Review – Star Fox – Gamerview

After almost three decades, Fox McCloud, who appeared in theaters in Super Mario Galaxy: The Movie and also in , finally returns to the game to take off on a mission that fans know by heart. But this time, Nintendo decided not just to polish the classic: it turned it into a true cinematic superproduction and, even better, completely dubbed into Brazilian Portuguese. (We can already say that it is better than hexa, right?).

I doubt anyone doesn’t know the franchise, but we’re talking about a spaceship shooter with different skills to be performed with your Arwing. Throughout the campaign, however, the team also takes control of other vehicles, such as the Landmaster tank and the Blue-Marine submarine, further expanding the variety of missions. The campaign remains essentially that of Star Fox 64, but practically everything around it has been modernized: visuals, narrative, controls and even extra modes.

An old mission told in a new way

Few Nintendo stories have been revisited as many times as Fox McCloud’s. After being born on the Super Nintendo, receiving a reimagining that became an absolute classic on the Nintendo 64 and a remake on the Nintendo 3DS, the mission against Dr. Andross returns once again. The question now is not whether Star Fox is still fun, but whether there was still room to reinvent one of Nintendo’s greatest shooters again.

The Lylat War has even been told on the Nintendo Wii U, in Star Fox Zero. The difference is that, this time, the sensation is not of repetition. For the first time, it looks like we’re seeing solid construction for the future of the franchise. Still, the big question is inevitable. After so many retellings of the same story, is it worth seeing again? And will we finally see this universe gain strength to expand its narrative?

Anyone who played Star Fox 64 will recognize practically the entire structure of the adventure. Scientist Andross continues to threaten the Lylat System and it is up to the Star Fox mercenary team to stop his plans before it is too late. Fox McCloud, Falco, Slippy and Peppy return “exactly as we remember” (in quotes, as the look is much prettier, lol), but now accompanied by a much more elaborate narrative.

While the Nintendo 64 classic dealt with its limitations, telling its story in a simple way and using few scenes between stages, this remake focuses on beautiful cinematic sequences, new conversations during missions and even a prologue dedicated to James McCloud, Fox’s father. Honestly, if Star Fox had already surprised in 1993 on the SNES and impressed again in 1997 on the Nintendo 64, now, on the Switch 2, it is chilling, as the nostalgia hits hard. It’s a real gift for the fans!

The scenarios are incredible, while the details of the Arwing, the squadron and the environment make it seem as if we can finally see what we imagined in the polygonal graphics. But, if the visuals make it seem like we are watching a science fiction film, the soundtrack is what completes the journey completely. The classic songs remain recognizable, but they have gained orchestral arrangements that seem to unleash all the potential hidden in the Nintendo 64’s compositions.

Instead of reinventing the themes, Nintendo gave them the grandeur they always deserved. The result is one that makes you want to turn down the volume of the shots just to hear every detail during the missions. I’m not going to lie that, at various times, I simply slowed down the Arwing to enjoy the music and, outside of the game, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve replayed them via Nintendo Music.

The result of this new artistic composition makes the game gain much more personality, in addition to better demonstrating the strengthening of the bond between the team throughout the campaign. And I can’t help but mention the beautiful dubbing work done by Rockets Audio. The dialogues are very well adapted and fun with the exception of the most striking phrase in the series which went from “Do a Barrel Roll” to “Faz um Tunô Barril”, perhaps it would have been better to keep the original.

Star Fox at its best

With the visual revitalization, the most evident change is in the artistic direction. The character models abandon their more cartoonish appearance and gain more realistic proportions, without losing the series’ characteristic charm. The scenarios are also impressive, with planets, space bases, cities and battlefields that have received much more detail, dynamic lighting and particle effects that transform each moment into a true visual spectacle.

Modern, yes, but maintaining its essence. The one that impressed fans many years ago remains intact. In other words, Star Fox remains an extremely arcade spaceship shooter, where controlling the Arwing to face floods of enemies and perform classic maneuvers such as Barrel Roll, Boost, Brake, multiple shots and bombs is extremely exciting and addictive. And my happiness is not having to return the cartridge to the rental company.

Knowing all this, anyone familiar with the series will immediately feel at home. The game is not very easy to master, the skills require precision to overcome obstacles, collect improvement items, shields, in addition to dealing with endless hordes and helping the team get rid of some enemies at one time or another. At the same time, small adjustments can make everything more comfortable for those who have never played.

The controls have become more responsive, the aiming system has been refined and there are now new configuration options, including support for Joy-Con 2 mouse mode, which makes the experience even more dynamic. The mouse allows you to change the aim to first person easily, it’s instantaneous. This way, you can find a better way to do well in the stages, get better scores and, ultimately, win the coveted medals.

In normal mode, when your allies are killed, they are left out of the phases, returning only after maintenance, which can leave you on missions completely alone throughout the campaign. In easy mode, they will still be killed, but they return in each new phase. Finally, Expert mode will only be unlocked by collecting normal medals, which is a really difficult task to accomplish, by the way.

One of the most curious characteristics of Star Fox has always been its short duration. And here it’s no different, okay. The main campaign can be completed in just over two hours. But look, this has never been a problem. In fact, this was always part of the proposal. In fact, it is worth mentioning that the choices made during the missions completely change the path taken through the Lylat System.

In practice, the campaign is divided into just seven chapters, but they can take you to up to sixteen different scenarios. Saving certain allies or destroying specific objectives completely changes the team’s route. Some of these choices even unlock exclusive missions using the Landmaster or Blue-Marine, greatly increasing the variety of the adventure. Ultimately, there are more than twenty possible combinations of stages, many of them leading to the true end of the campaign.

New ways to battle

Fortunately, in addition to the main adventure, this Star Fox remake adds new content. Among them are challenges focused on scoring, online multiplayer and local cooperative where one player pilots the Arwing while the other only controls the shooting (in this mode you can use GameShare locally with your friends). This will certainly cause good discussions. All of these options help to further increase the game’s lifespan.

The package also includes a Challenge mode that is released gradually and brings together twelve exclusive objectives spread across the different campaign scenarios. It’s another incentive to revisit stages, try new routes and seek increasingly higher scores.

Multiplayer puts you in four-versus-four player battles and can be played with both your friends and people from all over the world. It is also possible to choose between eight different pilots, including members of Star Fox and Star Wolf, such as Wolf, Leon, Pigma and Andrew. If you prefer to train before facing other players, the game even allows you to play matches against artificial intelligence, which helps a lot in mastering each ship before moving on to online confrontations.

Still, the experience can be challenging, as it is unpredictable. On the other hand, it allows you to create your own squad with friends, and communication becomes the pinnacle of playing with avatars using augmented reality resources. However, at least for now, only three maps are available: Corneria, Setor Y and Fichina. I hope new maps and challenges emerge in the future. Free, please.

Another very interesting extra is the Holovisor, a kind of interactive encyclopedia that brings together information about characters, planets, vehicles and important events in the campaign. It may seem like just a detail, but it helps a lot to contextualize the Star Fox universe, especially for those who are learning about the franchise for the first time.

Becoming a Furry

Although the focus remains the main campaign, all these extras help justify the extended stay in this universe. Including the augmented reality effects that use the webcam connected to the Switch, with it you can transform yourself into Fox himself. The camera captures cause the movements of your face to be reproduced on the character, and the result is hilarious. It’s really fun to see how they execute their reactions during multiplayer.

Star Fox seems to have been designed to demonstrate the potential of the Switch 2. Visually it is eye-catching, it makes good use of the mouse, the camera and runs fluidly at all times. It presents detailed scenes and even uses HDR (in a simple way) to highlight explosions, lasers and lighting effects. Even during intense battles, movement remains stable on both the TV and the laptop, reinforcing the feeling of speed that has always marked the franchise.

Despite being a remake, Star Fox didn’t come to reinvent its formula (thankfully). In fact, it does exactly the opposite. It preserves what made Star Fox 64 a classic and, finally, invests heavily in everything that surrounded it. Everything around the campaign gained much more presence, the controls became better and, finally, the extra modes help to extend a campaign that remains relatively short.

Even with the route dynamics, the campaign can still be the game’s biggest limitation. Anyone expecting an unprecedented or even more expanded adventure will probably continue dreaming of a new chapter in the franchise. But, given the attention that Nintendo has finally given to the series, perhaps we will see a sequel based on Star Fox 2, which is now available in the Super Nintendo games catalog on the Switch. Let’s face it, now there are no more excuses for wanting to tell this story again. Let’s move on, Nintendo.

Ultimately, this remake proves that some missions never get old, they just find a new way to impress. This is a classic that has returned not only to the delight of fans, but also to surprise new players. Despite being essentially Star Fox 64, its modernization brings an unparalleled charm and makes for a game full of nostalgia, excitement and, of course, lots of fun. That said… Do the Barrel Roll and go play.