This re-boot of a classic arcade space-fighter breathes new life on the 3DS, but was it necessary?
Star Fox 64 3D is a reboot of Star Fox 64. If you have the original or access to it on the Wii VC that may be a cheaper alternative (though you will miss out on the 3D visuals and updated graphics). If you own any of the previous entries (e.g., Star Fox Command on the DS, Star Fox Assault on GC) it's hard to recommend this entry. It's simply more of the same and unlikely to offer anything new. If, however, you do not own any of those titles, or any other space-shooting type game, then this may be a good one to pick up. For what it does, it does very well. It is an arcade style space shooter on rails (with an occasional free-roaming section tossed in, though fairly restricted).
The controls are great, though I opted out of the gyra-controls which allow you to control your airwing by moving the 3DS. Nintendo did something similar in Zelda OoT 3DS but I generally prefer the control buttons. The touch screen is not used for controls which is a good thing because you'll need both hands on the controls at all times anyway. That said, the touch screen does display some information on your aircraft, as well as video/audio messages from your wingmen. They rarely say anything useful but their conversing does make the game feel more alive. Each character has a unique personality and brings a little something different to the team (e.g., Slippy enables the ability to see a bosses power meter, handy). Of course, if you let your comrade fall in the course of a mission you lose any perks they would have brought with them so there is an incentive to rescue your teammates when in trouble.
The game is set up on a branching path of seven missions so the game encourages you to replay multiple times to branch off into other levels that you missed previously. In other words, even though the first and last mission will almost always be the same, there are different missions you can take that connect those two points. So while a single playthrough consist of seven, there are actually around 15 total missions in the game. Once you've played a mission at least once you can go into any one you want anytime in Score Attach mode. There you can try to collect medals based on number of hits/score you accumulate.
So it should be clear this is an arcade-style game. Though there's some periphery plot-line it is not strongly developed nor the focus of the game (much like an arcade fighting game). As such the gameplay is fun and challenging so it makes for a perfect handheld game. The graphics and 3D visuals are superb, though I find the character models to be charmingly awkward. All things considered though one has wonder if a reboot was necessary. It seems to me only a little bit of effort could have turned this into the "next" Star Fox game. Here's hoping this is the last of the remakes for awhile, but that may just be wishful thinking.