The Official Star Fox Obsession Thread

[JFo]

First, an explanation of the thread title...

 

Back in the summer of 1997, I was obsessed with Star Fox 64. The days leading up to the game's release were as agonizing for me as a kid waiting to unwrap Christmas presents. Every day for a whole week, I stopped in at the local stores (Target, Funcoland, etc.) with the hopes that I'd be able to find the game on sale a few days early. It was all I talked about with my friends during that time too. Finally, on the day of the game's release, one of my friends, who happened to be an artist, finally had enough of my lunatic ranting. He drew a (slightly unflattering) picture of me with an glazed, unfocused look in my eyes and the words, "Blah blah Star Fox blah" pouring out of my mouth. Vengence and a good laugh were his.

 

With that in mind, it has been far too long since we've had a proper Star Fox game. Sure there was Star Fox Adventures, but we all know that it could hardly be called part of the same series. The Arwing missions were okay, but were nowhere near as cool as what we got on the N64.

 

So here I am quite excited at the prospect of playing Namco's take on the series later this year. At the same time, I'm somewhat skeptical that it will meet my lofty expectations. Reactions to the game at this year?s E3 were mixed. According to those who played it on the show floor, the Arwing missions appeared to be the coming along nicely while the ground missions lacked polish. After downloading some of the movies available at IGN, I must admit that the Arwing level on display did indeed have some of that classic Star Fox magic to it. I can?t put my finger on it, but there is something about seeing an Arwing flying through space, shooting down swarms of bad guys that gets me excited.

 

As for the ground-based missions, the biggest issues there pertained to the mundane graphics and slightly awkward controls, particularly when aiming. Planet GameCube?s write-up even calls the tank mission ?not that great, until the boss.? I guess we?ll have to wait and see.

 

One more thing before I sign off? I really am not happy with the voice acting I?ve seen so far. Check out the mission-briefing movie at IGN to see what I mean. Awkward pauses and terrible deliveries plague this game. It reminds me of when CD-ROMs first came into being and developers would do the voice acting themselves, often with disastrous results. Not only that, but they have different actors doing the voices. This wouldn?t be so bad if they sounded like the actors from Star Fox 64 (or even Star Fox Adventures), but they don?t. I realize that this is just a nit-picky thing on my part, but I would really appreciate it if there was some consistency here.

 

So, I now ask who here is excited by this game, and if there are any other avid admirers of the SNES and N64 games? What would you like to see more of in this new edition?

 

That is all for now. You can all expect more babbling on my part as we draw closer to the game?s release. And yes, that is a threat.

[Mark E]

Jeff, according to the IGN Cube mailbag, those voices were placeholders done by the NOA staff to just have voice ready for the E3 demo.

 

Bag of salt there, but just so you know all hope may not yet be lost .

[JFo]

Oh, thank god! Lord help us all if that's what Nintendo was willing pass off as acceptable voice acting.

[Camp]

They aren't going to speak English, are they? Starfox has always been "bla bla aka oo lup eek-do" type speak (with subtitles), hasn't it?

 

I loved the first Starfox. It's easily among the best and most creative shooters ever made. I probably played through that game 20 times. I really didn't care for the N64 game, however. The multiplayer was fun but got boring after a couple games. The new one looks interesting enough that I'll give it a try but I remain skeptical.

[JFo]

Originally posted by iCamp@May 30 2004, 07:50 AM

They aren't going to speak English, are they? Starfox has always been "bla bla aka oo lup eek-do" type speak (with subtitles), hasn't it?

The original SNES game did not have any spoken dialog, but the N64 game was packed with it. I remember one of the selling points of that game was, "Look, we can do lots of voices on cartridges!" As cheesy as the dialog was though, I much prefer it to the nonsense speak of the original. There's something about good voice acting in this series that immerses me more into the game.

[Rob B]

Originally posted by J.Fo@May 29 2004, 05:57 AM

He drew a (slightly unflattering) picture of me with an glazed, unfocused look in my eyes and the words, "Blah blah Star Fox blah" pouring out of my mouth. Vengence and a good laugh were his.

 

Unflattering???? I thought was right on the button in fact untill said friend told us he drew I thought he had just snaped a polaroid. :lmfao:

[JFo]

If what IGN says is true, Star Fox has been delayed to 2005:

 

IGNcube has learned that Namco's forthcoming space and land-based shooter for GameCube, tentatively titled Star Fox, will not ship this year. The title was formerly scheduled for a late November 2004 ship date, but has instead been quietly repositioned for a 2005 release, allege insiders.

 

There's no word in the article about when the game may come out in 2005, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't get a first quarter release. Nintendo thus far has made no comment on the delay. We'll see, I guess.

 

I can't say I'm necessarily surprised to hear this. The game didn't receive rave reviews at E3, and I suspect the delay is intended to give the title the polish it was severely lacking. I, for one, want nothing less than a stunning shooter with gorgeous graphics and amazing gameplay. What I've seen so far hasn't quite reached that level. With luck, this delay should get us there. I've waited this long for a new Star Fox game; I can wait a little longer.

[JFo]

According to IGN, it looks as if this finally has an official release date of February 24 in Japan. I suspect we'll see the further adventures of Fox McCloud sometime next summer at this rate.

 

Come to think of it, if they offer an English option on the Japanese release, I may even import this one. That, of course, will depend on whether or not the game is actually any good or not, which I certainly hope it is.

[The Daisy]

This one seems really hard to get a read on. I have high hopes... but I think that they could be dashed.

 

Glen

[Romier S]

Heres the cover:

 

 

Star Fox Assault

[JFo]

It looks like there may be hope for this one:

 

Based on our look at the game, Star Fox: Assault looks to have avoided the potential pitfalls it appeared to be poised for following its initial showing. The gameplay has been tightened up, the graphics have certainly been smoothed out, and, most importantly, the game got fun. Fans of Starfox will certainly want to check the game out when it ships next month.

 

Well that's certainly nice to hear. I was beginning to fear that this game was going to be a complete let down. I'm not certain yet if it will be as good as Star Fox 64 was, but we'll see soon, I guess.

[The Daisy]

Yeah, I was really worrying about this one.

 

Thankfully it looks like it's turning out to be better.

 

Glen

[scobeto]

Originally posted by J.Fo@May 29 2004, 05:57 AM

He drew a (slightly unflattering) picture of me with an glazed, unfocused look in my eyes and the words, "Blah blah Star Fox blah" pouring out of my mouth.

I've never played StarFox, but for some reason feel an unfettered need to see this picture

[GreenMonkey]

Good StarFox news!! I will totally buy this shortly after it comes out if the reviews are good - when I can get it @ sub-$35 or so, that is. Gaming budget is tight

[JFo]

http://cube.ign.com/articles/580/580492p1.html

 

This news is a little old, but apparently there will be a few unlockable games in StarFox Assault. Unfortunately, none of them happen to be old StarFox games. Instead, we'll be getting Xevious, Star Luster, and Battle City, which happen to be old arcade games made by Namco. They should be fun additions to the overall package, and I am interested playing them. However, a part of me really wishes that they had included StarFox 2 for the SNES instead.

 

I've never played StarFox, but for some reason feel an unfettered need to see this picture

 

Sorry, I don't have the drawing anymore, but I have something similar that might give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Once I can make a scan of it, I'll be sure to post it.

[Carlucci]

I got an email today from Nintendo....

 

 

Get an exclusive sneak peek of this hot new game by renting at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video Feb. 1-13! ...

 

It has a link for more info, but that just goes to the Starfox.com website, with no other info on the rental, but it does say a release date of 2/14.

 

Strange to allow it for rental a few weeks earlier. Seems like a clever way for everyone to make a little more money. It will be tough for fans like us to resist paying the rental fee and then buying it outright a few weeks later.

 

If only they would have the rental price apply toward purchase, then everyone would win!

 

 

Carlos.

[JFo]

That is indeed a very interesting development. I'm surprised none of the main news sites have picked up on it yet.

 

Part of me wants to hold off and not rent it before the release date. That part knows that if I do rent it, I'm going to play the shit out of it, and probably finish it off before it comes out. Hence, the $50 I spend for my own copy will be a "waste" because I won't even play it much after that.

 

The other part of me says, "Give in, you fool! You know you want to play this right away! Rent it and be happy." Which side will win at this point, I cannot say. Stay tuned.

[Camp]

I see the 'rent it before you can buy it' promotion as a very bad omen.

I can recall about 3 or 4 other anticipated titles that did the whole 'rent before you can buy' thing and all of them were major disappointments.

[JFo]

Camp;

 

Disappointments in what regard? Were the disappointments because of low sales or because they weren't very good?

[Camp]

Oh, sorry...I guess I could be more clear. They were disappointments in terms of quality...that is, they really sucked.

 

I'm having a bit of a brain blockage right now and can't remember the titles. I'll get back in when I'm able to remember.

[JFo]

It looks as if IGN has decided to take advantage of the early rental window for Star Fox Assault. The full write-up of their initial impressions of the final version can be found here. This is some of what they had to say:

 

There are of course several space-based missions, each more impressive than the next. In one, Fox must blast his way through an asteroid belt. Every time he shoots an asteroid, the object splits into a half dozen rocks and the effect actually looks pretty good. In another space mission, Fox must zoom his Arwing through a station, avoiding mechanical arms, twirling down hallways and blasting any enemy in sight. The best part about this latter level is that the angle of the action seamlessly changes during play. In one instant, Fox is flying straight toward a building and in the next his Arwing is climbing up its many stories.

 

The article also discusses the ground missions, which are described as "rough and unpolished." Interestingly enough, it sounds as if there will be a dual analog control set-up so that you can run and shoot at the same time. At the very least, it sounds as if the ground missions might not be the total disaster of the commando missions in Rogue Squadron III. At least I seriously hope not.

 

The length of the game is describe as short, but if it's anything like Star Fox 64, I'm not too worried. Even though that game wasn't exactly long, I kept coming back to it because I loved how you could essentially make your own adventure as you went along. This created some fun surprises as characters from previous levels would show up and help you out or a failed objective would change the course of your adventure. This kept me coming back to it again and again, even after I had gotten all of the medals on Expert. I'd really like to see them do that again, only with the option of saving your progress as you went along.

[GreenMonkey]

Hmmm

 

might have to rent this early

 

I was in Hollywood tonight but didn't remember to look for it.

[JFo]

IGN posted their review of Star Fox: Assault and they are not kind to it:

 

While somewhat fun, Star Fox: Assault fails to impress. It lacks the originality, mechanics and style of a next-generation sequel. Playing through the game?s opening sequence will rekindle your love for the franchise, only to have it betrayed by the shoddy control and repetitive play of successive levels. And the multiplayer, while dishing out mild entertainment, wears thin excessively fast. It would have been nice to see a greater variety of modes, not to mention better maps and more of them. Still, Star Fox: Assault will definitely appeal to fans of the series.

 

That's not what I wanted to hear. Perhaps it's a bit too early to be saying something like this, especially since I have yet to play it, but I look at the amazing work Sega did with F-Zero GX and wonder how good this new Star Fox would be if Nintendo had given it to them rather than Namco. Specifically, I wonder how good it would have been had they given it to the team at Smilebit that made Panzer Dragoon Orta. Those guys obviously know how to make an on-rails shooter game.

 

Anyway, I still plan on checking this out, but I may try renting it before I buy. I don't want to lose fifty bucks on a game that may do nothing more than utterly depress me.

[GreenMonkey]

I have this on rent from Hollywood, and played through the first few levels. Haven't had a chance to play it since, though.

 

Comments...

 

The magic of Starfox64 or original Star fox did not seem to be there for me. Control of the Arwing seemed good on the space levels.

 

An attempt at story is there, but the voice acting is terrible. For god's sake, I wish they would start at least hiring anime voice actors for video game dubs. Even the WORST modern anime dubs sound better. The dub seems to rival 90's era anime dubs in badness. :barf

 

The ground level I played was very annoying. I did not like the control of the ground tank thing at all. The whole level was very painful to play. I wanted to get back to a space level. And while there were enemies to kill, I didn't really need to, as I could just roll around them or into them. I stopped aiming at them after a while.

 

Short recap:

Overall the space levels seemed cool, but the ground level sucked ass. And for those of you familiar with anime, the voice acting makes Crest of the Stars seemed well dubbed (and I honestly don't mind the Crest dub much myself).

 

I will hopefully play this a little more before I return it.

[ChoiceStriker]

<Sigh>. When are game companies going to learn to quit screwing around with everything that made people love the original? StarFox and StarFox 64 were fantastic without all the damn running around on land.

 

There's a difference between changing things because you're trying to innovate, and just changing them because you think you should. It's like what I said in my Metroid Prime 2 review - sometimes it's better not to screw with a proven formula too much. If they'd given us "fly Samus' ship" missions, I would have wondered what they were thinking.

 

Also, sorry to interject something somewhat irrelevant, but this is a pet peeve of mine in IGN's comments:

There are of course several space-based missions, each more impressive than the next.

So, that would mean that they suck more and more as the game progresses? It's like saying "I could care less" when you really mean you couldn't care less.