In an effort to give the game a more realistic feel, Nintendo packed a special accessory with Star Fox 64 when the game was first released. The device was called the Rumble Pak, and when it was inserted in the back of the controller, it would vibrate at various points of the game. The player would feel it shake when the Arwing took damage, when a boss was destroyed, and when the Arwing switched to all-range mode. The result was that the player felt like he or she was part of the action, and it made an already exciting experience even more thrilling. Vibrating controllers are now commonplace, and they owe it all to Star Fox 64 and the Rumble Pak.

4. Voice Acting: In an unusual move for any of their games, let alone a Nintendo 64 title, Nintendo gave Star Fox 64 a great deal of voice acting. Unlike in later games, the voices were actually good fits for many of the characters. Yes, Slippy may have sounded like a girl, but I consider it to be part of the game's charm. The voice acting also gave us lots of truly memorable quotes, from Falco shouting "Hey, Einstein, I'm on your side!" when you accidentally shoot him to Slippy crying "Fox, get this guy off me!" when he is in trouble to Peppy informing you to "Do a barrel roll!" One wonders why Nintendo did not decide to bring back these voice actors for future Star Fox games, as they did a magnificent job here.

3. Medal Collecting: One of the features that gave the game so much replay value was the idea of collecting medals for every mission. Doing so was quite challenging, as you would have to obtain a specific amount of points in each mission. Not only that, but you would also have to keep all of your team mates alive through the end of the mission. In some missions, obtaining the medals is much easier said than done...to this day, I still have not collected every single one of them. However, Nintendo is to be commended for creating an optional challenge that would make anyone want to try and become a true Star Fox 64 master.

2. Cinema-Like Cut Scenes: This was one of the earlier examples of Nintendo giving a game a movie-like feel. They did this with cut scenes that helped to tell the game's story. The animation was, at the time, quite fluid for a 3D game, and the aforementioned voice acting added to the overall sense that one was playing a movie. Plenty of truly memorable scenes resulted from this feature. For example, who could forget seeing the train from Macbeth crash into a building? How about Fox's curiosity as to whether he really did see his supposedly-deceased father helping him escape from Venom? Amazing cut scenes such as these give you a true feeling for the characters, and Nintendo certainly did not disappoint.

1. Multiple Paths: Star Fox 64 is a game that only takes about an hour to beat, but Nintendo gave the game a lot of replay value by giving the player 25 possible routes to take. Each route would be determined by how the player would complete a mission. One could travel to different stages, view different endings, and even encounter features that would otherwise not appear, such as having characters from one mission return to help out Fox and his friends in another. Players would be enticed to explore each path to see how the story could be told in different ways. Such variety is what should keep players coming back, and is something that Star Fox Assault could have benefited from, but it opted for a more linear path instead, which was a huge step back.

Even though Star Fox 64 is nearly 13 years old, players still enjoy it for a number of reasons, which undoubtedly include those listed above. Nintendo had proved once again that they could develop a truly amazing game without the help of other developers. Why they opted to have other companies develop later titles and make the series a mere shell of its former self, I can not say. I still wish that Nintendo would do the next Star Fox game by themselves and make sure that it is a masterpiece. For those who have never played Star Fox 64, hunt down a copy, or download it from the Wii Shop Channel, and see for yourself what a truly amazing Star Fox game should be like.