5 Unlikely Pop Culture Influences On Nintendo Games

5. Independence Day

Welcome to Corneria! Yes, you might have noticed this one before, but the classic 1996 sci-fi war movie by Roland Emmerich greatly influenced one level in Star Fox 64 set on the planet Katina. You find yourself fighting alongside pilot Bill Grey, named after Robert Loggia's character William (Bill) Grey in Independence Day. In fact, both of the lead actors in Independence Day are also Bill: Bill Pullman and Will Smith. Taking the Independence Day reference even further, the enemies you dogfight are modelled after the alien craft in the film... and then an alien saucer lifted straight from the movie arrives and attempts to destroy the player's base in a manner also taken from the film. Interestingly, the 2006 DS game Star Fox Command seems to once again refer back to this original; when battling alien motherships, the trick to defeating them is to kamikaze your ship straight into the craft's underbelly, not unlike the climax of Independence Day. One can only hope Nintendo will get off their butts and be inspired make a new Star Fox game after Independence Day 2 releases. Yes, if you haven't heard, that's happening, albeit minus Will Smith.