Star Fox Zero review

Are you ready to return to Corneria?

Version tested: Wii U. 

The anthropomorphic fox Fox McCloud and his crew come back in again Star fox zero, a kind of "reboot”Of the series that, in some way, tries to blend and forge together the best elements seen in past titles. In particular, the title refers to the very first Star Fox released in 1993 on Super Nintendo and to Star Fox 64, instead published on Nintendo 64 a little less than twenty years ago. At the same time, however, Nintendo, thanks to the collaboration with Platinum Games (i.e. the creators of Bayonetta and Wonderful 101), has tried to give a new soul to a series that in the last decade, above all for a sort of fundamental inconsistency, due to wrong choices and above all for an intrinsic lack of ideas, he had very little of Star Fox as we had been accustomed to knowing and loving him at his best.

We need your help Star Fox! Andross has declared WAR!

Since its presentation last E3 2015 in that of Los Angeles, although everything was embellished by the portentous combination of Platinum Games e Shigeru Miyamoto, Star Fox Zero had indeed caught the attention of the most loyal fans of the saga, but in the same way, due to a certain aura of uncertainty and perplexity, it had not obtained the feedback that Nintendo had in fact hoped for. Although the publication of the same had been set in the pre-Christmas period, the publisher of the game, due to a "criticism" not exactly exciting, especially in reference to the fact that it seemed a game too "old" style, decided to postpone, of about five months, the release of the title, in such a way as to be able to improve the elements that had made critics and especially the public turn up their noses.

Star Fox Zero, just like in the best titles of the series, returns forcefully as the space shooter par excellence, frenetic at the right point and with a new view (which could basically cause headaches to more "traditional" players) thanks to TV-gamepad combination. That at present, as regards the "dying" Wii U, is probably the only "feature" that really gave that slightest push to a console that, on balance, will not be remembered as the best made by the Kyoto house. Basically, we could benefit from a view both in third person both in first person which, in addition to catapulting us into our own Arwing (or in the other available vehicles), “should” guarantee, thanks to the motion control (riding the wave of one of Nintendo's successful shooters or Splatoon) greater accuracy in the most excited phases of the game and during the "Boss Fight".

In particular, on the TV we will have a sort of Kinematic perspective which will guarantee an excellent vision both of the action that is taking place in reference to a given mission and of the type of vehicles and / or enemies that we will have to substantially face, facilitating us in identifying the "weak points" of the latter. On the touch of the gamepad instead, although it is possible to invert the views between the TV and the gamepad itself, we will have the first-person view, which uses motion sensors and which in my in-game experience, I must admit, did not fully convince me precisely because of the "constraint" and in some places the frenzy. Indeed, having to look down at the gamepad sometimes led me to lose my sense of direction and consequently to miss some objectives and / or collectibles. 

The game progress provides, as per tradition, the presence of one planetary map of the whole Lylat system, dotted with planets, asteroid belts, artificial stations and divided into different sectors, all fed by dense and various hosts of enemies, obstacles and "mini bosses". Unlike the past chapters, however, the map abandons and deviates significantly from that crossroads system in which the choice we were going to make could have repercussions on the difficulty of the level and on the "road" that would then lead us to the final confrontation with Andross, seeking, therefore, a greater standardization of the gameplay, with little possibility of divergence. Of course, playing and progressing through the various missions will be possible unlock the various means necessary for the continuation of our adventure, a series of alternative routes (including teleports that could take us to unexplored and hostile places), a series of challenges and, if specific objectives are completed, it will also be possible to unlock special events.

All Aircraft report!

Although the possibility or, rather, the obligation of having to use the double game view represents, for better or for worse, certainly an evolution of the classic controls, the most important novelty concerns the fleet available to Fox, Falco, Peppy e Slippy: in addition to the classic Airwing that we have all known since the beginning, in Star Fox Zero Nintendo introduced the Girowing, a sort of double-helix helicopter that can move both horizontally and vertically, avoiding the various obstacles and enemies present. In some particular missions, in fact, instead of leveling the weapons and destroying everything that comes within range, we will have to avoid some turrets / sentries that use a green ray which, if passed, will attract a whole series of reinforcements, the which will try to hinder us from accomplishing our goals.

The main weapon of this aircraft is represented by a small and very useful one anthropomorphic robot (called Direct-I), whose task is to bypass the security systems, unlock the electronic locks and block, completely deactivating them, some enemies thus completing a whole series of environmental puzzles. In addition, it will be possible to attach explosive devices that can be hurled on the enemy. Of course, precision, precisely because it is necessary to use motion sensors and look away from the TV, leaves some time it finds and in the most excited moments it could be a little frustrating; overall, however, the Girowing works well.

In addition, during a localized mission to a snowy planet (the ice land of Ficina), it will be possible to use the "classic" Landmaster: for the uninitiated, it is a sort of tracked vehicle with a central cannon which, if necessary, can be transformed into a Roadmaster, remaining in flight for several tens of seconds and thus allowing to lock three distinct targets / enemies and then subsequently fire. Arwin too
g has its own specific "transformation" or the Walker, whose existence has been known since the time of Star Fox 2 but which, in essence, was never introduced into the game. This Walker is a kind of biped which will allow us to enter the narrowest places (such as inside enemy spaceships) and, if necessary, to hide when the quantity of energy is on the alarm threshold.

All smoke and little roast ...

From a strictly technical point of view, Star Fox Zero features somewhat contrasting elements: while Platinum Games has managed to make really well done game environments (except for a few small smudges here and there), with completely revised light effects and textures compared to the presentation version of the game in the last few months, from the point of view strictly linked to the "challenge" that this title offers, we are not at all. The difficulty level is by no means high and, except in rare cases, the game can be completed easily. But this is not the worst flaw of the production: another sore point, unfortunately, is that the game ends in little more than 6/7 hours. Of course, surely the most daring players will do more runs to find the possible alternative "ways" and collect the various collectibles present in the various levels of the game, but a higher level of challenge would certainly have been better.

As per tradition, on the screen we will have the life indicator, the quantity of available bombs, the rings and the score (which will basically tell us, also in relation to the fulfillment of certain conditions and / or the achievement of certain objectives, which is our ranking). In addition, each level of the game will start with a single life and if we have to collect three golden rings we will have an additional life, valid exclusively for the current mission. Personally, I have not particularly applied myself in collecting the various collectibles present, but the system is almost identical to the one already seen in Star Fox 64, if not for the addition of well five medals that can be collected by achieving certain objectives or by completing some secondary challenges.

Even Star Fox Zero allows you to unlock a series of "bonuses" should we be in possession of two specific Amiibo (belonging to the Smash Bros series), that is Fox McCloud, which will unlock an Arwing "Retro", is Falco Lombardi, which will allow you to use the Arwing in red and black with some varied parameters.

The further additions that could give us a way to test ourselves are represented by the Training Methods, in which we will be able to try our hand at driving the various aircraft available, not only to become familiar with the controls of the same but also to complete a series of challenges that involve collecting coins and more. Instead, completed the Story mode, it will automatically unlock the Arcade mode, which, in practice, will really put us to the test, making us retrace the entire adventure through a series of battles almost without loading and in which we will in fact have a certain practicality with the new commands to get the best scores.

The game is completely dubbed in spagonolo, although it is a subdued and uninvolving dubbing especially as regards our protagonist, in my opinion not very apt (wasn't it better to leave the audio in English with subtitles in spagonolo?). Finally, there is no Online Multiplayer mode, but it will be possible to play in Local Co-op with a friend who, thanks to the Wii U Pro Controller or through the Wii + Nunchuk Remote Control, will pilot the spacecraft or any other means while the player with the gamepad will have to take care of defeating the enemies.