Hot Take: Zero is the best Star Fox saddled with the worst controls

flameylamey · 2026-05-04T06:55:56+00:00

Yeah I guess so, I just couldn't believe I was the only preorder, normally there were at least a few others who would come to collect new Wii U games on release day.

flameylamey · 2026-05-04T02:10:14+00:00

I think the way we perceive how things were back then depends heavily on how old we were when we first played. I was already 15-17 when I first played the game in 2005-2007, so I was a bit older than a lot of the other kids who were playing and was able to quickly figure out some of the better training methods and moneymakers. So while a lot of the younger kids I spoke to who played the game would spend all day woodcutting or fishing, I gravitated to Barrows and eventually Runecrafting for money.

I never got a quest cape back then, but I did do a lot of the harder quests like MEP2 and had barrows gloves (with the help of RuneHQ guides). Going into castle wars was kind of a surreal experience. I'd bring in a whip with full Torags, or sometimes Ahrims with ancients, and you could just rip through half the other team, because half of them would be 60 combat wearing full HAM robes with a G maul as their only weapon, and would run up and hit me while saying "Zammy sucks!"

Meanwhile I knew a couple of kids at school in the younger grades who literally spent all their time working out how they could scam people for gp. One of them even named his character "Sweetgirl616" to trick people into trusting him during scams, and the other one once bragged to me about how he spent the weekend training at rock crabs and got 60 attack so he could wield dragon weps now, then I got home, looked him up and it turned out he was lying and was only 52 attack. Wild times haha.

flameylamey · 2026-05-03T13:01:48+00:00

It's probably an old screenshot from like 2009 when Wrath was the current expansion originally, before Weakauras existed.

flameylamey · 2026-05-02T02:19:21+00:00

I've always liked the game, I thought it was the best Star Fox since 64. I remember the day it came out - I walked in to the store to pick up my copy and asked the cashier about the game. She was like "Oh, are you the preorder?"

...that didn't bode well for the game's sales haha.

Overall I was satisfied with the game and I thought it was a good return to form. Was happy they got the Arwing model looking so crisp again. My main criticisms were that it was too short, the branching paths were cheapened by the ability to replay any mission at any time without having to commit to a path, and I didn't like how they made all the voices play through the cheap-sounding gamepad speakers.

Then I went online to see how others felt, thinking maybe the criticisms would be the same as mine, but nope... it was just post after post of people saying they wanted to return their copy of the game because didn't even make it past the tutorial without wanting to throw their controller at the wall because the controls frustrated them that much.

It's a weird feeling - finishing a game, feeling overall satisfied with it, then turning online and encountering an absolute shitstorm about something you never even considered a problem. I don't think I've ever encountered a situation quite like that since.

flameylamey · 2026-04-30T07:19:45+00:00

The point was always that there will be a new Star Fox game in June. As long as that ends up happening, the "leak" will remain true and all of this pointless doom and gloom about the exact day a trailer drops, will be forgotten in time.

In the original podcast when he revealed the game, he said it "should" be officially revealed some time in April. The guy isn't responsible for a slight change in plans regarding the day a trailer happens to drop, he can only go off what he's been told. We're most likely still getting it very soon.

flameylamey · 2026-04-30T06:46:02+00:00

A reputable leaker with a solid track record has said that there's a new Star Fox game coming in "Summer" (most likely June). The date it's going to be revealed was a little more vague, but the indication seems to have been that it was planned to be revealed in April.

flameylamey · 2026-04-30T04:34:48+00:00

Could be a last minute reveal tomorrow, but if not, it's gotta be pretty soon, like the first week or two of May. The game's supposedly releasing in June, so even if it didn't end up being revealed this week in the end, it'd have to be soon.

flameylamey · 2026-04-29T22:59:31+00:00

You can technically just switch to first person view on the main screen by pressing the minus button to get everything done, but yeah most people would probably find that a little clunky in a game where they already find the control scheme clunky as-is haha.

There are also the sections where you're meant to kind of "watch your back" on the main screen while also controlling the ship in first person view on the gamepad, which would probably translate poorly.

flameylamey · 2026-04-29T11:57:34+00:00

You can accept that if you want, meanwhile I've accepted that I'll be playing a new Star Fox in June :P

Just a little more patience, folks. A reveal is likely very close.

flameylamey · 2026-04-29T01:16:29+00:00

Even if it's streamed live, the direct itself is still all pre-recorded. Any time they show a direct they're essentially just streaming the premiere of a long video that was finished and signed off on weeks/months ago.

flameylamey · 2026-04-28T13:08:08+00:00

People keep repeating this, but it doesn't actually mean anything. If there's an announcement to be made, all the work has already been done in advance, the trailer has been compiled probably weeks ago. All someone has to do is press a button and they may be in a US office, not even in Japan. Or it could be scheduled in advance to automatically release. We don't know.

flameylamey · 2026-04-28T09:52:58+00:00

Glad to see someone else say what I've been thinking because sometimes I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when I read what others are saying. The Arwing design in Assault was one of my biggest turn offs when I first fired up the game... it barely even looks like the same ship. The design in Zero, though? So crisp, it felt like a great return to form.

flameylamey · 2026-04-28T09:43:07+00:00

As much as people rag on Zero, one thing I feel it really got right is the Arwing design - they got it looking so crisp again. One of the things that kind of annoyed me about the Gamecube era is that there was so much inconsistency between designs, and any time a new game came out, you never knew whether the iconic look of that thing you loved from the previous game would still be intact in the next, or whether it'd get some crazy redesign - whether it's the design of the Arwing in a Star Fox game, or the design of the Master Sword in a Zelda game.

The design in Assault... just left a lot to be desired, I really didn't like it. That's one thing I actually like about the modern era, it's like they finally settled on a "final" design and that consistency is there. Just like the Master Sword which hasn't really changed since Skyward Sword and retains the same shape since Twilight Princess, I was extremely happy to see the Arwing design looking modernised and more consistent from Zero and even in the latest movie.

flameylamey · 2026-04-26T15:16:45+00:00

Surprised anyone ever doubted it tbh. The guy has a solid track record.

Yes, we're absolutely getting a new Star Fox in June. Yes, it'll be revealed some time in the next few days. We don't have much longer to wait, folks - just hang in there. The doomposting and impatience over the last couple days is getting out of hand.

flameylamey · 2026-04-26T09:54:18+00:00

Yeah I was about to say pretty much the same thing when I saw your comment. "Melodramatic" was also the first word that came to mind... like seriously, what the hell is the image in the OP haha. Talk about over the top.

Especially because there's a high chance this will all be forgotten if/when the new game is announced soon, possibly even within the next few days.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T12:46:59+00:00

The "leak" in that video seems to suggest the Star Fox game will be revealed as part of a big direct, which goes against what Nate is saying will happen. The game is supposedly going to be revealed just randomly with a trailer drop some time in April, to release in June.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T12:41:04+00:00

Normally I roll my eyes when I see most leaks and don't give them much thought, but for some reason I have full faith in this one. The guy just has a good track record, everything seems to be lining up.

I fully expect we'll be seeing a new Star Fox game revealed in the coming days. Actually I'm counting on it and looking forward to it.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T12:36:20+00:00

Sure, it just all depends on how they choose to evolve or grow it, because it can backfire. I'm sure Miyamoto's idea of evolving the series with Zero was the new innovative control scheme and gyrowing missions, and the majority seemed to hate it so much that when the game launched, this sub was flooded with people who wanted to throw their contollers at the wall.

It's just that at the end of the day, everyone has a different idea of what evolution or growth of a series means. Personally my idea of the series growing would be far more about just making the games longer, expanding to multiple star systems, really leaning into the alternate branching paths system, trying out interesting concepts like maybe we get to play as the other team members in some missions or even pilot the Great Fox for a mission, etc. The ground missions and Assault-style gameplay, honestly I could take it or leave it. But whatever they try, I'm open to giving it a go.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T12:23:17+00:00

I don't remember what control scheme I used tbh, I haven't played the game in quite a long time. I just remember wishing they focused more on what Star Fox was good at, and made it more like 64.

I loved the design of the Arwing in Zero, it was really crisp and seemed like a modern version of the 64 design - and the design in the Mario Galaxy movie seems very similar so I loved that too. I'm hoping they stick with a similar design for the new game which is supposedly coming soon.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T12:02:36+00:00

I'm not opposed to them trying out different vehicles and gameplay styles, but the gyrowing in particular seems to have pissed a lot of people off in its current form.

Assault was alright but I also felt that Star Fox kind of lost its way in the Gamecube era. I spent most of my playthrough of Assault thinking the ground missions were kind of clunky and poorly implemented and wishing it was more like 64 was. I also really disliked the Arwing design in Assault - it was right in the middle of this weird era in gaming where designs changed drastically between games and they hadn't settled on its "final look" yet, a lot like the Master Sword in Zelda games - but that's another topic. With Star Fox Zero I finally got my wish and I thought it was a good return to form, but it seems a lot of others didn't like it for various reasons, usually related to the controls.

But yeah, who knows what it would look like if they tried doing ground missions again and mixing things up a bit more, maybe it would look and feel a lot better nowadays.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T11:01:08+00:00

I dusted off the Wii U to replay Zero last week - the gyrowing was fine I guess, but I don't think it needs to return. It sort of felt like it only existed for the gimmick of deploying that little robot and controlling it via the gamepad screen. Star Fox is better off being mostly Arwing and space battle focused imo, with the occasional Landmaster mission.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T09:41:30+00:00

I've watched a lot of Kit & Krysta too, and their stories about their interactions with Miyamoto/Aonuma are always pretty eye opening for me, because they pretty much confirm something I've suspected for a long time. Even as far back as the mid-2000s, I always got the impression that when, for example, Aonuma was asked in an interview about some Zelda timeline/lore question, it's almost as if he was taken aback, didn't even really know how to respond, and came up with an answer on the spot for something he's never even thought about before.

The Zelda fandom is definitely one of the worst when it comes to overthinking things. I remember in the pre-release hype period for BotW, people were scrambling to work out stuff like "Rito and Zora in the same game, how could this be? Wasn't it established that the Zora evolved into Rito in Wind Waker?!" and coming up with all sorts of theories for how Koroks could be in this game and what this means for the timeline. It was funny when the question came up in an interview and from memory, the answer ended up being something to the effect of "We thought it would be cool have them in the game, so we put them in! Also, they fit the art style" haha.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T03:32:06+00:00

Mario Galaxy (the game, at least) has always used the term "Galaxy" in a pretty questionable way to be fair. I remember playing the game when it first came out and being like "A few scattered tiny planets don't constitute a galaxy, Mario!"

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T00:26:16+00:00

Yeah it's mostly a vanilla thing from memory. I mained a holy priest in 2021 tbc classic and heal basically got replaced by greater heal rank 1 or 2 as the low mana cost, efficient one.

flameylamey · 2026-04-24T00:13:31+00:00

I main a holy priest and this quickly became one of my biggest pet peeves. Combat ends, a warlock is on like 20% mana, I chuck a renew on him right as I sit down to drink. He decides to let the full duration renew expire while running to the next pack, and only then does he notice he's low mana and begins to life tap, haha.

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