Take to the skies as Fox McCloud or one of his three trusty wingmen in this legendary 3D flying adventure. A top-flight simulation, STARFOX 64 has you jetting through lush environments and doing battle with any number of alien foes. Speed over the surfaces of alien oceans, dodge building tops in a futuristic cityscape, or simply enjoy the panic of evading a planet-sized asteroid as you venture through the galaxy. There are 15 distinct missions in all, and you can conquer them in a number of ways to arrive at your final destination, a showdown with Andross on his home planet of Venom. To the game's credit, the controls take a bit of getting used to, so there's a Training mode to keep you out of the fray until you're absolutely ready. In addition to the single-player missions, there is a Head-to-Head mode that allows you to take on up to three friends (or foes) at a time. The game's involved storyline is only eclipsed by its stunning graphics and inventive sound; over 700 voice samples keep the radio communication between Fox and his friends fresh. STARFOX 64 is the ultimate in flight combat for the Nintendo 64.
Alternate Mission Paths One of the Star Fox 64's best features is its alternate missions paths. Here's how to access them.
Aquas: Score 100 kills or higher in Sector Y to warp to Aquas, the submarine level.
Area 6: When you hit the last leg of the Macbeth stage, shoot the red pillars with metal direction flags on them so they turn green. Keep a very careful eye out for them. (Hint: If you went to Zoness before Macbeth, Katt will come and help shoot those hard-to-reach switches.)
At the end, where the switchboard light is, a switch will appear. Quickly shoot it and the track will move to the right and watch the boss crash into the supply depot. After a nice 50-point bonus you're off to Area 6!
Sector Y: In Corneria, when Falco is being attacked by three ships, help him by killing the ships. When you get to the water part with the rock arches, go under every arch. Then head right into the waterfall. Falco will guide you to an alternate boss, which, when defeated, leads you to Sector Y.
Sector Z: In Sector X, keep left at all times. You will eventually hit an area where you have to quickly destroy white gates to pass through them. Destroy the gates and pass through all of them to warp.
Solar: When Bill tells you to destroy the 4 hatches, destroy them and then destroy the enemy core
Titania: Near the end of Meteo you will see rings made of sharp triangles pointing inward. Go through one and you'll jet forward in a barrel roll. Go through all of them (very tough) and it will make you fast enough to warp.
Avoid Enemy Radar As in real life, if you fly close to the ground your opponents won't be able to spot you in their radar. Fly as close to the ground as you can, but watch out for hills and avoid sharp turns (they tend to clip your wings.)
Different Opening Go to Training mode and start playing. Pause the game and push R to turn off your sights. Now quit training mode. Without reseting, watch the opening sequence (the part that comes on when you turn on the N64 -- not after you start the game.) What ROB64 and General Pepper say is not printed and Pepper doesn't say everything he normally does!
Easy Way to Earn the Meteo Medal Shoot everything you see and try to get 100 kills. Take the warp and while inside shoot everything that you see for an easy 200 kills.
Expert Mode To unlock the Expert Mode and the sound test Graphic Equalizer, you must achieve medals on all 15 levels. In order to get a medal on a level, you must beat the stage with a specific number of hits (or more) and all of your wingmen alive. See "How to Earn Medals" for details.
Expert Versus and Training Modes After you've activated expert mode, move the cursor on the main screen to "Main Game" then pust left or right to select "Expert." Next choose either Versus or Training mode. Now, all the expert rules apply - you take damage easier and one hit will make you lose a wing! This is handy if are on the ground fighting Arwings in versus!
Extra Lives on Zoness If you kill 200 or more enemies on Zoneth you'll gain two lives. To turn this windfall into nearly unlimited lives, retry the level and kill 200 enemies again. You can repeat this as often as needed.
Hidden 1-Ups There are at least three hidden 1-ups in this game.
Corneria: Follow the normal path to the boss. If you perform a loop around the boss, you'll get a 1-up.
Sector Y: Near the end, your team will gather into a triangle. If you speed up and make it a diamond shape you will get a 1-up.
Venom 2: When you're about to face Andross and you have a choice to go left or right on the different forks. On the first fork, turn right (most turn left), then turn left, you'll see a one up icon spinning around.
Homing Bombs To fire a homing bomb, hold the A button to lock-on to an enemy, then press B.
How to Earn Medals In all the stages there are medals that you can earn if you shoot down enough enemies. If you're trying to earn a medal, kill all your wingmen 2 levels ahead so when it comes time for that level, they will be at full health.
At the title screen move the analog stick around. The N64 logo will move around the screen while the characters watch.
New Title Screen For a different title screen, earn all the medals in EXPERT mode.
Play on Foot in Vs. Mode To play on foot in Vs. mode, earn a medal on Venom in Expert mode.
Play with Tanks in Vs. Mode To get Tanks in Vs. Mode, earn a medal on Venom.
Playing Tip When you fight Star Wolf for the second time on Venom, keep going in circles by staying low and left or low and right. When you see an enemy blast him. When Star Wolf is shooting you, do a somersault and bank left or right.
Refuel in Sector Z When you arrive at Sector Z and find out that you are low on energy, you can fly into the rear hanger of your mothership (the Great Fox.) You will be treated to a mini cut-scene of your Arwing diving into the ship and popping out the other side with your energy bar replenished.
Remove Crosshairs Pause the game and press the right shoulder button (R) to remove your crosshairs. Repeat this trick to restore them.
Secret Star Fox Art Complete the game in Expert Mode and wait for the end of the credits. Depending on whether you went through Venom 1 or 2, you will get two different pieces of art. One is a picture of all the characters in the game's heads, the other is a cool portrait shot of the Star Fox team with the word "Great!"
Shieldless Barrel Roll To execute a shieldless barrel roll, quickly do three rolls in the same direction, then immediately roll the other way.
If you hold Z while executing the final roll you can change your rotation speed and make the roll last a little longer.
Sideways Loop In all-range mode, if an enemy is chasing you, push and hold Z or R while pulling the big loop trick after you see the enemy pull in front of you. This works very well against the Star Wolf team.
Train Against Star Wolf If you kill 100 ships in training mode, a Star Wolf ship will appear and try to shoot you down. This ship will reappear after you kill it, so you'll be sure to get plenty of practice.
Venom 2 Tip In Venom 2 when you reach the tunnel of power go right at the 1st fork then left at the 2nd fork. Once you follow this road you along the way you will receive an extra life. If you die while facing Andross go through this way again and you will get another one. If you keep dying keep going this way and you will eventually beat him.
