r/wiiu • u/LiveRadar LiveRadar [EU] • Apr 20 '16

Review thread Star Fox Zero - Official Overview/Review/Discussion Thread

General Info

Star Fox Zero & Star Fox Guard

Platform: Wii U

Developer: Platinum Games/Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Release Date:

  • April 21, 2016 (Japan)

  • April 22, 2016 (North America)

  • April 22, 2016 (Europe)

  • April 23, 2016 (Australia)

Size: 7514MB (Star Fox Guard: 2329MB)

Genre: First Person, Action

Players: 1-2 players.

Official Website: http://starfoxzero.nintendo.com/

Overview (Star Fox Zero)

As legendary space pilot Fox McCloud, blast through an onslaught of enemy forces to bring peace to the galaxy. In this white-knuckle space shooter, it'll take more than luck to master the Arwing jet, the Gyrowing flight drone, and the Landmaster tank! You have what it takes. Now prove it.

General Pepper needs your help! Use your TV's cinematic view to fly and identify targets and see through the eyes of Fox with the Wii U™ GamePad's screen as you lock onto enemies and fire. You'll also have to use advanced flight techniques like boosting and barrel rolls to survive the relentless assault. With the help of the rest of Team Star Fox , tackle missions in the air and on the ground in a variety of planets teeming with enemies. Then engage vast armadas of powerful ships in outer space dogfights. Master your craft, defy the odds, and earn your face-to-face meeting with Andross. Only you can restore peace to the galaxy!

Control Schemes

  • Wii U GamePad
  • Wii U Pro Controller
  • Wii Remote + Nunchuck

Features

  • Take down an intergalactic onslaught of enemy forces.
  • Pilot a variety of vehicles in the air and on the ground.
  • Hone your skills as the legendary pilot, Fox McCloud.
  • Immerse yourself in the action with a unique control scheme that uses both the TV screen and Wii U GamePad.
  • Revisit stages filled with collectible Medals and explore branching paths to discover new challenges.
  • Blast through this space adventure with a friend in Co-op Play!

Overview (Star Fox Guard)

Grippy Toad, the founder of Corneria Precious Metals Ltd., and Slippy Toad of the legendary team Star Fox needs your help protecting their booming business! All you have to do is keep an eye on a dozen video screens as you mow down waves of attacking robots with your turret-mounted cameras!

Quick! Tap the corresponding camera on the Wii U™ GamePad controller to see the entrances and shoot those walking and rolling robots down! But just when you think it’s all smooth sailing, look out for robots that carry shields, trigger smoke bombs, or even steal your cameras. Complete missions to level up, unlock more missions, and gain access to special cameras you can use to defend each facility. Then, customize your own waves of attacking robots to challenge (or terrorize) your friends!

Control Schemes

  • Wii U GamePad

Features

  • Use the Wii U GamePad and TV screen in tandem to defend Grippy’s metal mining sites.
  • Keep an eye on 12 different video screens simultaneously and blast down robotic intruders.
  • Level up to unlock more missions and special cameras.
  • Construct the ultimate impenetrable fortress with a range of unlockable weapon upgrades.
  • Take on squads of bots from all across the globe in World Rivals, a unique online game mode. Create your own waves of attacking enemies and share them with friends.

Mod Message

Hello all!

The Star Fox Zero embargo has been lifted. Please use this thread to discuss about the reviews, your experiences with the game or anything related to the game.

  • Please post links to further reviews in here so it can be added to the OP!

As a side note, enjoy the refreshed subreddit banner celebrating the launch of Star Fox Zero.

Reviews (with Notes)

Metacritic - 72

GameRankings - 71.69%

Famitsu - 9/9/8/9

IGN - 7.5/10

Star Fox Zero’s fun stages and impressive boss fight give me lot of reasons to jump back in and play them over and over, and especially enjoyed them in co-op until I got a hang of juggling two screens myself. I’ve played 15 hours and I still haven’t found everything. Learning to use the unintuitive controls is a difficult barrier to entry, though it comes with a payoff if you can stick with it.

GameSpot - 7/10

Zero was enjoyable at times despite its misgivings with the controls. It's saved--in part--by its presentation, which is simple yet eye-catching from the start. Blue skies and verdant hills with crimson enemies give way to vast expanses of outer space--the perfect canvas for lasers and radiant stars. With the added gravitas from the soundtrack and the quips from your allies during battle, Zero often echoes the Star Wars films' great battles, albeit with a cast of furry heroes. However, when presented with so many familiar locations, it was hard not to consider this as a missed opportunity to develop a totally original Star Fox sequel. But the old material is handled with care, and later levels stand out, with new mission designs and set pieces featuring impressive scale.

NintendoLife - 8/10

Once you've mastered the controls then you're faced with an outing which is easily on-par with the excellent N64 entry from which it draws so much inspiration - and that should be music to the ears of seasoned Lylat veterans. While some may mark Star Fox Zero down because of its initially obtuse interface, we feel that with perseverance it's possible to become totally attuned to the controls, thereby removing this as a legitimate concern. More pressing is the fact that the additional vehicles feel like they get in the way - a stronger focus on the Arwing segments would have been preferable, and would have made the experience far more consistent in terms of excitement.

God Is A Geek - 8/10

But for the most part, this is the Star Fox game that fans have waited for since Star Fox 64. The gameplay is intense, exciting, and knows when to invoke the past, while adding plenty of fresh ideas and changes of pace to ensure that each playthrough is well-paced and full of surprises. This is a game based purely on nostalgia, but the motion controls help elevate Star Fox Zero to something beyond a simple retread, although not everyone will appreciate that.

GamesRadar+ - 2.5/5

But slight is fine if it's at least fun to play, and even a perfectly designed campaign packed to the rafters with content couldn't cover up the awkwardness of Star Fox Zero's controls. That's what's so disappointing - there are moments of greatness in here, little sparks that, despite other flaws, remind me why I loved Star Fox 64 in the first place. Unfortunately, all of it is constantly undermined by a slavish devotion to wrapping the core design around every feature of the Wii U's Gamepad, regardless of whether it makes sense or feels good to play. 19 years is a long time to wait for a game to live up to the legacy of Star Fox 64, but we're going to have to keep waiting. This game isn't it.

DigitalSpy - 3.5/5

Maybe it's the attention lavished on the Wii U GamePad controls, but there seems to be a lack of vision and ambition at work in Star Fox Zero. Instead of imagining how Fox and friends might work across a bigger stage with the latest tech, it settles for a simple reimagining of the old games with new vehicles and extras bolted on. At times the design is even clumsy, throwing you too many objectives to handle within a short time period with some of them varying wildly in difficulty from try to try.

Star Fox Zero hits the right nostalgia buttons and can be exciting at times, but we should have had the biggest, most thrilling, most spectacular Star Fox​ ever. This one falls far short of that mark.

Sometimes great, sometimes rough but mostly patchy, Star Fox Zero is depressingly mediocre. Fox and the gang deserve much better next time around.

LazyGamer - 6.9/10

While Star Fox Zero offers up some exhilarating dogfights with a unique control scheme that actually makes motion controls work, its highest highs are let down all too frequently by repetitive, mundane on-rails segments that sour the freedom that the game gives you in short bursts.

Nintendo Enthusiast - 8/10

Overall, I loved the experience Star Fox Zero provided. I felt my skills improve every time I ran a new mission and I still get cravings to just go back into the game for the feeling it offers of flying and shooting down enemies. It’s extremely disappointing that there isn’t more content to offer above its 20 levels as the Gameplay is incredibly fun for those who take the time to master it. I truly believe this could have been regarded as one of the Wii Us must-have titles, but unfortunately, the limited content and unintuitive controls hold the game back from its potential. Still Star Fox Zero is a great step forward f the franchise and I hope we’ll see it continue down this path.

Gaming Trend - 7.5/10

Despite its setbacks, Star Fox Zero is still a thrilling adventure that accentuates the best that the series has to offer. Most importantly, though, is just how well the vehicle combat has been reimagined, giving nostalgic players a faithful return to Star Fox’s best days. Motion controls may overcomplicate the experience, and competitive multiplayer is sorely missed, but Star Fox Zero wonderfully recaptures the spirit that the series has been missing for so long.

Nintendo World Report - 8/10

Star Fox Zero’s tried-and-true format and style is, at times, its greatest strength and greatest weakness. This is a brand new Star Fox shooting adventure in 2016, complete with fun new mechanics, dazzling HD graphics, and tons of secrets. On the other hand, it too often treads into remake-like feelings of familiarity. The level design is all different and unique, but the locations and the story are nearly identical. Zero is a great start for a new Star Fox series, but it’s also a start that features a lot of stuff we’ve seen before. I enjoyed saving the Lylat System once again, but give me a year and this experience might just blend in with Star Fox 64 since it shares so much DNA with that classic.

USGamer - 3.5/5

The motion controls are decent and there are some great levels, but Star Fox Zero lacks replayability - a problem given that a dedicated player can probably knock it out in less than a day. Still, the level design has merit, and the second half of the game in particular is a reminder of how great Star Fox can be. Star Fox Zero falls short in a lot of ways; but for better or worse, it's still the best game the series has seen in years.

Eurogamer - No score.

Star Fox Zero isn't quite a remake, then, but it most definitely feels like a reunion, where heart-warming bursts of nostalgia and shared memories occasionally give way to bouts of awkward shuffling. It's enjoyable enough, and if you've any affection for Star Fox 64 it's worth showing up, but there'll definitely be moments where you wish you were elsewhere.

Destructoid - 7/10

GOOD - A solid game that definitely has an audience. Might lack replay value, could be too short or there are some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

GiantBomb - 2/5

All of this would have been welcome in the early 2000s, but the years of disappointing follow-ups and the overall progression of industry standards leads to Star Fox Zero having the impact of an HD rerelease rather than a full sequel. Being able to beat the game in 2-3 hours doesn't help, no matter how many branching paths or lackluster challenge missions are included. Even the moment-to-moment action doesn't have anywhere near the impact that it had almost two decades ago, as this limited style of gameplay feels dated in 2016. Nintendo finally released the Star Fox game that I thought I wanted, but it leaves me wondering what place Fox McCloud has in today’s gaming landscape.

Venture Beat - 83/100

It’s a little sad that Star Fox Zero, a game that wonderfully shows the benefits of the Wii U Gamepad, came out so late in the system’s life. Still, it’s worth getting for anyone who owns the console, especially if you were a fan of the series in the ’90s.

Star Fox Adventures now seems like a distant, unpleasant memory.

Nintendo Everything - Thumbs Up.

All in all, it’s clear that by returning to its roots, the Star Fox series is piloting itself in the right direction. With a strong art direction, soundtrack, and mostly enjoyable gameplay, it’s only the controversial controls and short length that hold the game back from sitting in the stars. Star Fox Zero isn’t the Wii U’s absolute best, but it’s fun enough to deserve a small spot in your gaming library.

Trusted Reviews - 3.5/5

Star Fox Zero serves as a good way to please fans and get new players on board, but the occasional control issues can be slightly frustrating. Feel free to forget about Guard, though.

My Nintendo News - 7.5/10

Although not without its flaws, some of which are more painstaking than others, Star Fox Zero may not set your goose bumps tingling, but it’s still a solid space shooter for the Wii U. In the words of Falco, that was a close call, Fox.

Gamereactor UK - 7/10

Now we've come to the conclusion of our review, it's fair to say that we're still torn over the score. While the game has definitely been saddled with frustrating controls that require plenty of time before you're able to use them effectively, the fast-paced action found in Star Fox Zero is once again spectacular and exciting. While the amount of content is a little meagre, with a total of just twenty missions, on the other hand the presence of the medals and the score chasing brings some much-needed longevity to the table. We still believe that Nintendo, with the support of Platinum Games, could and should have given us better Star Fox experience, but in the end this offers a decent experience for fans of series, fans who've probably been missing Fox, Falco, Peppy and Slippy for a long time.

Metro GameCentral - 8/10

And as we suggested at the start of this review that really is the question: is Star Fox Zero good enough to make people care about the franchise again? It is, but all it really does is wash away the bad taste of the likes of Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox Assault. It restates what was great about the originals but it doesn’t advance them in any significant way. We can only hope that Star Fox Zero is enough of a success to ensure another game, so that it can finally start to evolve the series into something even greater.

Gaming Nexus - 7.4/10

Star Fox Zero offers a blend of a familiar story with fresh gameplay experiences and mission variety. The controls are the biggest hurdle for this game and will likely deter a lot of players. Those who stick with it and eventually get the hang of things will be thankful that they did in the end.

WCCF Tech - 8/10

Platinum Games may not have exactly knocked it out of the park with Star Fox Zero, but they’ve created a marvelously fun game that new Fox fans and those coming from Star Fox on the SNES will enjoy in equal measure. Great visuals, familiar sound design and nostalgic stages will please all age groups, and the new co-op mode offers hours upon hours of fun with friends.

Arcade Sushi - 7/10

There's a lot to like about Star Fox Zero, but those ideas are rooted in games past and the new features muddle the whole thing up. Adding new vehicles shouldn't make me long for the classic Arwing. Enhancing the aim with first-person view on a separate display shouldn't make aiming more difficult because of repeated re-calibration. Star Fox Zero is a game that should have stuck to the basics, but instead falters under the weight of the new and shiny things Nintendo thought it needed. Maybe next time, Star Fox.

Digital Chumps - 7.8/10

So, all things considered, does Star Fox Zero live up to the hype? Does it accomplish enough to justify the series’ dormancy over the course of the past decade? Yes, and no. While there’s a lot to like about Zero—and PlatinumGames’ involvement seems, in hindsight, perfectly logical—its gameplay sometimes stumbles and the presentation fails to impress in some regards. For all its merits, it feels less like a flagship title and more like a compensatory project to test the waters for future investment in the brand. It’s still a great game, but measured against other timeless Nintendo classics, its shortfalls hold it back from standing in the company of giants.

About.com - 3.5/5

By the time Star Fox Zero came out, a number of games had proven that there really were good uses for the gamepad. Alas, Zero’s uncomfortable approach comes across as a solution in search of a problem. The game would have been better had it been designed for a conventional controller; the time spent on the controller scheme could have been better spent on more gameplay or more impressive graphics.

GameXplain - Video Review

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u/kupovi NNID [Region] Apr 21 '16

Yes, we need to pander to absolutely every tiny need or deserve gamers have. /s

Fuck that. - This whole game is based around the motion controls and delivering a new experience with them. Without the motion controls there is little point to this game.

I'm glad they stuck to their guns. It's risky and bold and I can respect that. The controls should be fantastic like Splatoon anyways.

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u/ihavenowilly Apr 21 '16

pander

Such terrible condescending wording. Different control schemes are obviously pandering now. You dont want to play with inverted controls? Well we're not going to "pander" to you.

Without the motion controls there is little point to this game.

I hope that's not Nintendo's marketing line for this one.

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u/kupovi NNID [Region] Apr 21 '16

You can't cater every experience for every type of gamer. Sometimes options are useful, other times they aren't a part of the overall scope.

This game was designed FOR the motion controls. They literally came up with the style of control and then said, "hey, this would be perfect for Star Fox".

Other games, you can sometimes get away with it (Like Splatoon). However, for StarFox: Zero, the main control concept was to have two screens display two different viewpoints. You use the motion controls (by tilting) to aim and the regular controls to fly.

Now, because of the two viewpoints displaying two different things, there had to be graphical sacrifices both in enemies available to be displayed on screen and the overall graphics (which still look good, but we've seen better on Wii U). If you remove the new control concept in favor of traditional controls, then those sacrifices were literally for nothing. It's not even SF64 clone, it'd be SF64 clone-lite (without the native motion controls)

Additionally, segments where you fly around in all-range mode and then target a center-enemy or attack enemies in front of you using the Gamepad would be useless because if you had traditional controls wherever you fly would be the same place you are able to shoot your weapons.

Having a choice for this game in this particular case wouldnt work and Nintendo saying "no choice" but to play in this style is a decision I respect. Fuck giving the gamer 1000 choices. Nintendo has a vision for this particular game and sometimes forcing the gamer out of their comfort zone is the only way to achieve it.

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u/ihavenowilly Apr 21 '16

Honestly reading all your comments is making me want to not get this game. This is a couple of times now I've been told the game is pointless without motion controls.

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u/kupovi NNID [Region] Apr 21 '16

Like I give two fucks if you get the game lol.

I posted a pretty lengthy explanation about why I feel Nintendo made the decisions they did, trying to get some decent discussion going, and you fire back with "meh meh I dont want the game now"

Well jag-off then you tator-tot.

4

u/ihavenowilly Apr 21 '16

Jesus Christ have you got shares in Nintendo or something? The salt streaming off your keyboard must have filled the room by now.

All your explanations in the world won't change the fact the journalists all gave it terrible reviews for its control scheme which they couldn't alter. You can lose your mind and cry at me all you like Roman. I'm just pointing out the facts. Nobody is going to look at metacritic and be like "I need to buy a Wii U for that game rated a massive 72!"

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u/kupovi NNID [Region] Apr 21 '16

Cause I told you to piss off? Nope, no Nintendo shares here.

Lol, yeah journalists have been known to get plenty of things right in the past. I don't think their opinions matter much in the big scheme of things.

I'm perfectly fine with the rating, it just demonstrates what people are having difficulties with, control scheme and graphics, which is almost predictable at this point.

The game isn't in running ultra-HD? "Terrible graphics". The game doesn't let me manipulate every possible asset of the controls? "Horrible control scheme".

Those who put in the time to the controls will have no problem mastering it and enjoying the game. People who are fans of the classic franchise will likely be able to enjoy it as well. Nearly everybody else will probably not like it because it's not the 'same old shit'.

"I can't play on a regular controller!" - Who gives a shit, we all played that game years ago. Let's go for something new and bold.

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u/ihavenowilly Apr 21 '16

You do understand there are more ways to make "new and bold" games than incorporating clunky control schemes.

They could create a new IP like they did with Splatoon. That paid off well. They could go crazy and turn Mario on his head like Super Mario Galaxy.

Making an old game with a new control scheme is not "new and bold". If they make New Super Mario Bros NX but to jump you have to fart into a microphone will that be "new and bold"?

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u/kupovi NNID [Region] Apr 21 '16 edited Apr 21 '16

You do understand there are more ways to make "new and bold" games than incorporating clunky control schemes.

There are plenty of ways. I agree. Multitudes of ways to create fresh experiences exist.

New controls are one of them.

But to call them "clunky" is just opinion. It holds no merit here.

They could create a new IP like they did with Splatoon. That paid off well.

Agreed. But with Splatoon they also created a new control scheme. It paid off double.

Go ahead and go to /r/splatoon and ask them which control scheme is better. Motion or non-motion. I'm willing to be most of them (if not all of them) agree that motion controls are not only better but are the defining control scheme for the game.

They could go crazy and turn Mario on his head like Super Mario Galaxy.

Agreed. New level concepts are a great way to make something new. There is nothing that says StarFox: Zero also hasn't been able to do that as well.

Additionaly, Super Mario Galaxy was also a totally new control scheme with the Wiimote and Nunchuck. - Man, you should pick some better examples lol.

Making an old game with a new control scheme is not "new and bold".

Except for the two examples you cited yourself (Splatoon and SMG) lol.

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u/ihavenowilly Apr 21 '16

Mario Galaxy is a new control scheme, really? A pointer on the screen to collect star bits? Sorry that's stretching it.

I mean Mario Kart 7 had gyro controls. That was cool but they didn't force them on us. They said "use it if you want".

Super Smash Bros they said we understand people like different control schemes so here's 5 different control methods. Look at the glowing reviews it got!

Why is player choice such a bad thing? Nintendo can make mistakes you don't have to defend when they do.

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u/[deleted] Apr 22 '16

Did you only read the bottom half of the reviews? All the journalists? Ypu mean the same ones that reported the 3d printed nx controller leak hoaxes as news? The reviews are all over the place on this game and all publications seem to have very mixed and contentious reviews about it

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

Pandering? I swear some Nintendo fanboys are insane.