Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Many reviews compared "Star Wars: Rogue Squadron" to one of its inspirations, the Battle of Hoth flight combat level in "Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire", considered one of that game's best elements. "GamePro" remarked that "Rogue Squadron" "enhanced the flight model with true pitch, roll, and bank mechanics". IGN praised its inclusion of "upgrades, more enemies, better sound, and stunning second-generation graphics". The Nintendo 64 version received mostly positive reviews, and received an aggregate score of 85 percent from both GameRankings and Metacritic. "GamePro" named it one of the best games released in 1998. In a 2008 retrospective, IGN's Levi Buchanan stated that the game revived the "Star Wars" license on consoles through well-paced gameplay, a story tied into the "Star Wars" canon and visuals that made it "one of the generation's top stunners".
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Reviewers also praised the game's sound design. Powered by the new Factor 5 audio drivers, "Rogue Squadron" features about 40 minutes of speech and 40 minutes of music. GameSpot's Ryan Mac Donald believed that the game's inclusion of extended voice work helped create a "movie-like" atmosphere. IGN noted that in addition to being technically impressive, the game's Dolby Pro Logic surround sound was an important gameplay element. The audio signals helped players determine enemy positions and direction of travel. IGN awarded the game three sound awards, including Sound Effects, Best Voice and Best Overall Sound of 1998 on the Nintendo 64.