Star Fox 64 was one of the Nintendo 64's best video games. It was a fantastic on-rails shooter, it introduced rumble to Nintendo console gaming and it gave the world one of the best pieces of advice ever delivered by software: "Do a barrel roll."
How in the world do the people re-making the game for the Nintendo 3DS improve that?
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told investors in Japan that the Star Fox 64 3D "is a newly-arranged version of Star Fox 64, the most well-known game of all the 3D shooting games in the time of Nintendo 64, and in which we offer a new feature that uses a gyro sensor to control Arwing, who flies around the 3D space."
I played a version of the re-make at E3 last year, when the game seemed like a straight port. I flew through a remake of the original game's first level, jetting past the buildings of a futuristic fighter, gunning down enemies that flew ahead, swooping, and, of course, barrel-rolling. The game's glasses-free 3D was impressive, but as best I can recall, there were no motion controls. Tilt controls are not necessarily compatible with 3D graphics, since seeing the 3D effect on 3DS games requires the player to hold their system in a fixed position relative to where they're looking; small wobbles of the machine can break the effect.
Nevertheless, marvel at the implications of a motion-controlled Star Fox 3DS. Could it be that we would be able to do a barrel roll in the game by doing a barrel roll in real life? For some, that would be an instant sale.
Star Fox 64 3D is set for release in Japan this July. No release date yet for America or Europe.
Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended (March 2011) [Nintendo]