The Best Nintendo Game Every Year 1983 - 2024

32. 1993 - Star Fox

Star fox snes
Nintendo

Whereas in certain generations the next major milestone of gaming isn’t necessarily obvious (and might simply boil down to “more power”), the advent of 3D gaming was a clear horizon that the industry was moving towards. For a time, many franchises implemented tricks to use 2D elements in a way that appeared to give them more depth.

Star Fox was not one of these games. Famously the first game to feature Argonaut’s Super FX chip built into the cartridge, the 1993 sci-fi rail shooter was the first home console game to feature 3D polygonal graphics.

It was simply stunning that a machine that hadn’t been natively designed to produce such effects did so this flawlessly. Star Fox was fast and frantic, with a thumping soundtrack to match and - like the sharp points of the game’s polygonal Arwing - was cutting edge.

The game was a breath of fresh air; a worthy contribution to any SNES owner’s collection; and revolutionised gaming.

 
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Coming from a content creation background that now spans over two decades, Psy cut her teeth on personal video production and community radio. Originally joining the team as a writer and presenter, she added video editing duties to her responsibilities over time and became the longest-standing editor of the irreverent gaming show Tues Your Own Adventure. Psy has worked on many previews and reviews, long-form editorials (either her own, or supporting as an editor), as a frequent quizmaster and more. Praised for the two-pronged attack of her hard work ethic and light-hearted editing style, Psy is otherwise known as a font of retro video game knowledge which has caused her to rack up many gaming quiz wins. Outside of WhatCulture, Psy runs First Aid Spray Podcast - a long-running channel that focuses on Resident Evil in all of it's forms. You can follow her on BlueSky at http://psywhite.bsky.social and Instagram at http://instagram.com/therealpsywhite