Introduction
Star Fox Zero!
Star Fox Zero was released on the Wii U years ago, waaaaaaaay back on April 22nd, 2016. It was developed by Platinum Games, a company also known for a range of titles including Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. It was announced at E3 2014 for the 2015 holidays, but that sort of fell through.
One of Platinum Games’ main directors, Hideki Kamiya, was a huge fan of the Star Fox series and had posted on Twitter multiple times about how much he’d love to revive the franchise. Which turned out to be a mistake because then he was constantly inundated with requests from fans and media about what direction he would take and what his vision was for a new entry. Eventually he told everyone to fuck off, and now his name does not appear in the credits. Star Fox Zero was directed by Yugo Hayashi and Yusuke Hashimoto; according to Hashimoto, Kamiya’s only creative input in the game was telling Hashimoto to “do his best.”
But apparently, Hashimoto’s ‘best’ wasn’t good enough, because Star Fox Zero has received lukewarm reception at best from critics and fans alike. Metacritic has the game scored at 69/100 – common complaints are with the controls, which utilize the gyroscope within the Wii U’s gamepad; the length of the game (it’s far too short); and some are split on whether it’s too much like Star Fox 64 or it’s not enough like it. They also deride some of the alternative vehicle missions, saying that it takes away too much from the core Arwing gameplay.
Frankly, I love this game. I think a lot of the complaints towards it are unfair, and I’m worried that some people might be turned off from its half-and-half critical reception. So that’s why I’m LPing it: if you want to experience the game but you don’t want to spend $70, I’m playing it so you don’t have to. And also, because I love it.
Videos
Corneria
Episode 1: Run 1
Episode 8: Run 2
Episode 17: Run 3
Sector α
Episode 2: Run 1
Episode 13: Run 3
Area Three
Episode 3: Run 1
Episode 9: Run 2
Episode 14: Run 3
Zoness
Episode 4: Run 1
Episode 9: Run 2
Sector β
Episode 5: Run 1
Episode 10: Run 2
Fortuna
Episode 6: Run 1
Episode 16: Run 3
Sector ω
Episode 7: Run 1
Aquarosa
Episode 8: Run 2
Titania
Episode 10: Run 2
Episode 15: Run 3
Sector γ
Episode 11: Run 2
Fichina
Episode 12: Run 2
Wolfen
Episode 13: Run 3
Meteo
Episode 14: Run 3
Salvadora
Episode 15: Run 3
Lone Wolf
Episode 16: Run 3
Venom
Episode 18: Finale
Star Fox Guard was bundled with Star Fox Zero on its release day, coming in a double-wide package containing two cases for game discs. Later printings of Star Fox Zero removed the disc for Guard in favour of giving the customer a download code for the Wii U Shop instead. The game is free with the purchase of Zero or sold separately.
The game was first announced by Shigeru Miyamoto back at E3 2014, the same time as Star Fox Zero, but back then it was codenamed "Project Guard." The game originally had nothing to do with Star Fox at all, but Project Guard was rebranded, renamed, and re-announced at a Nintendo Direct back in March of 2016, one month before Zero's release. It was directed by Yugo Hayashi and Teruaki Konishi, and was also developed by Platinum Games.
Despite the name and the aesthetic, Guard couldn't be any further removed from the Star Fox franchise. Rather than a rail-shooter dramedy about talking animals in space, it's a tower defense game and contains a minimal amount of character interaction. Its reception has generally been mixed: critics praised its gameplay and the myriad of features available for it, including a stage editor and customizable enemies, but generally people are turned off by its meh graphics and second-rate audio production.
We thought about doing a full LP of this game, but then we kinda... didn't. I guess it didn't really Grippy us like Platinum had hoped, hahahaha!
Videos:
Episode 1: he lives