The controls hold up better than something like Star Wars Rogue Squadron, which I surprised myself to discover. I have great memories of Rogue Squadron but the controls are stiff in all the wrong ways while StarFox is comparatively easier to fly even in the non-linear arena areas.
Visually StarFox is obviously dated, but because it opted for big low detail style to begin with it isn’t difficult on the eyes the way “realistic” N64 games look today.