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Frogger on 17 February 2015
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mZuzek said:

I disagree.

Well first of all, most people who played and loved Star Fox 64 back in the day have just forgotten about it and aren't Star Fox fans at all. They probably don't even know there's a new one coming out. Based on what I see from the actual fanbase, I've actually seen way more love go to the GameCube games instead of 64, which is just sad. But still, I think a lot of people don't want just Star Fox 64 in HD - even the ones who do like the core concept and gameplay of Star Fox 64 want way more than that for the new game.

If the score based game concept was so antiquated mobile games wouldn't sell as much as they do. I mean sure, it's a completely different situation, but it's still there to show it works. Star Fox Adventures sold half as much as 64 because it was nothing like Star Fox at all, not featuring any of the score based gameplay, barely any space shooting missions, and even lacking a major character until well into the game, plus being a borefest. Assault sold half as much because it came late into an unpopular console's lifecycle (an unpopularity I believe was forged by titles like The Wind Waker, Star Fox Adventures, Super Mario Sunshine and some others), and it was also an average game at best, and the whole arcade feel of it was completely lost. I never felt any incentive to beat my high scores in that game, ever - because it was too slow and unengaging in the Arwing missions and just... bad on the ground ones. And Star Fox Command sold half as much because it was crap.

But seriously, I don't think the whole score based concept is antiquated at all, but to be honest I don't think it was ever the reason Star Fox 64 was as big of a hit as it was. It's just a really popular IP. People love it for what it is. It's only natural that when Nintendo screwed it up over and over with the newer games it was going to sell less.


I should elaborate a little bit, because I don't feel I was clear. When I said that score based games were antiquated, I didn't mean as a game concept; I meant as a $60 premium product. People aren't willing to pay $60 today for a score based game that can basically be finished in a few hours or less. It's a miracle that SF643D actually sold 860K. But that's on a 50m installed base console. 

There's definitely more love for Star Fox 64, though, at least on the internet. And I love that game too. And if Nintendo wants to keep Star Fox games like that, and have it be a relevant franchise today, they need to be modest in pricing it, because a game like that just isn't worth $60 anymore. That doesn't mean it's bad, but unless they make the game like 10 times longer to complete, people are going to stop buying it as soon as they here how short it is. It's not a powerful enough name anymore to continue that momentum because "it's a Star Fox game."

But what they should be doing is building off the Assault model. No matter your opinion on that game, any gripes fall more on the fact that nothing was executed as well as it could have been. Everything would have been done better. The formula for that game wasn't the problem. The execution was. That's why I think that Platinum would be an excellent team to work on Star Fox. Improve the flying missions, and revamp the on foot missions with Vanquish/Bayonetta-like gameplay. That is a $60 Star Fox game.