Star Fox Zero Gyro

Along with the sublime looking Super Mario Maker, Nintendo focused a lot of their E3 efforts this year on Star Fox Zero, a game which seems to be dividing opinion based on previews. A common sticking point seems to be the use of gyro controls to look around in cockpit view on the GamePad. It would appear that you either love it or you hate it - like Marmite for our British readers.

While it appears that the E3 build of the game only allowed attendees to play the game using motion controls, we had heard rumours that it might be possible to disable them. We reached out to Nintendo UK for a statement and a spokesperson confirmed it was in fact true:

I can confirm that gyro controls can indeed be switched on or off in Star Fox Zero.

Rubbing our eyes with disbelief we tried our best interrogation techniques to find out more detail. How would the game play without motion controls? Miyamoto has said that the cockpit view is integral to the experience and that some targets can only be hit using it. We also wonder how things will work with the motion input disabled, as both analog sticks are already occupied by other functions - so it's not like you can transfer the movement to the right-hand stick, as is the case in Splatoon.

We asked, dear reader, but were told:

As with all announcements/products from Nintendo more information will be released closer to launch.

So there we have it, the divisive gyro controls can be disabled if you wish to play Star Fox Zero in a more old school way. As with Splatoon, we suspect the game will be more fun if you play it as intended, but it is nice to learn that Nintendo will be giving gyro-adverse players options nonetheless. As always, let us know what you think of this startling revelation with a comment below.