Topic: Star Fox Zero - OT

It was just one single copy short of it being a success so all future Star Fox games have been cancelled. I blame Artwark for not buying one, it's a disgrace he says he hearts Nintendo but refuses to support them.

@arronishere: I do support them for your information. I just both all the three fire emblem games alongside one VC game. I can't get the Wii U and the game because my family wont let me get it.

Fox weeps as you refuse to buy his game.

Star Fox is the best game anyone could spend their money on. buying anything else instead is basically throwing away money. Don't throw away money, buy Star Fox (Zero and Guard)

I'm starting to suspect you love Star Fox.

What would give you that idea? No, Star Fox is, objectively, just one of the greatest series of all time and these new Star Fox games are the best games of the year, and possibly the best games of this generation.

After spending the weekend with Star Fox Zero, I'm very happy to say I've had a 180 — Star Fox Zero is the real deal.

There was no mystical "click," as lots of folks like to talk about, for me — it just took time. More so than any game I've ever played, my first run through Zero really felt like practice. While I think it's a fair criticism (there are lots of fair criticisms of the game, which I'll get to in a later post) to say that this game's barrier for entry is too high, the skill barrier paid off for me.

My initial frustration, I think, was tied to my love and familiarity with Star Fox 64. I tried to play Zero just the way I'd play 64, which is like forcing a triangle peg into a square hole. Splatoon had a similar effect; I tried to graft Splatoon's motion controls onto my Star Fox Zero experience. Neither method works. You've got to approach the game on its own terms, which is very difficult to do seeing as it controls like no other game.

In a way — and in a surprising move from Nintendo and Miyamoto — this game really caters to people with a whole lot of gaming experience. The controls are complex — there's no getting around that (it'd be a difficult game to share with friends, akin to The Wonderful 101 in that respect). But they work. And they offer you an unprecedented amount of ship control and gameplay options. And, yes, when you're zooming under a carrier and shooting up at its underbelly, or when you do a U-turn then immediately glance at your cockpit view to pummel Pigma, it feels good.

In addition to the controls — which, to get meta for a minute, are also a wonderful way for Nintendo to deliver the nostalgia that so many people demand while keeping things fresh — I think what has impressed me the the most is the level design and gameplay balance. While I completely understand how the very steep learning curve put off most reviewers, it's a real shame that these elements of the game may fall on deaf public ears. The balance of enemy placement, obstacles and a ridiculous amount of collectables and secrets is sublime. And the gameplay balancing? Near perfect. You will scrape out of many a dogfight within an inch of your life. And that feels good, too.

I've got more to say about some of the game's strong points, and some areas in which it trips up, but I've already written too much. For now, I'll say this:

It's good to have Star Fox back.

God this game looks amazing.. I'll have to give it a rent at least.. but they STILL couldn't give Slippy a better voice? He should sound low and croaky, not high pitched like a 10 year old.

I got to play a bit at PAX East. Based on that, this game is awesome even IF you don't get the controls. I failed with them but I got them enough that I could still do awesome in this level. Maybe the first level is a lie compared to the rest of the game. But if not, I am so much more angry at the negative reviews now. It was so awesome. I never thought the actual levels would truly live up to 64 but it kinda did...controls might make it worse maybe but...it was so good!

If the whole game is like that, it'll be the most fun I've had with a Nintendo game in like 2 years, not even joking.

I love the amount of small details and things to discover that are in each level. Only just realised that there's more than one way to beat the first boss, and while it's only a small thing it still felt pretty cool.

This. This was the point I was trying to make when posting that backwards bicycle video to @Octane. That many a Star Fox fan will dash out to buy the game, stare up with a big grin at the comfortably familiar scene of Fox and co. soaring into Corneria, then actually try to shoot something on the TV and think, "OH MY GOD NINTENDO WHY CAN'T I HIT ANYTHING WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO STAR FOX YOU MONSTERS!?".

Everything happening on the TV just LOOKS so much like Star Fox 64 that one's gut reaction is to ignore what's unfolding on the Gamepad (the screen which DOESN'T look like Starfox) and play solely using the television like the good old days. Which immediately feels disjointed and awkward, just as riding an inverted bicycle must do to someone accustomed to a regular one.

Which is a pity, because the view from the Gamepad (judging from my own experience and a lot of other comments) seems to be the most intuitive and easy to use initially, yet often gets completely ignored by beginners. I found shooting stuff on the Gamepad is really easy, even when I first started (though perhaps this is due to experience with Splatoon). Being super focused on the smaller screen means you're not quite as aware of your surroundings, but the first few levels are so expansive that it's generally not much of an issue.

I think the best way of getting used to the game is probably to start by prioritising the Gamepad, and then gradually spend more time looking at the TV as you get acclimatised. Which, unhelpfully, is the exact opposite of what most Star Fox are inclined to do.

I'm glad you've got beyond the controls, because there's so much more to the game to talk about, but the debate rarely progressed beyond them. There is an awful lot of intricacy to the levels which is incredibly easy to miss the first time around, and a lot of the medals are very inventive and encourage exploration. Many of them remind me of the secrets hidden in 3D Mario games.

One thing I would have liked to see is a few more 'Sector Gamma' style mach-speed adrenaline-fests. I thought the game generally had a good variety of level themes, and some really imaginative 'woah that's cool' moments, but I'd have liked to play a couple more stages that simply focused on the simple joy of piloting an Arwing at top-speed whilst trying not to smash into stuff. Gamma absolutely nailed hat, so it was a pity it was really the only one of its kind.

If you think Slippy is annoying, wait till you try the Gyrowing levels. Your robot, Direct-i, will make you want to mute the Gamepad's 3D sound experience XD.

It's funny how much this series borrows from Star Wars. Did they have, essentially, droids that could hack computers in prior renditions of the series? I know they didn't in SNES or 64...

I guess so, but that running theme on the back cover of Zero, "you're the only hope," I don't know ;P I think Star Fox never tried to hide the influence...not a bad thing IMO, I love both Star Wars and Star Fox.

I'm not the only one, I guess, who thinks there are similarities beyond the genre:
http://starfox.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Star_Wars_references_in...

Kind of like how one could say that one all range level in the 64 version was kind of like Independence Day; maybe just a coincidence.

So what do we call it guys? A prequel, sequel or reboot? Personally I think its a reboot. It has the same story from Star fox and Star fox 64, it has quotes from Star fox 64, at least one boss from Star fox 64, someone getting lost on the desert planet, etc.

Anyway, its a pretty fun game. Better then expected. But the controls: I have a love/hate affair with them, so far. They are unique, but very hard to get the hang of. For example: The desert-planet, I was literally blundering through it. A wonder that I did survive!

I do hope that they continue the series, and that we see a sequel on NX (we can wait a few years, other franchises have priority now). Hopefully we get normal controls again, a new story and stronger graphics. Or in other words: More Platinum, less Miyamoto!

Well, it can't really be a prequel or sequel, as it is way too similar to prior renditions. I hope it's a reboot; it feels like Star Fox 64 reimagined, and Star Fox 64 was Star Fox (SNES) reimagined.

As you noted, there are several carry-overs from Star Fox 64, including dialogue like "Good Luck!" And Star Fox being told he needs to rush to save those in peril, and he's like something like, "Ok." Haha.

Hopefully the sequel will allow us to use differing controls and will offer some form of multiplayer beyond a two-manned ship on local. If they could deliver an All-Range mode multi-player, they would sell millions. Would be cool to join up and make squadrons, too.

It is at least basically what Metroid Zero Mission was for the original Metroid game. It retells the story in a better easier to understand way with new features. It doesn't wipe the sequels out of the picture, but if there is a sequel to Star Fox Zero, then SFZ becomes a reboot.

What if the next Star Fox is just another retelling of Star Fox and Star Fox 64?

Has anyone else noticed the logos for Criware and Simplygon on the back of the box for Star Fox Zero? I saw that and thought, I haven't read anywhere what these companies did for the game. Does anyone know what role these companies played in development for this / these games? Criware is a middleware development company, which means little to me. Simplygon has done work on 3D optimization for other big titles, so maybe they were brought in after E3 to help spruce up the graphics? I don't know, but I'm curious as I've heard nothing about either of these companies being involved in the development of either of these games.

Does anyone know if completing the challenges that you unlock in training mode actually unlocks anything else? They seem to have Gold scores, which I've obtained on a couple, but I haven't been given anything (like another medal).

I've just hit 47 medals, and I want to collect them all but real life in interfering and aaaaahhhhh...

I like the fact that I can access the two Arwings without the amiibo if I get all 70 (I think that's a practice I've like to see more of with regards to amiibo), but I think it would be even better if there were a third thing that was unlocked aside from the Arwings to give people who already own the amiibo a proper incentive for finishing the game.

I downloaded this last night and man I was struggling. I'll persist though.