Star Fox 64: Let’s rock and roll!

The view as I fly over Star Fox 64‘s take on Corneria is nothing short of breathtaking. Spray kicks up as I skim over the reflective water at the start. The roads I can duck under or fly over as giant robots topple entire buildings with a single shove. The scrolling “Good luck!” signs on surviving structures. It’s so busy. And when I’m done there the asteroid stage afterwards is rendered entirely in 3D, with some of the rocks hurtling towards me so large I can pass straight through the middle of them, fighting off agile enemies as I go. This was exactly the sort of head-turning opening Nintendo’s console needed at the time, a game capable of proving a cart-based console could produce the same sort of lavish, cinematic experiences its CD-based competitors had already spent years making look easy. And far from the only modern feature in Fox’s adventure. This N64 release in particular would be many people’s first taste of in-game rumble, the game initially bundled with 1997’s newest…