Star Fox Zero Reviews
Star Fox Zero is, simply put, a great Wii U game. While the control scheme is unconventional, it's fitting for a game that goes out of its way to surprise you with additional modes, trophy rewards, hidden locations, and a spin-off with gameplay never before attempted within the series. Which, in a way makes sense. Star Fox 64 was incredible, after all. Of course a game inspired by it would be amazing in its own right. And Star Fox Zero is. Once you find your footing, you'll be proud to be part of Team Star Fox.
For a title that people have been awaiting for years, Star Fox Zero falls a bit short. It continues the Star Fox legacy in a nostalgic and venerable way, but its controls and length hamper its greatness. It is a good game, yet somewhere underneath its main problems is a fantastic one.
Star Fox Zero has many parts and little time for any of them
For most players, though, Nintendo's insistence on forcing us to use the GamePad's second screen is a huge stumbling block. It's like a tech demo for a four-year-old console that's already past its prime, and a sad tribute to the failures of the fading Wii U.
Overall, Star Fox Zero was an enjoyable experience, and I would recommend it to any gamer who's willing to take the time and patience to learn the control system. It's definitely worth your while.
The returns of Star Fox is a great experience, brought down a little by frustrating controls.
'Star Fox Zero' releases with upgraded graphics and new vehicles but a wonky motion control and the lack of innovation hampers the Wii U title from meeting expectations.
Star Fox Zero tries to do too much with gimmicks that simply don't work, while neglecting the core mechanics of its predecessors. Even diehard fans would probably be hard pressed to find many redeeming qualities from this sequel.
As a game, Star Fox Zero isn't so much broken as deeply and disappointingly lacking in inspiration. Shiny but not smooth, it's a game about a space-faring fox in a spaceship that turns into a chicken without any sense of joy, and that might be the biggest disappointment of all.
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.
It's taken several years for us to get a new instalment into this series that can live up to the N64 classic, but with Star Fox Zero that wait is finally over. With a new lick of paint, a vast amount of secrets to discover and solid gameplay mechanics it'll easily provides players with hours of thrilling dog fights and action packed set pieces. The new Gyrowing and Walker vehicles are fun new additions but they're thrills that quickly wear off leaving you wanting more of the fast action packed Arwing missions. Star Fox fans will surely not be disappointed with this title.
Mastering other games tends to be a matter of simple pattern recognition or savviness to the mechanics, but mastering Star Fox Zero is more like taming a wild animal: once you have it, you have it, and it's all a cruise from there
I enjoyed Star Fox Zero a great deal. I found it challenging, but rewarding, vibrant and dynamic without being beyond my skillset. I don't necessarily understand – nor agree – with people criticising the game for trying to be a streamlined dogfight simulation, but at the same time I don't think this game has nearly done enough to push it forward.
As much as there is to love in Star Fox Zero, sadly the awkward controls of various vehicles, and the horrendous forced second viewpoint and gyroscope targeting of regular Arwing and Landmaster stages almost ruin the entire experience. There are tremendous highs when the core Star Fox controls kick back in, but moments of frustration are present that simply wouldn't have been if feedback from early hands-on reports had been taken on-board.
Star Fox Zero is a mixed bag of good level design coupled with bad controls. It's a love letter of everything the series stood for, but it's written in crayon with several misspellings throughout. Even the most diehard of Star Fox fans will probably have trouble getting through this one.
While I loved Star Fox Zero for the fanfare and the simple fact that it finally exists, I can't help but feel disappointed by what Nintendo has done to one of its most criminally overlooked franchises.
At its core Star Fox Zero is a good game. The on-rail levels are frantic and engaging, dogfights in space are always intense, there are inspiring boss fights and it's fun to discover all the hidden paths and secrets the game has to offer. Unfortunately the gimmicky controls and lackluster addition to vehicles really bring down the experience. This is not the Star Fox games fans have been waiting for and will be remembered as a low point for the series.
You can't help but think of what could've been. Throughout its entire course, Star Fox Zero feels the need to keep reminding you to recalibrate your motion controls or to not forget how to aim using the GamePad. Almost as if it needs to justify the existence of motion controls in this game, as if they absolutely needed to be there, when in reality, this probably would've been a more enjoyable experience without it, and in turn, a much better game.
While it's able to stand on its own, Star Fox Zero is more of a re-imagining of a Nintendo 64 classic rather than an all new Star Fox game. But that's not a bad thing. One thing that might be the biggest issue is the controls, getting to grips with aiming and steering at the same time is something that some players just won't be wired to do, making for a frustrating experience. For those that can overcome the control issues they'll find a Star Fox game begging to be replayed for secrets after the 4 hour main story is completed. There's much to be unlocked, but don't expect to still be playing in a months time.
In every way it's the faithful successor to Star Fox 64 that fans have been anticipating for almost 20 years.