The last new entry in the Star Fox series (excluding Star Fox 2) was Star Fox Zero for the Wii U in 2016.
As you might recall, it didn’t have quite the impact Nintendo was hoping for – receiving a mixed response. One of the main issues players had with it was the awkward controls. Some would just like to see Nintendo make the series fun again, and this includes Giles Goddard – one of the programmers who worked on the original Super Nintendo Star Fox game.
Here’s exactly what he had to say during a recent interview with GameXplain:
“It would be interesting to do a Star Fox, I think. But not how the other ones were done…I think I would just dial it back a lot and not put in gimmicks like the stuff that Zero had. And maybe not even put in the free-roaming aspects and stuff like that I would just…pull it back into what made Star Fox the original fun. I would just make one based on that. I don’t know how popular it would be, but we could always try.”
In a follow-up question, he was asked if he would be interested in making a game in the “old style” of Star Fox. The short answer was “no”.
Zero did dial things back considerably, but it still had gimmicks. That game from what I’ve seen was a step back in so many ways and as a result became the least successful in the series. Depending on how much of that were due to the gimmicks or the dialing back.
Thing is it’s 2021, not 1993. The series has lived in the past since the 2011 with the 3ds remake, Zero being a reimagining, and technically the completion of 2 None of which went well. So Nintendo needs to choose on what path they go from here with the property. Either make it like the old games and continue to live in the past and strip everything back again or try what they haven’t done in a while like maybe one of the 3rd party games like 2, Adventures, Assault, Command. Or do something new like that Starlink which was Ubisoft. Be it in house or a 3rd party.
I have a hard time believing that stripping back Star Fox would go over well. A game that becomes as basic arcade shooter to the point of being hollow. Something we criticize Nintendo for with the New Super Mario games and that we praised breath of the wild for not doing. Especially at full price which you can count on Nintendo. Thing is, gamers of 2021 don’t take too kindly to arcady on rail shooters anymore unless they’re Indies for $20 or if it’s a side mode/mini game.
