As Star Fox turns 30, it’s time for a reboot that admits: it’s okay for games to be short

Star Fox has a problem. It’s a problem that faces a lot of games of its type and era - titles with their roots in the arcade, in sapping cash from hapless players. Sure, Star Fox was never actually an arcade game - but the games it is directly descended from were absolutely structured in that way. Today, Star Fox turns 30 years old - but it’s fair to say that for at least half of that existence, the adventures of Fox McCloud have been a little bit crap. Or, well - maybe crap is a bit harsh. Let’s call them muddled. And the reason? Well, it’s that damn problem described above - it’s an issue of structure. You see, the best Star Fox games are short. Like I say, they’re structured like arcade games - similar in length to peers like After Burner or Space Harrier, but equally of a similar length to stuff like Time Crisis or House of the Dead. They’re designed so that they can be finished in under an hour… which is a problem in the modern gaming landscape. Read more