1. #1

    Star Fox Zero is a mess

    I've never really had much of a problem with Nintendo products before, but holy shit this game's controls are horrible. To preface, I bought Xenoblade X and Twilight Princess HD both on release day, and while I wouldn't put them on my top 10 games of all time, they certainly entertained me enough to warrant the $48 purchase (got 20% off each of them). Initially, I was a little bummed that they forced motion controls on Twilight Princess, but I quickly found the option to turn that off, and I could never be happier with a remake. I also played the absolute crap out of Star Fox (SNES) and Star Fox 64 as a youngin, putting easily more than 100hrs into each game, and I was more than excited to see my favorite on-rail shooter back. This is where the story goes downhill...

    I've played through the SFZ missions about 8 times now, and I'm just as disappointed and confused with the control scheme as I was during my first playthrough. I've tried everything to make it more manageable, but nothing seems to work. I put a desk in front of my TV where I could hold the gamepad and have an easy time seeing the TV with my peripheral vision. That was a disaster. I tried making it so the motion controls only work while I'm holding ZR. That made the game even more unplayable. I've heard people say they got used to the controls, but it's just so foreign to me. All I've been left with is a bunch of "why" questions.

    Why do we NEED to use the right stick for ANYTHING?
    Why do we need either of the Z buttons?
    WHY DID YOU HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL NINTENDO?

    The game itself is great. If the controls were at least somewhat similar to what we had with Star Fox 64, I would easily be playing the crap out of SFZ, just like I did with the SNES and N64 versions. At this point though, I'm really considering selling the game to Gamestop. I'll give Nintendo until the end of the month to come out with a patch or something to make the controls more manageable, but I can't see them doing that, so it's probably going to Gamestop so I can recoup at least some of my money.

  2. #2
    Legendary!
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    Nah, I liked it. Very fun game and the controls, while different, were very easy to learn. My childhood came back for a hug with that game.

  3. #3
    Pandaren Monk lightofdawn's Avatar
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    to be honest it kinda just sounds like you need practice... the controls are fine after a few minutes of fudging around with them
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  4. #4
    Banned GennGreymane's Avatar
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    The controls are way to awkward to my tastes. Even after extended play it feels weird. Other than that the game is solid.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by GennGreymane View Post
    The controls are way to awkward to my tastes. Even after extended play it feels weird. Other than that the game is solid.
    This is basically a TLDR of my post lol. The game is great, I just can't get used to the controls to save my life.

  6. #6
    The Nintendo ds version of starfox had crappy controls too where you had to steer with the stylus.

  7. #7
    The arwing sections are actually really fun and good. Just need to forget all your previous starfoxing and get used to new layouts.

    Not a fan of the gimmick vehicles overly.

    Some of the space battles are really pretty, surprising considering how ugly the game looked last year.

  8. #8
    I feel like Nintendo could make a killing off the nostalgia train ... if they just focused on updated stories and graphics... why all these crazy controls...?

  9. #9
    The controls remind me of pre-thumbstick era Armored Core. All over the place. Back when you had look up/down as 2 separate r-buttons on the controller. Also, unless theres a setting I've missed, the motion controls for left/right are inverted. Where you tilt the pad left to look right and tilt right to look left. What the fuck.

  10. #10
    Brewmaster Karamaru's Avatar
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    while the controls feel really weird but I recon I'll get better if I play more.

  11. #11
    The issue I have with the controls is how several functions are mapped to the right stick. It doesn't feel good at all. On the other hand, the motion controls, I've been finding, actually make the game significantly easier. Within an hour of starting I was doing things like circle strafing and using the gamepad view to circumvent fixed camera positions. The ability to lock onto important targets in all range mode is also very nice.

    I look at the complaints about the gyro controls and see a common thread, that most if not all of the complainants turn off motion controls in every game right away and have never bothered to learn how to use them. I feel like that's more than a bit hipstery, like someone who bought an N64 but refused to play any game that didn't support the d pad. Then they get Starfox 64 and start going on about how it doesn't control like the SNES game.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Drilnos View Post
    The issue I have with the controls is how several functions are mapped to the right stick.
    Well, to be fair, they basically are the same controls that StarFox 64 had mapped to the C buttons.

    Same functions, just on an analog rather than buttons. Once I thought of them that way, it was a lot less weird to use.
    There is a thin line between not knowing and not caring, and I like to think that I walk that line every day.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Drilnos View Post
    I look at the complaints about the gyro controls and see a common thread, that most if not all of the complainants turn off motion controls in every game right away and have never bothered to learn how to use them. I feel like that's more than a bit hipstery, like someone who bought an N64 but refused to play any game that didn't support the d pad. Then they get Starfox 64 and start going on about how it doesn't control like the SNES game.
    Or maybe it's the motion controls that feel "a bit hipstery." Hardly any Wii U games use them (not even mentioning how the low the % is when you take into consideration PS4/XBONE libraries), and they don't ever feel good. Nintendo isn't designing these games around a good use of the motion controls, they're trying to take games not designed for them and force them into those games. Twilight Princess HD didn't need those silly motion controls, which is why I turned them off as soon as I figured out how. Star Fox most definitely doesn't need them, but you can't turn them off.

    Someone on Youtube said that the motion controls are actually really fun if you play 2 player. I can see that actually being a thing. One person controls the ship, the other controls the weapons. It's like piloting the Millennium Falcon, but if that's the feeling Nintendo was going for, I wish they would've advertised it as such. Literally 0 of my irl friends have a Wii U, let alone play ANY Nintendo games. Had I known that this game was meant for 2 players, I wouldn't have picked it up.

  14. #14
    I am Murloc! Usagi Senshi's Avatar
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    Yeah, I like Star Fox 64 3D much better tbh. Going to be selling my copy in hopes of a refined NX version next year.

    The boss fights are great though!
    Tikki tikki tembo, Usagi no Yojimbo, chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo!

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Turbotef View Post
    The boss fights are great though!
    The boss fights are where you can tell Platinum worked on the game lol.

  16. #16
    To each his own. I found the controls weren't much of an issue once you get used to them.

    Totally worth it anyways, because I absolutely loved the game!

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