It’s no secret that Star Fox doesn’t have a particularly sterling reputation. While both the original and the beloved Star Fox 64 were essential to their console libraries, only the latter has stood the test of time. To make matters worse, every game after Star Fox 64 (with the exception of its Nintendo 3DS remake) has been maligned to some extent. Nintendo lost its way with the franchise, and fans saw that in the games’ questionable design. However, one title that arguably didn’t deserve to get caught in that undertow was Namco’s Star Fox: Assault.
Released in 2005 on GameCube, Star Fox: Assault was the first traditional Star Fox title since 1997’s Star Fox 64. The interstitial Star Fox Adventures released in that gap but was only a franchise title in a circumspect way, as the game began as Dinosaur Planet, a new Rare IP. As such, fans were hungry for more genuine Star Fox, and Nintendo teamed up with Namco to deliver just that.
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However, Star Fox: Assault is a much different game than its predecessors. At its core, it is still an anthropomorphized space opera with arcade gameplay. But on the surface, Assault straddles the line between rail-shooter and third-person shooter, contextualized within a linear cinematic narrative. Assault immediately eschewed the score-chasing, diverging route framework of 64. While that persists in some respects, it was backgrounded in favor of something more streamlined.
Star Fox: Assault feels like a product of its time opposed to a restoration of 90s arcade tropes, which is both to its benefit and detriment. To the former, the game feels truly grand. The fully voiced and animated cutscenes are a step above most other GameCube exclusives, lending the title a sense of operatic scale. While Star Fox has always paid homage to Star Wars, Assault is the first time that the series truly evoked the scale of its sci-fi inspiration.
This also helped Star Fox: Assault posit a blockbuster future for the series. Not only does Assault tell an involved, engaging story, it also modernizes its gameplay in key respects. While Arwing space missions are disappointingly few and far between, they’re awe-inspiring. They’re dynamic, high-fidelity reminders of what made 64 tick, within the context of a newer framework. However, these are only a portion of the gameplay, as Assault‘s campaign is mostly third-person shooting and combined arms battles.
That element of Assault is where the ambition is truly felt. While the straightforward on-foot combat missions are serviceable, the ground-to-air missions are excellent. They take the concept of 64‘s all-range missions and blow them out of the water. The player is given access to a wide arsenal of firearms for the third-person shooting but are also given access to the Landmaster and an Arwing. This leads to tense multitasking, as the player has to juggle ground warfare with the battle above, jumping in and out of vehicles to seamlessly transition between spheres.
These missions are incredibly impressive from a design perspective, especially for the GameCube era. And, while they’re already great, this archetype is even better in Assault‘s multiplayer mode which likewise leveraged combined arms gameplay. This mode adds another dimension and further replay value to the package, stepping far beyond the fun but simple multiplayer found in 64.
Of course, this all raises the question of why Star Fox: Assault sits at a middling 67 on Metacritic and has been met with sustained criticism from the community. Ultimately, not all of Assault‘s ideas are implemented as well as they could’ve been. The on-foot missions can be cumbersome control-wise with a high learning curve, and the balance between them and the space missions is just uneven. In spite of the ambition and scope, key issues with the game’s execution bog it down.
What could’ve been Star Fox‘s renaissance and a blueprint for its future became yet another misfire. In many ways, Namco proved that Star Fox didn’t need reinvention, it needed linear growth and new ideas. And, none of this game’s new ideas are bad. They’re simply the first iteration of them. Unfortunately, the team was never given the second change to refine its concepts. With better on-foot mechanics and a more balanced mission list, a sequel could’ve completely altered the series’ trajectory.
Still, players would be remiss to not experience what Namco created here. While it does suffer from key issues, they detract from an excellent experience that winds up being great instead. There is a lot to love and latch onto in Star Fox: Assault. Its ambition exceeds many of its peers, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is still rather engaging. While its flaws prevent it from surpassing Star Fox 64, it’s an essential complementary experience. Hopefully with time, Star Fox: Assault gains the respect that it deserves.
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