Star Fox

Y ou could easily play through this remake for the first time and be left thinking, ‘Is that it?’ Even for those who know the game well from either its original N64 incarnation or its remastered 3DS incarnation, there may be an initial sense that it flatters to deceive. Beneath the sheen of modern graphics remains a game that was spectacular by the standards of a 30-year-old machine, with all the constraints on design that entailed.

Set-piece battles that once appeared to echo the cinematic grandeur of Star Wars or Independence Day now seem quaintly small. Enemy commanders promise to crush you with immense war machines until they fall apart like a Lego set in the hands of a disgruntled toddler. At times we feel boxed in by the arbitrary confines of the rail-shooter genre itself, as we attempt to dodge around an obstacle only to find the edge of the play area and be forced back into a collision.

But of course, that isn’t ‘it’. It never was and it’s even less so this time. Before you get to that first playthrough, there’s a new prologue sequence featuring Fox’s father, James McCloud, plus a training sim that ensures you know your barrel rolls before you’re thrust into your first planet-saving mission. Fresh cutscenes bookend stages, adding continuity and texture to a team dynamic established in the skies. There’s extra sass to Fox, as leader of a mercenary crew that does things its own way, while your wingmen’s personalities are primed to zing off each other. Even weak link Slippy gains value as the script brings his tech expertise to the fore, which makes his relative lack of combat skill easier to forgive.