When Star Fox 64 was released in 1997, it was a surprise hit. In an age where long games with huge worlds were all the rage, Star Fox 64 was an hour long game that focused on quality over quantity.

Every game in the series since then has been an utter disappointment. Games like Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox Assault attempted to change the gameplay of Star Fox and failed miserably.

Finally, after 19 years, Nintendo has brought us a Star Fox game that attempts to capture the gameplay and charm of Star Fox 64, and it brilliantly succeeds. Star Fox Zero has everything that made Star Fox 64 great with plenty of improvements.

Just like in 64, the evil Andross has taken over the Lylat solar system and it is up to the Star Fox team to save the world. All the same characters you know and love from 64 are back, with a few extra minor characters.

The base gameplay is still the same. Some levels are spent speeding through a planet or space sector on a linear path, shooting at anything and everything that stands in your way. Some levels take place in a small area, engaging in intense dogfights and completing tasks.

The biggest difference in Star Fox Zero from 64 is the use of the Wii U gamepad. While you pilot your arwing similarly to how you do in 64, motion controls are used to aim. Where you aim your lasers is now independent of where you aim your ship. It’s a little hard to get used to at first, but it ends up being a huge improvement to the game once you have it down.

One difficulty of this new aiming system is the fact that you must recalibrate, or reset, the aiming reticle, or crosshair, often. By pressing the Y button, the player can set the current orientation of the gamepad to be the center. While it is necessary, it can become annoying.

There is an odd cooperative mode in which one player pilots the arwing, and another aims and fires. Communication is essential in this mode. Nothing is more frustrating than when you are trying to shoot at something and the pilot is flying the other way.

There are some new vehicles that change the gameplay as well. The Arwing can now transform into a Walker with a press of the A button. The Walker is a walking chicken-looking vehicle that is used for missions inside of enemy bases. The best part of all is that you can freely switch between the Arwing and Walker whenever you want.

There are some levels where you will be driving the Landmaster tank, except now the Landmaster can transform into the Gravmaster. The Gravmaster is a flying vehicle that can only stay in the air for as long as your stamina allows.

Unfortunately, there is one vehicle that doesn’t quite fit: the Gyrowing. It is only used in a couple of missions, but those missions are the most boring of all. In a game of fast paced, space-shooting action, the slow movement of the Gyrowing is disappointing. Fortunately, there are ways to access these levels with an Arwing. This makes those levels more fun and challenging!

That is what is so great about Star Fox. There are so many secrets to find, and Star Fox Zero is no exception. Instead of the one medal per level like there was in 64, there are now five medals per level that are unlocked in a variety of ways. Star Fox Zero does not make it easy for completionists. The game is only about twice as long as Star Fox 64, but with all of the different paths and bonus levels you can play, it never gets boring.

While there are more medals to unlock, unlocking them is much less tedious than in 64. In Star Fox 64, you would have to play through the whole game again just to get to the level you needed the medal in. In Star Fox Zero, as long as you have played the level before, you can play it again at any time. If you are not a fan of this and would rather play through the game as in 64, there is an arcade mode for that purpose.

Star Fox Zero, if you buy the physical copy in stores, comes with another game called Star Fox Guard. In Star Fox Guard, you use cameras to defend a mining base owned by Grippy Toad, the uncle of Star Fox team member Slippy, from an army of robots. Think of the game Five Nights at Freddy’s if you could shoot lasers from the cameras. I’m not saying it’s a rip-off, but the Clucktron enemy type looks suspiciously like Chica of FNAF.

Star Fox Guard makes use of the Fox and Falco Amiibos, Nintendo’s skylanders esque toys-to-life figures, by allowing you to call in the Star Fox team if you get into trouble. This can only be done once a day.

Star Fox Zero also has interesting use of Amiibos. Using the Falco Amiibo will allow you to fly a black arwing that does more damage but also takes more damage. Using the Fox Amiibo will allow you to fly the arwing from the original SNES Star Fox game. It pilots similarly to the default arwing, except that you can’t lock onto enemies. It doesn’t add to the gameplay much, but it is a nice homage to the original Star Fox.

Star Fox Zero succeeds in capturing and innovating on the gameplay and charm that made Star Fox 64 great. While it has some issues, they are few and far between. It’s great to finally see another worthy installment in the Star Fox series. Go play this game and do a barrel roll!