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
The game's technical aspects were singled out for acclaim. Its visuals were called "respectable" in the standard resolution, but highly praised in high-resolution mode (achieved via the Nintendo 64's Expansion Pak). GameSpot remarked that in a higher resolution, "[the] textures of the landscapes, the ships, the lighting effects—everything looks so much better," while IGN's Peer Schneider said, "After playing the game in the optional high resolution mode (640 × 480) once, it's impossible to go back to the still respectable standard resolution." Citing details such as decals, Rebel markings, R2 units, cockpit views and exhaust flames, Schneider described the game's 3D ship models as "gorgeous". IGN's Matt Casamassina said that the game was the best-looking Nintendo 64 game to date.