Star Fox Zero

Star Fox Zero
North America box art.
Developer(s)	Nintendo EPD PlatinumGames
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release Date(s)
Wii U	NA: April 22, 2016 JP: April 21, 2016 EU: April 22, 2016 AU: April 22, 2016
Wii U	NA: April 22, 2016 JP: April 21, 2016 EU: April 22, 2016 AU: April 22, 2016
Platform(s)
Genre(s)	Rail Shooter
Rating(s)
ESRB	04
PEGI	02
CERO	01
USK	02
ACB	02

Star Fox Zero (スターフォックス ゼロ, Sutā Fokkusu Zero) is a game announced for the Wii U. It was released in 2016. This title marks the first new installment in the Star Fox series since the release of Star Fox: Command in 2006.

Gameplay

The game uses the GamePad’s motion control to aim the Arwing. You can also transform into the walker. The walker was originally in Star Fox 2. The Landmaster returns with a new flight form called the gravmaster. There is a new vehicle called the Gyrowing. There is a robot called Direct-i that can be dropped from the Gyrowing that can tether a rope around a limited area. The game is more open than other Star Fox games. There is a cockpit view for the gamepad in the game along with the outside view though the screens can be switched at will. There will be a co-op with one person flying and the other being a gunner. Alternate levels paths can be discovered under certain conditions and bosses have different methods to being defeated.

Levels

There are in total 20 levels with 70 medals across them. These are the levels confirmed so far

• Corneria - Enter Star Fox
• Sector α - Frenzied Firefight
• Area 3 - The Key to Victory
• Zoness - Covert Ops
• Sector β - Reunited with a Friend
• Titania - A Fox in the Desert
• Sector γ - Copperhead Chaos
• Fichina - Frostbitten Fray
• Fortuna - Dangerous Skies
• Sector Ω - Blasting Thorugh
• Corneria 2 - Hidden Plans
• Venom - The Final Planet
• Aquarosa - Floating Target (Corneria)
• Satellite Mission 1 - Sneak Attack (Zoness)
• Satellite Mission 2 - Chaos at the Colony (Area 3)
• Asteroid Field
• Salvadora - Peppy's Fight
• Wolfen - Meddlesome Mercs
• Great Fox
• Hunter - Lone Wolf

amiibo

By tapping a Fox amiibo, you will unlock the SNES skins for the arwing for the level.

Tapping a Falco amiibo will unlock the Black Arwing, which is the glass cannon mode, taking 3 times the damage but, being able to charge faster and target 2 objects at the same time.

Plot

The confirmed plot so far is a retread of Star Fox 64 with new elements in Fox's relationships with Pepper, Andross and his father.

Development

A Star Fox series game was originally going to be created for the Wii. However, no ideas for such a game made it into development. Eventually Star Fox Zero was created based on the idea of the desired Star Fox game for the Wii.

At the E3 2014 Press Conference, Shigeru Miyamoto was shown playing the title on the Wii U, confirming its existence as a Wii U title. It was officially unveiled during Nintendo’s 2015 E3 press conference. Here, it was confirmed that PlatinumGames was to be co-developing the title.

Reception

The reception to the final title was overall mixed with a 71 on MetaCritic, a 70.50% on GameRankings, and a 7.5/10 on IGN. While on whatoplay.com, Star Fox Zero gets an aggregate score (playscore) of 7.40 based on 55 critics and 6,000+ gamer ratings. Critics cited unintuitive controls and relatively short campaign.