History YMMV / StarFox64

** Taking down most of the bosses is fun, but rerouting the train on Macbeth right into its own fuel bunker is easily the most satisfying feeling in the game, especially given how condescending (and [[ThatOneBoss actually hard]]) the boss is. Even your wingmates can't help but act smug about it. And if you have the Rumble Pak plugged in...''hoo boy'', you could really feel the fuel bunker explode into a trillion pieces.

*** [[MrExposition Peppy]] gives gameplay hints that are useless to second-time players (he's a '''pilot''' that doesn't [[DoABarrelRoll know the difference between an aileron roll and a barrel roll]]) and just can't shut up about Fox's deceased father. He also may shoot down allies in Katina.

*** [[GadgeteerGenius Slippy]] has the uncanny ability to get in trouble more often than not, which can screw up your medals.

* BestBossEver: Any time you fight Star Wolf: a challenging dog fight against an evil mercenary team whose abilities match and later surpass your own team's. It's not uncommon for players to take the Blue route through Fichina, then changing to the Red route to go to Venom through Area 6 just to fight Star Wolf ''twice''. In fact, [[ThatOneBoss on Venom]], each of Star Wolf's members is worth ''51 points'' if you kill them fast enough, meaning that if you quickly take all four of them down without losing any wingmen, getting the medal (200 points) is a simple matter of finishing the level at your own pace.
* BestLevelEver: Fichina, Katina, Bolse, Area 6, Venom, Zoness, the list goes on. Mainly because almost all of the levels have such SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome for the console the game is on. Most notably though, the fast pace of Macbeth turns a ScrappyMechanic in the Landmaster into another best level ever - that's how much fun it is.

** Andross can be quite the scare given how he suddenly pops up, after going through a dark corridor with his [[EvilSoundsDeep deep menacing voice]] (especially in the 3DS remake) taunting you, he's a freaking giant head floating in the air, and one of his attacks consists of inhaling you, chewing up, and spitting you out. The music and the grunts and laughs he makes don't help either. It gets worse if you take the Hard route. Once Andross is "defeated", you get to fight ''[[spoiler:his brain and floating eyeballs!]]'' The music playing in the tunnel leading up to him is no slouch either, and the tunnel being different in Venom 2 helps add to the suspense.

* WTHCastingAgency: The redubbed voice acting in the ''3DS'' version has been criticized by many players, mainly due to the [[TheOtherDarrin replacement]] of some of the original voice actors and a weaker delivery of many of the game's iconic lines. The backlash intensified with the revelation that the new voice actors would carry over into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and later ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero''. Notably, Fox's voice in the former is berated for sounding too nasal and over the top. Fortunately, from ''Zero'' onward, Fox's voice sounds closer to how it does in ''64'' (special mention goes to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''), while Mark Lund (Falco's voice actor) would be vindicated as pretty decent in his own right and Jay Ward (Wolf's voice in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'') would return to voice Wolf in future games.

** Taking down most of the bosses is fun, but rerouting the train on Macbeth right into its own supply depot is easily the most satisfying feeling in the game, especially given how condescending (and [[ThatOneBoss actually hard]]) the boss is. Even your wingmates can't help but act smug about it. And if you have the Rumble Pak plugged in...''hoo boy'', you could really feel the supply depot explode into a trillion pieces.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Things like rocks and space junk can count towards your score, and your score determines the paycheck the team receives at the end, [[FridgeBrilliance likely because Star Fox is defending themselves from the potential danger]]. Is Star Fox including them fairly (since clearing out the debris and asteroids helps out industry and service, by clearing out freight/travel lanes) Or is the team defrauding the Cornerian government by counting said random objects they blew up as defeated hostiles?
** Andross's personal call to you in Area 6. Is he really looking forward to kicking Fox's ass personally? Or is he scared shitless and resorting to ''looking'' tough as the finest of his fleet gets torn to shreds by ''merely one warship and four measly starfighters'', one of the latter which is piloted by [[YouKilledMyFather the son of someone he killed years ago]]?

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: A common reaction for those who didn't like the 3DS remake of the game. ''WebVideo/{{Smosh}}'' spoofed this idea best.
--> '''Fox''': But that's the same fucking game!!!

** Most bosses die [[DefiantToTheEnd angry or in despair]]. The conductor of the Macbeth train, should you manage to reroute him into his own fuel bunker, however, is different. Sure, his comical accent and line delivery and [[CatharsisFactor the satisfaction of the entire building exploding may take away from it]], but if you just look at the line itself without any of that, it instead [[FridgeHorror takes on the tone of a train conductor suddenly realizing]] he's going to die [[CruelAndUnusualDeath a horribly violent death]] in a railway acccident that [[TooFastToStop he can't stop]] and [[OhCrap reacting with the appropriate terror]].

* HilariousInHindsight: Slippy mentions that the Arwings can withstand temperatures up to 9000 degrees. This was too early to be a reference to the infamous "Over 9000!" meme from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''.

** This comes to a head on Sector Z for those chasing its medal. At least one of your allies will go after each missile, and if it's one of their shots that blows up the missile, ''you get no points for it''! And you ''need'' to destroy each missile to hit the 100-point quota, as the six missiles are worth 66 points total and other sources of score are scarce.
*** If you come from Zoness, Katt shows up on Sector Z to try to help you with the missiles in the same fashion as your wingmen, resulting in her also potentially robbing you from the very significant points of them. Frustratingly, her aid in Zoness gives points for the searchlights she destroys, meaning they already had the tools to make at least her missile kills be added to your score.

* CheeseStrategy: Getting the medal in [[ThatOneLevel Solar]] can be a little difficult... until you learn that shooting charged shots below the lava arches that erupt throughout the level grants a bonus point. Thanks to this oversight, if you're quick enough, you can net up to three bonus points per arch. The boss, [[BreatherBoss Vulcain]], constantly creates such arches with its arms, which, in addition to its rock throw attack, allow the player to constantly score points while staying healthy. It's possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6g6EZjUvpY score 999 points on Solar this way]] — that's ''one point short of ten times'' the score needed for the medal,!

** Most bosses die [[DefiantToTheEnd angry or in despair]]. The conductor of the Macbeth train, should you manage to reroute him into his own fuel bunker, however, is different. Sure, his comical accent and line delivery and [[CatharsisFactor the satisfaction of the entire building exploding may take away from it]], but if you just look at the line itself without any of that, it instead [[FridgeHorror takes on the tone of a train conductor suddenly realizing]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath he's going to die a horribly violent death]] in a railway acccident that [[TooFastToStop he can't stop]] and [[OhCrap reacting with the appropriate terror]].
*** One special mention for the Japanese dialogue, Sector Y's Shogun Warlord has an utterly ''bloodcurling'' death scream [[https://youtu.be/zTQIXye1osI?t=126 when he's defeated]].

* NarmCharm: The original game's cheesy, over-the-top voice acting means ''every single line'' can potentially qualify. There's a reason why the game is considered a FountainOfMemes, after all.

'''Pigma:''' ''This CAN'T be happening!'\\
'''Leon:''' ''He's.. too.. strong...!''

* CheeseStrategy: Getting the medal in [[ThatOneLevel Solar]] can be a little difficult... until you learn that shooting charged shots below the lava arches that erupt throughout the level grants a bonus point. Thanks to this oversight, if you're quick enough, you can net up to three bonus points per arch. The boss, [[BreatherBoss Vulcain]], constantly creates such arches with his arms, which, in addition to his rock throw attack, allow the player to constantly score points while staying healthy. It's possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6g6EZjUvpY score 999 points on Solar this way]] — that's ''one point short of ten times'' the score needed for the medal!

** The last words of each of Star Wolf, particularly if you fight against their Wolfen II's on Venom.
--->'''Andrew:''' AAAAAHHHH!
--->'''Pigma:''' This CAN'T be happening!
--->'''Leon:''' He's too strong...!
--->'''Wolf:''' [[ThisCannotBe No way! I don't believe it!]]

** Most bosses die angry or in despair. The conductor of the Macbeth train should you manage to reroute him into his own fuel bunker, however, is different. Sure, his comical accent and line delivery and the satisfaction of the entire building exploding may take away from it but if you just look at the line itself without any of that, it instead takes on the tone of a train conductor suddenly realizing he's going to die a horribly violent death in a railway acccident and reacting with the appropriate terror.
--->'''Conductor:''' [[OhCrap NO!]] ''[[OhCrap HIT THE BRAKES!]]'' [[TooFastToStop I CAN'T STOP IIIIIITT!!]]
*** One special mention for the Japanese Dialogue, the Sector Y Mecha Boss has an utterly ''bloodcurling'' death scream [[https://youtu.be/zTQIXye1osI?t=126 when he's defeated]].

* SoBadItsGood:
** The English dialogue and voice acting are hilariously cheesy.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1pJYR2MjPk This Nintendo Power ad]] for the game, which also introduced the concept of the Rumble Pak. Whether it's the [[LargeHam overdone acting]], the fact that they gave the Creator/{{Sony}} and Creator/{{Sega}} actors an [[EvilLaugh evil laugh]], or the parts where [[BitingTheHandHumor they torture a Mario doll]], there's no doubt this is a bad commercial. But in this case, [[EvilIsHammy the cheesiness]] is what makes the ad [[NarmCharm so awesome]].

--->'''Peppy:''' What's wrong, Fox?
--->'''Fox:''' ...Nothing. Nothing's wrong.

** Sarumarine, the boss of Zoness. It can only be damaged by bombs until all its parts are off and it's easy to attack the parts in the wrong order; the strategy comes from firing at the openings that release the exploding barrels to destroy its armor, forcing it to replenish itself using the crane. Said crane can also be shot down, which will then mitigate the difficulty into nothing. You don't want to shoot the periscope at all, as it otherwise will cause the morning star attack to be less accurate, which can prove more a curse than a blessing, especially when [[ThatOneAttack said attack can easily clip your wings]]. Reaching the boss with a few Bombs to remove Sarumarine's armor is recommended so that you don't have to grind for them by blowing up the iron bombs it fires.

** [[StormingTheCastle Area 6]]. It's brimming full with mines, all kinds of fighters, defense satellites, turrets, missiles, warships... and there's [[ZergRush barely any breathing room between waves]] other than the checkpoint and before the boss itself, Gorgon. Granted, [[BestLevelEver the mission itself is fun and cathartic]], but only if you've got all what's necessary — reaching the boss with at least a health upgrade and the Super Laser is imperative, especially considering [[ThatOneBoss the final battle against]] [[WolfpackBoss Star Wolf]] in the following level. Despite the influx of enemies and obstacles, getting the medal is [[ThatOneSidequest no easy task, either]], as the satellites and warships cough up a lot of scoring points, but so do the clusters of small fighter ships, plus considering you're constantly in movement, you'll need Laser upgrades, bombs and very quick reaction time and fast fingers to switch from rapid-fire, to charge shots, to bombs, and so on.

** Area 6's medal requires the highest amount of points of any other medal in the game at a surplus ''300''. This wouldn't be too bad considering the constant {{Zerg Rush}}es of fighter ships and the appearance of the larger targets such as the satellites and warships, all of which cough up a lot of scoring points... except the game pits you with ''all'' of these at once, often mixed with each other. Considering you're constantly in movement, on top of abusing the brakes you'll need Laser upgrades, bombs, and very quick reaction time and fast fingers to switch from rapid-fire, to charge shots, to bombs, and so on-so forth. Ironically, the best thing you can do is to not answer ROB 64's call, as letting the Great Fox cover you will cause you to miss on precious points.

** Sector Z. The enemy Invader-III fighters, for as good as they are at constantly stalking your wingmen, are surprisingly scarce, so keeping Slippy, Peppy and Falco alive to guarantee the medal is surprisingly tough as well as yielding little reward for it. The real problem, though, comes from the bosses themselves. The Copperhead Missiles are ''the'' largest sources of points in the level, with each missile being worth 10 extra points for each one destroyed, for a total of 66 points, but if you're unlucky, your wingmen can accidentally ''steal your points'' if they're the ones to land the last hit on the missile. 100 points are needed for the medal, so none of your teammates better get any finishing hits at all. Also, it's recommended to access the level from Sector X. If you come from Zoness, you'll have to contend with Katt, who's the least likely to get into trouble compared to your wingmen, will kill-steal from you as well, and will then have the nerve of saying that you owe her one for it.

* BreatherBoss: After how hard [[ThatOneLevel Solar]] was, Vulcain provides a refreshingly easy fight to cap off the level. Its attacks are nicely telegraphed and easy to dodge, one of which has it spit up five rocks that drop health pick ups when destroyed. Vulcain is also infamous for being the reason why a score of 999 hits can be achieved in Solar, see CheeseStrategy below.

* CheeseStrategy: Getting the medal in [[ThatOneLevel Solar]] can be a little difficult without practice since your health will be constantly decreasing... unless you learn about shooting the solar prominences that are constantly arching and erupting from the red dwarf's surface. By shooting charged shots below these arches, due to what looks like an oversight, you get a bonus point; if you're quick enough, this exploit can net you up to three bonus points per arch. The best part? The boss, [[BreatherBoss Vulcain]], constantly uses this attack in addition to its usual rock throws; so as long as you don't destroy both arms (destroying one is fine), you can constantly score points and stay healthy on its fight before you finish it off. It's possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6g6EZjUvpY score 999 points on Solar this way]] — that's ''one point short of ten times'' the score needed for the medal!

** Andross' brain, also in All-Range Mode. It does tight circles, making it fairly annoying to line up a good barrage of shots against its one weak spot. Its eyes will shock you if you get between them and the brain, and shooting the brain literally anywhere except its weak spot makes it teleport behind you. Get caught in its tentacles, and watch a good chunk of your energy go down, and more often than not, your wings get destroyed, which resets your laser to the awfully weak, standard one. The ''3DS'' remake's 3D mode makes it ''much'' easier, though, as the tentacles don't cause as much damage, and it can be taken down in one barrage if you've got quick fingers and the Hyper Laser.

** The Sarumarine's [[EpicFlail morning star]] is enormous. While it is definitely avoidable, the problem comes not from that, but from the fact its hitbox can very easily clip your wings, destroying your laser upgrades and forcing you to use the hopelessly weak laser (and bombs, unless you don't have any and you're forced to grind, [[ThatOneBoss on which case]]...).

** The Gorgon in Area 6 is impervious to everything until its outer shell opens, revealing three energy balls inside. Pelting them with lasers causes three tentacles to emerge from the machine's back, which flail wildly and are only vulnerable at the very tip. Destroying the tentacles causes the boss to finally reveal its weak spot, but it must be damaged while it charges up a WaveMotionGun (which as explained above, is ThatOneAttack). Failing to deplete the boss' health bar in one go (which ''will'' happen) forces you to repeat the process, with the Gorgon moving increasingly faster and attacking more often with each cycle.
** The battle with Star Wolf on Venom's hard path, generally regarded as the hardest fight in the game. The AI for the whole team is the smartest in the game, they're all faster, and bombs and charges won't hurt them. The encounter is also much more difficult if you're missing team members, since Star Wolf members go after you if their corresponding wingman is down. Even with all team members, getting a medal can be [[ThatOneSidequest a bit of a challenge]] because Wolf chases you with a better ship than yours and covers his wingmen, who ''will'' shoot down your allies if left alone for too long, forcing you to keep switching targets. May James [=McCloud=] help you if you lose a life before taking down Star Wolf, as it will [[ContinuingIsPainful force you to gun the team down with the horrendously weak laser]].

** [[StormingTheCastle Area 6]]. It's brimming full with mines, all kinds of fighters, defense satellites, turrets, missiles, warships... and there's [[ZergRush barely any breathing room between waves]] other than the checkpoint and before the boss itself, Gorgon. Granted, [[BestLevelEver the mission itself is fun and cathartic]], but only if you've got all what's necessary — reaching the boss with at least a health upgrade and the Super Laser is imperative, especially considering [[ThatOneBoss the final battle against]] [[WolfpackBoss Star Wolf]] in the following level. Despite the influx of enemies and obstacles, getting the medal is [[ThatOneSidequest no easy task, either]], as detailed below.

** Venom's easy path, much like Area 6, pits you with repeated {{Zerg Rush}}es of enemies throughout the entire level. Again, this would be a good thing, except some paths have more enemies than others and the onslaught forces you to waste your bombs early on. Fake!Andross also doesn't yield any points, so unless you know the trick to destroy his laser traps on the way to his lair, you may miss your chance by a scant few points. The best advice you can take is to always follow Peppy, as the paths he takes contain more enemies.
** But the unarguable winner goes to Sector Z. The enemy Invader-III fighters, for as good as they are at constantly stalking your wingmen, are surprisingly scarce, so keeping Slippy, Peppy and Falco alive to guarantee the medal is surprisingly tough as well as yielding little reward for it. The real problem, though, comes from the bosses themselves. The Copperhead Missiles are ''the'' largest sources of points in the level, with each missile being worth 10 extra points for each one destroyed, for a total of 66 points, but if you're unlucky, your wingmen can accidentally ''steal your points'' if they're the ones to land the last hit on the missile. The worst part? If you come from Zoness, you'll have to contend with Katt, who's the least likely to get into trouble compared to your wingmen, will kill-steal from you as well, and will then have the nerve of saying that you owe her one for it. 100 points are needed for the medal, so none of your teammates better get any finishing hits at all. Your best bet is to access the level from Sector X, as it will at least guarantee you Katt won't show up.

* WTHCastingAgency: To several people, the redubbed voice acting in ''3DS'' is this. The omission of some of the original voice actors being replaced by [[TheOtherDarrin others]] is especially egregious, such as Falco voiced by Mark Lund instead of Bill Johns, Peppy being voiced by Jaz Adams instead of Rick May, Wolf being voiced by Ja Green (the VA for Leon Powalski and almost every single extra in the game) instead of Jock Blaney, Andross being voiced by David Frederick White (Pigma's VA) instead of Rick May, etc. The backlash intensified with the revelation that the voice actors would carry over into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and later ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero''; notably, Fox's voice in the former is berated for how {{Narm}}y it is. Fortunately, from ''Zero'' onward, Fox's voice sounds closer to how it does in ''64'' (special mention goes to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''), while Mark Lund would be vindicated as pretty decent in his own right and Jay Ward (Wolf's voice in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'') would return to voice Wolf in future games.

* BreatherBoss: After how hard [[ThatOneLevel Solar]] was, Vulcain provides a refreshingly easy fight to cap off the level. Its attacks are nicely telegraphed and easy to dodge, one of which has it spit up five rocks that drop health pick ups when destroyed.

** Andross' brain. It does tight circles in All-Range Mode, making it fairly annoying to line up a good barrage of shots against its one weak spot. Its eyes will shock you if you get between them and the brain, and shooting the brain literally anywhere except its weak spot makes it teleport behind you. Get caught in its tentacles, and watch a good chunk of your energy go down, and more often than not, your wings get destroyed, which resets your laser to the standard one. The 3DS remake's 3DS mode makes it ''much'' easier, though, as the tentacles don't cause as much damage, and it can be taken down in one barrage if you've got quick fingers and the Hyper Laser.
** The Sector Y bosses are also in All-Range Mode and move around a lot, which can make them hard to hit. Fortunately, [[FragileSpeedster they have very low health]], and can be shot down in one pass if you've got the Hyper Laser.

** Since things like rocks and space junk can count towards your score, and your score determines the paycheck the team receives at the end, there are people who believe the team is defrauding the Cornerian government by counting random objects they blew up as defeated hostiles. Then again, [[FridgeBrilliance they might have counted them because they were defending themselves from the potential danger...]] Also, it's possible they included them as part of the bill as a service. Clearing out the debris and asteroids also helps out industry and service, by clearing out freight/travel lanes.

** ''All of the team'' qualifies:

*** [[MrExposition Peppy]] gives gameplay hints that are useless to second-time players (he's a '''pilot''' that doesn't even [[DoABarrelRoll know the difference between an aileron roll and a barrel roll]]) and just can't shut up about Fox's deceased father. He also may shoot down allies in Katina.
*** [[GadgeteerGenius Slippy]] has the uncanny ability to get in trouble more often than not and screw up your medals.
** This comes to a head on Sector Z for those chasing its medal:
*** At least one of your allies will go after each missile, and if it's one of their shots that blows up the missile, ''you get no points for it!'' And you ''need'' to destroy each missile to hit the 100-point quota, as the six missiles are worth 66 points total and other sources of score are scarce.
*** If you come from Zoness, Katt shows up on Sector Z to try to help you with the missiles in the same fashion as your wingmen, resulting in her also accidentally robbing you from the very significant points of them. Frustratingly, her aid in Zoness gives points for the searchlights she destroys, meaning they already had the tools to make at least her missile kills be added to your score.

--->'''Conductor:''' [[AttackAttackRetreatRetreat NO! Hit the brakes!!]] ''(the brakes fail to stop the train)'' '''[[OhCrap I CAN'T STOP IT!!]]''' ''(the train crashes on the base, causing it to blow up)''

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: People going for high scores, and many casual players as well, usually pick Macbeth as their fifth stage. Not only is Macbeth [[BestLevelEver one of the most fun and memorable levels in the game]], but the other two choices for stage 5 are examples of ThatOneLevel: Titania for its difficulty, premise of having to save [[BaseBreakingCharacter Slippy]], and locking off the ''very'' high-scoring Area 6 and the GoldenEnding, and Sector Z for its even higher difficulty, lack of targets compared to the other two stages and difficulty in getting the medal. It helps that Macbeth can be easily reached from all three stage 4's (and is in fact the [[{{Railroading}} only way forward after Solar]]), while Titania is only reachable from Sector X, while Sector Z requires either activating and surviving Sector X's difficult warp, or going through Aquas and Zoness. Even story-wise Macbeth is the best path. On Titania, you merely save Slippy. On Sector Z, you merely survive an ambush. On Macbeth, '''you cripple the supplies of the entire enemy army''', arguably doing more damage to Andross than in Venom 1.

** The score attack mode on the 3DS version has you start off with the basic laser on every stage, which can cause some trouble if you're going for the gold medal. Venom 2 in particular, as it forces you to take out all of Star Wolf quick enough to earn 50 points for shooting down each member with the wickedly weak weapon.

** Sarumarine, the boss of Zoness. He can only be damaged by bombs until all his parts are off, it's easy to attack the parts in the wrong order, and his morning star can easily clip your wings.
** The Macbeth boss can be defeated [[PuzzleBoss by hitting 8 switches]], which change the tracks and make the train run into an ammo depot. However, 2 switches are on the left side of the track and can be easily missed unless Kat and Falco are present to assist you. Failing to perform this task forces the player to fight a very fast and powerful airborne boss, which the ground-based Landmaster is unsuited for.

** The Gorgon in Area 6 is impervious to everything until its outer shell opens, revealing three energy balls inside. Pelting them with lasers causes three tentacles to emerge from the machine's back, which flail wildly and are only vulnerable at the very tip. Destroying the tentacles causes the boss to finally reveal its weak spot, but it must be damaged while it charges up a WaveMotionGun. If the player fails to deplete the boss' health bar in one go, they must repeat the process, with the Gorgon moving increasingly faster and attacking more often with each cycle. The laser beam it charges up is also extremely painful, with one of those taking more than half of the Arwing's health, provided it is not upgraded.
** The battle with Star Wolf on Venom 2, generally regarded as the hardest fight in the game. The AI for the whole team is the smartest in the game, they're all faster, and bombs and charges won't hurt them. The encounter is also much more difficult if you're missing team members, since Star Wolf members go after you if their corresponding wingman is down. Even with all team members, getting a medal is a challenge because Wolf chases you with a better ship than yours and covers his wingmen, who ''will'' shoot down your allies if left alone for too long, forcing you to keep switching targets.

** [[UnderTheSea Aquas]] is the only planet where you control the Blue Marine, a submarine that moves at a very sluggish pace. Since it takes place in the underwater depths, [[BlackoutBasement the entire level is dark]] and needs to be illuminated by constantly firing torpedos, making the game load slower and causing frame drops that make this already slow-paced mission even more drawn out. Also, due to how the Blue Marine's torpedoes work (locking on to the first target your crosshairs hits, and you can only fire one torpedo at a time), it's difficult to get the required 150 hits to earn the medal for the stage. The one saving grace is that your wingmates are completely absent from this level, meaning there's zero chance they'll get shot down but will still get a health recovery at the end of the level. Also, the 3DS version's much improved lighting not only makes the level SceneryPorn, but also easier to see where you need to go and thus subdues much of the need to fire torpedoes so often, allowing you to concentrate fire on enemies.
** [[LethalLavaLand Solar]] is so hot your energy constantly decreases. Even getting your health boost mid-level won't help, as it'll keep going down. You can slow down the health loss by flying as high up as the game allows, but that makes it harder to hit enemies for the medal. To make it even worse, your wingmen also take damage from the heat during their dialogue, so if they're coming into Solar already at low health, there's a chance they'll pretty much keel over in a cutscene, denying you a chance at the medal, with nothing you can do to prevent it. Reaching the last parts of the level (which have enemies [[ZergRush by the bunches]]) and the boss with a comfortable level of health requires shooting as many rocks that boil up from the lava as possible (as these almost always cough up health) and staying high at the top of the screen; it's pretty much a balancing act. Fortunately, the boss itself should be [[BreatherBoss of little worry]].
** Sector Z is a BattleshipRaid with you on the defending side; you have to protect the Great Fox from incoming missiles. It's swarming with Invader-III fighters (which have the ''second best'' AI of all the enemies in the game, behind Star Wolf or the Bolse Fighters) which means you'll constantly be listening to your wingmen calling you for help, and it has just enough junk on the outskirts to ensure that you'll likely crash into something and rip off your wings. Worse still is that, if you're going for the medal, your wingmen can actually steal your points if they're the ones to land the last hit on the missile; and if you come from Zoness you'll have to contend with Katt kill-stealing from you as well, and then saying that you owe her one for it. 100 points are needed for the medal, the missiles are worth 66 points total, and enemy fighters are rather scarce, so your wingmen better not get any finishing hits at all.
** [[StormingTheCastle Area 6]]. It's brimming full with mines, all kinds of fighters, defense satellites, turrets, missiles, warships... and there's [[ZergRush barely any breathing room between waves]] other than the checkpoint and before the boss itself, Gorgon. Granted, [[BestLevelEver the mission itself is fun and cathartic]], but only if you've got all what's necessary — reaching the boss with at least a health upgrade and the Super Laser is imperative, especially considering the final battle against [[WolfpackBoss Star Wolf]] in the following level. Despite the influx of enemies and obstacles, getting the medal is [[ThatOneSidequest no easy task, either]] — the larger targets such as the satellites and warships cough up a lot of scoring points, but so do the clusters of small fighter ships, plus considering you're constantly in movement, you'll need Laser upgrades, bombs and very quick reaction time and fast fingers to switch from rapid-fire, to charge shots, to bombs, and so on-so forth.
** [[DiscOneFinalDungeon Venom, coming from Bolse]]. Even with the battle against Star Wolf on [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Venom coming from Area 6]] being [[ThatOneBoss the hardest boss]] in the game, it's still arguably the ''easier'' of the two paths, thanks to a combination of enough enemy laser fire to push the game into borderline BulletHell range and MalevolentArchitecture that often pops up out of nowhere (sometimes just erupting from the ground, but other times using the same technology as the Area 6 boss to teleport in from hyperspace) and ensures that the [[SpinToDeflectStuff usual method of dealing with enemy laser fire]] won't always work. Also, in Expert Mode, Venom 1 essentially becomes a BulletHell game, with way more ships, and way, way more lasers being fired from those ships, while for Venom 2 Star Wolf's skill level is already maxed out and not changed much for Expert mode. Despite all of this, it's surprisingly hard to collect the medal (especially on Normal mode), due to some paths having more enemies than others (general advice, always follow Peppy) and the onslaught forces you to waste your bombs early on. Fake!Andross also doesn't yield any points, so unless you know the trick to destroy his laser traps on the way to his lair, you may miss your chance by a scant few points.

* WTHCastingAgency: To several people, the redubbed voice acting in ''3DS'' is this. The omission of some of the original voice actors being replaced by [[TheOtherDarrin others]] is especially egregious, such as Falco voiced by Mark Lund instead of Bill Johns, Peppy being voiced by Jaz Adams instead of Rick May, Wolf being voiced by Ja Green (the VA for Leon Powalski and almost every single extra in the game) instead of Jock Blaney, Andross being voiced by David Frederick White (Pigma's VA) instead of Rick May, etc. The backlash intensified with the revelation that the voice actors would carry over into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and later ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero''; notably, Fox's voice in the former is berated for [[{{Narm}} sounding too nasal and over the top in a bad way]]. Fortunately, from ''Zero'' onward, Fox's voice sounds closer to how it does in ''64'' (special mention goes to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''), while Mark Lund would be vindicated as pretty decent in his own right and Jay Ward (Wolf's voice in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'') would return to voice Wolf in future games.

* WTHCastingAgency: To several people, the redubbed voice acting in ''3DS'' is this. The omission of some of the original voice actors being replaced by [[TheOtherDarrin others]] is espeially egregious, such as Falco voiced by Mark Lund instead of Bill Johns, Peppy being voiced by Jaz Adams instead of Rick May, Wolf being voiced by Ja Green (the VA for Leon Powalski and almost every single extra in the game) instead of Jock Blaney, Andross being voiced by David Frederick White (Pigma's VA) instead of Rick May, etc. The backlash intensified with the revelation that the voice actors would carry over into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and later ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero''; notably, Fox's voice in the former is berated for [[{{Narm}} sounding too nasal and over the top in a bad way]]. Fortunately, from ''Zero'' onward, Fox's voice sounds closer to how it does in ''64'' (special mention goes to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''), while Mark Lund would be vindicated as pretty decent in his own right and Jay Ward (Wolf's voice in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'') would return to voice Wolf in future games.

** [[DiscOneFinalDungeon Venom, coming from Bolse]]. Even with the battle against Star Wolf on [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Venom coming from Area 6]] being [[ThatOneBoss the hardest boss]] in the game, it's still arguably the ''easier'' of the two paths, thanks to a combination of enough enemy laser fire to push the game into borderline BulletHell range and MalevolentArchitecture that often pops up out of nowhere (sometimes just erupting from the ground, but other times using the same technology as the Area 6 boss to teleport in from hyperspace) and ensures that the [[SpinToDeflectStuff usual method of dealing with enemy laser fire]] won't always work. Also, in Expert Mode, Venom 1 essentially becomes a BulletHell game, with way more ships, and way, way more lasers being fired from those ships, while for Venom 2 Star Wolf's skill level is already maxed out and not changed much for Expert mode.

* CompleteMonster: [[EmperorScientist Andross]] was responsible for [[EvilutionaryBiologist experiments]] that destroyed a good chunk of the Cornerian capital city and rendered multiple worlds in the Lylat system uninhabitable. Banished to the planet Venom, Andross took it over while building his own army. When the time was right, Andross launched a vicious campaign on Lylat, having his forces attack civilian populations and aiming to exterminate life on entire worlds. When he faced Fox [=McCloud=], whose father Andross had killed years ago, Andross was apparently destroyed, [[spoiler:only to [[VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures survive in the form of a spirit who fled to Dinosaur Planet]] (later named Sauria). Manipulating events there, Andross engineered his own resurrection and transformation into a near deity. At the climax of ''Adventures'', Andross, who has been [[HijackedByGanon manipulating General Scales]], opts to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy the entire Lylat system]]]]. Even after his death, he has a [[TheManBehindTheMonsters posthumous impact]] in ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxCommand Command]]''.

** Most bosses die angry or in despair. The conductor of the Macbeth train, however, treats you to some very chilling, terrified last words if you successfully divert him into slamming into his own fuel depot[[note]]However, it can also be quite funny depending on your perspective[[/note]].
--->'''Conductor:''' [[OhCrap NO! HIT THE BRAKES!]] [[TooFastToStop I CAN'T STOP IIIIIITT!!]]
*** One special mention for the Japanese Dialogue, the Sector Y Mecha Boss has an utterly ''bloodcurling'' death scream [[https://youtu.be/ZE_zkE59na8?t=251 when he's defeated]].

** [[UnderTheSea Aquas]]. There's only one way to get to it —complete Sector Y's bonus objective— the level is slow, and since it takes place in the underwater depths, [[BlackoutBasement it's pretty dark down below]] — this same lack of lighting also makes the game load slower, thus causing frame drops and making the already slow-paced mission even more drawn out. Also, due to how the Blue Marine's torpedoes work (locking on to the first target your crosshairs hits, and you can only fire one torpedo at a time) and the fact you'll be constantly firing them to light up the place, it's difficult to get the required 150 hits to earn the medal for the stage. On the other hand, it's significantly easier to get a high score than Katina, which is an all-range mission and requires you to stall out taking down the boss to reach the required 100 points for its medal, and you don't have to worry about running out of torpedoes since they're unlimited. In addition, your wingmates are completely absent from this level, meaning there's zero chance they'll get shot down but will still get a health recovery at the end of the level. ''3D''[='=]s much improved lighting not only makes the level SceneryPorn, but also easier to see where you need to go and thus subdues much of the need to fire torpedoes so often, allowing you to concentrate fire on enemies.

** [[ShiftingSandLand Titania]] itself isn't too bad, but what makes this stage annoying is that you have to use the [[ScrappyMechanic Landmaster]], which some players hate due to the clunky controls that show up because of the horrendous framerate that's impossible to avoid because you're grounded. The only reason why you even go to this god-forsaken planet is to save [[BaseBreakingCharacter Slippy]]. And unlike Macbeth, Titania's boss doesn't give you the option to earn 50 {{scoring points}}, [[ThatOneSidequest so getting the medal is frustrating]]. Finally, if you care about which road you're taking, going through this stage locks you out of going to Area 6 and, by extension, the backdoor Venom route. Needless to say, General Pepper had a point when he warned Star Fox that Titania was too dangerous.

* NarmCharm: Every single line in the English dub. Every. ''Single.'' '''''Line.''''' (Since the voice acting is [[SoBadItsGood pretty cheesy and over the top overall]].)

** The Star Wolf team, especially Wolf, due to their memorable PsychoRangers setup, banter, and having a fan favorite battle theme. It got to the point Wolf made it into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' (specifically ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'') as a hidden playable character, and returned for ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate Ultimate]]''.

** How good is the ''3DS'' remake? For some people, it's a PolishedPort, with significantly improved graphics (which makes the mission in [[ThatOneLevel Aquas]] more bearable), frame rate drops heavily toned down, revamped music and sound effects, the addition of Score Attack, and toning down some parts that were considered unfair. For others, the voice acting is a huge part of why it's reviled (see WTHCastingAgency below), and the music sounds very inorganic, especially considering some of its predecessors (like ''Assault'') and sucessors (like ''Zero'') had superior music.

** [[StormingTheCastle Area 6]]. It's brimming full with mines, all kinds of fighters, defense satellites, turrets, missiles, warships... and there's [[ZergRush barely any breathing room between waves]] other than the checkpoint and before the boss itself, Gorgon, as detailed in ThatOneBoss above. Granted, [[BestLevelEver the mission itself is fun and cathartic]], but only if you've got all what's necessary — reaching the boss with at least a health upgrade and the Super Laser is imperative, especially considering the final battle against [[WolfpackBoss Star Wolf]] in the following level, also as detailed in ThatOneBoss. Despite the influx of enemies and obstacles, getting the medal is [[ThatOneSidequest no easy task, either]] — the larger targets such as the satellites and warships cough up a lot of scoring points, but so do the clusters of small fighter ships, plus considering you're constantly in movement, you'll need Laser upgrades, bombs and very quick reaction time and fast fingers to switch from rapid-fire, to charge shots, to bombs, and so on-so forth.

* BrokenBase: Just how well does this game do compared to the rest of the franchise? While some people think this is ''the'' best game in the series, others will argue it can be considered heavily outdated compared to its sucessors. Try not to bring that discussion topic too commonly though.

* {{Narm}}: Unlike the English dub, when the voice acting at least was fun to hear, the same cannot be said about the Latin American Spanish dub. Among the myriad of problems include unfitting voices, especially Fox[[note]]Who speaks with a very high pitched voice[[/note]] and Falco's[[note]]Who sounds like a bratty teen[[/note]], out-of-place accents and a outright lack of polish. It's no wonder why Nintendo decided not to include Latin American Spanish in ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' and decided to use the European one instead, by WordOfGod.