Difference between revisions of "Star Fox 64"

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'''''Star Fox 64''''', known in PAL regions as '''''Lylat Wars''''' due to trademark issues, is the second game of the ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star Fox]]'' series, which was released for the [[Nintendo 64]] in 1997. It is essentially a remake of the first ''[[Star Fox (game)|Star Fox]]'' for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]. ''Star Fox 64'' was made available for download on the [[Wii]]'s Virtual Console in April 2007, at a price of 1,000 Nintendo Points, and on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2016. ''Star Fox 64'' received its own port for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] in 2011, titled ''[[Star Fox 64 3D]]''.

''Star Fox 64'' is notable for being the first game to utilize the Rumble Pak. It is among the first Nintendo 64 games with in-game voice acting, which replaced the chattering sound effects from the first ''Star Fox''. ''[[Star Fox 2]]'' was originally planned to be the second ''Star Fox'' title, but was canceled due to the upcoming release of the Nintendo 64, but some of its features were reused in ''Star Fox 64'', such as [[all-range mode]]. In PAL releases (''Lylat Wars''), the player can re-enable the original chatter by selecting Lylat from the language option menu.

In 2003, ''Star Fox 64'' was ported to the China-exclusive [[nwiki:iQue Player|iQue Player]], on its launch date, November 21, 2003. A timed demo of ''Star Fox 64'' was preloaded as the fifth game on every iQue Player unit. This port is notable for having redubbed Cantonese voice acting.

[[File:Star Fox 64 gameplay.jpg|thumb|Gameplay in the first stage, Corneria.]]

Returning from the original ''Star Fox'' game are Fox's teammates, [[Falco Lombardi]], [[Slippy Toad]], and [[Peppy Hare]], who fly beside him in Arwings. Each teammate can provide unique assistance to Fox, as [[Slippy Toad]] shows the life bar of a boss character, [[Peppy Hare]] provides useful in-game tips, and [[Falco]] can help by opening routes to harder levels. Sometimes a teammate is chased on-screen by enemies, and request for help. Fox must defeat these enemies, as they slowly deal more damage to his teammates. The longer it takes Fox to save a teammate, the more damage it takes, until the teammate's vehicle becomes fully damaged and retreats into the [[Great Fox]] for repairs. That teammate does not return in the next level, but can help the one afterward.

Years later Andross attacks the Lylat System again and declares war. Pepper sends the new Team Star Fox, consisting of Fox, [[Falco Lombardi]], Peppy, and [[Slippy Toad]]. They go through Corneria to defeat Andross's forces there, and eventually end up fighting Andross's soldier [[Granga]] inside a mech, and destroy him. Alternately, Falco can lead Fox to the Attack Carrier, which Fox destroys sending it crashing into the ocean. There are up to 25 different [[List of Star Fox 64 paths|path]]s that Star Fox can take.

In addition to the main goal to complete the stage, every stage also has a secondary goal in the form of a target number of kills. Once the player has gotten enough kills, as long as all his allies are still alive, his score will turn orange and he will be awarded a medal for that planet upon completion of the mission. If the player earns medals on every mission, he will have the option to play the main game in "Expert Mode."

Star Fox 64 received critical acclaim and was one of the top-selling games of 1997, second only to ''Mario Kart 64''. In the first five days of the game's U.S. launch, over 300,000 copies were sold, surpassing the record previously held by Mario Kart 64 and ''Super Mario 64''. Sales were considerably less in Japan, where it sold 75,595 copies during the first week of sale. The game also took the #73 spot in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever". GameSpot declared Star Fox 64 "an instant classic" and was impressed by the voice acting. Glenn Rubenstein, the reviewer, noted that the game is "a pleasure to look at" and liked the cinematic quality of the storyline. Although other reviewers such as IGN said that the game is "extremely repetitive" and that the music quality was not as good as the original Star Fox, they still praised the branching system and "intelligently designed levels" which compensate for those points.

The Gamespot review of the Wii Virtual Console version of the game paints a similar picture. It earns a (8.3/10), praising for simple, enjoyable shooting gameplay, lots of voice-acting, nice to look at despite its graphic age and the added replay value in finding hidden paths, but found the lack of rumble support "alarming", especially since it was the first game to support the 64's Rumble Pak.

Star Fox 64 is listed as the 45th greatest game of all time by Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition in 2009.

*The Katina level is homage to the movie [[Wikipedia:Independence Day|Independence Day]]. Bill Grey's name is likely homage to that of a character in the film. Slippy's reaction to the Bolse Fighters being shielded and the ending musical score for Star Fox are also homage to the film.

 

*The Sector Y level has many armies of mechs similar to many of the mobile suits from the anime franchise ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', for their beam rifles, shields and mobility. They can even be launched out from battleships in battle. One red-colored mech is said by Peppy to be very quick. This is a reference to ''Char Aznable'' because all of his mobile suits are red and have high mobility (hence his name, "The Red Comet"). Not only that, the boss however aside from the first two colored mechs is known to be white and launched from its own launch ship is a homage and resemblance to the ''RX-78-2 Gundam'' which is also from the same series.