Fourteen years ago, Nintendo released the sequel to the acclaimed SNES hit Star Fox for the Nintendo 64, released in the UK as Lylat Wars. It is considered one of the best games for the console and one which still stands as one of the best games within the series.
With three further games garnering mixed reviews from the GameCube and DS gamers, the fan base for Lylat Wars has seen Nintendo re-releasing it on the Wii’s Virtual Console and has received the most success within the series.
After the success of Nintendo’s remake of the classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the 3DS, they have decided to remake Lylat Wars as Star Fox 64 3D and already it has received positive feedback from some reviewers. But unlike most of those reviewers, I have not played the original game and so I will take on this review as someone who has only played Star Fox Adventures out of all the games within the series and I am pleased to say that this is without a doubt one of the best games on the 3DS.
The game follows Fox McCloud and his team of Airwing pilots, Peppy Hare, Falco Lombardi and Slippy Toad as they try to stop the evil scientist Andross from destroying the Lylat System.
After defeating a number of enemies on the first planet you visit, you can choose the next planet within a map that are all connected in a step-by-step routine and after defeating the game, you can play the other planets that you may have missed and the game even also adds medals that you can obtain by beating certain goals and tasks within each level.
The presentation and graphics are really topnotch and really show how powerful the console can be; from showing off the character design really well to seeing the massive waves of enemies that you have to take down on the many planets the visuals are very well rendered. Sound quality on the console pushes the soundtrack and sound effects from the game to a high level and is only better when earphones are put in.
Control wise, the game is really smooth and easily outshines the aeroplane levels seen in Pilotwings Resort. You can control your Airwing in two ways: either using the stick on the console or you can use the Gyro controls to move your vehicle around the levels and while the Gyro controls are as good as they were when using the slingshot in Ocarina of Time 3D, the stick was better and especially after the looks I received on the train earlier today… This option alone helps to give a variety of control options for gamers as some previous games that used the Gyro feature could not turn off or be switched to another option and it’s nice to see Nintendo letting you freely choose your own controls.
The gameplay is also great as the Airwing, Landmaster and Blue-Marine feel both different and are a lot of fun to play with, as the Airwing is fast and great to do the many tricks within the air, the Landmaster being a form of a tank that has a lot of destructive power and the Blue-Marine being a bit slow but nearly as fun as controlling the Airwing and letting you defeat different type of enemies compared to the other vehicles.
Unfortunately, the game does have one major flaw and that is the fact that there is no online multiplayer available. I’m not a massive online player and not the biggest fan of online games, but it was a feature that I was hoping to see as it would give the series a great step-up and have managed to even enjoy the online fights and features I have had on Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition and Dead or Alive: Dimensions.
The multiplayer is therefore be local for up to four 3DS owners (as you can use one cartridge for others to play the multiplayer, apparently) and with the lack of any online content and access, it does hurt itself a bit for those such as myself that has so far liked some of the online features from previous 3DS games. But the multiplayer does seem as though it would offer amounts of fun for local 3DS gamers and while I have not managed to play the multiplayer mode, if it is as fun as the single-player game then you’ll be in for a treat!
Overall, this is a great game and could easily be one of my favorite games not just on the 3DS, but could be my favorite game this year despite my disappointment from the absence of any online modes. It offered a lot of fun and variety during my time spent on the game and while I didn’t feel that it was as long or as many options as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, the medals you can gain and the multiplayer modes should help to make it stand next to the games that Nintendo have developed so far for their handheld. It would be great to see another game in the series released in the near future, but this will easily do until then!
[Rating:5/5]
