Star Fox 64 is one of the most beloved and iconic games of all time. Join me in exploring what makes it such an engaging and enjoyable experience, even after all these years.
Thanks to @CaioJill9803 for pointing out that it was in fact Hajime Wakai composed most of Star Fox 64's music, while Koji Kondo contributed only a few tracks. This was just negligence on my part, and I will make sure not to repeat this mistake in the future. Hajime Wakai also composed the music for Skyward Sword, which is one of my favorite soundtracks ever. So I want to give a huge shoutout and apology to him, he deserves credit for his excellent work!
what amazing retrospective and review, thank you for such an amazing look into someone else's experience who also grew up with the game! you sir have earned my subscription
I adore the details described with the gameplay, the story having alternate paths based on action or inaction, even down to responses to certain actions (if you kill the enemy before Slippy asks for help beginning of Corneria, he follows up with a "Take that!"). Theres so much more to this game, and i love how well put this video is! Thank you for your time ❤
i grew up watching my mom play this game all the time as she got every medal on every stage and difficulty and then had to do it again and again as i tried using a gameshark and wrecked the save data. i miss being able to watch her play games since her arthritis got so bad
The train on Macbeth is carrying ore to the factory. It's a bit subtle of show don't tell type of story telling. A train in this setting wouldn't really make sense for supplies and such, when you got a solar system to supply and distribute, and you got space ships and stuff. But if they're mining on Macbeth and need to transport large amounts of rare materials to be processed that would make alot more sense.
The 3DS remaster is pretty good as well! Very nice review/retrospective. There's really not a lot else to add, you basically covered everything. In a way I kinda understand why Nintendo has a hard time doing sequels to this franchise. The journey from getting introduced to the Star Fox crew to the eventual Andross defeat is a perfectly closed package that gives it a strong stand-alone vibe to it. And the game mechanics, like movement controls and upgrades, are as simple as they need, as if adding anything else would break their balance. Although, there are things that Star Fox 2 and Command do that I believe could work in a proper sequel. Like being able to use other characters, each with their own unique vehicles and attributes. More routes and endings depending on how you complete missions (which the other games already did, but Command went haywire with it). Transforming vehicles. More types of missions. And I'm not too sure on the whole tactical strategy parts, but maybe it could be better if well implemented? I don't know. I want to play a new Star Fox game. I've played most of them, and still find 64 to be the most fun and replayable. It's hard to top it.
such a good video, i was expecting this to have 1k views at least! im a newer star fox fan and this is such a good introduction to the series. also, youre correct about the james mccloud scene. "youve become so strong, fox." continues to get me over and over
I loved Sector Z as a kid, but it sucks now trying to go back and collect all the medals, because there isn't enough enemies and you have to drag the timer out. It is by the far the hardest medal to get.
When I was wee I would turn off the game sound, play the training to get to the infinite all range mode, and crank my first music CDs I would be given for Christmas or whatever. I could play that mode for hours.
The folding wings are likely a reference to the F-14 Tomcat, which was the aircraft with folding wings featured in Top Gun. In reality, folding wings are used more for taking off at sea where you have a much MUCH shorter runway provided by an aircraft carrier and need to generate a lot more lift to get into the air. I've always found that design choice on the Arwing interesting as in reality, by the time this game would've come out, the skies would have bee dominated by the F-15 Eagle and Russian Mig-20s(?) both of which were completely fix winged. Then the Navy (who were the branch employing the F-14) would have switched over to the FA-18 Super Hornet retiring the F-14 entirely. But the concept of a space fighter with folding wings is such a cool design concept I can overlook how perhaps impractical it would be.
I always loved the cultural references in Starfox 64. For example the fleet battle outside Cornaria? Forgot spelling, is a parody of Mobile Suit Gundam, with the green mechs being zakus and even a fast one that is painted red that isn't even a named enemy. Then you have the Katina battle which is the film Independence Day. xD
This was my favorite game growing up.And I just learned that there is a underwater map.And also learn about different ways the levels can end. and a bunch of other stuff that I never knew. Probably, because I always played the same route every single time as a kid. Im totally mind blown!
This was my first 3d video game and I spent all my time that night just paying training mode and being amazed. It seemed so big back then. This game would make a good roguelike template.
5:09 actually ☝🤓 all the levels/training BGMs were composed by Hajime Wakai leaving all the rest such like intros, Bill/Kat themes, victory/failure fanfares to Koji Kondo
I would love to make a prequel to this game. You’d play as Ace Vulpes, a new recruit to the Star Fox team led by James McCloud. You’d also fly alongside Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar, doing odd jobs, becoming the quintessential “Heroes for Hire.” Some missions would also pit you against rival mercenary Cain O’Donnell and his son, Wolf. The main antagonist would be a Venomian general, who is revealed to essentially be Andross’ right-hand man. This revelation would happen right as the team is sent to investigate a disturbance on Venom, which leads to the team being captured after Pigma turns traitor. Ace and Peppy would break out, and after failing to rescue James, Ace would run interference in order to buy Peppy time to escape; perishing in the process. The focus would then switch to Peppy, who faces Pigma in a dogfight before limping back to Corneria. Then, a few years later, during the Lylat War… the team successfully fends of Andross’ attack on Corneria… but Peppy spots that Venomian general and breaks formation in order to avenge James and Ace; with a confused Fox, Falco, and Slippy following the veteran hare’s lead. Basically, you would see the rise and fall of the O.G. Star Fox team.
I must've beaten this game a hundred plus times. Every morning before school in early elementary I would beat this game, it took me awhile to find all of the alternate paths. Even longer to unlock the expert mode and acquire the medals to fully complete it. I think it's time to revisit this again. Such a classic! Great video!
I was just chilling in my room and suddenly i thought; "Lets look up a Starfox64 retrospective." And you uploaded this 13 days ago.. Nice. I love this game so much, i unfortunately didnt understand the game well enough and i didnt really know english, i never got to play the Ocean planet and that Toxic waste planet. :( I would have enjoyed it a lot as a kid, even if i might have hated it i'm sad i didnt get to play it. I liked Titania a lot more than Mcbeth too, though i loved that explosion at the end. I mostly agree with your list though. You can also turn the language of the game to Lylat and the characters will speak gibberish, it's really funny. unoffically changed my name to Falco too because he was the cool guy and i was a kid, it just stuck with me my whole life.
Such a great overview video! Like you said multiple times, the voice acting, environments and controls all come together so amazingly for each level. I had no idea you could repair your ship in the Great Fox! I'm not nostolgic for this game at all, but its easily one of my favorite games. I always urge people to play it because its so cinematic and good for small sessions. Even though I've played each route mutiple times, it was really nice to hear anothers opinion on them. Nice video!
22:59 They retconned it to not be a star in later titles, most notably Star Fox Command, so you aren't crazy to not think it was a star. 23:53 There's ton of "hidden" lore around this particular mission, namely that Vulcain, the boss from Solar, was supposed to be the aforementioned Secret Weapon, not Spyborg, and which boss you fought depended on how you got to Sector X, so if you failed Katina, you would fight Vulcain, but if you failed Fortuna (which is actually mistranslated, its supposed to be Fichina) you would fight Spyborg instead. 36:18 There's some more "hidden" lore that can only be found in game guides and the such (or the wiki) which is that if you end up at Venom 1 (accessed via Bolse) then you give Andross enough time to prepare a decoy because he knows you are coming and his forces have mustered enough strength to hold you off until he can escape. Meanwhile, if you end up at Venom 2 (accessed via Area 6) then you have destroyed enough of his forces, fast enough, that he doesn't have enough time to escape which is why his last line of defense is just Star Wolf in heavily modified and upgraded ships. The ingame story is basically that if you fail at Macbeth or end up at Titania, you take too long to get to Venom (due to having to rescue Slippy at Titania) or you weren't able to disrupt Andross' manufacturing capacity enough (failing Macbeth) that Area 6 is now too fortified for you to assault. If you fail Sector Z, the story is that you don't have the ordinance without Great Fox to attack Area 6. You can actually see this in game, as Area 6 is the only mission where Great Fox will actually attack enemies.
Oh man, a recent video on SF64, this is my time to shine! you asked what our favorite levels were and BOY do I have a favorite A level you gave a S+ ranking to (much to my delight) but severely understated in its design, Macbeth. I think that Macbeth is hands down the best level in Star Fox 64. Even before entering the level the story really hams up how important this mission is, cutting off the primary supplier of Andross’s resources and weaponry via an all out assault on the Forever Train. The intro really helps set the scene as well. The Landmaster, a sizable vehicle considering the size of the smart bombs in comparison, is dwarfed by the massive, imposing locomotive ahead. The barren landscape leaving the only two things that stand out, the train and the Landmaster to really drive home the size difference. Then, the soundtrack kicks you back into focus with the militant trumpets and snare drums giving that “Military base” feel. And yes, I know the track IS recycled for Titania and it does sound great there but I feel it shines in Macbeth. And I’ve only just begun, I haven’t even gotten to what made Macbeth my absolute favorite level in the game; the Forever Train Engineer, or “Benjamin” as some in the community refer to him. Benjamin, in my opinion, is the apex of the VA’s work, each of his lines are dripping in personality and character. A gruff and sassy train conductor with a need for speed and a level of confidence we should all strive for in our lives. I could probably recite each and every one of his lines perfectly due to how diverse and animated they are. When I first arrive home and my two chihuahuas run to greet me I find myself always beginning with “Here come the little hyenas now.” The line delivery is superb in all regards. Benjamin’s character is also a very well defined one, just from the single level he’s featured in so much can be gathered from his lines, his actions, and his tone. He’s cocky, dropping rocks to block our path with an enthusiastic “Here ya go!” Or beckoning us tauntingly saying “What’s wrong? Come a little closer.” As the iron bars close in. He also harbors a need for speed to keep in front of the advancing Landmaster, detaching compartments and putting pedal to metal with lines like “Dang! Detach the rear vehicle!” Or “Step on the gas!” He also seems prideful of his work, when he deploys the “Mechbeth” (a clever play on words and comically, the official name of the boss) he states how “I didn’t expect to have to use this.” Followed by an intimidating “You’re very lucky” before he begins the assault. But the best instance of Benjamin’s line delivery is in the famous fuel bunker ending, the track switching, the metal grinding, and a very well executed “NO! HIT THE BRAKES!!!” With a great job on capturing the emotion of it all, followed by the wonderful “I CANT STOP ITTTTT!” to finish the flawless character design of Benjamin. To me, there is no level that can even hold a candle to the masterful design and execution of Macbeth and the wonderful dialogue of Benjamin, truly a highlight of Star Fox 64’s brilliance in design.
Great video! Starfox 64 was my favorite game I had ever played for for over 20 years, until I played dark souls in 2017. Starfox is still in my top three of all time! I think it has aged the best of any game from the Nintendo 64 era, as well.
Excellent video. Star Fox was a big part of my childhood and one of the few N64 games that I regularly go back and play. It holds up amazingly well, and you did a great job of capturing why. Well done!
I remember having this game the year it came out christmas morning. Lylat Wars as it was known her in blighty, it blew my mind as it was the first game i'd ever played that was fully voice acted. I still return to it when i get the opportunity and it probably is in my top ten games of all time. Thank you for this video you have a new subscriber :)
Very excellent analysis and video! Especially the level reviews. My personal favorite levels are Meteo, Area 6, Zoness, and Macbeth. Unless I am going for all medals, I never go through Sector Z, Solar, Fortuna, and Titania.
Loved this video! Keep up the awesome work. I felt about Katt much the same way you felt about Peppys' Southerness - most girls didn't kick ass like she did in the 90s, with the exception of the girl Power Rangers lmao. So I loved the rep at the time, even if I'd wish for better now. She definitely beat Krystal in SFA, who spent 95% of the game as a damsel in distress. PS - Star Wolf only shows up on Bolse if you didn't beat them on Fortuna earlier - another example of how awesome this game is and its infinite replayability.
It took me years to realize Solar wasn't really a star. It's actually just a planet, a hot planet. I guess it kinda makes sense because if it were really a star, there's no way in hell you could even fly that close even if you could take the radiation and the heat the gravity would be a hell of a thing. I looked past the logic of it for the sake of gameplay and figured it was their sun and just went with it. Command calls it a planet several times and there are bases and even some land too if I remember correctly. Maybe it's just gets the name Solar becasue it's the first planet in the system or something IDK.
37:54 If you look above the Great Fox's wing, you'll see a shooting star, that's James McCloud as it only appears in this ending. And Solar is a fire planet, that's canon. Nintendo does that in their games.
That's a really cool detail, I never noticed that! As for Solar, the official guide for 64 calls it a star, but I think command later calls it a planet. Guess they couldn't make up their minds lol
@@ivanavi123 Yeah Command shows to have patches of land on Solar and Wolf calls it a planet. It's like Planet Hotbeat from Kirby Super Star like you got the grass planet, the water planet, so of course there's the fire one which happens to be in the middle of the planet system like Solar.
The algorithm worked for once. This is one of my favorite games of all time, and I'm glad I found your channel! Subbed, and gonna watch through your back catalog of vids lol
Was replaying this game recently and I do agree it's a classic and one of the best games on the N64, but can't help but feel like you've got some rose-tinted glasses on. Particularly for the story and characters. They play their roles decently enough and are entertaining, but very few moments in the game come off as anything but cheesy B-movie fun. The characters don't have a whole lot of depth, and Fox seemed pretty goofy just about the whole time. You showed "We're Star Fox!" as an example of him being the right balance of cool and goofy, but on my recent playthrough that line made me grin at just how cheesy it was. I think Assault struck a much better balance, and it had some genuinely dramatic moments throughout its story.
I definitely hear what you're saying, but that earnest cheesiness is exactly what I love so much about it. Everything is a matter of taste, of course, but it just works so well for me, and I buy the characters, stakes, and story of this game wholeheartedly. Maybe that's just the child in me lol
Feedback: Please don't ask for a like and subscribe within the first two and a half minutes of a 40 minute video. Not meant to be an aggressive statement, just giving honest feedback. If someone dips out before the midway point, they probably didn't like the video anyways.
What frustrates me so much with Nintendo that they cannot seem to make a sequel that’s even close, it’s like they don’t even understand or care what makes SF64 excellent. When Starfox Adventures released I was so disappointed. It’s very similar to what happened to Banjo-Kazooie for me, finally a sequel to a game I love and it changes so much that it almost loses its appeal completely. Not to mention Starfox Zero, I was prepared to buy a Wii U just to play it but it was a complete dud so I never bothered. I hope it’s not the end for Starfox.
All they need to do is copy paste starfox 64 just with new levels. And maybe more branching paths...thats it. Id by it in a second. I dont want to be on foot. I dont want crappy motion controls. Just give me starfox 64 with new levels. Its free money i dont understand why they havnt done it yet.
@@budget3121 The problem with Starfox is that it's a rail shooter, it's very difficult to evolve a rail shooter because of how short they are. Not helping matters is that rail shooters have been dead since 2011. As for Banjo, the series was never met to continue. The original intention for Rare is to create an adventure game called Project Dream on the SNES, but it was moved to the N 64, it wasn't working for some reason. Mostly like because realistic games can be difficult to work on N 64, such as Golden Eye. So Project Dream became Banjo Kazooie. However now that the N 64 era has ended, Rare no longer needs the Banjo and Kazooie. Why, DK 64. People did not like the backtracking of that game, and while Banjo Tooie's backtracking isn't as bad. Rare might be worried that another Banjo game would suffer the same problems as DK 64 if not worse. It's sad but it's true, some of the greatest games exists because of hardware limitations. Nuts and Bolts was made because Rare felt that it was easier to make something different. The idea came from Tim Stamper wanted something involving building, with Lego's being the inspiration. Right now Banjo creator Gregg Mayles is making Everwild. Thankfully there are Banjo like games such as Demon Turf Neon Splash, Hat in Time, and Tinykin.
@@Stradus07 Because thats easier said then done. See SF 64 would not have been great without SF 1 and 2, SF 1&2 were made by Argonaut games. They are the ones that make SF level design so great, but unfortunately they went bankrupt. It gets worse, ever since the games went 3d, Nintendo is unable to everything in house any more, because game now a days require more staff than the 90's. So Nintendo hires third parties to make SF games. As to what went wrong, I recommend this video th-cam.com/video/YwshYBmHlN0/w-d-xo.html. I recommend Gridd Retroenhanced, Astrodogs, Whisker Squadron: Survivor, and Project Nimbus: Complete Edition as Starfox successors.
I appreciate the feedback and engagement. This definitely wasn't an analysis style video, just a passion project about why I love this game so much. Sorry it disappointed!
For feedback, You should really add some music and sound effects, good sound dedign on a video makes it so much better, add chapters with title screens, and don;t be so monotone. Sometimes you want to be excited about a thing, other times sad. Makes for a much more engaging video! also i think you should have just made the list from S to F :c
@@ivanavi123 yea lol. I think it’s just a me thing and growing up with retro games but modern literature, my uncle-in-law is a super intelligent guy and a professor at a great school. He loves dune, but I just feel like the sci-fi elements are a bit under baked and the political commentary is sort of shallow. It’s like some of Shakespeare’s work; you can appreciate it for what it did for both linguistics and art but paradoxically if you look at it under the modern lense it breaks down despite being the basis of much of that work.
Idk, I literally just got done playing through the game again earlier today and it still plays extremely well and is just as fun as the other 100x times I’ve beaten it. I’d argue the gameplay aged significantly better than other classics of that era like Mario 64, Ocarina, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider etc. Plus you throw in a great soundtrack, iconic voice lines, tons of replay value and solid visuals (for the N64) and you’re looking at a true classic.
@@vp_wrld might actually be the worst take known to man. It’s a rail shooter, rail shooters are terrible baby shit that a paraplegic can play. You think a rail shooter is better than Mario 64? Lol just lol dude. Rail shooters need their mom to spoon feed them because making their own movements is too difficult.
Thanks to @CaioJill9803 for pointing out that it was in fact Hajime Wakai composed most of Star Fox 64's music, while Koji Kondo contributed only a few tracks. This was just negligence on my part, and I will make sure not to repeat this mistake in the future. Hajime Wakai also composed the music for Skyward Sword, which is one of my favorite soundtracks ever. So I want to give a huge shoutout and apology to him, he deserves credit for his excellent work!
what amazing retrospective and review, thank you for such an amazing look into someone else's experience who also grew up with the game! you sir have earned my subscription
Thanks so much!@@tazzythederg6429
I subscribed for the two Star Trek clips in the first ten seconds and stayed for the amazing retrospective.
I think you might enjoy my next video... thank you so much for the comment and subscription!
I adore the details described with the gameplay, the story having alternate paths based on action or inaction, even down to responses to certain actions (if you kill the enemy before Slippy asks for help beginning of Corneria, he follows up with a "Take that!"). Theres so much more to this game, and i love how well put this video is! Thank you for your time ❤
Thank you so much! You're so right, I could have gone on for hours about all the wonderful little details
This game is responsible for me falling in love with video games. Absolute classic game
Couldn't agree more
i grew up watching my mom play this game all the time as she got every medal on every stage and difficulty and then had to do it again and again as i tried using a gameshark and wrecked the save data. i miss being able to watch her play games since her arthritis got so bad
This is my favorite game of all time. I am also now of the opinion that Fox is just Leon S Kennedy from RE2.
The train on Macbeth is carrying ore to the factory. It's a bit subtle of show don't tell type of story telling. A train in this setting wouldn't really make sense for supplies and such, when you got a solar system to supply and distribute, and you got space ships and stuff. But if they're mining on Macbeth and need to transport large amounts of rare materials to be processed that would make alot more sense.
It is definitely Star Fox's best, if not counting Star Fox 2.
LOVED IT
THANK YOU
Love this game, brings back so many good memories!
It's a classic!
the algorithm brought me here so here's hoping you get the views you deserve for this video. GOOD LUCK!
Much appreciated!
The 3DS remaster is pretty good as well!
Very nice review/retrospective. There's really not a lot else to add, you basically covered everything.
In a way I kinda understand why Nintendo has a hard time doing sequels to this franchise. The journey from getting introduced to the Star Fox crew to the eventual Andross defeat is a perfectly closed package that gives it a strong stand-alone vibe to it. And the game mechanics, like movement controls and upgrades, are as simple as they need, as if adding anything else would break their balance.
Although, there are things that Star Fox 2 and Command do that I believe could work in a proper sequel. Like being able to use other characters, each with their own unique vehicles and attributes. More routes and endings depending on how you complete missions (which the other games already did, but Command went haywire with it). Transforming vehicles. More types of missions. And I'm not too sure on the whole tactical strategy parts, but maybe it could be better if well implemented?
I don't know. I want to play a new Star Fox game. I've played most of them, and still find 64 to be the most fun and replayable. It's hard to top it.
Thanks for the kind words! I definitely agree, 64 is a hard act to follow.
such a good video, i was expecting this to have 1k views at least! im a newer star fox fan and this is such a good introduction to the series.
also, youre correct about the james mccloud scene. "youve become so strong, fox." continues to get me over and over
Thanks so much! Really glad you enjoyed
I loved Sector Z as a kid, but it sucks now trying to go back and collect all the medals, because there isn't enough enemies and you have to drag the timer out. It is by the far the hardest medal to get.
I grew up watching my brothers play this game, it’s an amazing game.
When I was wee I would turn off the game sound, play the training to get to the infinite all range mode, and crank my first music CDs I would be given for Christmas or whatever. I could play that mode for hours.
I am Ben Chaney and this is my favorite video on TH-cam
I am Zachary Thomas and as much as I hate to agree with this goober, I agree
😂
you all are too kind
@@zachdavid99Eyy another Zachary!
Zachary Hunt here, a grand video indeed, fitting for a game as masterful as Star Fox 64
Thanks Ben
The folding wings are likely a reference to the F-14 Tomcat, which was the aircraft with folding wings featured in Top Gun. In reality, folding wings are used more for taking off at sea where you have a much MUCH shorter runway provided by an aircraft carrier and need to generate a lot more lift to get into the air. I've always found that design choice on the Arwing interesting as in reality, by the time this game would've come out, the skies would have bee dominated by the F-15 Eagle and Russian Mig-20s(?) both of which were completely fix winged. Then the Navy (who were the branch employing the F-14) would have switched over to the FA-18 Super Hornet retiring the F-14 entirely. But the concept of a space fighter with folding wings is such a cool design concept I can overlook how perhaps impractical it would be.
I always loved the cultural references in Starfox 64. For example the fleet battle outside Cornaria? Forgot spelling, is a parody of Mobile Suit Gundam, with the green mechs being zakus and even a fast one that is painted red that isn't even a named enemy. Then you have the Katina battle which is the film Independence Day. xD
This was my favorite game growing up.And I just learned that there is a underwater map.And also learn about different ways the levels can end. and a bunch of other stuff that I never knew. Probably, because I always played the same route every single time as a kid.
Im totally mind blown!
Discovering all of the secrets this game had to offer are some of my best video game memories
Dare I say this video is as awesome as Star Fox 64 itself!! 10 out of 10 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🌟
You are too kind
This was my first 3d video game and I spent all my time that night just paying training mode and being amazed. It seemed so big back then. This game would make a good roguelike template.
5:09 actually ☝🤓 all the levels/training BGMs were composed by Hajime Wakai leaving all the rest such like intros, Bill/Kat themes, victory/failure fanfares to Koji Kondo
Thanks for the clarification. Definitely should have included that in the video!
I would love to make a prequel to this game.
You’d play as Ace Vulpes, a new recruit to the Star Fox team led by James McCloud. You’d also fly alongside Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar, doing odd jobs, becoming the quintessential “Heroes for Hire.”
Some missions would also pit you against rival mercenary Cain O’Donnell and his son, Wolf.
The main antagonist would be a Venomian general, who is revealed to essentially be Andross’ right-hand man. This revelation would happen right as the team is sent to investigate a disturbance on Venom, which leads to the team being captured after Pigma turns traitor.
Ace and Peppy would break out, and after failing to rescue James, Ace would run interference in order to buy Peppy time to escape; perishing in the process.
The focus would then switch to Peppy, who faces Pigma in a dogfight before limping back to Corneria.
Then, a few years later, during the Lylat War… the team successfully fends of Andross’ attack on Corneria… but Peppy spots that Venomian general and breaks formation in order to avenge James and Ace; with a confused Fox, Falco, and Slippy following the veteran hare’s lead.
Basically, you would see the rise and fall of the O.G. Star Fox team.
lol... that's an awesome scenario.
The most underrated masterpiece
Glad to see a fellow starfox fan. I too grew up in Arkansas and SF64 was the first video game I played at the age of 4.
Thanks for being here! I was right there with you
Great game and great video!
Thanks, I appreciate it!
This was my first 64 game, it is such a good game.
One of the best
I must've beaten this game a hundred plus times. Every morning before school in early elementary I would beat this game, it took me awhile to find all of the alternate paths. Even longer to unlock the expert mode and acquire the medals to fully complete it. I think it's time to revisit this again. Such a classic! Great video!
Thanks!
I was just chilling in my room and suddenly i thought; "Lets look up a Starfox64 retrospective." And you uploaded this 13 days ago.. Nice.
I love this game so much, i unfortunately didnt understand the game well enough and i didnt really know english, i never got to play the Ocean planet and that Toxic waste planet. :( I would have enjoyed it a lot as a kid, even if i might have hated it i'm sad i didnt get to play it.
I liked Titania a lot more than Mcbeth too, though i loved that explosion at the end. I mostly agree with your list though.
You can also turn the language of the game to Lylat and the characters will speak gibberish, it's really funny.
unoffically changed my name to Falco too because he was the cool guy and i was a kid, it just stuck with me my whole life.
Star Fox rocks.
so do you!
“Never give up. Trust your instincts!” -Peppy Hare
o7
"That Adross was a decoy" You know, I never connected the dots, that the easy route version of Andross was a fake, but that makes sense.
Such a great overview video! Like you said multiple times, the voice acting, environments and controls all come together so amazingly for each level. I had no idea you could repair your ship in the Great Fox!
I'm not nostolgic for this game at all, but its easily one of my favorite games. I always urge people to play it because its so cinematic and good for small sessions.
Even though I've played each route mutiple times, it was really nice to hear anothers opinion on them. Nice video!
Thanks so much! The fact that you like it so much without nostalgia is a testament to its lasting quality.
22:59 They retconned it to not be a star in later titles, most notably Star Fox Command, so you aren't crazy to not think it was a star.
23:53 There's ton of "hidden" lore around this particular mission, namely that Vulcain, the boss from Solar, was supposed to be the aforementioned Secret Weapon, not Spyborg, and which boss you fought depended on how you got to Sector X, so if you failed Katina, you would fight Vulcain, but if you failed Fortuna (which is actually mistranslated, its supposed to be Fichina) you would fight Spyborg instead.
36:18 There's some more "hidden" lore that can only be found in game guides and the such (or the wiki) which is that if you end up at Venom 1 (accessed via Bolse) then you give Andross enough time to prepare a decoy because he knows you are coming and his forces have mustered enough strength to hold you off until he can escape. Meanwhile, if you end up at Venom 2 (accessed via Area 6) then you have destroyed enough of his forces, fast enough, that he doesn't have enough time to escape which is why his last line of defense is just Star Wolf in heavily modified and upgraded ships. The ingame story is basically that if you fail at Macbeth or end up at Titania, you take too long to get to Venom (due to having to rescue Slippy at Titania) or you weren't able to disrupt Andross' manufacturing capacity enough (failing Macbeth) that Area 6 is now too fortified for you to assault. If you fail Sector Z, the story is that you don't have the ordinance without Great Fox to attack Area 6. You can actually see this in game, as Area 6 is the only mission where Great Fox will actually attack enemies.
Oh man, a recent video on SF64, this is my time to shine! you asked what our favorite levels were and BOY do I have a favorite
A level you gave a S+ ranking to (much to my delight) but severely understated in its design, Macbeth.
I think that Macbeth is hands down the best level in Star Fox 64. Even before entering the level the story really hams up how important this mission is, cutting off the primary supplier of Andross’s resources and weaponry via an all out assault on the Forever Train. The intro really helps set the scene as well. The Landmaster, a sizable vehicle considering the size of the smart bombs in comparison, is dwarfed by the massive, imposing locomotive ahead. The barren landscape leaving the only two things that stand out, the train and the Landmaster to really drive home the size difference. Then, the soundtrack kicks you back into focus with the militant trumpets and snare drums giving that “Military base” feel. And yes, I know the track IS recycled for Titania and it does sound great there but I feel it shines in Macbeth. And I’ve only just begun, I haven’t even gotten to what made Macbeth my absolute favorite level in the game; the Forever Train Engineer, or “Benjamin” as some in the community refer to him. Benjamin, in my opinion, is the apex of the VA’s work, each of his lines are dripping in personality and character. A gruff and sassy train conductor with a need for speed and a level of confidence we should all strive for in our lives. I could probably recite each and every one of his lines perfectly due to how diverse and animated they are. When I first arrive home and my two chihuahuas run to greet me I find myself always beginning with “Here come the little hyenas now.” The line delivery is superb in all regards. Benjamin’s character is also a very well defined one, just from the single level he’s featured in so much can be gathered from his lines, his actions, and his tone. He’s cocky, dropping rocks to block our path with an enthusiastic “Here ya go!” Or beckoning us tauntingly saying “What’s wrong? Come a little closer.” As the iron bars close in. He also harbors a need for speed to keep in front of the advancing Landmaster, detaching compartments and putting pedal to metal with lines like “Dang! Detach the rear vehicle!” Or “Step on the gas!” He also seems prideful of his work, when he deploys the “Mechbeth” (a clever play on words and comically, the official name of the boss) he states how “I didn’t expect to have to use this.” Followed by an intimidating “You’re very lucky” before he begins the assault. But the best instance of Benjamin’s line delivery is in the famous fuel bunker ending, the track switching, the metal grinding, and a very well executed “NO! HIT THE BRAKES!!!” With a great job on capturing the emotion of it all, followed by the wonderful “I CANT STOP ITTTTT!” to finish the flawless character design of Benjamin.
To me, there is no level that can even hold a candle to the masterful design and execution of Macbeth and the wonderful dialogue of Benjamin, truly a highlight of Star Fox 64’s brilliance in design.
It's a standout level for sure, and the engineer is one of my favorite villains in the game
@@ivanavi123 Agreed
I love this game
Nice to see another person in Arkansas hyperphyxiated on Star Fox. Loved the video man! 🔥
Hell yeah :) Thanks man!
Great video! Starfox 64 was my favorite game I had ever played for for over 20 years, until I played dark souls in 2017. Starfox is still in my top three of all time! I think it has aged the best of any game from the Nintendo 64 era, as well.
Thanks, I appreciate that! I agree, it holds up really well.
Excellent video. Star Fox was a big part of my childhood and one of the few N64 games that I regularly go back and play. It holds up amazingly well, and you did a great job of capturing why. Well done!
Thanks so much, that's very kind!
A wonderful summary of everything that makes this game a classic. Looking forward to seeing what you do next.
Thanks, that's very kind of you!
I hope we get the definitive Star Fox reboot with a Star Fox 64 remake on the switch 2 and launches this series to the space and beyond!!
At this point I'll take anything lol
I remember having this game the year it came out christmas morning. Lylat Wars as it was known her in blighty, it blew my mind as it was the first game i'd ever played that was fully voice acted. I still return to it when i get the opportunity and it probably is in my top ten games of all time. Thank you for this video you have a new subscriber :)
Thanks! It's been awesome to hear from all the people who have good memories of this game like me
Good video ivanavi 👏🏻
Very excellent analysis and video! Especially the level reviews.
My personal favorite levels are Meteo, Area 6, Zoness, and Macbeth.
Unless I am going for all medals, I never go through Sector Z, Solar, Fortuna, and Titania.
Thank you! Those are some good ones
I remember sector Z being the hardest to get the medal
This is a very well made video; great job!! Subscribed
Thanks, very kind of you!
the game was harder than it was supposed to be
Word, mate. Trying to get all the damn medals gave me bowel cancer.
I can't stopppp iiitttttttttt
Loved this video! Keep up the awesome work. I felt about Katt much the same way you felt about Peppys' Southerness - most girls didn't kick ass like she did in the 90s, with the exception of the girl Power Rangers lmao. So I loved the rep at the time, even if I'd wish for better now. She definitely beat Krystal in SFA, who spent 95% of the game as a damsel in distress.
PS - Star Wolf only shows up on Bolse if you didn't beat them on Fortuna earlier - another example of how awesome this game is and its infinite replayability.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad to hear you appreciated Katt, I've always liked her as well. Girly girls can be cool too!
It took me years to realize Solar wasn't really a star. It's actually just a planet, a hot planet. I guess it kinda makes sense because if it were really a star, there's no way in hell you could even fly that close even if you could take the radiation and the heat the gravity would be a hell of a thing. I looked past the logic of it for the sake of gameplay and figured it was their sun and just went with it. Command calls it a planet several times and there are bases and even some land too if I remember correctly. Maybe it's just gets the name Solar becasue it's the first planet in the system or something IDK.
The official guide for Star Fox 64 does call it a star, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were some translation shenanigans going on lol
@@ivanavi123 Maybe we should just call it a star and say that Command was clearly on drugs.
Thank you for this video.
Thank you for being here!
Fantastic video. Subbed! More Star Fox content please!
I think all my favourite worlds are the ones you liked least, haha.
Thank you so much! That's the wonderful thing about it, they all have something to love lol
37:54 If you look above the Great Fox's wing, you'll see a shooting star, that's James McCloud as it only appears in this ending.
And Solar is a fire planet, that's canon. Nintendo does that in their games.
That's a really cool detail, I never noticed that! As for Solar, the official guide for 64 calls it a star, but I think command later calls it a planet. Guess they couldn't make up their minds lol
@@ivanavi123 Yeah Command shows to have patches of land on Solar and Wolf calls it a planet. It's like Planet Hotbeat from Kirby Super Star like you got the grass planet, the water planet, so of course there's the fire one which happens to be in the middle of the planet system like Solar.
< 150 subscribers? Damn this was a great vid, keep it up!
Thanks! I appreciate that
Cool channel with great taste! SF64 is indeed a masterpiece
Thanks, very kind!
Great Video! 👍
Thank you!
The algorithm worked for once. This is one of my favorite games of all time, and I'm glad I found your channel! Subbed, and gonna watch through your back catalog of vids lol
Thanks so much, that's very kind of you!
Well done.
Awesome video man! Recently got myself back into hyper-fixating on Star Fox, and stumbled across this. Keep up the great work man!
Thanks so much, that's really kind of you to say!
You're welcome! Hope to see you keep growing your channel more in the future man!
Was replaying this game recently and I do agree it's a classic and one of the best games on the N64, but can't help but feel like you've got some rose-tinted glasses on. Particularly for the story and characters. They play their roles decently enough and are entertaining, but very few moments in the game come off as anything but cheesy B-movie fun. The characters don't have a whole lot of depth, and Fox seemed pretty goofy just about the whole time. You showed "We're Star Fox!" as an example of him being the right balance of cool and goofy, but on my recent playthrough that line made me grin at just how cheesy it was. I think Assault struck a much better balance, and it had some genuinely dramatic moments throughout its story.
I definitely hear what you're saying, but that earnest cheesiness is exactly what I love so much about it. Everything is a matter of taste, of course, but it just works so well for me, and I buy the characters, stakes, and story of this game wholeheartedly. Maybe that's just the child in me lol
This guy gets it
28:14 NO! Hit the brakes!!!
Feedback: Please don't ask for a like and subscribe within the first two and a half minutes of a 40 minute video. Not meant to be an aggressive statement, just giving honest feedback. If someone dips out before the midway point, they probably didn't like the video anyways.
Thanks for the feedback~
Maybe it's an arm. Aim for the arm
What frustrates me so much with Nintendo that they cannot seem to make a sequel that’s even close, it’s like they don’t even understand or care what makes SF64 excellent. When Starfox Adventures released I was so disappointed. It’s very similar to what happened to Banjo-Kazooie for me, finally a sequel to a game I love and it changes so much that it almost loses its appeal completely.
Not to mention Starfox Zero, I was prepared to buy a Wii U just to play it but it was a complete dud so I never bothered. I hope it’s not the end for Starfox.
Miyamoto said that he run out of ideas for Starfox and wants to move on.
All they need to do is copy paste starfox 64 just with new levels. And maybe more branching paths...thats it. Id by it in a second. I dont want to be on foot. I dont want crappy motion controls. Just give me starfox 64 with new levels. Its free money i dont understand why they havnt done it yet.
@@Stradus07 Exactly. They do it with Mario but they refuse to do it with Star Fox.
@@budget3121 The problem with Starfox is that it's a rail shooter, it's very difficult to evolve a rail shooter because of how short they are. Not helping matters is that rail shooters have been dead since 2011.
As for Banjo, the series was never met to continue. The original intention for Rare is to create an adventure game called Project Dream on the SNES, but it was moved to the N 64, it wasn't working for some reason. Mostly like because realistic games can be difficult to work on N 64, such as Golden Eye. So Project Dream became Banjo Kazooie.
However now that the N 64 era has ended, Rare no longer needs the Banjo and Kazooie. Why, DK 64. People did not like the backtracking of that game, and while Banjo Tooie's backtracking isn't as bad. Rare might be worried that another Banjo game would suffer the same problems as DK 64 if not worse. It's sad but it's true, some of the greatest games exists because of hardware limitations.
Nuts and Bolts was made because Rare felt that it was easier to make something different. The idea came from Tim Stamper wanted something involving building, with Lego's being the inspiration.
Right now Banjo creator Gregg Mayles is making Everwild.
Thankfully there are Banjo like games such as Demon Turf Neon Splash, Hat in Time, and Tinykin.
@@Stradus07 Because thats easier said then done. See SF 64 would not have been great without SF 1 and 2, SF 1&2 were made by Argonaut games. They are the ones that make SF level design so great, but unfortunately they went bankrupt.
It gets worse, ever since the games went 3d, Nintendo is unable to everything in house any more, because game now a days require more staff than the 90's. So Nintendo hires third parties to make SF games.
As to what went wrong, I recommend this video th-cam.com/video/YwshYBmHlN0/w-d-xo.html.
I recommend Gridd Retroenhanced, Astrodogs, Whisker Squadron: Survivor, and Project Nimbus: Complete Edition as Starfox successors.
Please do a video essay on Mass effect legendary edition 😭😭😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣😭🤣🤤😋😍🍑
do a barrel roll
Please do a video essay on mgs 5 phantom pain and God of war 2018😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🤤🇺🇸😋👹🤤
Cool video, it was just a glorified tier list. Would have preferred to know WHY its timeless through analysis
I appreciate the feedback and engagement. This definitely wasn't an analysis style video, just a passion project about why I love this game so much. Sorry it disappointed!
star fox adventures was undderated and i honestly think starfox assault is better than 64
For feedback, You should really add some music and sound effects, good sound dedign on a video makes it so much better, add chapters with title screens, and don;t be so monotone. Sometimes you want to be excited about a thing, other times sad. Makes for a much more engaging video! also i think you should have just made the list from S to F :c
Thanks a lot for the feedback!
Biggest takeaway from this video: maybe only the first dune sucks
Messiah is where it gets really good, but if you don't like the first one you probably won't like the rest either lol
@@ivanavi123 yea lol. I think it’s just a me thing and growing up with retro games but modern literature, my uncle-in-law is a super intelligent guy and a professor at a great school. He loves dune, but I just feel like the sci-fi elements are a bit under baked and the political commentary is sort of shallow. It’s like some of Shakespeare’s work; you can appreciate it for what it did for both linguistics and art but paradoxically if you look at it under the modern lense it breaks down despite being the basis of much of that work.
I think you just have too much nostalgia.
Idk, I literally just got done playing through the game again earlier today and it still plays extremely well and is just as fun as the other 100x times I’ve beaten it. I’d argue the gameplay aged significantly better than other classics of that era like Mario 64, Ocarina, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider etc. Plus you throw in a great soundtrack, iconic voice lines, tons of replay value and solid visuals (for the N64) and you’re looking at a true classic.
@@vp_wrld might actually be the worst take known to man. It’s a rail shooter, rail shooters are terrible baby shit that a paraplegic can play. You think a rail shooter is better than Mario 64? Lol just lol dude. Rail shooters need their mom to spoon feed them because making their own movements is too difficult.
do a barrel roll