“We’re going to break through that fleet!” Fox says as he and his wingmates assault a vastly overwhelming enemy armada. Maybe it’s one of the less memorable quotes from Star Fox 64, but it’s a moment that captures what helps make it the pinnacle of the rail-shooter genre: intense, non-stop action that takes you through a variety of carefully curated experiences. And yet, here we are, over two decades after it hit the scene, and we still haven’t seen a rail shooter capture the same wonder and excitement.
Even with the series’s seminal entry, there seemed to be an underlying resistance to its own sub-genre. One of Star Fox 64’s new features was the “all-range mode” that lets you navigate a small arena in full three dimensions, unconstrained by the invisible rail that guides you through the levels. It wasn’t overly prevalent, mainly showing up for boss battles, but it was also a whiff of the future as Star Fox would hesitate to return to the genre. With future titles preferring free flight over a locked course, a void has formed in the sub-genre. One that, despite all the potential that still lies within, has yet to be filled.
Source: Destructoid It’s time for the rail shooter to take flight again