Overview:
Nearly 10 years have passed since the
last adventure of Fox McCloud and his fearless crew. This explains
the hype many fans felt, when the return of Star Fox was properly
announced two years ago. But after the first true showing of the game
at E3 2015 many voiced concerns about the design choices Myamoto and
his team took, as well as the graphical quality of the game.
Can the finished game squelch those
concerns, or were they justified?
Story:
Did you play Star Fox Command? Star Fox
Assault? Great, but you don't have to remember any of the story
details from those games. Star Fox Zero is a re-imagination of the
N64 Star Fox, Lylat Wars, which was itself a re-imagination of the
original Star Fox. Because of this the Story won't surprise long time
fans of the franchise one bit.
The insane scientist Andross has
declared war against the Lylat System, following his banishment from
the capital planet Corneria. The leader of Cornerias defense forces,
General Pepper, asks the elite mercenary group Star Fox for help.
The Plot is as formulaic as it gets,
complete with the death of the heroic father by the hands of the
antagonist 5 years before the game takes place.
It's not bad by any stretch and serves
its purpose, but it once again shows the lack of vision Nintendo has
in that regard. Instead of new stories they are contempt with telling
the same ones over and over again. Especially with a series, such as
Star Fox, which provides the setting for a great space opera style of
story.
Gameplay:
Gameplay wise veterans of Lylat Wars
will feel right at home. Except for the new controls of course, but
more on that later.
Star Fox Zero is an arcade style action
game. Most of the time it works similar to a rail shooter. Your
vehicle is continuously moving forward, giving the player only the
ability to move on a 2D plane to dodge attacks. From time to time the
path will branch off and give you a decision were to go next. These
branches sometimes also change the next mission, like in the original
64 game. This adds a lot of replayability to the game. Star Fox Zero
is build with this idea in mind, which means that the main game is
only about 2-4 hours long, but exploring all the different paths,
chasing for high scores and medals will keep you occupied for much
longer.
The rail shooter like sections are
broken up from time to time with sections, where you can freely move
your Airwing in a 3D space. These dogfight sections are the most
entertaining parts of the game.
During the course of the story Fox will
pilot several different vehicles with different strengths. While the
general gameplay style is never severely affected by this, the
Landmaster and Gyro-Wing offer enough tweaks to keep the player
interested.
The Airwing is the backbone of your
fleet. It is the most dominant of the vehicles and more than half of
the missions feature it. Equipped with strong Laser cannons and the
ability to lock onto targets it's an all rounder. New in this game is
the ability to transform your Airwing into a dinosaur like Walker
Form. This Form was originally planned for the canceled Star Fox 2 on
the Super Nintendo and now they finally implemented it. With a simple
button push you transform your ship and prepare it for land combat.
The Walker offers better battle capacities for close quarter combat
and is a nightmare to control. So I guess it offers no real advantage
at all.
Next up is the Gyro Wing, a stealth
based aircraft. It has decreased battle capabilities, but offers the
ability to hack consoles via a remote controlled robot, which can
also carry bombs for sabotage purposes. Gyro Wing Stages offer a more
methodical and stealthy approach and are a refreshing change of pace.
Lastly the Landmaster is a tank. A huge
tank, which now can also fly for a brief period of time. It packs
quite the punch, and with its ability to lock onto three targets
simultaneously it is the ultimate offensive weapon.
All these vehicles work just like in
the previous entries, with the difference of the controls.
The new controls and use of the Wii-U
Gamepad is probably the most controversial point of Star Fox Zero.
Controlling your vehicles requires the simultaneous use of the right
and left control stick. Coupled with motion controls for aiming and
the dual screen approach Myamoto and his Team took, this creates a
control scheme which you need to learn. It took me about 2 hours to
get the hang of it, which was exactly the time it took to finish the
game. But once you get the hang of it, the game becomes a lot more
enjoyable. The question that remains is, if you're willing to take
the time learning the controls properly.
The bigger problem is the integration
of the Wii-U Gamepad. Calling it unintuitive doesn't do it justice.
While the TV screen always shows the classic perspective from behind
the ship, the Gamepad always shows a first person cockpit view. The
problem with this is, that both screens contest with each other and
none fulfills its role perfectly.
While the TV offers a better
overview of the battle the targeting mechanism there is so vague that
you can only hope to hit your targets.
Meanwhile the Gamepad offers precises
targeting at the cost of seeing what the heck is going on around you.
This forces the player to always watch
between the Gamepad and the TV screen, which gets really tiresome
over the course of a gaming session. As a result I haven't played
Star Fox Zero longer than an hour at a time.
Simply said, the constant battle of the
Screens, as I call it, robs the game of much of its enjoyment.
This also dampens the desire to replay
the game, which is the backbone of every Star Fox game. And that is a
shame, because there are lots of hidden things in the different
stages. The most obvious are the golden and silver rings, which
replenish the shields of your Airwing. But there are also hidden
medals, special items and hidden paths, which reward you with new
missions and tasks. An example of this is in the first level,
Corneria, where you can decide to follower your teammates or take
another path and help out at the shoreline. Coupled with a highscore
system for each level it is clear that Star Fox Zero expects you to
play it's levels several times.
As last point let's talk about Amiibo.
Star Fox Zero supports only two Amiibo, Fox and Falco, and while one
is quite ok, the other combines all bad things about Amiibo.
The Fox Amiibo rewards you with the
classic Airwing Skin from the original Star Fox on Super Nintendo and
also changes the soundtrack. It's cosmetic and a nice nostalgic treat
for Fans.
The Falco Amiiob is hardmode. When it
was announced that Star Fox would offer and invinciblity mode for
beginners the internet was really pissed. I argued that it wasn't a
problem, because at the same time the announced the black Airwing,
which deals more damage, but also takes a lot more. This way veterans
could amp up the difficulty, if the desired. Well this exact black
Airwing is only usable with the Falco Amiibo, basically locking
Hardmode behind a 15 dollar paywall. And this is, to put it simply,
total bullshit.
Presentation:
The Presentation of Star Fox Zero has
got a lot of flak, when the game was first unveiled, and it hasn't
gotten better since then. While the fact that the game runs with
smooth 60fps (apart from small drops here and there) on both screens
is quite the feat, but it comes with a steep price. And looking at
the problems the two screen approach has created gameplay wise, I'm
not sure if it was worth paying. The game uses a graphical style
which reminds me of Wonderful 101, but still feels quite bland. Some
textures look like from two generations ago and the levels generally
lack details. Still the game is not ugly and the countless
explosions, effects and the non-stop action do a good job in masking
the lack of details. Still Star Fox Zero isn't a pretty game.
On the music front the game doesn't
disappoint. The sound effects and explosions sound great and crisp.
The soundtrack is often overshadowed by them, but it proves an
excellent backdrop for the intense action on screen. Voice acting is
sufficient, but the lack of an ability to change languages is
something that shouldn't be present in a game in 2016.
All in all Star Fox Zero is an okay
looking game, but the great action makes you forget it's graphical
shortcomings most of the time.
Bonusround or the game after the game:
Spoiler Warning:
After beating the final Boss the Arcade
Mode unlocks. This works similar to the N64 version of the game.
You'll have to finish the whole game in one go, without getting a
Game Over. There are also expert trainings for the different
vehicles, which you unlock by collecting medals during the missions.
Conclusion:
Star Fox Zero is exactly what it
promised it would be. A flawed new interpretation of the great Star
Fox 64. It's arcade style game play may let you finish the game in a
brief period of time, but the game is intended to played multiple
times. This is needed if you want to find all the hidden paths and
medals. The gameplay itself is unchanged and the fast pace action
provides a lot of entertainment. Different vehicles, like the
Landmaster and the Gyro Wing, keep things fresh.
The biggest gripe many players have,
are the new controls, which need time getting used to. You truly have
to learn them in order to properly enjoy the game. However the
biggest problem of Star Fox Zero lies with it's use of the second
screen. Constantly forcing the player to alternate between Gamepad
and TV Screen can become quite tiresome. The Wii-U Gamepad and the TV
are constantly fighting for your attention, instead of supporting
each other.
Lastly the integration of Amiibo shows
both, the best and worst way, of doing it. While the Fox Amiibo
provides players with a nostalgic bonus the Falco figure unlocks the
hardmode of the game, which should be a No-Go.
Conclusion (One Sentence):
Star Fox zero is a flawed retelling of
the N64 Star Fox, which shows Nintendos lack of vision and has
problems with its controls and use of the Wii-U Gamepad, but still
provides you with a enjoyable action experience.
