This 1997 Nintendo 64 Game Remains the Pinnacle of its Genre

There are a lot of hot commodities in the world of Nintendo right now, especially those that were featured in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Of course, Mario and Luigi and Peach were the stars of the film, but Yoshi and Fox were also surprise favorites.

Fox is the one we want to focus on. The best game he ever appeared in is 29 years old this week, Star Fox 64. Released for the Nintendo 64 on April 27, 1997, in Japan and two months later in North America, this game embodied the rail shooter genre in the late 1990s. It became such a prime example of excellence that it basically ruined the series going forward.

Star Fox Adventures, Star Fox: Assault, and Star Fox Zero were never able to capture the essence of the space battle franchise the way this one did. The game developed the series's incredible writing with voice acting that built the characters we all know and love decades later. The ability to play the game many times and take different paths with diverse sets of levels made it a game that kids and adults alike could go back to over and over again.

It's a blessing and a curse for a game to be the measuring stick for an entire series and genre. The rail shooter is not particularly relevant right now. It's also a formula that developers would be afraid to go back to because Star Fox 64 perfected it at the time of release.

There is clearly a desire for more Fox and his team, though. Rumors are swirling that Nintendo is going to come out with a new game as soon as this summer. Could it be a combination of Star Fox 64 with some modern retooling? Open-world action and adventure is certainly the most obvious way to make the franchise feel like it's moved into the 2020s. At the same time, Nintendo has to keep the battles in the sky at the top of the gameplay checklist.

If all else fails, fans can always turn back to Star Fox 64. It's a comfortable blanket in the spacious and scary outer rim of the gaming world!