Don’t have much to add beyond the fact that I agree @Peltz. Was a fun game at the time and felt complaints regarding the controls to be overblown. Worth checking out if you can find it at a reasonable price (I haven’t ever opened my copy of Star Fox Guard though; wonder how it is?).
Guard is basically the same concept in a stationary tower defense type game. If you want a fun high score type thing, it fits the bill. But it’s nothing revelatory. I like it as a fun time waster.
8.5/10? That’s rather generous. I’d say its a very solid 7/10. It’s the kind of game that if bought on sale, many would be pleasantly surprised with, but if bought at full price, people would feel let down by. It was an above-mediocre game with a few ambitious, high-concepts that never fully landed. Perhaps the public was over-correcting through their criticism of Nintendo during the Wii U-era, or perhaps Nintendo was no longer benefiting from its brand-induced reality-distortion field.
People were tired of having the second screen shoe-horned in to games that didn’t need it, or were arguably better off without it. (Ironically, the Wii U version of BOTW seemed to have its second-screen functionality pulled from the game–which was a situation that would have really benefitted from it.) Utilizing the second screen in the capacity SFZ did was too disorienting in my experience. The differential in the resolutions and screen distances between the Gamepad and the TV screen, coupled with imagery that was too similar being displayed on both marred the overall experience.
I loved the art direction of Star Fox Zero, and was on board with many aspects of the game, but ultimately I cannot advocate for this game the same way I can for many other Wii U titles.
I’m glad to see other enthusiats !
For me it’s a 10, my favorite rail shooter with the original After Burner (Saturn + Mission Stick for me).
I’m a big fan of the two original Star Fox, tested the demo two month ago, fell in love with the controls, bought the game immediately, bought the Wii U of a friend of mine, bought a PC monitor to reduce input lag (AOC 24G2 144Hz), had a blast like never before till F-Zero X.
The arcade mode is almost perfect personally, scoring in all range mode with shooting down enemy ships before they blow up or time evaluation in VS leaders is fine for me. As well as starting the stages without power up, many arcade games do that.
The short alternate levels are either substitute of other ending levels, boss, or shorter great concept well included in the pace of the arcade mode, fun to play, like the ones where you protect the Great Fox, you being free to move in an on-rail level (concept), playing with your speed and the moving of the Great Fox like flying around stationary to shoot the parasite drones on the fuselage.
The concept of having aiming on gyro distinct from controls on stick while leaving the player the freedom to focus either with global external overview on TV or first person shooting on gamepad, as a fondation of the gameplay mecanic of the game, is pure genius in its execution on global design, it goes behond I could imagine. Like those moments when you play with the boss patterns while flying all around like a kid watching his plane flying in his hand, while possibly shooting like a king with the gamepad. I find the game constantly well designed
I guess it’s a Miyamoto design, mainly, and in a way it reminds me of Super Mario 64 for the experimental side, like behing in two places at the same time (Mario and the camera, which has famously become the standart). And the royal execution, level design and enemiy placements are very good despite the experimental approach, I will be a little even more enthusiast but it’s kind of an Ikaruga quality design power Super Mario 64 experimental freedom gameplay.
Yes I know sorry I love this game, but how not to when you can play Peppy shouting “barrel roll !” all the way attacking a destroyer ?
I agree with the good retro vibes from the graphic department too.
I captured the first mission off-screen :
2 Likes
Once you get a hang of the controls really they aren’t bad at all IMO