Star Fox Zero

Genre: On-Rails Shooter

Players: 1

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Review:

Upon its release on the Wii U in 2016, Star Fox Zero quickly gained a reputation for being the worst game in the franchise, with gimmicky, cumbersome controls that ruined an experience that otherwise would have been a formulaic retread of Star Fox 64 (itself a retread of the original Star Fox with elements from the then-unreleased Star Fox 2). Series fans were dismayed at what many seemed to be claiming was an absolute abomination parading around in the corpse of the Star Fox franchise. Playing the game now in 2022, the foremost question on my mind is, was this terrible reputation deserved?

Wellll… yes and no.

Let’s start with the controls. To be sure, this game’s control scheme is absolutely an acquired taste, and even those who get a taste for it will find it occasionally disorienting to have to look back and forth between the Wii U gamepad and their TV screen, all while maintaining a steady hand on the gamepad, as it makes heavy use of motion controls.

However, as awkward as this setup is, I found it to be simultaneously liberating – I could mostly play the game like a traditional Star Fox experience with the added subtlety afforded to the controls thanks to the motion controls. However, if I found myself wanting to get some extra precision, I could look to the gamepad’s screen to aim precisely where I wanted to. At its best, this made for an absolutely wonderful experience that truly showed potential for a new, better way to play Star Fox.

The problem is… this game is rarely at its best. Not satisfied with this one major change to the gameplay, Star Fox Zero adds multiple other new elements, and while the dual-screen motion control setup may be an acquired taste, most of these other new elements are just plain bad.

Sometimes, the game will demand that you train your focus on points of interest, and doing so means that on neither screen will you have a good perspective on how to maneuver your ship to your target. Sometimes, the game will have you take control of a gyrocopter that can hack into enemy computer systems… but unfortunately, its controls are so slow, so sluggish, that every moment spent flying the thing will feel tedious. However, the worst new addition here has to be the walker vehicle, which has controls that are so absolutely broken that it’s torturous to try to steer the thing no matter which screen you’re using.

The game forces you into these terrible alternate vehicles so often, it’s a shame, because every second I was in them I wanted to get back to those great moments in the arwing jets, which frequently made for a lot of fun, even if the new control scheme was a bit unwieldy.

As for the core game design here, yes, this game certainly does pull from the same playbook as Star Fox 64. In fact, its story doesn’t seem at all like the Star Fox prequel the title implies, but a retelling of Star Fox and Star Fox 64. However, while this game is pulling from that same playbook, it’s not fair to say it’s just copying Star Fox 64 – there’s some truly excellent level design and boss design here, and some of the set piece battles are truly epic.

This is in part thanks to some really excellent visuals, with nice detailed textures, good lighting effects, and tons of action on-screen without any slowdown I noticed. While this game may have its fair share of flaws, I think it’s fair to say it is by far the best-looking Star Fox game. Plus, the game’s epic orchestral soundtrack is superb, and the cinematic feeling of the game’s pace and voice acting is enhanced by having radio calls come in via the Wii U gamepad.

Okay, so is Star Fox Zero a disaster? Absolutely not – when it works, it really works, and there are moments I was playing this game where I felt like it had reached a new apex for the series. Unfortunately, these moments are broken up by some of the worst moments in the series. I’d argue that no other Star Fox game has highs this high and lows this low, and it’s a shame, because within this unfocused mess I see the potential for a truly great game… but you have to put up with so much garbage to see that potential.

tl;dr – Star Fox Zero takes the On-Rails Shooter series and brings to it a unique, creative, and unwieldy new control scheme that makes use of both your TV screen and the Wii U gamepad screen. In the moments where this works, it is magnificent, a true step forward for the series… but far too often, this game forces other elements onto the player that drag it down horribly. On balance, I’d still argue that it’s worth playing this game for its creative take on the series and those brief moments of brilliance, but it’s clear to see why many view this game as a disappointment.

Grade: C+

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