tar Fox or Starwing for the European readers out there for Super Nintendo was the perfectly designed game for kids back in 1993. It's nothing but shooting lasers out of your spaceship and defeating bosses, but what kid wouldn't love that? Nostalgia aside, we set out to see if it still holds up to today's standards.
The graphics are the main thing that truly shows the game's age. Of course they were a victim of their time and what was available to them, hence complaining about the graphics is very unfair. The overall design was very original and somewhat futuristic for the time. The graphics do however lend a hand to the main issue with the game; the frame rate. Depending on the level you are playing or how quickly you move your spaceship, the responsiveness can decrease tremendously. On certain levels, objects can pop up out of nowhere. Small issues like this show how far gaming has come and how outdated Star Fox looks.
Gameplay
Although the game play is nothing more than maneuvering a spaceship around and shooting enemies, Argonaut was able to design the levels in a way that keeps you entertained and not bored of the same continuous backdrop and in level objects. Levels can range from calming, slower paced space missions to faster paced land missions. The background music helps create a soundtrack that can create pace for you while you're playing. If you played the game as a kid, you most likely will remember each level of Star Fox solely off of the background music.
Although the game was mostly a well created title, it did have its quirks. One major gripe i had with it was the subtitles at the bottom from the games characters. To help create urgency while playing, other characters in the game would show up in the bottom of the screen with some sort of speech to make you try and beat the level faster. In particular, Slippy the Frog shows up many times saying things like “Ribbet. Thanks for the save. Ribbet”, or “Croak. Help me”. I might be grasping at straws here and maybe this was the norm for character involvement in games but i think that the dialogue was either mis-translated or misused.
Although it was a simple idea, the game developers created a game that would enthrall the user for hours. For the most part, they did all the little things right. However, it does not come close to Star Fox 64. If you're brand new to the game, go into it with an open mind and a bit of patience. If you can get past the frame rate issues and some other small quirks, you'll see that Star Fox was actually a great game. No thinking and just shooting. Sometimes that's all we need for enjoyment.
Check out our full length game review below!
