I have a confession to make: I never played "Star Fox 64." At some point in my game-happy childhood, I know I watched parts of "SF64," and I'm pretty sure that at one point or another I tried multiplayer at a friend's house, but I never owned it, never beat it, and never played through the single player. (My first experience with vulpine pilot Fox McCloud was the forgettable "Star Fox Adventures," which probably explains why I've never been a huge fan of the series.)

So, my take on "Star Fox 64 3D," the Nintendo 3DS remake of the original Nintendo 64 classic, is that of someone new to the game, not someone watching it through the ever-complex goggles of nostalgia. My initial impression: flying through space in 3D is freaking sweet, and this is Fox at his adrenaline-pumping, Arwing-flying, Andross-killing best. The game has been upgraded a la "Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D," with shiny new textures and environments that are as impressive as they are varied. Space rocks fly out of the screen at you, lasers fly by your face, water textures are stunning, and the whole game has that depth that really shows off how good games can look in 3D.

There are two single-player modes: 3DS and N64. Both take you on one of several branching paths to save the galaxy, with secret warps and level exits (as well as medals, high scores, and overall awesomeness) bringing you back for more. Even the first time through the game probably won't take that long, but you'll find yourself spending hours and hours searching for everything that the game has to offer. It's classic arcade-shooting, space-flying fun, and it rocks.

The game also has two distinct control schemes: button-based or motion controls via the 3DS's built-in gyroscope. I'm actually a huge fan of gyroscope controls when they are implemented well. Aiming in "Zelda OOT 3DS" was made lickity-split easy with the good ol' gyro, so I was hoping for the same ease of function here. However, piloting the Arwing and taking down bogies requires a precision that is hard to achieve perfectly. The easier 3DS mode was adjusted to make up for this lack of specificity, but irony of ironies, the 3D feature might as well be off when using motion controls, as you'll lose the graphic effect if you move the system too much.

When I reverted back to the traditional controls I missed using motion for the up and down of piloting, so a combo scheme might be the best way to go. I found that if I used the gyro to control movement on the vertical axis and the circle pad for precision aiming along the horizontal, I had the best of both worlds, and it allowed me to keep the 3D turned up, for the most part. (However, the game won't let you use gyro controls in the classic mode, which seems an unnecessary division to further divide the control camps.)

Single player is a blast, but I can't help but feel Nintendo cashed in the remake card a little too early on the multiplayer side. The lack of online multiplayer, or even multi-cart multiplayer, is a giant black hole in an otherwise amazing package. Up to four players can battle it out over local wi-fi using only one game cart, which is cool, but there are no extra options if several people own the game. Nintendo did include a little window that shows each player's face above their ship, but when you are bound by local wireless, chances are you will be close enough to see your partner anyway. Add to the fact that I think that the value of a game has changed, and Nintendo can't pass off a Nintendo 64 game with no added content anymore at full retail price. This was really a missed opportunity to show off the 3DS's online functionality.

But, at the end of the day, this new version presents "SF64" at its dog- (wolf?) fighting and space-exploring best. The game play and sense of adventure still hold up after all these years (still one of Nintendo's only games with full voice acting, if you can believe it) and now I finally understand the reverence that was placed on "Star Fox 64." Just don't expect much new, and you'll enjoy it all over again (or for the first time, like I did). And for the love of everything holy, don't forget how to do a barrel roll.