StarFox 64

A game from Nintendo for Nintendo 64, released in 1997. Released in Europe under title "Lylat Wars" (with a much cooler logo, IMHO, because it had a winged fox instead of "64" - if you consider this insignificant, think of the easter egg in the title screen). The game came with Rumble Pak.

StarFox uses characters from earlier game StarFox / StarWing. The main character is Fox McCloud, a really, mmm, handsome anthro fox. The story is again simple: the evil monkey Andross (subtle reference to mankind, huh? =) has invaded the Lylat System, and General Pepper calls the Star Fox Team (Fox with Peppy Hare, Falco Lombardi and Slippy Toad) to take care of this nuisance. So what goes on here? Lots of shooting, meeting interesting and well-articulating enemies, crossing the territory of Star Wolf Team, and such, finally meeting Andross at the planet Venom.

The main vehicle in the game is Arwing (think of X-Wings with no X), but the game also includes Landmaster tank and Blue Marine submarine - and, of course, the Team's starship Great Fox.

The game also includes a multiplayer mode (shoot down the other player in split screen); also, it's being told it also includes a Deathmatch-style game mode, but getting there requires Good Playing.

The game was designed by Nintendo game-god Shigeru Miyamoto.

Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed in interviews over the years that many of StarFox 64's elements were, ahem, "borrowed" from other science fiction series and stories. Some examples:

• Katina: The ship that threatens the Katina base strongly resembles the Independence Day alien ships (right down to the laser cannon).
• Area 6: The little space stations bear a structual design similar to Deep Space 9 on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• Bolse: The Bolse Defense Station mission to destroy a deadly space station by hitting it in a single critical point borrows from the Death Star from the Star Wars universe.