Developer: Rare Publisher: Nintendo Release: 09/23/22 Genre: Action Adventure
The final days of the Nintendo 64 were dark. Usually when most platforms enter their end of life gamers are treated to some of the best titles in their library as developers have learned to squeeze every ounce of power out of the little box. But the N64, which never enjoyed great support, suffered one cancellation after another. Dinosaur Planet looked to be one last epic from Rare before they moved on to the GameCube. But a visit from Nintendo and the reality of the system’s flailing market lead to the game being reborn as Star Fox Adventures. It is a strange combination and one that is still divisive to this day. Star Fox Adventures has a little bit of an identity crisis but overcomes that to be a good game with some flaws in the end.
Dinosaur Planet is under siege. General Scales and his SharpClaw army have overthrown the ruling Earthwalker Tribe and stolen the Spellstones, causing pieces of the planet to splinter and suspend in orbit. While answering a distress signal from the Earthwalker Tribe Krystal attempts to return the Krazoa Spirits to the Krazoa palace and restore the planet but is trapped in….crystal by Scales. The Star Fox team is hired to investigate the disturbances on Dinosaur Planet, not just to help but to also earn a pay check.
Dinosaur Planet was a new intellectual property early in its development. The game was actually very far along in development before Rare were approached by Nintendo to add the Star Fox license to enrich its universe. They also moved it from the N64 to the newly released GameCube for a greater chance of success. The idea is sound; in a shooter there is little opportunity to give its cast character development and in that regard you do get some insight in to Fox’s personality. But I will be blunt; even though I like the game the application of the Star Fox license is slight. Outside of controlling Fox McCloud and the Arwing sequences there is little else to make this feel like a Star Fox game. While the implementation is disappointing the game is good enough to overcome that.
As Fox you will not be running around with a blaster but a magic staff. This multi-purpose tool is both a melee instrument and long range weapon. During the course of the game you will acquire a variety of powers for the staff. These range from the simple fire blast to freezing cold and a mini earthquake. There are many secondary items to collect like bomb spores, moonseeds, fuel cells, and plenty more that all serve a purpose. Fox is not alone in his journey as Tricky becomes his sidekick and tags along. While annoying at first Tricky is integral to solving many of the game’s puzzles with his various commands and abilities. It is a fun dynamic between the two and makes what would be an otherwise lonely journey fun.
Let’s not mince words, the game is very explicitly patterned after the Ocarina of Time. From its lock-on camera, combat, first person aiming and even some of its puzzles, Star Fox Adventures follows in Banjo Kazooie and Diddy Kong Racing’s footsteps of taking what Nintendo did and trying to make it better. Rare have done a good job but the game never quite rises to that level. Dinosaur Planet is a massive world with many unique regions. The game doesn’t strictly follow the room by room structure of Zelda as its various “dungeons” are wide open areas. The puzzles are clever at times and a little too ambitious for their own good. Using mobile transports to carry bombs through treacherous territory without exploding is fun. But when you enter a massive room with no idea what they expect of you it is frustrating.
This is a common occurrence and one of my biggest criticisms. The game does not do a good job of leading you. Say what you will about a Navi like character buzzing in your ear but their guidance goes a long way. The audible cues or camera shifts when completing puzzles in Zelda are what make the dungeons in that game intuitive. Rare have gone out of their way to create uniquely varied challenges in each area but they often fall flat. The devil is in the details and that is why Zelda looms so large on the genre.
One of the most common complaints surrounding Star Fox Adventures is that it is a collectathon. Rare had a penchant for this in their games with Donkey Kong 64 being the worst. Star Fox Adventures is not that bad but there are an obnoxious number of fetch quests necessary for progress. While brief they lean on this a bit too much. As well the large number of items you collect is mind numbing. The names are ridiculous like bafmodads and grubtub fungus. They sound like someone making shit up for the sake of it. I understand the complaint but it did not bother me.
It is a damn shame this is Rare’s only GameCube title as they had a good grasp of the hardware. Star Fox Adventures is a visual spectacle and one of the best looking GameCube games despite its early release. The game throws around plenty of special effects like realistic rain, water reflections, bump mapped surfaces, and fur shading. Character models are incredibly detailed and feature good facial animation as well. Dinosaur Planet is a varied world and the game has great art direction. And it all runs at 60 fps with few drops. Even the brief Arwing sections look great and sadly offer a peak at what could have been. The only blemish on the presentation is the at times questionable voice acting. Bottom line, they knocked it out of the park despite the long development cycle.
In Closing
Star Fox Adventures is not what we wanted from the series but is still a good game regardless. You can see where the Star Fox license was shoe horned but they manage the transition well. Rare have done a good job of aping The Ocarina of Time to create an engrossing adventure that does not hit the same heights but is a pretty good imitation.
