SFOCast Community Roundtable #1

I love these, reminds me of when I first found this place.

8:32 Rob: STAR FOX ASSAULT IS SO EDGY, IT MAKES GTA 5 LOOK LIKE BARNEY

 

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In all seriousness though, if this new game ends up being co-developed by Namco (Which I personally hope doesn't happen, but probably will.), have a dev team handle it that actually knows what the fuck they're doing. Don't let it end up like Assault did.

 

The best case scenario possible is that Nintendo changes their minds and ends up developing it themselves without the help of another company, but that's wishful thinking.

If I may offer my opinions for this new Star Fox game. 

 

YES! Finally! THE GODS HAVE SPOKEN AND STAR FOX LIIIIIIVES!!!

 

Now that's out of the way, I'm just going to lay out what I'm excited for, what I'm skeptical about, and what I would like to see.

 

EXCITED FOR:

• I'm very optimistic about this new game. After first receiving Mario Kart 8 and trying out the gyro controls for the first time, I'm excited to see how the mechanics will work when the vehicle in question is a space ship.
• The transformation announcement is also exciting news because that's Nintendo recycling their earlier work from Star Fox 2: The greatest game never released. If they're digging that far back into their resources, I wonder if we'll be seeing some characters from SF2 like Miyau (?) and the other feline pilots.
• What really has me excited about this new game coming out on the wii u is the possibility for an almost RPG style Star Fox. Such as the ability to customize, upgrade, and heck, even go out and explore / find all these worlds from past games and hopefully some fresh new worlds to dig into and fly about. Rail shooters are really fun, and that's one of the reasons I loved Star Fox in the first place, but I'd be super excited to see some more possibilities for some exploration in the vastness of the Lylat System (and maybe what lies beyond).
• This whole "episodic" reveal is interesting too. Tying in from what I previously stated, this gives a chance for Nintendo to hash out characters, backstories, depth of worlds, complexity / length of missions (such as mixing flying with ground work or co-op with other outside characters like maybe Bill or Katt?). Essentially - there will be no rushing with game development (ideally speaking of course). I feel that the plot in general will become something to be invested in more than anything we've seen to this day. Hopefully, it won't become as convoluted as Command's, but something that has that balance of linear gameplay and sandboxy side-questing that gives depth and a sense of understanding of the world in Lylat.
  
   

SKEPTICAL THINKING:

• I'm really, REALLY hoping whomever helps develop this game DOES. NOT. RUSH. ANYTHING. PLEASE. We've all been waiting for that "breakthrough" Star Fox game for a really long time now, and It'd be a shame to see it flop on Nintendo's newest system. The last system to receive an original SF game was DS. The last console it was on - THe GameCube. 
• Also, if I may - I reallly hope this game doesn't focus solely on the aerial segments of the game. Yeah, Star Fox IS a flying shooter / adventure game... but all airplanes have to land eventually, and there IS going to be a transforming Arwing Tank. I honestly want more ground segments in a Star Fox game. Ground missions can be really awesome in Star Fox only if they are handled right and are focused on in development, because if they aren't then you'll have what we got in Assault. It wasn't god awful, but it wasn't pleasant by any means. Kind of what you guys were talking about - Maybe your Arwing / Wolfen is shot down and you have to find a way off a hostile planet, or maybe you can't fly in this certain area because of forcefields or wonky enviornment hazzards, Something that'll make it necessary to go on ground, and I truly believe ground work CAN be successful and REALLY fun if it is handled and developed properly. I can see some awesome things happen if you are able to fight on the ground kind of how Fox and the rest handle in Smash. Brawling mixed with Gun upgrades. YES!
• Also another thing I'm skeptical about: The end. I want an ending that doesn't seem... cliche? stereotypical Star Fox (shoot hands, face, boom. Andross dead yaaay)? We've all seen and played that ending before. I just want something a little more than that, or at least have me invested in the story a little more to overlook that kind of blast the shite out of the final boss.

 

WHAT I WANT TO SEE:

• I want to be able to play as Star Wolf and go play missions and see what it's like to be on their team for once. 
• Sandboxy levels, RPG elements such as Upgrades to outfits, weapons, Arwings/Wolfens, etc. Give more customization to the players. That seems to be the BIG focus from Nintendo right now: Appealing to the fans and to people who don't want to play FPS clones of CoD. 
• Give us a story line that makes some friggin' sense. Yeah, there's been wonkyness in Assault and Adventures, but I swear to everything that is holy, DO NOT PULL A COMMAND AGAIN NINTENDO. Don't do it. If Nintendo is wanting to a less linear style of gameplay, there HAS to be some moderation between the two. Don't just write off all these endings as non-cannon. That's just being plain lazy, and uncreative. Nintendo can do soooo much better with that, and they can do so with Star Fox! It just takes effort!!!! 
• With the new feature of being able to fly one direction and shoot another, I am expecting to see this game to have a much higher difficulty bar than previous games, which is exciting and it opens up a TON of possibilities for level design, mechanics, and some serious devotion from the pilots (aka: the players). I'm expecting to be in some nasty dogfights that'll test my skills to the max with hand-eye coordination. Bring back the Nintendo Hard modes!
• I'm really hoping to see some intriguing and quirky plot and mission development since they're planning on doing things "episodically". Give us a little more background on all of these characters. Maybe not ALL of it, but at least give the players enough information to be satisfied and then be able to ask more questions or perhaps come to their own conclusions as to how Star Fox came this far, and how they'll defeat whatever task is in front of them this time.
• Another thing I'd like to see is online play or at the very least, Co-op / 4 player story mode. AAAAAAH. That'd be so awesome. You and 4 other friends become Star Fox or Star Wolf. AAAAAAAAAH that's just so friggin' exciting to me I just can't stop geeking out about it. OR what'd be cooler is if you could play as the original Star Fox crew, or eventually, pull a Fire Emblem Awakening and create your own Star Fox crew at one point in time or something. That'd all be really fun and interesting to see if that'd be at all possible.
• Online play would most likely have an Auto-Balance mechanic in play just in case people bail on you in mid battle (cuz they will).

 

Overall, I'm excited, I really hope this one will be innovative with the story, mechanics, and multi-player capabilities. There's a ton of ground Star Fox can explore, such as a story that didn't revolve around Andross or [insert villian here] taking over Lylat. Myiamoto has stated time and again he's trying to evolve every series into new directions, trying something new while all the while staying true to the fans. I believe this new Star Fox game can and WILL be awesome, and I'm TOTALLY stoked for it!

 

This is coming from the person who's first Star Fox game was Assault (and I love that game to pieces). So, I guess my hype is well earned? Or it's completely delusional. Your pick!

 

Anyways, I think that's all I really wanted to say. It's pretty general and maybe I over think things too much, but whatever. It's been said.

 

I enjoyed the podcast and I'd love to chime in one day as well!

 

Cheers,

 

The Arwing Pilot