While there are some things the Wii doesn't do perfectly, it doesn't give any reason not to download this great classic.
You're not alone in this shooting frenzy, either. Alongside you are your three wingmen: Peppy Hare, an old rabbit who's a veteran pilot who fought alongside your father, Slippy Toad, a frog who constantly gets into trouble, but he's a mechanic and a good childhood friend of Fox, and Falco Lombardi, a falcon who's the tough guy of the team. All of them will get into trouble, and it's up to you to save them. Of course, you could always leave them to die, but that would ruin your medal for each course, and they can give some extremely helpful things. Peppy gives advice on how to defeat bosses, Slippy shows you the boss's shields, and Falco is sometimes the only way you can get to harder levels (Plus he's cool).
Most of the game is on rails, in which you're just moving forward shooting as much as you can with some control over where you go, but on occasion you'll be allowed to roam freely over a square battlefield, fending off missiles, destroying towers, protecting pyramid-like bases, and on occasion meet your rival, Star Wolf, which is another mercernary team hired by Andross to take you out.
There's 15 (technically 16) levels in all, among them a desert, city, asteroid belt, the sun, defense satellites, and more, but you can only go through seven of them in one game. Plus, in order to get to certain (and often harder) levels, you have to fulfill certain conditions. In the first level, if you save Falco and then fly through all the lake's arches, you'll fight through a different ending of the stage, a different boss, and more importantly, go to a different level. This is what gives the game it's massive replay value.
Graphics aren't anything special, but they were pretty decent compared to other games of the time. The Wii, however, doesn't do a perfect job of giving the show. There are a few visual bugs, but they aren't anything noticeable unless you've played the N64 for a long time. The explosions and Solar are a bit darker, and the sprites look a bit crappy (Take Meteo's boss, for example). Again, these aren't dragging the game down, but it gives a different feel for long time fans.
If you don't look at the minor differences, the game looks pretty good. On the Great Fox, you can see what constant battle has done on the hull, and all the enemies are well designed. The Arwing, Landmaster (A tank), and the Blue Marine (Submarine, for the single underwater stage) are all great looking, and the levels themselves are all just as wonderful.
The sound is also just as great. The many explosions you'll hear during the game don't get repetitive, and the music is nice and fits the mood of the stage well. But most of the time you'll be hearing the several voices of the game, ranging the the female voice that says," Thanks Fox! I thought they had me!" when you save Slippy (Despite the fact he's a male) to the surprise guest that leads you out of a Star Wars-like trench while explosions rock the entire tunnel when you beat a certain boss, although his lines mostly consist of," Follow me, Fox." (No, he's not Falco.)
The game can get challenging at times, but if you need some practice on your evasive maneuvers, there's also a training mode you can use to brush up on aiming, barrel roll-ing, somersaulting, U-turns, and other various tricks. This is very helpful, and it shows it when you unlock Expert mode where one collision can destroy everything you've built on your Arwing.
It's a very short game, unfortunately, and most games can take only an hour to complete. This does, however, increase the replay value a lot, and the simple yet at times challenging gameplay, though most of the time it's harder on your team than you. Also, I suggest you use the Gamecube controller over the classic, though neither of them feels just right.
There's only one thing really bugging me, which is the fact the game doesn't feature rumble. Star Fox 64 was the first game to use the Rumble Pak, and not seeing it in the game is disappointing, though it's not a big thing.
All in all, Star Fox 64 is a solid game which has it's downsides at times, but it's definitely a game you should spend 1000 points ($10) on. For the maybe 100 or more hours you'll spend playing on it trying to find all the secrets or get a new high score, it's really a bargain.