I've been meaning to play this game since it came out. I actually reserved a copy and pick it up on launch day! Not sure what took me so long.
This game looks AMAZING. Sometimes it's hard going back to older games (especially on an HDTV) because the graphics become too dated. Star Fox Adventures looks gorgeous. It can be played in 480p and has a widescreen option, it looks fantastic on an HDTV. It even has surround sound mode which works well. I really didn't feel like I was playing an old game, especially not one from two generations ago.
The only bad things I'd have to say about the game is that it's Zelda-like but not as good as Zelda, and the voice acting was a let down.
The layout of the game didn't seem as well defined as a Zelda. There's different areas that you have to go to which could be a substitute for Zelda dungeons. The world is set up kinda weird though. There's a hub area, there's large areas off the hub area, then dungeon-like places that you get to from the places off the hub area, and other places that you fly to in your Arwing from the hub area.
There's also a certain amount of running around that you have to do. You have to collect these spell stones things, which I guess are kind of like keys, and these spirits that you have to return to a temple. So you're constantly running to and from places. You have to travel to certain areas multiple times during the game. You have to visit almost every area a least twice. It just seemed a little unorganized (if that's the right word) compared to Wind Waker or something. Also, after a few trips around I was hoping you'd acquire an item that would let you warp back to the hub area on demand. No such item exits in the game. Luckily, the world isn't THAT big, so it doesn't take very long to get back to the hub.
Haven said that, the game is actually pretty short. I beat it in about 18 hours, which feels really short compared to a modern Zelda. That's on the long side according to How Long to Beat. Though from time to time, I do enjoy games of this length (I know a lot of us here feel this way).
The voice acting was a let down. Fox and Tricky, the two main characters, sounded fine. Everyone else sounded like clowns or people mocking other people. The last boss was the worst!
SPOILER: It was an awesome surprise having Andross be the last boss, but his voice was horrific. He sound more like
Bobcat Goldthwait than Andross from Star Fox 64.
Speaking of tricky, he made for pretty neat gameplay. He's like a little dog that follows you every where. He talks to you a lot too. Some times he'll say something like "Look at THIS!" as a clue, or "Wait up, Fox!" if you're running. Sometimes he'll say "Let's play!" and you can take a ball out to play fetch with him. You can tell him to stay (used to solve puzzles) and whistle for him to come. Sometimes you'll whistle and you'll hear him shout in the distance, "I'm not doing it!" There's other commands you give him, like dig for treasure or breath fire. Tricky was probably the best part of the game.
Over all, I'd say it's worth playing. Zelda-like gameplay, if you like that. Awesome graphics to look at. Feels like a Rare game, from a time when Rare made awesome games on Nintendo consoles.