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REVIEW: STAR FOX ZERO (Wii U)

26/4/2016

28 Comments

 
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Let's get this out of the way up front: the Wii U was a flawed design from the off.

​Ever since Nintendo started adding gimmicks to its consoles there was always a risk of a gimmick too far.

And, let's face it, it isn't like they don't have form with missteps: for every DS there is a Virtual Boy, for every Wii a Power Glove or Robotic Operating Buddy. 

You remember the Robotic Operating Buddy don't you? It was this little robot guy who held an NES pad in his claws and assumed the role of a second player for multiplayer games. Nintendo had to withdraw them from the market after a load of them malfunctioned and tried to invade Lichtenstein.

Still, you can't blame The Ninnies entirely for going the way they did with the Wii U. There was much sense in that talk of how nobody watches TV anymore without a second screen in their hands. And yet we all watch TV while snacking, but funny how nobody is clamouring for an edible joypad.

Unfortunately, whereas the Wiimote was an idea that everyone - gamer and dunce alike - could understand instinctively, by making the Wii U a hybrid of the second-screen idea and the Wiimote, the response was abject confusion.


We're approaching the end of the Wii U's lifecycle, and we've yet to play a game which makes a strong, compelling case for the GamePad. Star Fox Zero feels like Nintendo going "We'll show 'em! How dare they mock us?! Well we'll show 'em what a good idea the GamePad is!".

Regrettably, in trying to do that - in trying to crowbar the Gamepad into the heart of Star Fox Zero - all Nintendo has achieved is provide one last magazine of ammunition to everyone who has ever looked at the Wii U and pondered... "Why dey do dis?"
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FOX ON
You've probably read a fair bit about the controls in Star Fox Zero. Let us do the most boring thing imaginable by confirming that everything bad you've heard is true.

The convoluted and fundamentally broken controls - YES, you do get semi-used to them, eventually, but by that time this all-too-brief game is almost over - are bewildering. The TV shows the external view of your ship. The GamePad screen acts as the view through your pilot's eyes. Your thumb steers the ship, your flailing arms steer your aiming reticle.

It's ridiculous, and while you will eventually get the hang of it, almost, the game would've been better served with a more familiar control system. Let players forget about the controls, and enjoy the game you've thrown them into.

Unfortunately, even if it had better controls, Star Fox Zero would struggle to thrill.

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FOX OFF
For anyone who has played a Star Fox game much of Zero will feel lazily familiar.

It "boasts" a familiar branching structure, there are multiple routes through the levels, and it's mostly an on-rails experience, with sections set in space, and others above the ground.

​Additionally, there are missions featuring a Star Wars-esque chicken walker thing, and a number of puzzle-based sections wherein you control a plodding Gyrowing. 

Star Fox and Star Fox 64 were always loved for their pace, for that feeling of putting the player in the midst of the action. They weren't hugely challenging to play, and therein lay their appeal; you could switch off and pretend.

Ultimately, there's just something a bit half-hearted about Star Fox Zero. The visuals are far from next-gen, the level design feels reheated from leftovers, and nobody stopped to question whether the intention to force the GamePad down everyone's throats was going to hamper what little enjoyment was on offer from the slight, 3-4 hour campaign.

Even the addition of Star Fox Guard - a fair-to-middling tower defence-ish bonus game - feels like padding, like they lost confidence in the main product.

The biggest shame about Star Fox Zero is this is a long-awaited return for one of Nintendo's flagship franchises. There was a time when Nintendo would have treated such a release with the care usually reserved for precious metals, and given us something brand new.

What does it say about the company's current mentality that they've churned this one out, seemingly as a final stab at justifying one of their greatest balls-ups? It's the gaming equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and going "Nyah nyah - I can't hear you...!".

SUMMARY: It's like trying to play Star Fox, with most of the fun removed.
SCORE: 5-and-a-bit out of 10-and-a-smidge.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
NINTENDO: LIFE BEFORE MARIO - A HISTORY
LET'S GET A JOB AT NINTENDO!
​
10 BLATANT MARIO RIP-OFFS


28 Comments
Glyn
26/4/2016 10:44:59 pm

The most important thing I learnt from this is how to spell nyah nyah.

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Seam
26/4/2016 10:47:05 pm

This makes me sad. The puzzling thing is that it was also postponed from release last year due to Nintendo wishing to make it a more fitting experience. Did the game play the same way during the odd excursions to gaming expos or was it presentation only?
A poor misfire from Nintendo.

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Old Red
26/4/2016 10:50:23 pm

Sometimes I wonder if the Wii U, gamepad and it's games have been made for me and me alone. Star Fox Zero is a great game, there I said it. From racking up better scores to running the whole game on arcade mode with a few lives, it's a great arcade game with a deep scoring system. Just like God Hand and Wonderful 101, I feel Star Fox Zero will be looked back on fondly.

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Spiney O'Sullivan
26/4/2016 10:50:44 pm

But did you finish it?

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Damon link
26/4/2016 10:57:45 pm

I did my review first and therefore I am right.

My issue with the controls was not the pad itself but the fact each vehicle controls differently so you never really get the chance to get the hang of any of them, which is more of a design issue than a hardware issue.

And honestly I think they look like rock-afire explosion rejects.

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Mrtankthreat
26/4/2016 11:12:41 pm

My biggest issue with the game pad was that for once, when it came to the controller, it seemed like Nintendo weren't innovating but trying to hop on someone else's bandwagon. They saw people liked tablets and so they thought "let's make our own" but what was great about Nintendo before was that they made things that people didn't even realise they wanted or needed. Like d-pads, analogue sticks, shoulder buttons etc. They also pioneered decent wireless control with the wavebird.

They kind of continued that with the Wii remote in that it was something new and different but turned out that not only was it not needed, in the end it seems nobody really wanted it either. Other than Wii Sports has motion control ever seemed essential? (And before you say Splatoon, I haven't played it yet and I'm sure its very good for that but ordinary controls still work fine with FPS in a way that they wouldn't with Wii Sports.) For me it ruined all the best games on the Wii like Mario Galaxy and Zelda by tacking on nonsense waggling.

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Chris link
27/4/2016 07:28:01 am

One word: driving games (that's two words - Ed). Superb use of the Wii remote.

Actually for me, the remote's best feature was the pointer. To point and select at the screen is so intuitive, and works so much better than slowly prodding at a button to get to the option furthest from the highlighted one, or whatever.

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Mrtankthreat
27/4/2016 02:22:29 pm

Still not essential though, we already had the ultimate driving game controller before the Wii-mote, the steering wheel. And sure you can use the pointer for selecting but then you still have to use the Wii-mote to control the game you selected and it sucks.

Kelvin Green link
27/4/2016 06:33:40 pm

Pro Evo on the Wii is the best football game since Sensi Soccer, and that's due for the most part to the innovative Wiimote controls.

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Mr J. Crikey link
26/4/2016 11:13:03 pm

I approached the controls with a sense of impending doom, but... found that they work great, and I happily said so in my review.

This is, I suppose, just further confirmation that I will always struggle to integrate with normal human beings.

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Dc69
26/4/2016 11:44:01 pm

The controls really bugged me at first but the more I play this the more I like it . I have got to a point where I'm not thinking about the controls and concentrating on the actual game. It seems to me that the wii u has always struggled with its identity and it can't seem to win if a game doesn't use the gamepad its lazy and if a game does its never quite right for everyone. To anyone thinking of trying this game out do and make your own judgement of it .

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Alastair
26/4/2016 11:55:20 pm

"Use cockpit view on the gamepad when you need precision aiming" vs "Do a barrel roll!" says it all.

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ThatsNoMoon
27/4/2016 12:24:50 am

I'm one of the few that thinks the Gamepad is great.

Fair enough, shoehorning it into games like this is never going to work for many players but as a tool to create new experiences it is brilliant.

Not the Gamepad's fault nobody has come up with any half decent games for the WiiU. Big publishers are never going to do a WiiU game that is anything more than a lazy port (if they bother at all) and indies want to go where the money is (not the WiiU).

What is truly sad is that Nintendo seemed to either run out of ideas or gave up up the Gamepad so early. It became their Kinect and it did not deserve that sort of ignominy.

Nintendoland still gets played regularly in our household; the simple pleasure of asymmetric gameplay is brilliant and only possible with the second screen.

When we now see that potentially the best advert for PS VR is an asymmetric "party" game it is obvious that Nintendo failed to carve out a market for the WiiU, centered around fun, unique experiences.

I wonder how many (off-screen type) PS VR games would have worked just as well on the WiiU if given half a chance.

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John
27/4/2016 12:33:58 am

Wii U, to me, is the best console N have ever done (except maybe the SNES). They knew exactly what they wanted to do and did it flawlessly. It now has a vast library of some of the most brilliantly crafted games (mostly 1st party) and they make use of the game pad so beautifully that I wonder how it was possible to manage without one. They certainly couldn't have produced some of the gaming experiences on offer without it. 3rd parties hate it because it means more coding for them to make use of it, and they're essentially only interested in making a fast buck; hence an easy shunning. Nintendo has had some of the most creative and fun games on that platform, and it excels for party games--something overlooked by those who can't tap into that side of it, socially. For people who, for some reason, are only interested in profit margins for a company they hold no shares in, it's become a net profitable platform and thus successful system. Despite internet mouths, Wii U was never in danger and Nintendo said and did support it for years. The console design went against mindless masses who don't really know what they want beyond a bigger number for under-the-hood processing tech, and it innovated nicely, whether or not it was recognised by said masses. It's literally a loss to those who didn't embrace it for no sound reason based on what is on offer, and it's a pity it's the least well selling Nintendo console. They really should have just called it Wii 2; the damage early bad memes can do for a product line when their market constitutes people who don't really think for themselves too impressively.

Based on how Wii U contrasts with the 3DS, I wouldn't be surprised to learn the NX turns out to be like the Wii U but the equivalent tablet as the actual 3DS portable successor. So combining both platforms, thus allowing backwards software compatibility with the hardware, reduced duplicity of games (e.g. smash, hyrule warriors etc.), and easier handling of accounts amongst other things.

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R3T2
27/4/2016 04:57:53 am

no they should have called it 'Wii: Number 2'

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Rakladtor III The Terrible
27/4/2016 03:23:22 am

The wii U gamepad was a convenient way for Nintendo to lump an additional price mark up on the hardware, while feigning innovation and putting themselves across to consumers as 'Apple-esque'. Even the wii U console basically looks like a 1st gen iPod.

If they were merely trying to innovate gaming, then I don't see much evidence amongst their own 1st party titles. My two favourite titles for the platform are both 3rd party. Due to it's size it makes for a great motion control wheel in racers, but that's about it. Looking down to switch between screens is just an annoyance imo, just breaks up the immersion. But it works better on DS, 3DS as screens are closer together.

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Rakladtor III The Terrible
27/4/2016 04:00:42 am

As for Starfox, the issues don't suprise me. They already did it with Kid Icarus Uprising on 3DS. "We need a game using both screens/stylus controls, to prove we don't need a 2nd analogue stick (we'll add that in a later hardware revision huehuehue $$$). Here 3rd party dev, have this franchise, make it for us but it must use these features".
Yes from what I've seen Nintendo prefer to lumber 'hardware justification duties' on 3rd party devs who've been assigned a Nintendo franchise.

And I'm hardly excited about graphics that pay tribute to retro starfox. I'd have preferred a tribute to classic Starfox gameplay along with a half interesting graphics engine.

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PeskyFletch
27/4/2016 01:17:35 pm

I saw that Nien nunb reference!

Lorfarius
27/4/2016 07:40:04 am

3-4 hour campaign!?!? That's a scandal in itself. What have they been doing with it all these years!

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Superbeast 37
27/4/2016 08:11:11 am

As someone else said, the game pad wasn't original, it was bandwagoning as Nintendo saw the growth of tablets and tried to leap on.

Nintendo really have lost my support. They have such a contemptuous attitude towards customers.

My gamepad suffered major cosmetic damage but they refused to sell me another because the old one still technically worked. Yes, I tried to give them money and they refused. Any company with that attitude is living on borrowed time.

Their customer support actually admitted that if I "accidentally" broke said pad they would replace it for free but wouldn't take £100 for a replacement because it was only cosmetic damage. A-holes.

They also refused to transfer my digital games licences after I sold a 3DS to raise money for a New 3DS not realising (since they had created those Nintendo accounts) that they have the most moronic system that still forces you to do a transfer unlike Sony/MS.

I'm done with them.

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PeskyFletch
27/4/2016 01:18:52 pm

That is absolutely mental.

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Harry Steele
27/4/2016 10:07:10 am

ERRRRGGNNNNN ALL THESE CRAPPY STAR FOX GAMES MAKE ME WANT TO CRY!

I've been a massive fan since the original SNES game and properly fell in love with the universe when Starfox 64 came around. I have a poster of SF64 signed by Miyamoto himself!

But it hearts my heart every time a new game comes around once a console generation and they're always so weak - so obsessed with doing things differently that they loose sight of what made the originals so good.

I just want a pure, no-frills Star Fox game, with tight controls, levels that can be played multiple times for high scores, a great soundtrack and memorable characters.

Each game always seems to be missing at one or more of these things

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Old Red
27/4/2016 10:46:04 am

'I just want a pure, no-frills Star Fox game, with tight controls, levels that can be played multiple times for high scores, a great soundtrack and memorable characters.'

That's exactly what this Star Fox is, I'm finding this whole situation very baffling.

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Harry Steele
27/4/2016 01:00:35 pm

Apparently it has anything BUT tight controls?

Old Red
27/4/2016 02:21:15 pm

The controls are tight, it's just not what people are used to. If you're looking for a game that makes you feel like a boss and you run through once then it's not for you. If you want a game that gets better with each session and demands that you have to make an effort to get good at it, then it's worth playing. The controls offer something new for me and being able to move around and shoot in different directions opens up so many possibilities.

Saying that I never played the 64 version, so a lot of the content feels fresh to me.

BitBat
27/4/2016 10:08:06 am

This is extra disappointing coming from Platinum. Both them and Nintendo clearly have talent within them, I wonder if this is just the result of mismatched mentalities or something.

Both still release some of the best stuff I have played in the last few years so I'm still a fan. They are allowed to misfire every now and then.

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Merriweather link
27/4/2016 01:43:09 pm

I've only played two games that really justify the Wii U pad - ZombiU and Affordable Space Adventures. The former was brilliantly tense because it forced you to take your eyes off the screen when a zombie could sneak up at any moment, the latter was ingenius in the way it turned the Wii U pad into an engineer's console.

But two games in nearly four years just goes to show that in the end, the Wii U pad was a solution looking for a problem.

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T-Wigs
27/4/2016 02:15:52 pm

Affordable Space Adventures is available in the current Humble Bundle in the $1 tier with 2 other games.

https://www.humblebundle.com/friends-of-nintendo-3ds-wiiu

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