Star Fox Zero review, Wii U: 'An essential addition to your library'

Nintendo - £39.99

Long delayed from its original festive release slot, even the most ardent Nintendo devotees will know that even Fox McCloud can’t save the struggling Wii U in the marketplace – it does however provide welcome sustenance in the form of an epic space adventure to occupy fans until more details emerge about the new NX console.

The opening sprawl of plot exposition is almost identical to the one featured in the N64 classic Lylat Wars, which immediately bodes well as it reminds players of a much-loved title – perhaps a similar move to J.J. Abrams’ recent use of familiar tropes to re-state the series mythology in The Force Awakens. Familiar characters return, with Slippy the Toad, Falco and the veteran Peppy, all available to accompany your every move.

Once again Fox must follow in his fearless father’s footsteps, jump in his Arwing and defeat waves of enemies in order to save the Lylat System from Andross’ evil forces. As well as his traditional flying craft, there’s the Landmaster tank familiar from previous entries in the series, and the Walker, originally scheduled for inclusion in the regrettably cancelled SNES title Star Fox 2. This transfiguration enables players to navigate platforms during ground combat sections. A fourth vehicle type, the Gyrowing hovercraft, allows players to hack terminals and gather items.

There’s a feeling that with Star Fox Zero, the series is finally realising its potential by virtue of being able to provide ever more variation to the stock shooting action, both through the aforementioned vehicular variety, and with frequent switches between All-Range mode, where your manoeuvrability is unfettered, and the on-rails sections, where movement is limited and the enemy fire unrelenting.

The control system does take a fair while to acclimatise to, with a different perspective displayed on the main screen to that shown on the gamepad. Many games have ignored the second screen capability of the Wii U, and it is a shame it has taken so long for another title to join Nintendoland and Zombi U in truly pushing these abilities to the forefront. The sticks control the ship's movement while aiming uses the gamepad’s inner gyroscope to pick out targets.

Glancing between the cockpit view on the gamepad and the main screen with its traditional ‘outside the craft’ view, you really feel like you’re in the middle of a tense firefight, checking your flanks and barrel-rolling away from danger. It’s certainly one that enables an accurate representation of a pilot’s progression, from nervous novice taking on training runs, awkwardly navigating a wireframe test course, to the feeling of being a genuine flying ace, swooping through asteroid belts and looping around enemy fire.

In terms of presentation, there’s no doubt that Star Fox lags slightly in the visual department, compared to other interstellar titles on rival consoles. The need to render two separate screens obviously weighs heavily on the Wii U’s GPU and so the game ends up with a neatly designed but perhaps slightly detail-light presentation. Nintendo did however manage to keep a very consistent framerate across both screens, and as ever a high level of polish is visible throughout, with a stirring soundtrack and favourable extras.

Those with Fox McCloud Amiibos can fire up some retro vehicles, with SNES era Arwings available for those looking for a vintage fix. Also included in the launch package is Star Fox Guard, a tower defence game that complements the main event by providing a different take on the Star Fox universe. Based on Slippy Toad’s state of the art CCTV system, each camera is fitted with a laser to ward off enemies, triggered by tapping the gamepad. Rather oddly, it doesn’t use motion controls, instead mirroring the promo art of Slippy holding his joystick, but it provides a welcome alternative, described by Shigeru Miyamoto as the ‘late night programming’ to accompany the main event.

It's interesting Miyamoto used the television analogy, as here Star Fox Zero brings real cinematic quality to the long-running series, with the use of two screens and gyroscopic aiming another classic Nintendo innovation in control methods - sadly one that probably won’t make it into many more titles. It may not have the power to drive console sales, but for those who already have a Wii U, this is an essential addition to the library.