First Impressions On Star Fox 64 3D's Official Site?

[TheStarFoxMaster64]

http://www.nintendo....anrj/index.html

I was just curious is everybody was loving how Star Fox 64 3D is coming together as much as I am based on what we're given off Nintendo's official website. Here were my first impressions after various updates:

]Initial Release: When Star Fox 64 3D's official website was open for the masses in mid-April, I was pretty excited! (Unfortunately, it came around at the same time my school started testing... impeccable timing, Nintendo!) Although we were given so little -- like a date, the logo and a very odd video (of the Star Fox team running down the Great Fox and flying off to save Corneria -- basically a snippet of Star Fox 64's demo) echoing itself in 6 different screens plastered on concept art -- I was still engrossed nonetheless.

1st Update (Site Brought To Life, June 6th): Around E3, the site had a huge update, giving us character bios, a "backstory" tab which I can safely assume is the prologue narration at the beginning of the original Star Fox 64, a brief introduction to controls and gameplay mechanics (which I could only absorb through the videos along side Japanese text I couldn't read) and a brand-spanking-new video.

While the promo art is interesting, I think the video stole the show; it showcased amazing-looking planets like Macbeth and Sector Z (which is, oddly-enough, pink!), but also gave us a bit of the remastered soundtrack; Meteo and Star Wolf's Theme both sounded phenominal!

2nd Update (Minor Feature and Video Added, June 23): I both loved and hated this update, because it gave us a 'vehicle bio'. Each seems to be programmed to link to a movie on the website (as an Arwing video is already linked and ready). We got to see gameplay elements from the Arwing -- which weren't too much to write home about -- but we did get a good look at the other two vehicles in Star Fox's arsenal: the Blue Marine and the Land Master!

The Blue Marine is really nothing to write home about; everything looks about the same as the original's design, except it seems the hull of the ship comes together at the end of the vessel at a 'triangular' fashion, where as the original's gave room for a 'flat-nose' where a cockpit was visible. Nothing to make a fuss about.

However, the Landmaster's 'new' design is a bit... unsettling. It is, without a doubt, the 'exact' design it had in Assault (hell, just compare the tank at the top of SF-O's page to this one and you'll find a striking resemblance!), but with two very minor changes: A.) This design has multiple wheels and treads rather than the goofy-looking "4-wheeler" thing Assault had going on; and B.) This design's gun barrel is fancied in Star Fox 64's Landmaster's fashion. I just don't feel comfortable with this design. I guess I had too high of hopes to see the Landmaster in 64's style (which was my favorite).

I was sorta butt-hurt about that stupid design, but Nintendo made me forget that 'instantly' after I watched the newest video they posted relating to the Arwing's controls. While it didn't show a whole lot level-wise, it clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of Star Fox 64 3D's new controls. The D-pad, when pressed in various directions, was used to pull off maneuvers in the Arwing; Up to "Try a somersault", Down to "Try a U-turn!". Controls like these give me high hopes for this game, as I was afraid it'd follow Command's footsteps and force the player to tap the screen to perform said moves... which was annoying. It also looks like it will be using SNES-esque controls when it comes to the X,Y,B,A,R and L buttons (which should go without saying, I think).

But the absolute 'best' part of this video was hearing a particular song. Sure, the trailer had Training Mode's (which I'm actually curious to see) and Corneria's themes, but we got to hear Area 6 for, barely, 20 seconds... and the last 5 seconds really caught me off guard.

They added a choir in Area 6.

A choir. In Area 6.

*Nerdgasm ACTIVATED!!*

Translation: Quite honestly the best thing I've 'heard' from all the music tracks so far!

3rd Update (TV Commercials Added Plus Easter-Egg, June 30th): Nothing really special here; Nintendo's just posting TV Commercials on the site; none specifically highlighting anything (except one that emphasizes controls), but we do get to see a pretty-sweet looking pre-rendered CGI cutscene with the Arwings launching from Great Fox. Also, while I was idle on the site, something caught me by surprise; Slippy came on the screen via Arwing, said something in Japanese and few off into boundaries of the website. A few minutes later, I was greeted by Peppy and Falco... The hell? Still, a pretty cool feature (if only I knew Japanese!)...

4th Update (Levels, Multiplayer, and Interview Pages Added, July 3rd[?]): I thought this update was pretty interesting. The website now has a "levels' tab, which gives us a little preview of 8 levels (Corneria, Sector Y, Solar, Fortuna/Fichina, Sector Z, Macbeth, Aquas and Sector X) and a snapshot of the entire Lylat System. Everything looks gorgeous, even though some of the nebulae/satelites look a bit goofy (Sector Y looks like a Y chromosome, Sector Z is pink and solar panels on Bolse? Weird...), but nothing to get my britches in a knot.

Nintendo also answered one of my biggest questions with its Multiplayer; if one doesn't choose to use the 3DS camera to broadcast your reactions, it seems your avatar will remain the member of Star Fox you're assigned based on your player's position (much like the original's multiplayer). For example: Fox is Player 1, Peppy being Player 2, Slippy being Player 3 and Falco being Player 4 (I always get a good chuckle out of that order)...

Lastly, Nintendo posted an interview with the highest names in the company; President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata asking the creators of Star Fox -- Dylan Cuthbert and Shigeru Miyamoto -- on a number of subjects, including Star Fox 64 3D's controls, Star Fox's origins and even touching on Star Fox 2. Unfortunately, I can only get this much out of this interview; I do not know Japanese and Google Chrome can only roughly translate so much...

5th Update (Reaction Videos): Eh, the name of the update speaks for itself; just some random people playing Star Fox 64 3D with giddy looks. Although, the three different individuals playing gave us a pretty in-depth look of Corneria, Titania, Fortuna/Fichina and Meteo. Still, not that ground-breaking...

So, those are my thoughts on what I've seen, read (barely) and heard on the official site. What were your first impressions? Disappointed? Awe-struck?

Expect updates on this VERY topic as time goes on; I'll be watching the website like a hawk!

(Sorry if this post is 'extremely' convoluted, I'll probably go back and edit this to make it a more fluid read; in the meantime, bare with me!)

[DZComposer]

Landmaster Design: It is closest to the Super Smash Bros. Brawl design, not the SFAs design. I like this. SSBB Landmaster design was my favorite. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/anrj/index.html#/arwing/landMaster

This is interesting because the other vehicles remain largely true to their SF64 original designs.

[TheStarFoxMaster64]

@DZComposer

I almost totally forgot Brawl's design... Thanks for bringing it up!