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Star Fox Zero Discussion (Nintendo Wii U) [game]
 
Star Fox Zero on the Wii U
7.54/10 from 9 user ratings

Welcome to the official discussion thread for Star Fox Zero on the Wii U!

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Star Fox Zero is out! And apparently we had a thread about it for like a year now!

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06/18/15, 13:08    Edited: 04/23/16, 05:58
 
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Beat the game last night. A solid game with very high highs and frustrating lows. Excited to go back and look for alternate routes after reading others' impressions. Not sure I'll do much high score chasing, but we'll see.

@Guillaume Yeah that's a huge pet peeve of mine, hiding collectibles in places where you have no reason to look, as well as collectibles/objects being invisible until you touch them. Two big reasons why I quickly abandoned the tedious treasure hunt of Yoshi's Woolly World.
04/28/16, 20:39   
@nate38

Definitely keep playing, because my opinion of the game has gone up drastically since I beat Andross.
04/28/16, 20:45   
@Guillaume
My opinion was already very high, and has only gone up more with each stage I play. Taitania and its boss are freakin awesome.
04/28/16, 21:13   
Made a proper start to this tonight, put about 3 hours into the game. Got to the stage where you return to Corneria.
I'm in a good place with all-range mode. Not an expert by any stretch, but happy. The cinematic view feels great when you lock on but it can be hard to tell where you are on the screen once you look back from a gunning session. Not a biggie.

I'm a fan of the Gyrocopter. It's probably the only vehicle that feels completely intuitive to me.
The Walker is meh. A bit fiddley. Hasn't really added to my experience yet.
The Landmaster is fuuuucking atrocious. I feel like they have went out of their way to make it a complete nuisance. What the actual fuck was going on with that desert boss? That was some bizarro shit! It felt like my brain, my hands and my gamepad where having a stand-off. Complete disconnect. Things were a little better for the Giant Spider boss but that was partly thanks to the Gravmaster capabilities.

Ok, it sounds like I'm mad at the game but I'm not, I'm just spitting out my initial frustrations. There are highs in there, the dog fights are great now; you really feel like you're busting Pigma's ass. The bosses have been pretty satisfying, I'm really getting there with all-range. But hey, I haven't even got to Andross yet. And I think I've picked up a total of 1 medal! So I've still plenty to do.

Happy that everyone seems to warm to the game the further they go with it.
04/30/16, 02:26   
YEAH! Eat it Andross!
Man I really hated that battle the first time I attempted it but (like everyone says) you get a feel for what the game is asking of you then BOOM you start to own it. Felt great.
Excited to begin my second playthrough.

The controls add a level of intensity that I haven't enjoyed in a long while. Edge-of-seat action.
05/02/16, 02:06   
05/05/16, 17:13   
Oh man Fichina is hard.

Is Honest Trailer another way of saying "let me say sarcastic/cynical shit about something and disguise it as a joke"? I don't like the implication that anything else is dishonest. They better not be putting words in my mouth regarding opinions of the game.
05/06/16, 02:28   
Edited: 05/06/16, 02:29
@carlosrox

It's Smosh, dude. They make those videos for the lulz. Don't take it too seriously.
05/06/16, 04:41   
@carlosrox

You might enjoy this.

05/06/16, 06:38   
05/14/16, 22:33   
Finished it last night. Oh my god the last stage or two (and a half??) are AWESOME. Andross is fucking amazing!! He was SO well done!! He made up for a lot of the really...phoned in dialogue/performances most of the game had. Andross Spoilers + End: I'm so surprised they actually doubled down on Andross' really harsh insults at Fox, mocking his father and such. Freakin' awesome. And I only realized towards the end that the metal face was supposed to be the face from Star Fox 1. I kept thinking, is this a new form or what is this? Didn't even realize it was a modern take on the original last boss. So fuckin' good. And that spinning glass case thing with the openings and lasers shooting out and and and and and the tetris pieces coming out???? SO FUCKING GOOD!!! I love that last boss!! Challenging though for sure, took me a number of tries to get it. But, I could see learning it well and making it easy. It's not impossible.

Ha, the ending (just like the intro) was nearly shot for shot of 64's! Cool! It looked awesome! That Iwata dedication was really touching and instantly glazed my eyes up. Was there also a visual representation of him somewhere? I was under the impression there was, but didn't notice anything.

Oh yeah and the bit with James McCloud was also fucking perfect! What a great close to the game! Last level and a half are just amazing.


Man, unfortunately I was right. The sound thing dampened my enjoyment of this game. The only way to have all audio coming from one source is by putting heapdhones in the gamepad, and the volume is way the fuck too low for me. I like playing my games LOUD. I like to immerse myself and hear EVERY sound possible. I suppose if I plug headphones into my TV I could get a much better experience, sans the voice acting (which is honestly disappointing as it feels quite phoned in, so maybe it's a win!). The audio mix on the game could be so much better. Much of the music is really good, but fuck does it sound quiet which kills it all. Love the last boss and Gigorilla themes. So fucking good. I bet just listening to them on Youtube really makes the music shine. Wish I could get that volume out of it on the gamepad. Maybe the TV will save me.

I really wish the voices in the game were better. More, the delivery. Why do they sound so bored? When Fox fucking DIES in an explosion of flames he goes "ahh!", instead of "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" like he would in 64. Come on now. This is BASIC. Why does shit like this happen with voice acting? Nothing like limp delivery. Really hope Zelda U doesn't fall victim to this.

Length wasn't like a Zelda or anything but the game has good replay value so it's really a bit of a wash. My main complaint really lies with the audio and that it wasn't done justice either by seemingly lazy voice acting, some too midi sounding tracks (this is going based off quiet as fuck gamepad audio though), or just a bad audo mix.

Love this game though. Look forward to getting higher scores and really learning the levels now. And I really do love Andross. Star of the show. The last 2 levels were fucking amazing. I mean, most every level is actually pretty amazing. Love the mini mission/objective that each level has. Each level has its own unique hook. And I do love the two screen stuff. It's fucking cool. The only problem is getting off sync. And I swear I lost something haha. I feel like I got worse at the controls! But, I just need to practice more and keep it up. What I really feel I always forget is the rolling. I never bother with it, maybe it's too much work for too little reward.

ps. Man I wish we got a Sol level!!! They left that style level out completely!

pss. I'd say this game ranges from a 7.5 - 8.5. And when the game is brilliant it reaches high 9's! Andross I wanna give a 10!
05/14/16, 23:53   
Edited: 05/14/16, 23:53
@carlosrox
I'm glad Andross worked for you!
I hated the fight myself, but it's good to know there are people who like it.
05/15/16, 20:40   
This game is very intense sometimes! The way it demands precision and timing while attacks are coming from every direction and you're switching between screens and such. I'm not entirely sold on the control scheme yet, but I can see its merits. It feels like Nintendo wanted to expand Star Fox beyond on-rails stuff, because I'm pretty sure there's been an all-range mode sequence in every stage I've played so far (with many being entirely all-range). I think all-range is a bit less interesting, though, because hunting for Hits often feels luck-based. You've got all these tiny ships flying circles all over and you're shooting everywhere.

Anyway, I'm enjoying it. Guard is good too. I'm curious if this game's "advanced" level of play is going to feel very rewarding and skill-driven or not. So far, I haven't even gotten close (within 20 points) to any of the Golds. I feel like I'm doing something inherently wrong.
05/21/16, 21:35   
@TriforceBun A new wrinkle to the scoring system in this game is you can get credit for shooting down a ship AND for destroying it before it hits the ground.


That player gets 27 hits off of the first ten enemies alone. Seems pretty crucial for getting medals.
05/21/16, 22:12   
@nate38
Unless there's medals beyond Gold, that actually seems like overkill. 424 hits in Corneria? Jesus.
05/22/16, 00:13   
Edited: 05/22/16, 00:13
On my first runthrough of Arcade mode. I feel like I appreciate this game a bit more each time I play it. (I still stink, though.)

Have you guys read the Not-Iwata Asks about the game? There are tons of little details and scoring tricks everywhere. Like that fishing thing.
05/23/16, 00:50   
I finished off the final boss a few days ago and am now replaying stages to try to get everything. This is a pretty fun game, actually! The control experiment kinda works for me, although it has its moments of lankiness (like the dynamic 3rd-person view on some bosses). Aiming for Golds is an enjoyable challenge that's pretty addictive, and the other medals and "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" objectives are pretty tough to get as well. While early videos made the game look kinda slow, when you're watching two screens and trying to maximize your score, it's way more hectic than you might initially think. I feel like I need to towel off after some of these stages.

That said, I think a few things hold it back. The story is a big let-down in my eyes, being yet another remake of SF64. This was especially bothersome during the ending, where they reprise the whole James McCloud thing pretty much word-for-word, and redo the entire ending sequence in the same style, complete with most of the same music. I just don't think SF64 is iconic enough for this kind of exact recreation; it's a great game but it's not like people were champing at the bit to see its so-so ending recreated in HD or whatever.

This kind of extends to the characters and banter. It's pretty good, but no more complex or interesting than it was in SF64. Know what took that banter a step further? Kid Icarus Uprising, a game that absolutely nailed the Saturday Morning Action Cartoon feel with memorable, three-dimensional characters, fantastic writing and humor, really fun relationships between the cast, and even some emotional moments. It's very clear how Pit's relationship with Palutena is different than the ones he has with Magnus, Viridi, Phosphora, etc. Same with all the main characters in that game. Meanwhile, what can we really say about Slippy and Peppy's relationship, or Gen Pepper's and Falco's? Would've loved to see more dialogue and more character-based story elements beyond just "Let's go protect/destroy this ship!"

Unfair comparison's to this generation's best game aside, SFZero is good fun and provides a high skill ceiling. It's better than I expected and I might even say better than people are giving it credit for. The controls take some work to get the hang of, but they do actually end up being rewarding and satisfying to use.

Also, Star Fox Guard is a really neat bonus game.

@nate38

Thanks, shooting the debris definitely helps.

@Anand

Good read!
05/24/16, 06:16   
@Anand

Wow...fishing!
05/25/16, 01:51   
05/27/16, 05:15   
It's been a good Star Fox evening! I gave a solid two hours to the game, just replaying early stages, getting medals and discovering new paths. It was fun as heck (for the most part). I'm glad Nintendo exceeded my expectations with this one--I have to say I had my doubts. And honestly, there're still a few missteps that really bug me. But by and large, this is a fun and unique shooter that provides a fair challenge once you wrap your brain around the control scheme. I'd actually compare its controls to Kid Icarus Uprising, Resident Evil, and even Super Smash Bros in that they're unorthodox and--in all but the case of Smash Bros--misunderstood. They work when you put the time required into them.

Two of the silver coins on Zoness have a really stupid hiding place though. Kinda surprised those particular coins got the green flag from Shiggy and co.

By and large, it's not what I expected. I was concerned it'd be some weird pseudo-Star Fox game that was both overwhelming control-wise and bland content-wise. It's a bit of a different take on Star Fox, but a completely valid one and it's immensely satisfying to hit those score benchmarks and find those alternate paths.

@NoName

Gonna watch this tomorrow. I'm up for more in-depth Star Fox reviews.
05/27/16, 08:06   
Edited: 05/27/16, 08:08
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