Look, I've given up even trying to hide it. I love almost all of Nintendo's franchises. I think they're the preeminent studio of offering unpretentiously brilliant gameplay design that appeals to a very broad swath of people, something that I think is admirable in any artistic medium.
That's why it's so baffling to me that before a couple of days ago, I'd barely spent any time at all with Starfox 64.
When people think of NIntendo, I'm guessing that they think of platformers, of adventures (like with Zelda or Metroid), or more recently, of "casual" software. What Starfox 64 and, more recently, the Sin and Punishment games, have proven to me is that Nintendo (or Nintendo teaming up with Treasure, as the case may be) are quietly one of the best 3D shoot-em-up designers out there. There are so many things that Starfox 64 does right that it kind of boggles my mind.
First off, this is simply one of the most fun games I've ever played, and this extends to every facet of the game. Your ship stays largely on rails, so the challenge is of aiming and manuevering your ship to avoid taking damage and to get the bad guys. This is standard shmup fare, but Starfox 64 totally nails the controls and the feeling perfectly. Your Arwing controls like a dream, and this is a real feat for the N64, a console with notoriously shoddy controls (even really great games like Goldeneye have a kind of baffling control scheme that could only charitably be called "idiosyncratic"). There are a lot buttons and button combinations to remember, but once you have it down pat, everything feels just right. Your ship has just the right amount of manueverability, and the analog stick provides just the right amount of sensitivity and finesse in aiming. Shmups are probably one of the most rigorous genres when it comes to marrying control to gameplay. Outside of Sin and Punishment 2's ultra-precise controls, Starfox has some of the best controls for a 3D shmup that I've ever seen.
Much like how the levels of Super Mario Galaxy 2 or the dungeons of Ocarina of Time are what keep one coming back to those games, Starfox 64 is masterful in creating totally self-contained environments that all feel different, but all feel natural, even organic. No concept is really repeated twice. From the harrowing opening level, set on a ruined Corneria that is literally falling apart as you fly through it, to a heat-soaked solar level where you have to be constantly killing enemies and refilling your health so as not to die from the intense heat, to an awe-inspiring level where you drive a tank and try to destroy a train convoy, the variety in levels is astounding. It really pushes you forward to see what's around the corner, and in an otherwise arcade-y game, gives a sense of grandeur rather than a mere pressing need to not lose all of your quarters. After a few levels of your standard shmup, the levels all start to blur together. That never happens here.
One of the design aspects that I'm constantly impressed with in most Nintendo games is the ability to get out of the game exactly as much as you put into it. There's varying levels of experiences you can have based on your dedication and skill level. Starfox is especially interesting in this regard, as there's no save system of a conventional sort. Rather, the game can be neatly divided into several chunks. As you progress through levels, you can choose what path you want to take to get to the final showdown with Andross. Naturally, this means that you're going to be skipping certain levels. A lot of levels, in fact, as each path only includes about five of the fifteen or so levels there are in the game. This encourages replay, but more than that, allows point scorers or speedrunners several different ways to attack the game. It's a classic Nintendo design.
This extends too to the game's ridiculously fun multiplayer. It's really only something that you can get something out of with at least three people, but nevertheless, the game's controls translate wonderfully into a multiplayer shmup showdown. Outside of Goldeneye and a few other titles on the system, this is one of the very best multiplayer games on the system.
Aesthetically and plot-wise, Nintendo actually took quite a few risks with this game (at least, compared to the usual oeuvre of games). For many years, I'd say that this game stands up as one of the most cinematic that the company has ever produced. Full voice acting is the most obvious feature (even though the N64 really wasn't all that equipped to handle it), but the game's approach to storytelling and its cornball "good vs. evil" space opera showdown is taken right out of the Star Wars playbook. It's an odd move for a company more often interested in older forms of storytelling (i.e., the clear surrealist line that follows the Mario series, or the mythical "Hero's Journey" structure of Zelda), but one that works. Especially, and oddly, because the game is so darned cute. There's something about foxes and wolves and monkeys and rabbits fighting each other in spaceships that really appeals to me (outside of the whole Furry culture surrounding the game, rest assured). Let's put it this way: this is likely to be the only shmup to ever get the Kristy Seal of Approval.
So, I had a blast with the game. It's so much goddamned fun and one of those games that when you just want to pick up something that you know will entertain, this will be the one you (or I, as the case may be) will pick up. Sure, the Saturday morning cartoon conflict of the game is silly at best, but it's charmingly silly. I don't need every game to be a life-changing, serious examination of some deep human conflict. Sometimes, it's fun to watch a cartoon, and sometimes, it's just a blast to play Starfox 64. I can't wait to replay this game when the 3DS comes out.