Where to Start · Star Fox
Where to Start with Star Fox
Star Fox is Nintendo's rail and corridor shooter franchise starring Fox McCloud and Team Star Fox — Arwing acrobatics, boss cockpit banter, and the occasional detour into planets Nintendo never finished the same way twice. See every mission on GameOrder.
Start here: Star Fox 64
Star Fox 64 (1997) is the definitive Star Fox experience — branching paths, voice acting that defined memes, and a runtime you can finish in one enthusiastic sitting. Every later rail shooter in the lineage is basically riffing on what this cartridge perfected.
Historical context: Star Fox (SNES)
The original Star Fox (1993) on Super Nintendo still earns a playthrough if you want history class — Mode 7 novelty, chunky polygons, and the moment Nintendo proved consoles could fake 3D convincingly on TV. Mechanically and structurally, though, Star Fox 64 supersedes it in every way that matters for actually enjoying the series today.
The genre detour: Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures (2002) is not a rail shooter — it's Rare's action-adventure homework with dinosaurs, staff combat, and Arwing segments duct-taped in. Treat it as a curiosity after Star Fox 64 (if you bother at all), not as an introduction to what Fox does best.
Wii U return: Star Fox Zero
Star Fox Zero (2016) splits the fanbase on motion-assisted dual-screen controls, but underneath the fuss is a solid callback to classic rail structure with transforming vehicles and PlatinumGames combat polish. If you can tolerate Nintendo's control homework, it's the most recent pure-form attempt before the series went quiet.