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Maple Leaf
Aug 24, 2010

Let'en my post flyen true


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 gently caress 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

Maple Leaf fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Sep 17, 2016

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Maple Leaf
Aug 24, 2010

Let'en my post flyen true
Reserved

Olive Branch
May 26, 2010

There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance.

Ground level for this LP, given I never played it nor saw past the second episode.

GamesAreSupernice
Jan 3, 2014

Oh, whoa! Check out the Viewing Globe, shorty!
This is a good game and I am glad you got to it before someone less enthused may have.

RareAcumen
Dec 28, 2012




GamesAreSupernice posted:

This is a good game and I am glad you got to it before someone less enthused may have.

There is room in Let's Play for ell pee videos of all types.

GamesAreSupernice
Jan 3, 2014

Oh, whoa! Check out the Viewing Globe, shorty!

RareAcumen posted:

There is room in Let's Play for ell pee videos of all types.

There is!, but I was saying I personally am glad to see someone enthusiastic about the game show it off, is all. I look forward to seeing new things about games I may not have noticed myself.

Looper
Mar 1, 2012
this game owns, haters gonna hate but baby just roll it off

frozentreasure
Nov 13, 2012

~
Anyone who found the controls to be an issue didn't play it for more than ten minutes, I'm convinced.

The game isn't perfect, but it can stand next to Lylat Wars solidly. This one best captures the Thunderbirds mood of all three Star Fox games.

XavierGenisi
Nov 7, 2009

:dukedog:

Yeah, this game is pretty drat great. Some of the complaints I totally understand where it's coming from though. Like, having the boost/brake/barrel roll on the right stick messed me up badly at first, having been used to those being mapped to buttons in every other star fox game. And the whole "gotta use the gyro aiming and use both viewpoints effectively" is something that takes some getting used to.

Still, at the end of the day, it's a fantastic game, and I'm definitely going to be watching this LP.

Looper
Mar 1, 2012

XavierGenisi posted:

Yeah, this game is pretty drat great. Some of the complaints I totally understand where it's coming from though. Like, having the boost/brake/barrel roll on the right stick messed me up badly at first, having been used to those being mapped to buttons in every other star fox game. And the whole "gotta use the gyro aiming and use both viewpoints effectively" is something that takes some getting used to.

Still, at the end of the day, it's a fantastic game, and I'm definitely going to be watching this LP.

putting boost, brake, sharp turning, and barrel rolling all on the right stick lets you do combinations of those moves in conjunction with basic movement, independent aiming, and actually firing your lasers all at the same time. it feels a little weird to push L or R twice to roll but it works waaay better than sf64 in my opinion

i adore 64 but trying to aim at anything not directly in front of you kinda sucks, especially in the landmaster, and it always takes me a bit to remember which C button does what

frozentreasure
Nov 13, 2012

~

Looper posted:

it feels a little weird to push L or R twice to roll but it works waaay better than sf64 in my opinion

(The actual way you want to barrel roll is by flicking the stick back and forth; a quick right-left or left-right motion.)

Count Bleck
Apr 5, 2010

DISPEL MAGIC!

I think the real travesty is that this game is really, really good, and yet, because of all the flak it's getting for some of the dumber reasons I've seen, this might potentially be the last Star Fox game we get for a long time.

Still, this ought to be a good LP.

Sam Faust
Feb 20, 2015

Count Bleck posted:

I think the real travesty is that this game is really, really good, and yet, because of all the flak it's getting for some of the dumber reasons I've seen, this might potentially be the last Star Fox game we get for a long time.

Still, this ought to be a good LP.

I agree. It feels like they could have done a lot with a sequel, but I'm not sure the game did well enough to justify one.

Ghaz
Nov 19, 2004

quote:

They called the sixth Star Fox game "Star Fox Zero"

makes sense if time is indeed cyclical as I suspect that it is in the star fox universe

Anoia
Dec 31, 2003

"Sooner or later, every curse is a prayer."
Sweet, another Maple Leaf LP! :toot:

And another troubled Nintendo reboot, huh? Welp.

Sam Faust
Feb 20, 2015

Are you gonna get all the medals?

TCat
Oct 10, 2012

I'll save you the time and call myself a loser
I'm glad someone with a love for this game is getting on this before someone showed up and goes "But-but-but gamepaaaaad weh!"
I will say some critics are fair with the camera being a bit too close in sections thus making the the use of both TV and gamepad almost necessary, but if you've played literally any WiiU game where the pad was implemented for more than just a map or status screen you'd be used to this kind of thing already.
Not to mention you CAN just...switch to just the gamepad and play the game like a normal Star Fox game on there and while that's got a few issues it does solve a good chunk of criticism, it's almost like switching screens was one of the big selling points of the WiiU or something.

mandatory lesbian
Dec 18, 2012

Looper posted:

this game owns, haters gonna hate but baby just roll it off

the line is shake it off not roll it off

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

This game is good and controls fine and I don't understand why literally nobody could figure out gamepad aiming in this game when lots of people liked it just fine when Splatoon did it.

Putty
Mar 21, 2013

HOOKED ON THE BROTHERS
do a barrel roll

Sam Faust
Feb 20, 2015

Putty posted:

do a barrel roll

please don't post spoilers.

Maple Leaf
Aug 24, 2010

Let'en my post flyen true

Looper posted:

putting boost, brake, sharp turning, and barrel rolling all on the right stick lets you do combinations of those moves in conjunction with basic movement, independent aiming, and actually firing your lasers all at the same time. it feels a little weird to push L or R twice to roll but it works waaay better than sf64 in my opinion

i adore 64 but trying to aim at anything not directly in front of you kinda sucks, especially in the landmaster, and it always takes me a bit to remember which C button does what

While, like I said in the video, the controls are practically second-nature to me at this point, I still can't get the hang of how somersaults and U-turns are performed by pressing down-up or down-down respectively. Sometimes I'm just trying to pull up and hit the brakes, and suddenly I'm facing the wrong direction entirely. I think I'd rather them be mapped to buttons only.

Sam Faust posted:

Are you gonna get all the medals?

Of course!

Olive Branch
May 26, 2010

There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance.

Anoia posted:

Sweet, another Maple Leaf LP! :toot:

And another troubled Nintendo reboot, huh? Welp.
Maple Leaf's pattern is to take good (or bad) reboots and play 'em through, I've noticed. Kid Icarus, Goldeneye, Sticker Star, this game, Other M...

Fun fact, he and I also discuss thread titles. I thought "The Fox is not in our stars, but in ourselves" was my best contribution. Yes, Maple Leaf, I still think it's funny.

Maple Leaf
Aug 24, 2010

Let'en my post flyen true
I'm still pretty partial to "Always bring a Fox to a dogfight," myself.

Looper
Mar 1, 2012

frozentreasure posted:

(The actual way you want to barrel roll is by flicking the stick back and forth; a quick right-left or left-right motion.)

:aaaaa:

Explosionface
May 30, 2011

We can dance if we want to,
we can leave Marle behind.
'Cause your fiends don't dance,
and if they don't dance,
they'll get a Robo Fist of mine.


This game is great. I still like 64 more, but this is the first time that's been challenged. I turn around and somersault too much on accident and mess up a lot with the gyro aiming.

The best part is actually the co-op. I can fly exactly as I need to while my buddy kills everything that exists. It has some fun moments itself.
"Hey, I can't shoot the thing!"
"I can't see where we're going because of the cutscene here on the TV!"

Then we manage to kill stuff anyways.

Golden Goat
Aug 2, 2012

Olive Branch posted:

Maple Leaf's pattern is to take good (or bad) reboots and play 'em through, I've noticed. Kid Icarus, Goldeneye, Sticker Star, this game, Other M...

Fun fact, he and I also discuss thread titles. I thought "The Fox is not in our stars, but in ourselves" was my best contribution. Yes, Maple Leaf, I still think it's funny.
I want "Star Fox is my team, not my name!"

Olive Branch
May 26, 2010

There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance.

Golden Goat posted:

I want "Star Fox is my team, not my name!"
We actually brought that up but Maple didn't want to reference the cartoon, as good as it was. :v:

frozentreasure
Nov 13, 2012

~

Maple Leaf posted:

I still can't get the hang of how somersaults and U-turns are performed by pressing down-up or down-down respectively. Sometimes I'm just trying to pull up and hit the brakes, and suddenly I'm facing the wrong direction entirely. I think I'd rather them be mapped to buttons only.

Are you giving the sticks a quick, simultaneous flick, like the tutorial said? I haven't had a problem using the sticks for them, and the sticks actually make the move faster; if you press the button, the somersault or U-turn comes out at a normal speed, but using the sticks makes the Arwing boost through the move.

Skippy Granola
Sep 3, 2011

It's not what it looks like.

frozentreasure posted:

Anyone who found the controls to be an issue didn't play it for more than ten minutes, I'm convinced.

The game isn't perfect, but it can stand next to Lylat Wars solidly. This one best captures the Thunderbirds mood of all three Star Fox games.

That's aboot all I could stand. I got killed in level 2 and immediately went cold.

Thank you, Let's Play, for letting me experience a game without my ineptitude getting in the way.

KaineWraith
Oct 30, 2011
I only beat the first three levels before I had to quit. Maybe my gamepad is crappy, but i had to reset the gyroscope every 30 seconds to even have any kind of control.

Just like Star Fox Command, it feels like Nintendo went for awkward controls for the sake of doing something new.

cokerpilot
Apr 23, 2010

Battle Brothers! Stop coming to meetings drunk and trying to adopt Tevery Best!

Lord General! Stop standing on the table and making up stupid operation names!

Emperor, why do I put up with these people?
Was hoping some one would do this. The fact that is Mapple Leaf is hilariously appropriate though.

XavierGenisi
Nov 7, 2009

:dukedog:

If you're having problems with the gyro aiming, you can always switch it to the alternate scheme, where it's centered in front of your ship unless you're shooting or charging a shot, where then it unlocks the gyro aim.

megamariox
Jun 4, 2011
Played this game and managed to beat it once. The thing that turned me off was the whole cutscene /locked camera thing. It just came across as so annoying.

Head Hit Keyboard
Oct 9, 2012

It must be fate that has brought us together after all these years.
I just spotted this in the New LPs thread and my first reaction was "wait this game is out?"

Definitely watching this as it was one of the like, three Wii U games I had any interest in at all.

Galaga Galaxian
Apr 23, 2009

What a childish tactic!
Don't you think you should put more thought into your battleplan?!


What did they do to the Arwing? That chicken walker mode.... :stare:

Kurieg
Jul 19, 2012

RIP Lutri: 5/19/20-4/2/20
:blizz::gamefreak:

Galaga Galaxian posted:

What did they do to the Arwing? That chicken walker mode.... :stare:

Resurrected a feature from the unreleased SNES Sequel.

avoraciopoctules
Oct 22, 2012

What is this kid's DEAL?!

I was concerned when I bought Star Fox Zero after reading reviews criticizing the controls, but the game was actually pretty enjoyable. Co-op was especially nice, since you've got a set-up that encourages two players to constantly talk to each other and coordinate efforts. An excellent couch game.

Overall, I'm a little disappointed in the amount of content we actually got and in how easy a lot of the game is once you've gotten good with the controls, but Star Fox Zero was good fun while it lasted and I'm probably going to replay it with other people a few more times. Looking forward to the LP!

Black Mage Knight
Jan 25, 2012

stop biting my cape
This game is sick, though I do understand the complaints.

One thing I like is how even though the controls are hard to get used to they make a lot of sense with how the game works. Also the alternatives to the Arwing are actually really fun too (walker mode is the best addition).

Really, the whole reboot nature of things to me feels like they are bringing things back to 64 so they can have a good base to build off of for future games.

All that being said, I would recommend people to wait for a sale or price drop for this game. As much as I love it, it is pretty meager for a full $70 price tag, though Star Fox Guard at least takes a bit of the sting off of that.

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Larryb
Oct 5, 2010

The good thing about them rebooting the franchise again (remember, 64 itself was essentially a remake of the SNES game) is they no longer have to deal with all the crap that got added to the series from Adventures onward. This way if they make another game we can get the proper Star Fox sequel we should have gotten after 64.

As for the game itself, while I found the controls annoying at first it can get pretty fun once you're used to it. Also, you don't really need both screens to play the game as you can switch between them at any time by pressing the - button on the gamepad, I personally found this easier than having to shift my focus from the TV to the gamepad all the time.

Larryb fucked around with this message at 16:41 on May 14, 2016

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