What Happened to StarFox?

[Caleb, Of Asui]

I've been playing a lot of Nintendo series for the first time for a while now. Much of the time, I pick which series I play by what new games are coming out; for a few, however, there was no new game and I chose on my own, such as Metroid and, most recently, StarFox. Of all the game series I've played, StarFox is the one that I think absolutely has to have a new release!

They kind of left us with StarFox Command back in 2006 - it's 2009 now! What's more, the nature of StarFox Command demands a continuation of some sort - not necessarily a sequel, though. Command had nine different endings, each one of them rather good ways to end the story for that game, except for the mandatory first ending (listed third for some reason), which was slightly dissapointing in order to get you to play the other eight. There's some considerable debate among StarFox fans which ending is canon (or if Command is canon at all), though the third one (the mandatory one) is generally assumed.

A quote during an interview about this game around its release states that a new StarFox game would probably start half-way through Command, implying to fans that it would reveal the true, canon ending. Miyamoto has also expressed interest in creating a StarFox game for Wii.

So, with so much going toward it, why have we not seen a new StarFox game for three years?

 

[Hanyou]

Well, first of all, there's a serious problem with the gameplay. None of the games released since 64 felt a thing like the SNES original, which should be the template.

Command was a step up from Assault, in that it gave you options about where to go (a classic requirement IMO) and the fighting was actually fun.I liked Command, but it wasn't a Starfox game. At least, not the Starfox I know.

The Starfox I know focuses on on-rails dogfighting. That gameplay element is essential, as it's what sets the series apart from every other dogfighter on the market. It's not that all-range-type games are bad--see Rogue Squadron--but that there simply aren't enough games like Starfox and Starfox 64. Especially since the Panzer Dragoon series faded into obscurity.

Frankly, the franchise is stale. They've changed the wrong things by experimenting with different gameplay styles, and in the meantime, they've stuck every game in the same Lylat system. A truly good Starfox game would branch out to new locations and improve upon the classic gameplay. Since they haven't done this, a lot of people have lost interest and Nintendo now has more interesting things to concern itself with, like Mario and Zelda.

It's sort of like what happened to Sonic, except Nintendo knows not to milk its franchises when they're having serious problems. The games are boring. Gamers, for the most part, aren't demanding new Starfox games because we haven't had an honest one since 1997.

That's my guess. Would I like to see a new one? Sure, if they did it right. But since the franchise has served as a guinea pig all these years, I don't expect much from it and have lost interest. Unfortunate.

 

[DeletedUser9]

Hanyou has some good points.

I personally would love a return of the series' classic gameplay. Starfox 64 was one of the best games on ye old N64. I don't understand why they made Adventures then the crapfest that was Assault. I never played Command nor do I know much about it, so I can't really say much about that.

But at any rate, this is one of those series that could be beautiful on the Wii if done right. I'm not exactly sure what Nintendo is doing. -.-

 

[Brandikins]

I loved watching my older brother play Star Fox 64 when I was little. It was one of the first games we ever played when we got our Nintendo 64. I still remember the day we got the N64, I was jumping around the box! I loved that game, and did they ever release it on VC? Knowing nintendo I would think so.

 

[Hayzer]

In reality, even though people put Starfox as one of Nintendo's main franchises, it's not. We only have five games:

Starfox
Starfox 64
Starfox Adventures
Starfox Assault
Starfox Command

Define the classic formula for Starfox? It doesn't really have one. Sonic the Hedgehog had about six or seven games that made up the classic formula (From the Genesis to the CD to the Game Gear), Mario had a SMB to Mario Land. But, Starfox only has two games that people claim are the classics. Two games. How do two games define a classic type of gameplay?

Imo, Adventures gets too much hate. It was the game that got me into the series in the first place. Yeah, 64 was awesome, but in all honesty, I liked Adventures more. Assault was like a dream come true because it combined 64 and Adventures (Not to mention gave Krystal a reasonable outfit). Command, however, screwed everything up. I don't want it to be canon. If anything, the first ending, "Fox and Krystal" should be canon because, well, one, it's labeled first, and two, it's the only ending where Team Starfox is together at the end.

Anyway...Point is: Starfox has no classic gameplay. You can't judge the Starfox series like you can Mario, Sonic and Zelda. It only has FIVE games. Mario has well over 20+ titles and so does Sonic. Zelda has 14+ titles, while Starfox only has 5.

 

[Hanyou]

Define the classic formula for Starfox? It doesn't really have one. Sonic the Hedgehog had about six or seven games that made up the classic formula (From the Genesis to the CD to the Game Gear), Mario had a SMB to Mario Land. But, Starfox only has two games that people claim are the classics. Two games. How do two games define a classic type of gameplay?

The classic gameplay is the gameplay originally associated with the franchise. Starfox was released in 1993. Starfox 2, a game with decidedly different gameplay, was created but never released. Starfox 64, released a full four years after the original, built on the gameplay of the original. There's already a trend here. Starfox Adventures only counts in the way one might count Super Mario RPG: arguably a decent game unto itself, but not originally constructed as a Starfox game and not meant to be part of the main franchise. Assault includes some on-rails levels, but screws up royally in execution and relegates the "classic" gameplay to a minority of the levels. Command plays NOTHING like the first two games, but is awesome anyway.

I think what you're not taking into account is 1) the distance between releases of each game (which allowed the original gameplay to ferment and 2) what "classic" generally means. Most--maybe not all, but most--prominent franchises are defined by their first game. There are anomalies along the way (such as Zelda 2, which, before I'm accused of bias, is actually one of my favorite games; and the American release of Mario Bros. 2), but franchises are often hailed for returning to their roots.

Starfox may have only five games, but the span between the release of Starfox and the first really different game (again, since Starfox 2 was never released) was nine years. Nine years is a long, long time. Surely "classic" Starfox had been defined by then.

I should also mention I've heard a lot of talk about the distinctions between "classic" Fallout and "new" Fallout since Fallout 3 has been released. There are only three Fallout games.

Imo, Adventures gets too much hate. It was the game that got me into the series in the first place.

I've never heard of Adventures getting any hate. I don't mind that it bears the Starfox name any more than I mind Mario Kart having "Mario" in the title--I just think it's the most poorly-executed Rare game I've ever played. I loved every game they released on the N64, down to the lesser-known ones, Blast Corps and Jet Force Gemini, and I hated Adventures. I don't begrudge anyone for liking it--I've already said I like Zelda 2, one of the hated Zelda games--but I don't think it's very good.

Assault was like a dream come true because it combined 64 and Adventures (Not to mention gave Krystal a reasonable outfit).

Assault didn't do that IMO. I think it did a decent job on some of the classic mechanics, but tossed in on-foot levels which, if properly executed, could have been good. They were just tedious fetch quests. All-range was a drag, and they cut out the ability for the player to choose his route. All bad decisions.

Command, however, screwed everything up. I don't want it to be canon. If anything, the first ending, "Fox and Krystal" should be canon because, well, one, it's labeled first, and two, it's the only ending where Team Starfox is together at the end.

Again, I feel conflicted about Command. I love playing it, because of the strategy element...but it's still not as fun as well-executed on-rails levels.

Anyway...Point is: Starfox has no classic gameplay. You can't judge the Starfox series like you can Mario, Sonic and Zelda. It only has FIVE games. Mario has well over 20+ titles and so does Sonic. Zelda has 14+ titles, while Starfox only has 5.

And as I stated before, it's not about numbers, it's about what came first and (to an extent) the amount of time between releases. That's how I feel about it, anyway.

 

[Caleb, Of Asui]

Honestly, people, the newer half of this series gets way more hate than it deserves. Adventures does, of course, but Assault... WAY more hate than it deserves. Assault was probably my favorite one, but then again, I do focus on the plot and cinematics more than most gamers, and that's something Assault did a pretty amazing job at. Most of the other games tend to be a little bit corny.

I didn't hate Command, either. I actually quite enjoyed it, more than most people (the controls take some getting used to, but they become pretty natural). Still, however, I would say that criticism for Command isn't totally misguided - not nearly as much as Assault, for sure.

If you think about it, it seems almost like when they made StarFox Command, they were expecting the series to die. First of all, it came out very quickly. The gap between Assault and Command was only one year, whereas the gap between any other two consecutive StarFox games is three years or more. They were a little hasty with it, but they perceived that this would be the last StarFox game, so they wanted to get it out there.

Second reason, the game has nine endings - alternate endings, too, not bonus endings like in the Metorid Prime trilogy, where it's implied to happen whether or not you see it. If you look closely at each ending, they each seem to pay respect to some part of the StarFox universe:

1. Assault's StarFox Team - Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Krystal. Amanda is agknowledged for the idea of love among team members.
2. 64's StarFox Team - Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy. Krystal is acknowledged the way she is for her later addition to the story.
3. The main ending, more likely something to resort to in case the series is continued.
4. The StarWolf Team.
5. Female characters, each one corresponding in some way to 64's StarFox team.
6. Andross and his legacy, through a new character.
7. Slippy, who often gets less recognition.
8. Falco, and the comic "Farewell, Beloved Falco."
9. Trade-off of cameos between StarFox and F-Zero.

It seems that Nintendo also wanted to have StarFox appear on their newer generation of consoles with innovative controls, just once, before they say farewell to the series.

(Dang it, I keep forgetting what I'm about to say.)

The F-Zero series had its last release in 2004. The inter-connection between StarFox and F-Zero possibly helped them to see StarFox disappearing soon.

I read on Wikipedia that the creators said in an interview that Command was intended to be the last game (checked the citation to be sure it's valid). They apparently said that if they make a new game, it will start in the middle of Command. They likely want to see this happen, but knew what the chances were.

I think that the ending of the series, for any series, essentially leaves the series to the fans. This idea is stronger in the EarthBound series, considering its huge and dedicated fan base. StarFox was a legendary series, though, so it didn't leave no fans behind. From what I can tell, the power of the fans in StarFox is expressed best in the fan games, which seem to be the mainstay of StarFox fandom at this point. I've heard of what seems to be a very good StarFox fan game, called Shadows of Lylat. I've also heard that one fan game focuses on the character Kursed from Command's fourth ending - so, the nine ending weren't really for naught.

Abandoning the series is probably a smart move on Nintendo's part. They recognize that they can't really hold it together any longer. Like many other great video game series, StarFox lived a respectable life and has become the fans'.

 

[Hayzer]

Honestly, people, the newer half of this series gets way more hate than it deserves. Adventures does, of course, but Assault... WAY more hate than it deserves. Assault was probably my favorite one, but then again, I do focus on the plot and cinematics more than most gamers, and that's something Assault did a pretty amazing job at. Most of the other games tend to be a little bit corny.

I didn't hate Command, either. I actually quite enjoyed it, more than most people (the controls take some getting used to, but they become pretty natural). Still, however, I would say that criticism for Command isn't totally misguided - not nearly as much as Assault, for sure.

If you think about it, it seems almost like when they made StarFox Command, they were expecting the series to die. First of all, it came out very quickly. The gap between Assault and Command was only one year, whereas the gap between any other two consecutive StarFox games is three years or more. They were a little hasty with it, but they perceived that this would be the last StarFox game, so they wanted to get it out there.

Second reason, the game has nine endings - alternate endings, too, not bonus endings like in the Metorid Prime trilogy, where it's implied to happen whether or not you see it. If you look closely at each ending, they each seem to pay respect to some part of the StarFox universe:

1. Assault's StarFox Team - Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Krystal. Amanda is agknowledged for the idea of love among team members.
2. 64's StarFox Team - Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy. Krystal is acknowledged the way she is for her later addition to the story.
3. The main ending, more likely something to resort to in case the series is continued.
4. The StarWolf Team.
5. Female characters, each one corresponding in some way to 64's StarFox team.
6. Andross and his legacy, through a new character.
7. Slippy, who often gets less recognition.
8. Falco, and the comic "Farewell, Beloved Falco."
9. Trade-off of cameos between StarFox and F-Zero.

It seems that Nintendo also wanted to have StarFox appear on their newer generation of consoles with innovative controls, just once, before they say farewell to the series.

(Dang it, I keep forgetting what I'm about to say.)

The F-Zero series had its last release in 2004. The inter-connection between StarFox and F-Zero possibly helped them to see StarFox disappearing soon.

I read on Wikipedia that the creators said in an interview that Command was intended to be the last game (checked the citation to be sure it's valid). They apparently said that if they make a new game, it will start in the middle of Command. They likely want to see this happen, but knew what the chances were.

I think that the ending of the series, for any series, essentially leaves the series to the fans. This idea is stronger in the EarthBound series, considering its huge and dedicated fan base. StarFox was a legendary series, though, so it didn't leave no fans behind. From what I can tell, the power of the fans in StarFox is expressed best in the fan games, which seem to be the mainstay of StarFox fandom at this point. I've heard of what seems to be a very good StarFox fan game, called Shadows of Lylat. I've also heard that one fan game focuses on the character Kursed from Command's fourth ending - so, the nine ending weren't really for naught.

Abandoning the series is probably a smart move on Nintendo's part. They recognize that they can't really hold it together any longer. Like many other great video game series, StarFox lived a respectable life and has become the fans'.

Bummer. I was hoping to see that Starfox Wii.

Anyway, as a fan, I don't want to see it die. I don't know, it felt kind of sudden. It was going good, so why not continue it? Q screwed the franchise to the end, imo. They shouldn't have made Command in the first place...

But I guess the main thing I'm concerned about is Krystal being in the next SSB.

 

[Evenstevenp]

I swear, I must be the only person on the planet who thinks Assault is a great game. I love the multiplayer so much.

 

[Zemen]

Imo, Adventures gets too much hate. It was the game that got me into the series in the first place. Yeah, 64 was awesome, but in all honesty, I liked Adventures more. Assault was like a dream come true because it combined 64 and Adventures (Not to mention gave Krystal a reasonable outfit). Command, however, screwed everything up. I don't want it to be canon. If anything, the first ending, "Fox and Krystal" should be canon because, well, one, it's labeled first, and two, it's the only ending where Team Starfox is together at the end.

I never liked the StarFox series, really. I'm not big on the whole dogfighting type games. Adventures was the only one of the games I liked because it had familiar characters but it was an adventure game, not a dogfight game. The graphics, from what I can recall, were great. The fighting was fun. The story was pretty decent. It was a good game.

As for a reboot, it could work. I think they should continue with adventure games though, not dogfight games. Or find a way to incorporate both.

 

[fredthehylian]

I think Nintendo has forgotten about SF, is considering whether or not to go back to the classic (might I add awesome) style of it, or is just canceling the series altogether. But there are plenty of other series they've stopped short on-- Yoshi, Kid Icarus (I don't follow that rumored sequel on the wii), Kirby, Fire Emblem, Ice Climber, etc. Most likely for every one of them (including SF) it's because no one wants them anymore. If you just put something out there that has a fanbase, it won't raise as much money if there aren't any other people who want the game. Sin and Punishment for example, has no fanbase, but since it is Japan only, Nintendo figured they could sell it to America today for 12 bucks. did it do well? Yes. Why? Because someone tried it out, and gave good reviews for it. Soon alot of people bought it and were very pleased. Did they want it? Not specifically, but they did want Japan-exclusive titles. My point is: Nintendo most likely thinks that not enough people like StarFox for there to be alot of money in another one. And after two horrible games on the GC, who could blame us?

 

[Zemen]

Yoshi, Kid Icarus (I don't follow that rumored sequel on the wii), Kirby, Fire Emblem, Ice Climber, etc.

What makes you think those games have been given up on?

Yoshi - had a fairly recent sequel to the original Yoshi's Island for the DS.

Kid Icarus - As far as I know is supposed to be getting a Wii title. I don't follow that game so you might be right about that one.

Kirby - Is definitely getting a Wii game. Go to gamespot.com and search for Kirby and there are screen shots and everything. Not to mention the fairly recent remake of Kirby Superstar (Kirby Superstar Ultra) for DS which was an amazing game.

Fir Emblem - Not only has a fairly recent DS release but also has a very well done Wii game.

Ice Climbers - Never had a story to begin with but has been followed through in the SSB series.

I don't see what makes you think any of the those games/characters has died except for possibly Kid Icarus...

Star Fox has been living on through the SSB series so they obviously have't forgotten his presence. My thoughts are that if we don't get a new SF game by the time the next SSB game comes out, and if Fox is in the next SSB game then they haven't totally ruled him out of a comeback.

 

[fredthehylian]

What makes you think those games have been given up on?

Yoshi - had a fairly recent sequel to the original Yoshi's Island for the DS.

Kid Icarus - As far as I know is supposed to be getting a Wii title. I don't follow that game so you might be right about that one.

Kirby - Is definitely getting a Wii game. Go to gamespot.com and search for Kirby and there are screen shots and everything. Not to mention the fairly recent remake of Kirby Superstar (Kirby Superstar Ultra) for DS which was an amazing game.

Fir Emblem - Not only has a fairly recent DS release but also has a very well done Wii game.

Ice Climbers - Never had a story to begin with but has been followed through in the SSB series.

I don't see what makes you think any of the those games/characters has died except for possibly Kid Icarus...

Star Fox has been living on through the SSB series so they obviously have't forgotten his presence. My thoughts are that if we don't get a new SF game by the time the next SSB game comes out, and if Fox is in the next SSB game then they haven't totally ruled him out of a comeback.

When I said Nintendo forgot about them, I think I meant they haven't done the series in so long. But it was pretty stupid of me to put Ice Climbers which isn't a series to begin with. Anyways the rest, they still haven't done in a few years. Also, just because someting is in SSB, doesn't mean they have been saved from dying. Ice Climbers and Mother have died, no? They're still somehow in SSB.

 

[Zemen]

Anyways the rest, they still haven't done in a few years..

The only series/game they haven't done in a few years that you put on that list is Kirby and Kirby has a Wii release in the making with screen shots that have already been released.

All of the other games listed have had a title released within the past year...

 

[Linky]

Yea I'm with you I think there should deffinetly be a new Star Fox game because it's been 4 years and using the wii motion controls should be great