Starlink: Battle for Atlas is finally out. And if review scores are a sign of anything, it’s pretty good. If the Nintendo Switch version has an advantage over the other versions, it’s not that more kids play the Switch. No, it’s Ubisoft’s permission to use Star Fox.
Hey Einstein, I’m On Your Side
Given Nintendo’s history of overprotection since the Philips CD days, it still surprises me that they let anyone else touch their toys at all. But this has changed little by little over time. A Metroid Prime here, a Mario + Rabbids there. But this is Star Fox we are talking about here. If Nintendo were a parent, it would be their troubled kid who initially showed a lot of promise, but is always changing majors.
From Dinosaur Planet to Assault to Command, Star Fox found itself treading water, despite its niche fan base. Something that most people can agree on, though, is that the gyroscopic controls of Star Fox Zero were an alienating bad choice that hurt sales. I never owned a Wii U, but you didn’t have to, to see that it hurt sales. The release of the never before released Star Fox 2 on the SNES Classic could only help so much by this point.
Starlink campaign with Fox and his pals, it doesn’t really do anything to improve the niche factor of the franchise.
The team is on the hunt of Star Wolf. Nothing major. Nothing that Ubisoft perhaps had to fight Nintendo to do. But it wasn’t really supposed to. Still, I wonder if this is the way to save the franchise from being forgotten again. Is this franchise doomed to be known more for Smash Bros than for its own franchise?
We Need Your Help Star Fox
We don’t know if that Retro Studio Star Fox racing game is for real, but it raises a good question: Should Star Fox continue on with the Star Fox 64 style games or should they change and become known for something different than what it was initially? It didn’t work too well when they turned the previously independent Dinosaur Planet IP into a Star Fox game. The general consensus was that it was a good game, just not a good Star Fox game.
But you may forget it worked wonders for Spyro the Dragon. He had a good couple games that dwindled in quality as time went on. But he made his revival with the Skylanders series. And Starlink, also a toys to life game, seems to be doing ok, even given the genre’s lessening popularity.
Honestly, I don’t think this is Star Fox’s future. Starlink may be good, but not good enough to uproot what makes Star Fox special. And if you read my previous piece about Super Mario Party and what going back to a game’s roots actually means, I think what Star Fox Zero was missing was simplicity. What made Star Fox and Star Fox 64 so good, in my opinion, was just the simplicity of the fun shoot-em-up flight sim and the matching charm of its characters. I think Assault had some good ideas, switching up gameplay styles, but Nintendo must make sure that the controls are tight and fun to play, not too repetitive.
Mission Accomplished
So how would I fix it? Gameplay should be the first thing focused on. Whether in the air, on foot, or tank, the game should be fun. The controls of Zero were ambitious, but Nintendo overshot their expectation of what casual fans would put up with. The quirky characters and fun interactions of the Star Fox team take care of themselves.
Lastly, please Nintendo. No more retellings of the Lylat Wars against Andross. Have him come back if you like; we just want a different story. But ultimately, I’m still hopeful for Star Fox’s future.
But what do you think? Does Star Fox need fixing? How would you do it? Let us know in the comments below!
