Star Fox Zero/Thoughts?

[Agozer]

So I've been reading about Star Fox Zero on the WiiU because I'm somewhat interested in it, and it's cheap to get. The takeaway seems to be that it's divisive to the extreme, the crux of it being the controls and how unweildy they are.

So, I'd like to hear about some personal opinions from the members here that have played the game. Did you enjoy it/do you like it in general? Are the controls such a huge sticking point like the Internet claims? What are the best/worst aspects of the game?

[aliensstudios]

I enjoyed it immensely. It made such unique use of the gamepad and I think that's why everybody hated it so much. The learning curve to control the game properly is pretty high, but if you can get past that, it's probably the best Star Fox game I've played. The only thing is it's kind of short but I really loved it. I payed the full retail price for it day one and I think it was well worth it, especially since it came with the extra Star Fox Guard game. Considering the going price now for it new is 20 bucks or less, I'd say jump on it.

I don't get why people hate it and Star Fox Adventures so much. They tried something different and still make for fun games. Star Fox and Star Fox 2 are immensely dated games by comparison, and I think people dislike Zero because it wasn't exactly like Star Fox 64

[kamikazekeeg]

The controls were definitely the biggest fault of the game for alot of folks.  I thought they were terrible and not offering a normal control scheme was a big failure on Nintendo's part, something Nintendo continues to do today.  Otherwise it was just okay from what I've seen.  It's basically just them kinda redoing Star Fox 64.

I also want to note that I say this as someone who generally finds that motion controls rarely add any value to most games, aside from the most gimmicky of games (Wii Sports, etc).

[megasilverx1]

I personally found Zero to be un-enjoyable mainly due to the controls; they felt a little overly complicated and uncomfortable. Also gyro controls are fine for little things like camera movement and precise aiming, but when the game is super dependent on it like Zero is, I found myself having to re-calibrate the gyro controls every 20ish seconds which got annoying fast (and yes, I know it takes practically zero seconds to calibrate controls since it's mapped to the Y button, but I still personally find having to do that in the first place to be annoying). Other than the controls though, I thought Star Fox Zero was pretty dull; it's just Star Fox 64 again, which was already basically a remake of SNES Star Fox. I really would've preferred either them using Star Fox 2's story of Andross returning or just coming up with a new villain/story. Or maybe take another stab at a Star Fox game that plays similar to Adventures or Assault.

One complaint that I never really understood though, was about the visuals. While certainly not the most pretty looking Wii U game, reviewers made it sound like the game looked like a N64/PS1 era game which seemed rather harsh.

If you're interested in getting the game, I don't really see why not. Star Fox Zero and especially Guard are stupidly cheap at used game stores. Nintendo even sells both games along with a Fox amiibo on their official eBay store for like $25. Perhaps you'll find the game's unique controls to be a non-issue.

[ferraroso]

The controls were definitely the biggest fault of the game for alot of folks.  I thought they were terrible and not offering a normal control scheme was a big failure on Nintendo's part, something Nintendo continues to do today.  Otherwise it was just okay from what I've seen.  It's basically just them kinda redoing Star Fox 64.

I also want to note that I say this as someone who generally finds that motion controls rarely add any value to most games, aside from the most gimmicky of games (Wii Sports, etc).

This.
Actually, in my case, it comes from someone who doesn't have any affinity for Nintendo and who despises motion controls...

[pzeke]

Star Fox Zero is one of the reasons that I would like to get a Wii U. No joke. Granted, I wish they stopped soft rebooting the franchise, but I genuinely am interested in the game ever since it was announced and I saw the trailers. I’m well aware of the controls, but I don’t think it will be a big deal for me.

[dharmajones93]

I'm in the controls made the game unenjoyable camp. I'll even say, it's not necessarily the controls, as in motion controls. If you have Starfox 64 3D, it ends up being much like the gyro controls. The difference, is around once per level you are forced into using the second screen, particularly as a mechanic during a boss fight or final action sequence. The second screen also makes firing significantly more accurate, but at the cost of running into nearly everything you could possibly crash into, as you have to look down to aim, and look up to fly/navigate.

This was the first game I bought and played on my Wii U. Nearly everything else about the game is just more of the Starfox you already love, except your not allowed to enjoy it... I personally don't mind motion/gyro controls. Stuff like Okami and RE4 play best with motion controls in my option, but SF Zero just was a failure of implementation in my experience.