I’ve actually never played this game before, since I didn’t grow up having games of my own I just never encountered it. I’ve heard a lot of people through the years praising it though so I finally went ahead and bought it! Star Fox is what it’s called in Japan. This popular series has also gone by the name of Starwing and Lylat Wars, mainly in Europe.
A lot of people are probably gonna hate me now, but I don’t really care, everyone is entitled to their own opinion! ;D
I didn’t like it.. It might be because I don’t have any nostalgic memories when playing it. I bet it was all amazing and such when it came out, but it hasn’t’ aged well in that case. The controls were a bit stiff and I found it hard to aim and hit the targets.. I did give it a good hour or so before quitting.
I also tried several different routes you could choose from, and reached a couple of different bosses, all but one of which I couldn’t beat..
I have to admit that the graphics are unique for the SNES and the polygon shapes are somewhat charming, but this type of shooter (rail shooter) just isn’t my type of shmup. I prefer sidescrolling shooters, horizontal or vertical or fixed shooters like space invaders :) Bullet hell shooters are also quite fun ^_^
I will put this in my shelf, to await that nostalgic friend that will visit me and ask for it. Then I will gladly pull it out, let them play it for all the hours they want while I watch and in my mind being glad that I don’t have to play it again ;D
Retro Video Gaming 
I hear you. The game just isn’t that great. Back in the day the effects were cool, but I too couldn’t get into the game:(
So you didn’t even like it back in the day huh? ^_^ I don’t blame you! Let’s start a club! The “StarFox-Just-Isn’t-As-Great-As-Everyone-Says-It-Is-Club” ;D
That box art is kinda cool though. Oh well, box arts (and game cases) in the 90s and 80s tend to be really classy and over the top and just perfect, compared to the cases of today, which sometime only have one paper sleeve as a manual :(
Indeed, there are so many example of great artwork for games and boxes back in the 80’s and 90’s ^_^ I miss those handpainted interpretations of the pixelated character ;D Like this Switchblade cover!
I still have my SNES version at home. Loved that game. Very difficult when I was younger.
Don’t ruin the memory by trying it out again today ;D
Ha! Some people love StarFox, some don’t. I liked some parts, but didn’t think it was as great as some folks did. I think StarFox Adventures did things better because it was also a 3D action game. But even that was better when it was the N64 game Dinosaur Planet (which got canned and changed into that Starfox game later). That said, I like some rail shooters and not others for weird reasons. Astron Belt and StarBlade, anyone?
Off topic, do you have DOOM for the SFAM/SNES? it’s one of those games where if you didn’t play the PC version, what’s on that cart is actually quite good and fun to play.
Never heard of Astron Belt or StarBlade… what are they for? :)
I have DOOM on the Atari Jaguar ;D But I played the PC game when I was young.. :/ so I think I’ll leave my Atari Jaguar DOOM copy sealed ;D
Some history for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astron_Belt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starblade
They’re both “like it or hate it” rail shooters that were pioneers at the time of their release. Now, they’re not seen as great at all. Astron Belt is just hilarious because of the film clips and how they make the game a lot more “action packed” even tough you’re basically not doing much but trying not to get blown up.
Heh. DOOM is an interesting bird on the SNES/SFAM because it’s a case of “how’d they do that?” that more or less works well within the limitations of the hardware. Each console version has pros and cons, but you REALLY need to love DOOM to play through them all, lol.
Interesting, I need to get myself an MSX! ^__^ weird that star lads got released on wii virtual console when it was previously on sega and Playstation and never any other nintendo consoles…
Where these two popular in the arcades back in the day?
I never liked it, and I first saw it back in 1994 but have played a total of 5-10 minutes… However, I tried Starfox 64 recently and it was fun.
Everyone says that the 64 version Is good, I wonder if I’ll agree ;D I guess I have to get it to find out ^__^
I recall Astron Blade being cheesy but moderately popular for a short while back when it was released, but kind of comical because of the special effects footage it used from a couple of sci-fi flicks. The arcade version is definitely “superior” to the MSX laserdisc one as you’ll see below:
Arcade:
MSX:
StarBlade came out a few years later and was impressive, but once beaten it wasn’t really a game you’d keep going back to unless you were so blown away and wanted to show off your cursor moving skills (heh). Then again, the novelty of those polygons back then was pretty impressive and I see that some people own StarBlade cabinets, so I’d say the game made an impression on them back in the day.
Amusingly enough, the new Star Wars Battle Pod arcade game is basically a souped-up StarBlade for the modern age!
I think the MSX version looks a little bit better ;D but they both seems kind of shitty though hahaha ^_^
StarBlade looks like a pimped out version of StarFox! lol ^^ don’t think I would enjoy it ;D
Damn that Star Wars game looks rad though! Probably cause I love star wars ;D
Just want to say that Star Fox is a true classic. I have always love the Super Nintendo / Famicom version. Just want to say also that I don’t think much of the Star Wars games and never did. Star Fox had the better visuals and gameplay.
Yeah, Astron Belt is pretty crappy, but I like the actual SFX explosions in the arcade version over those MSX explosions that look like they were lifted from episodes of the old 60’s Batman TV show. POW! ZAP! SPLOORT!
That said, I’d bet you’d LOVE Cube Quest if an arcade machine turned up out thataway. That was one weird (and innovative) laserdisc game:
I always felt like Starfox played poorly due to the low framerate. People have been able to overclock the FX chip which makes the game seem much more playable, and I’ve been meaning to do this mod myself someday!
I haven’t actually played the original Star Fox (Star Fox 64 remains the only game I’ve played in that series), but it seems like it would fall in the same category of games as the original Metroid and Earthbound Beginnings in that none of these series would shine until their respective sequels on the next console. Playing Star Fox 64, Super Metroid, and Earthbound first would make their predecessors feel like incomplete prototypes.
A lot of people dismiss graphics as unimportant. A part of me agrees because there is no doubt gameplay is more important, yet sometimes, novel ideas needed machines with superior graphics in order for them to truly be realized. A good example would be the Metal Gear series. Great idea for the eighties, but it wouldn’t become amazing until the graphics caught up with the innovative ideas.
I agree with you on all of that, except for Metroid. The 8bit graphics of Metroid on the NES and the music to go with it are amazing! ;P in my opinion anyway, but Metroid holds a special place in my heart. And I prefer the 8bit to the 16bit version (mainly cause of nostalgia and that I haven’t had time to play through super Metroid yet)
If you haven’t played Super Metroid, then I highly recommend it. A lot of people consider it the best game in the series. I think it’s unequivocally the best 2D Metroid, but I’d say my personal favorite would be Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, which is one of my all-time favorites.
If nothing else, I do agree that the music of the original Metroid is amazing.
I have tried it briefly, I need to sit down and finish it some day, but I prefer the music from the first one better, from what I’ve heard so far at least ;D I’ll give super Metroid another try as soon as I have time ^__^
I can beat it in 20 mins flat