were compromised just to support the gamepad. This also means that Star Fox Zero doesn’t support gamepad only play as both the TV and gamepad are always in use.
You will have access to all the ships from Star Fox 64, with each getting some small upgrades, mostly to do with the gamepad. The Arwing can turn into a bipedal mech that, while cool, really slows down the game when used in all range mode as often you’ll only be searching for a button to press. The Landmaster tank can now fly about like a Hoth snowspeeder when being used in the few all range mode segments it has. The ship that is new to Star Fox Zero is the Gyrowing, a drone like thing. It’s used during some levels and slows the game to a near crawl. You can winch objects, release a small robot that’s attached to you via a rope to active switches, and fly freely in three-dimensional space. These levels are a chore and nearly derail the game. Star Fox has always been about flying and shooting on fun and busy on-rails segments, but with the Gyrowing we get these bog standard puzzle like segments.
Visually Star Fox Zero looks solid and is quite colorful. The framerate does take a dip when things get intense, but as this isn’t an online FPS so it wasn’t really an issue. The real issue is the constant switching to the gamepad. Because of the lower quality of the gamepad screen things look like you are playing through a TV smeared with butter. The screen has a lot of uses, sure, but putting so much of the game on it really ruins a lot of the visuals. You’ll be wishing you were watching the television instead of the gamepad, and anyone watching you play the game only on the TV will have the better experience. Each of the planets and sectors you’ll visit all have a distinct look and feel and since this is Star Fox, you are going to have to play through game multiple times to find all the alternate paths leading to new levels. Just as in the N64 version these alternate paths really gives the game some longevity as you\ll need multiple playthoughs to see everything.
The audio is quite good and the classic tunes that play throughout are always a joy to hear. There are also a number of remixes that manage to make what was once old new again. The other tracks also do a good job supporting the action and the voice acting is surprisingly good. Each member of team Star Fox sounds great and the writing is much better than in any previous iteration. Slippy is less annoying and Falco is far less the asshole here that he was in Star Fox 64. Even in 2016 it’s odd hearing Nintendo characters getting voiced, but Star Fox Zero shows that it can be done without losing anything in the process.
Star Fox Zero isn’t a bad game in any respect, but it isn’t great, and certainly not the Star Fox games fans were clamoring for. First-party Nintendo games need to be amazing to keep their consoles going and this one is merely good. No online play of any kind, a tacked on control scheme that’ll take you half your initial playthough to get comfortable with, and difficulty that will spike only because of the controls and you are left with an underwhelming Star Fox experience. I don’t think Star Fox Zero is going to be a system seller as the series isn’t as well-known as other first-party properties, but Star Fox Zero shows that even Nintendo can’t always make something work. At least Nintendo tossed in a second game in “Star Fox Guard” to all physical copies of the game so there is a lot of content here to keep you busy until the NX drops.
J. Luis
@_ShadowGallery