"Star Fox 64 3D" is a remake of the popular Nintendo 64 game Star Fox 64. It was remade in stereoscopic 3D for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released 9/9/2011. While the storyline is virtually the same as the original, it does have its own differences, including voice acting, and some visual graphics. The game now has the same name in all territories as opposed to the original release in Europe and Australia, as Nintendo now have secured the rights to the Star Fox title.
Changes
Major Enhancements/Changes
- It is now possible to save between missions, instead of having to complete all seven in one try.
- The sound quality has been greatly improved over the original. In addition, the soundtrack has been modified, and all voices have been refreshed, though Mike West, Lyssa Browne, and Jay Green returned to reprise their respective roles.
- While the N64 version only had English and Japanese dubbing (plus the Lylat language only available in Star Fox 64's PAL version : LylatWars), the remake has been dubbed into many languages, mostly European (like Spanish for Spain, Spanish for Latin America, Italian, or French). The Lylat language voice option is now no longer present.
- If the player exhausts all their lives, they will be taken to a Continue Screen where General Pepper says “Keep your head up, Fox! The Lylat System is counting on you!” The player is then offered a chance to Continue the game from the beginning of the stage they were currently playing or end the game. Choosing to quit the game with the current score takes the player to the Game Over screen.
- The Introductory text now says, "STAR FOX ON NINTENDO 3DS" instead of "STARFOX IN NINTENDO 64".
- The Star Fox team's logo now shimmers behind the name of a level or mode, while the mission names and world descriptions are displayed much slower in a more dynamic style.
- Before gameplay begins on Venom, the mission name and the world description is now displayed for that stage.
- Training Mode is now required to be completed at least once before the story can be attempted.
- After completing Training Mode, a trial run is now an available option. The player must fly down a metallic tunnel with a series of still pillars and moving obstacles to the finish. In addition three stars are giving as chances, with one lost for each crash made. Losing all three stars results in failure.
- Yaru de Pon now has spoken dialogue, as opposed to speaking just the Lylat language in the original. Evident by when he says "To recieve incoming messages, tap that Touch Screen." his tone of voice suggest he is giving army boot camp orders, rather than instructions or hints.
- The 3DS gyroscope can be used to control the Arwing/Landmaster/Blue Marine in place of the Circle Pad
- Upon playing the main mode once, a new Score Attack mode is unlocked, allowing the player to replay levels and attempt to beat their best score, instead of having to beat the whole game in one go.
- The mission closing cutscenes can now be skipped after they are watched at least once.
- On Venom, a medal can be earned only on the hard level of that stage, while in the original game, a medal can be earned on both easy and hard levels of that stage.
- It is now possible to shoot lasers with the torpedo button, if pressed before the torpedo explodes, on Nintendo 64, they were 2 actions with separate buttons.
- On N64 v1.0, achieving a score of over 511 on a single level causes the game to subtract 256 from this level's score and the total score on the rankings. v1.1 patched this by limiting the score on a single level to 511. All versions of the Wii, Wii U and Nintendo Switch Virtual Consoles use version 1.1. The 3DS version completely fixes this bug, and now has a single level score limit of 999.
Graphic Enhancements/Changes
- The graphics have received a major improvement over the original, in addition to being displayed in stereoscopic 3D (when it is toggled on).
- The map displayed in All-Range Mode now shows the locations of the silver rings, gold rings, laser upgrade items, and wing-repair items.
- All major bosses now have their names displayed at the start of each fight, which was previously only seen in supplemental material. With the exception of Spyborg, each boss also has a title above their name, similar to how the bosses were listed in the original Star Fox manual. These boss's names and titles refers back to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Banjo-Tooie.
- The physical design of Bolse has changed, making it look more like a traditional satellite.
- Corneria now has viewable landmasses and oceans.
- There is now a green haze surrounding the Lylat System's Starfield, instead of just circling Venom's atmosphere.
- Venom now has a cloudy atmosphere and a sandy yellow surface (perhaps a reference to its original SNES colouring).
- Zoness now possesses rain. Similarly, in Fichina, it is now snowing.
- Katina now has water puddles. The Katina Frontline Base itself has been retextured with more details and connecting pathways.
- Macbeth now appears in a sandy yellow on the Lylat map (yet it has a grey surface), instead of turquoise.
- Sector Y is changed from green/yellow to purple/orange in the actual level and bluish yellow in the mission select screen. Similarly, Sector Z has a more dark purple shade compared to the original game's orange.
- The Training mode now resembles a wire framed VR simulation instead of a realistic space city, resembling the simple maps from Star Fox: Assault's Multiplayer.
- In addition, Corneria is no longer in the background.
- The destruction of various bosses are significantly more fast-paced.
- The planet Fichina has its correct name displayed, as opposed to being named Fortuna in the western territories.
- The color of the background when fighting Andross is changed to red. In addition, Andross no longer appears as a shadow when first seeing him, and his evil laughter is shorter than in Star Fox 64.
- The Great Fox's tail fin looks like that from Star Fox: Assault.
- Bill Grey's Cornerian Fighter uses an identical model from Star Fox Command, making him stand out more from other Cornerian Fighters.
- If the Great Fox gets hit by a missile in Sector Z, the wing will be broken instead of completely being blown off, like the N64 version.
- Each of the two warp stages, one in Meteo and the other in Sector X, have different background colors, instead of both of them having the same color, green and yellow. In Meteo, the warp background color is orange; for Sector X, magenta or pink.
- The Landmaster resembles its Super Smash Bros. Brawl appearance.
- The fields which the Star Fox team run through during the credits is now covered in rocks and has hills on the horizon.
- In the opening cinema, James McCloud is not holding a blaster.
- The Arwing's status can be seen on the touch screen; e.g., laser type, and if wings are broken.
- In the Star Fox 64 ending, General Pepper offers the Star Fox team a chance to join the Cornerian Army, but Fox interrupts the offer and turns him down. In the 3D version, Fox lets General Pepper finish his sentence before declining the offer.
- In Area 6, Gorgon's hyper beam is now red instead of rainbow colored.
- This might be because the N64 version of this effect is slightly considered as a flashing light, being able to cause epileptic seizures.
- The conference hall where the Star Fox team meets General Pepper after the end of the war has changed into a hangar, with fewer, more spread out Dog soldiers.
- In addition, the generic planet Corneria image and lettering has been replaced by the Cornerian Army logo from Star Fox: Assault.
- When completing Expert Mode via Area 6 and Venom II, Fox now gives the player a thumbs up on the still image, instead of talking into his comm-link wrist pad. Also, Fox's name is shown in the Communications Channel in Expert Mode.
Battle Mode
Battle Mode serves as Star Fox 64 3D's multiplayer component and has been completely reworked for the Nintendo 3DS. Battle Mode can either be entered in single player, or a lobby can be hosted in which other local players can join via download play. Players are given the option to display live video of themselves in game using the 3DS's inner facing camera instead of the respective Star Fox pilot. Like the original game, up to four players can compete in a match, however, empty slots can now optionally be filled with AI-controlled enemies.
Arwings are now distinguishable by different ship, laser, boost, and powerup coloration. Additionally, in contrast to story mode, barrel rolls now fill up the boost meter slightly. Any player or AI opponent with a score higher than the player will be marked with a crown. Three different gametypes are available: Survival, Points Battle, and Time Battle. In Survival, every player has only one life; if multiple players are left when the time runs out, the round will proceed to sudden death. In Points and Time Battle players battle to a set score and time limit, respectively. Each gametype can be customized to an extent.
- Time/Points Limit: Time can be set to 2, 3, or 5 minutes in Survival mode and 3, 5, or 7 minutes in Time Battle. In Points Battle no time limit is present and the match will instead end at 3, 5, or 7 points.
- Items: Can be set to either Classic or Power-Ups.
- COM: Enable AI controlled Arwings and select difficulty. Available options are Off (only when other players are present), Normal, Advanced, and Expert.
- Stage: Macbeth, Meteo, Corneria, Venom, or random selection.
- Player Icons: Choose whether enemy icons are displayed Always or only when enemies are Nearby.
- Shield Gauge: This option only affects the player and serves as a handicap function to new players, or provide a greater challenge for more experienced players. Can be set to Normal, Small, or Large.
Power-Ups
When Items is set to classic, only items that were present in the original game will be at the players' disposal. These include the star, silver rings, wing repair, laser upgrade, and smart bomb. When toggled to Power-Ups, mystery boxes not unlike Mario Kart's items will be scattered throughout the map. In addition to smart bombs now being a possible outcome, there are several different unique weapons available from these boxes.
- Force Field: Protects the user from any incoming projectiles. The player can still take impact damage from colliding with other Arwings or buildings.
- Cloak: Renders the player completely invisible, including on radar.
- Smart Bomb
- Dead Weights: Releases multiple sandbur-like objects that latch onto enemy ships to slow and weigh them down. If you find yourself under the effect of Dead Weights, pressing L and R rapidly in succession detaches them more quickly.
- Supernova: Launches a massive ball of energy that can be guided to some extent with the circle pad.
- Homing Missiles: Launches a flurry of missiles that lock on and pursue any players in sight.
- Transposer: Upon activation the user will switch places with a nearby enemy, which can be used as a method of confusion or trapping.
- Stealth Mines: Releases multiple floating mines behind the Arwing. These mines stay invisible until in close proximity.
- Firebird: An extremely rare power-up. Upon activation the user's Arwing becomes engulfed in flames and inflicts instant death on anyone the user boosts into. Whilst this power-up is activated, the user's laser(s) are temporarily disabled.
Names in Other Languages
Language | Name |
---|---|
Japanese | (スターフォックス64 3D, Sutā Fokkusu Rokujūyon Surīdī) |
References
Main Games | ||
Spin-offs | ||
Super Smash Bros. Series | ||
Other | • Cameos • Virtual Boy • Arcade • Wii • Star Fox Armada • Dinosaur Planet (game) |