I think that Star Fox 64 is overrated, do you?
Haaaahahahahaha.
Ahahahaha.
Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
You’re shitting me, right? Like, you must know how I feel about the IP, if you looked even a little into my post history.
But ok, sure, I’ll humor you, I can’t expect everyone to background check me just to ask a question.
Short answer: No.
Somewhat less short answer: Hell fucking no.
Actual answer: Starfox 64 is legitimately the best designed game in the IP next to perhaps only Starfox 2 and that is an objective fact of game design examination; you don’t have to like it the most, or even at all - not all games are for everyone - but calling it OVERRATED?
Actually, yeah, 64 is overrated, because its a goddamn 11/10. It’s a work of art how well paced, packed, and presented it is as a piece of entertainment media. It’s not without flaws, for sure - but a game’s virtue isn’t defined by how many or little flaws it has, but by how well it does what it sets out to do, and by how well it presents that.
SF64 is the perfect home arcade action experience of its time. Not perfect because its flawless, as I said, but perfect in what it does. Quick to complete, long to master. Tons of level variety both visually and mechanically. More classic scifi movie and anime references than you can shake a stick at. Snappy, purposeful writing that sticks to the pop culture consciousness because of how smartly its used (hell, you ever see anyone quoting the other games?) Solid difficulty curve that makes it easy enough for anyone to playthrough but provides plenty of challenge for the hardcore going for highest scores. The replayability! The criss-crossing paths! Sixteen missions, 25 possible routes, and tons of little variables in most missions. Its so goddamn simple in its presentation, but so INVOLVING in its experience, its really comparable to Super Mario Brothers in this regard for me. There are more complex arcade games out there. More challenging ones, more unique ones, more involved, deeper designed ones - and I love many of them. But none have matched that lightning in a bottle perfection of Starfox 64.
Yes, the game shows its age. All media does. Nothing is “timeless” in the sense that what was considered “advanced” one day will remain so the next. But for its time, what it did, how well it did it.... have you ever wondered WHY 64 has never really had a direct competitor even in its own generation? Plenty of games out there challenged Nintendo’s IPs, the 90s were a grueling battlefield. Sonic to Mario, and then later Crash. Final Fantasy going to PS1 becoming Sony’s answer to the Legend of Zelda. But Starfox never had a competitor or a rival - at least, never had one worth mentioning. There’s other arcade fighter plane games for sure, Ace Combat, or classic shmups like Gradius and R-Type, but they aren’t Starfox. There will never be another Starfox 64.
There’s a reason why its 64 that’s always quoted, always memed on, always the first game people think of when you mention the series, even now. Looked at as just parts, it may seem to be just a simple basic arcade shooter from the 90s, but what it embodies and represents is far greater than the sum of its parts.
So again. You don’t have to like it. It’s not for everyone! But it does deserve your goddamn respect. Overrated? Kiss my fat ass with that shit. Understand why a game has a legacy instead of being hung up on your own personal interests and biases.
