3.5/5 ★ – Jackdh1990's review of Star Fox 64.

Starfox 64 (or, Lylat Wars, as I knew it as a kid), was like the ultimate cousins-game for me. You know what I mean? You go around to your cousin's house, they've got a cool console you don't have, and they've got awesome games you're only allowed to watch them play. For me, that was Star Fox 64. They also had Goldeneye, which was another one of those games, but SF64 is basically a total remake of Star Fox (or Starwing) - which was very much a game me and my brother had. I've been dreaming of getting my hands on a landmaster ever since. So thoughts now I've played it? Yeah, it's very good! The music is good, the visuals still look very nice (these geometrically shaped vehicles and enemies are the perfect fit for the limited Nintendo 64), and feels pretty great. It's very short, even with the multiple route completions you'll need to do in order to see everything. It's not a bad thing, but it's a smaller game than I was imagining. On those different routes, I love the idea of this. Most levels have at least one secret exit leading somewhere else in the Lylat system, which makes the game feel almost mysterious. The levels are all of roughly the same quality, and three feature alternative vehicles (which, again, similar quality - but of course the Arwing is king). There is even some pretty good story stuff in here (very limited, but still), with a famously enigmatic final moment on the hard route ending. Though the game is a little underwhelming compared to that magical vision I had of it via my cousins CRT television in the late 90s, the series doesn't really get better than this. Nintendo has never known what to do with Star Fox - this game is effectively a remake of the first one, and they would go on to remake this one TWICE more. The only two deviations are terrible so...yeah. It's a shame, but I suppose what else can you do with this set up really? Nintendo caught lighting in a bottle here, no wonder they tried to do the same again. 7.5/10 Played via emulation on Steam Deck 16/3/26