As a kid, I remember Star Fox 64 being one of the top games being played by some of my older friends. I never really got into it because I was still stuck in the world of Mario Kart 64, but I still recognized its popularity, especially with the heavy push for rumble packs at the time. Now, almost 15 years later, I own my copy of Star Fox 64 3D and I'm sure all the thrills and enjoyment I'm getting out of it is exactly what all the rave was about all those years ago. Yes, it's still as relevant as it was then and I'll gladly explain why.

Star Fox 64 3D has taken the original Nintendo 64 version of the game and has brought it into the year 2011 in all of its beefed up glory. The graphics have been completely upgraded and looks great on the Nintendo 3DS hardware. The 3D effects are also great to look at and don't make me feel as if my eyes are going to pop off after a prolonged sitting with the game. The quality of how this game looks quickly let's you know that a lot of work and effort was put into it. This is one of the best looking games for the system, and it's complemented by fantastic gameplay.

The gameplay of Star Fox 64 3D includes on-rails aerial and sometimes ground action, and it also includes free flight dogfighting scenarios. The on-rails parts of the game allows you to go ahead and shoot up enemies as you're in an aircraft or tank. The free flight stuff includes some of the same action, such as dodging and weaving while shooting down enemies. However, the only and obvious difference is that you have freedom to go where you want and have much more versatility.

Controls for a game like this would benefit very much from having dual analogs, but steering and aiming your shots with the circle pad does work surprisingly well. You can also play with the gyroscope controls, but this is a bit hard, especially when trying to be accurate. It is also darn near impossible to play with the gyroscope controls with the 3D effects turned up, and this is because of the image distorting when looking at the system from different angles.

Getting through the game is not very difficult, but there are some incentives to play through stages multiple times. You can always go for better scores and keeping your ally partners alive is always a challenge. For those completely unfamiliar with Star Fox, as you play as a Fox named Fox McCloud, you have a team who is made up of other adorable animals who always find a way to get into trouble.

Multiplayer was a huge part of what made the original Star Fox 64 so compelling, and it has definitely returned for this remake. I don't think there's many other things more fun than shooting your friends with some old fashioned dogfighting, and you can that here with up to four players. There are no online modes for Star Fox 64 3D's multiplayer, but that is made up by the ability to play multiplayer with only one cartridge. Personally, I feel that playing locally is much more suitable for a game like this, and the lack of online is that much of a big loss. There's also a number of modes and power-ups in this mode that will surely keep the multiplayer fun engaging for hours.

Overall, I feel that Star Fox 64 3D is a remake of a great game that does the original justice. Sure, there were additions made here and there, but the core gameplay and what made the original so epic was never touched. You pretty much have to pick this up if you've never played Star Fox 64 back in 1997 and you own a 3DS. If you were an avid fan of the original, you will not be disappointed. Star Fox, welcome back to the top after so many years of misses. Hopefully this is a sign of better things to come. Remakes are great, but something fresh with the same amount of effort put into this title would be even better.

  • Title: Star Fox 64 3D
  • Platform Reviewed: Nintendo 3DS
  • Developer: Nintendo EAD, Q-Games
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Release Date: September 9, 2011
  • MSRP: $39.99
  • Review Copy Info: A copy of this title was provided to DualShockers, Inc. by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Star Fox 64 3D
8.5 / 10