Star Fox Adventures (2002)

This was a nice blast from the past. I haven't played this game in 15+ years. This was my first Star Fox game and one of the first 3 Gamecube games I've owned.

• You can play fetch with Tricky. I like Tricky in general, fun to have a companion help so much along the way.
• I really like the planet and its inhabitants, it gives me Land Before Time vibes.
• Loading screens are minimal. Traversing the world is pretty seemless because of this.

• The game feels pretty slow. Movement and getting around the world feels pretty dreadful. I think it would've benefited from having fast travel. It doesn't help that failing Krazoa missions sends you back to the beginning of the shrine, which is more tedious than anything.
• Story is pretty weaksauce. Didn't like General Scales getting replaced with Andross as the final antagonist in the game. It seemed to come out of nowhere and made Scales feel like a big waste since he was built up as super imposing for the entirety of the game. Andross wasn't even hinted at prior to his reveal. Also questioning why they chose to characterize Fox the way that they did. He is not a likeable character in this game, always complaining hotheaded, and he really doesn't possess admirable qualities for a leader.
• Combat doesn't really evolve. The staff combos you use in the beginning of the game, get used to them because that's all you get for the entire game.
• There are a ton of mini-games that are required to progress. I remember I was physically incapable of beating some of them as a kid because I couldn't mash A fast enough.

In 2002 my family got a Gamecube. It came with a free game, which turned out to be this one.

It was the first non Mario-partyesque game we would own, and my sister and I were hooked. We played for hours, days, weeks...and just got hooked, replaying it often and frequently.

16 years later, everytime we see each other for a weekend visit, we always load up the game and speedrun it.

It has, by far, the second best video game soundtrack in the history of video games. Only bested by the OG Animal Crossing, also on Gamecube. The day/night transitions are seamless and pleasing. I can't even begin to describe how gorgeous the aesthetic and scenery of this game are. The music fits everything perfectly, the voice acting is top tier, the lighting is fluid, and to top it off, the whole game feels like a love letter to adventure games, not a shameless ripoff. Ripoffs are uninspired and not even close to as good as the original...this is not even close to a ripoff, with how much love and care has been taken into this game and how well it holds up.