Star For Zero and Shigeru Miyamoto

Kyle Bosman recently summarized the release of Star Fox Zero, Shigeru Miyamoto's involvement and the Wii U. Star Fox Zero is an interesting game because it exists as a proof of concept that the Wii U gamepad is not a gimmick. Star Fox Zero's implementation of a precision cockpit view and forced character audio through the gamepad is biggest point of contention with the game. While the aiming does work (after getting used to it), weird decisions like the character audio felt like they had to justify the speaker in the gamepad by making it mandatory. As pointed out by Bosman, after multiple delays two other Wii U games (Splatoon, Super Mario Maker) would actually do a much better job in showing gamepad implementation that Star Fox.

As a huge fan of the Star Fox series, Star Fox Zero isn't a bad game but doesn't do anything to stand out from the other console installments. While there are multiple fleet assault stages (the stand out stages in my opinion) nothing reaches the level of the Area 6 showdown or the Katina stage from Star Fox 64. A good entry in the series the problem is that it feels like a game lost in time. A follow up to Star Fox 64 (and a few elements like the walker from Star Fox 2) it doesn't take full advantage of the Wii U's power and feels more like a half step game than a full proper prequel/sequel.

At the tail end of the video is a rather brutal bonus bit describing Miyamoto's current design philosophy (part parody, part truth). Bosman's video is an interesting look and reminder of the strange story behind the development of Star Fox Zero.