The brightest star. Part 1

In the year 1993, Nintendo released a game that would forever change my view on games. A game that blew so many boundaries and borders and that opened up the doors to something new and unexplored. A game that was almost completely unique and in style and appearance and gameplay that moved its players beyond the stars. A game that was, and still is, in my eyes, the brightest star. The game is StarFox for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System home console and this is my commemoration, not only to one of the best games ever made, but to the series of excellent it spawned as well.

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To touch briefly on what StarFox is all about for someone that haven’t heard of, or played the game, StarFox is shooter game in which you take the role of the pilot named Fox McCloud and where you, along with your Star Fox team has to save the solar system Lylat from an invasion by the evil scientist Andros. The Corneria army can’t stop him, so it is up to you and your three wingmen that makes up the star Fox team, to stop him and his evil plans. The setup and genera isn’t new, but the way it is all executed in this game is simply amazing and not like something I had ever seen before.

The game did something that was new to me, something I had never experienced before. I remember the first feeling that almost overwhelmed me as I played this game for the first time. A feeling, similar to fear, yet not exactly, but I was afraid to play the game as it scared me. This probably sounds silly to you, but have you ever been moved like that by a game you have ever played? I didn’t like the game at first, but as I tried it, I played more and the game grew on me over time and now it is my favourite game series of all time.

What made me repel from the game like that you might ask then? Well, simply put, I had never seen anything like this before, as this was the first game I ever played that had 3D graphics like this. The graphics of this game was so commanding that the SNES itself could not handle the game. It was the Super-FX chip that was implemented into the games cartridge that made it this work. The chip is basically a 3D accelerator that allows the SNES to handle and display, for its time, complex three-dimensional models with polygons. You flew through gorgeous levels like the a city on the planet Corneria, dense asteroid fields in space, enemy space stations and wide planets where dinosaurs leap out of the water as you fly over an oceans surface. Not to mention the games intro video that still is one of the coolest ones ever made.

But this isn’t what makes this game so special. There is so much more to it then just the awesome and jaw dropping graphics. First off, and the fight that would first thing to strike you when you come in contact with this game is the truly unique box-art. Using the Japanese art style kimono, in which you find animals that have taken human form, the games main character Fox McCloud, who happens to be, well... a fox. Your wing mates consist of the cocky ace-pilot Falco Lombardi, the wise veteran Peppy Hare and the team mechanic Slippy Toad. One thing that will make them so charming is that you will hear them complain on the radio when you kill one of the targets they are chasing, give you some advice on what’s up ahead, and many other things that will really make you feel how tight the team is.

The music in the game deserves a small section of its own. It’s really amazing what the composer could perform with the SNES sound chip. The favourites would be the theme music from the first planet, Corneria, a track that is timeless and sound just as good today as it did over ten years ago. The sheer mix of music that is in the game ranges from the catchy rock tunes on just named track, and the groovy theme you hear after clearing each level, to the music of lonely space in Sector Y. And last but not least there is the StarFox theme itself is probably my all time favourite video game music.

The gameplay itself is spot on, and you would never imagine it could be this easy to fly a high-tech space craft in 3D. But your Arwing, as the spacecrafts your team are flying are called, handles like a charm, although it can get a bit sluggish one in a while, mainly because of the slightly low frame rate the game has. You even get to choose one of three ways to the final level, the planet Venom where you will strike back at the evil emperor Andros and stop his plans once and for all. The routes you can take are of different difficulty though, where the hard route is super challenging, and this also gives the game excellent replay value. And there are so many enemies in your way from start to finish, from the smallest enemy fighter craft that can barely aim, to the biggest of enemy attack carriers. The bosses also deserve some credit, as they really have something special about each and every one of them. You will encounter things like the spider like robot, Dancing Insector that will try to pierce you with it razor sharp legs, to the Metal Smasher in outer space that will try to smash you into space dust.

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Here I have touched on some of the things of the StarFox universe, like the main characters of the game, the gameplay and also the graphics which really mad a huge impact on me. However, there is only so much you can say about this game. My interest in the StarFox games and the world they take place in goes way beyond this. StarFox for the SNES was only the start and don’t really tell that much of the overall story as the later games would come to do. Here it is the gameplay and the start of its style that is important. There are so much more to be found beyond this game, and there aren’t too much to say about anything else right here in particular...

I will continue from here, and judging by this games content, I think that my next text in this series will be more interesting to read as it will go beyond explaining the game itself. This game was just the beginning, and as it doesn’t have that much more to it then what I have written so far it is also the best way to start like this. The next game in the series would further expand what was established here, and it gives the series so much depth and a even brighter character... but that, is another story. Until next time.