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 On 09/21/2018 at 06:59 AM by The Last Ninja See More From This User » |
Ubisoft's next big game is very anticipated thanks to a certain fox
On October 16, Ubisoft is releasing Starlink: Battle for Atlas for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. We’ve known about this game for some time now. It’s a toys-to-life game in which you can switch out components on your ship in real life to change your weapons in the game. It’s an open world space combat game. Neat. That’s what people thought at the time. But that all changed when something special was revealed at E3 this year: Star Fox!
All the sudden, people are taking notice of this game. Fox and his team are exclusive to the Switch version, meaning this version will easily outsell the others. Wolf and his team have been confirmed to be in the game too. The dev team stated that you could play as Fox (in his arwing) for the whole campaign. Nostalgia is a big deal here, but it also helps that previews for the game have been quite positive. Starlink is shaping up to be the Star Fox game fans have been wanting, and make no mistake: this IS a Star Fox game!
Star Fox’s Troubled History
Star Fox is one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises, but it’s also one of the most troubled. The series has been hit and miss for its 25 years of existence. And yet it’s been unlike any other Nintendo franchise. The main factor for this franchise has been innovation. I’ll show you exactly what I mean.
Classic. Who doesn't feel nostalgia just seeing this?
Star Fox (1993, SNES) was the very first truly 3D game on a gaming console. The new FX chip allowed polygons to be displayed right on your TV! It was amazing, even if it looks extremely primitive today. The actual game was good too, led by British developer Argonaut Games. It was a huge hit, and helped Nintendo during those vicious years of the Console Wars. Unfortunately, the sequel, Star Fox 2, which was set to release in 1995, was canceled due to the fact that competitors were releasing their new 3D consoles. Nintendo was afraid that SF2 would look like a dinosaur next to these 32-bit 3D games. The game was recently released for the Super NES Classic. SF2 was ahead of its time, incorporating real-time strategy between levels.
Star Fox 64 (1997, N64) was another great innovative game. It was a rock-solid on-rails shooter, offering branching paths in levels as well as four-player multiplayer. But SF64 was important for another reason: it introduced the rumble pack, which allowed players to feel vibrations as if they were actually in the cockpit! Yes, it was gimmicky, but it was still a huge hit, and rumble features would go on to become standard in all game controllers. SF64 is hailed as the best game in the series, and even had a remake on the 3DS (2011).
Fox running down a narrow corridor. Just what fans wanted.
Unfortunately, the innovation of Star Fox came to an end during the Gamecube days. Star Fox Adventures (2002), developed by Rare, was more of a Zelda clone than a Star Fox game. This is because it was originally a different game entirely, but Shigeru Miyamoto told the company to change the game from Dinosaur Planet (which could have been a great game for the 64) to a Star Fox game. What fans got was a lackluster SF game that didn’t feel anything like its predecessors (I don’t think anyone was asking for a game where you run around as Fox with a spear). Star Fox Assault (2005) was better, but still lacked innovation. Developed by Namco, Assault had more flying, but also had on-foot levels (which no one likes). For many fans, Assault was a simple paint-by-numbers sequel, offering nothing new to the series.
Star Fox’s first handheld game was Star Fox Command (2006, DS), developed by Q-Games (the head of which was none other than Dylan Cuthbert from Argonaut Games). This is more of a turn-based strategy game, taking some cues from Star Fox 2 (which Cuthbert worked on). It’s a good game, but fans were clambering for a Star Fox game like SF64. When would we finally get a true sequel that lived up to this masterpiece?
The poor fans would have to wait. Nintendo put Star Fox on the back burner until the release of Star Fox Zero (2016, Wii U). This was the one. Nintendo promised that this would be the true follow-up to SF64, right down to the basic storyline. In fact, it was almost a reboot of 64. While it’s not a bad game, the controls hamper the experience. Nintendo wanted this to be another innovative SF game, but the use of the gamepad as a second screen makes the game tedious and at times, frustrating. Many fans were left urked. When would we get a true Star Fox sequel?
The Time is Now
Well, that day has come, and it has come in an unexpected way. Star Fox fans are excited because Starlink is actually a SF game! You can play the whole game as Fox, and even the rest of the crew is there—Star Wolf is in the game too! But what makes this so special is the fact that this is an open world space combat game. There has never been an open world SF game before. It’s always been a set of mostly linear levels, but this changes everything. If Starlink is successful on the Switch, Nintendo would be wise to let this dev make an actual Star Fox game. And why not? Other developers have had their turn with SF (Rare, Namco, Platinum), so why not Ubisoft?
My point is this: Star Fox is finally back where it needs to be. I’m confident that this will be a good game, and if it is, Nintendo could capitalize on it and the series could finally be in good hands. Here’s hoping to the success of Starlink on Switch. Guys, what are your thoughts? Are you planning on buying Starlink? Please share your thoughts below, and thanks for reading.
;)
I've never been a HUGE Star Fox fan, but I've played all the games. The first two were fun. I don't think Adventures was as bad as everyone says it is. I do think that Star Fox Zero is one of the worst games Nintendo has ever made, right on up there with Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
The Starlink game looks interesting. I've had a pretty good relationship with Ubisoft ever since my newspaper days, so I may try to get a review copy from them. It certainly looks better than Star Fox Zero.
Well I'm of the opinion that Adventures is the worst and Zero wasn't that bad. But that's just my opinon. I really love SF64 so I'm excited for Starlink, especially since it's so different from anything else in the Star Fox series.
I have nostalgia for the SNES game, but it does look pretty ancient now that I play it on my SNES Classic. Star Fox 64 blew kid me away with its graphics and there's still a particular ad for the rumble pack I distinctly remember but can't find of a kid's house falling apart as he plays Star Fox. Maybe I only imagined that and am remembering my imagination.
I certainly didn't hate Star Fox Adventures, in fact I thought that game was pretty good. No, it wasn't a traditional Star Fox game, but that doesn't make it bad. I might buy a copy next time I'm in Game X Change.
In fact, when I played Star Fox Assault, is was much closer to an actual Star Fox game, but didn't captivate me the way Adventures had. Granted, that was largely due to the difficulty and those on-foot levels you mentioned, even if I didn't think they were THAT bad. My older brother bought me a used copy for my birthday once, so maybe I should break that out.
I have no interest in RTS, so while I hope to play more of Star Fox 2, Command just doesn't interest me. I didn't have a Wii U to play Zero, so no real opinion there either, I've just heard the gimmicky controls are annoying, which is a turn-off.
I'm bummed I can't play as Fox as a PS4 owner, but I'll still give it a shot if it gets good reviews from fans and critics.
Ultimately, Star Fox 64 is one of my favorite games and will remain that way because of nostalgia from Christmas 1997, but maybe on-rails shooters just won't sell like they used to. Maybe open-world is the answer to that, even if I'm hoping space isn't an excuse to make an empty world.
Great write-up, man. I miss Star Fox. And F-Zero ...
I also love SF64. I think the series needs to evolve past on-rails levels, which is what is happening here with Starlink. It's unfortunate if you don't have a Switch, but I'm really hoping that this dev team will be able to make an actual SF game if Starlink sells well.
Eh, I dunno. Every time it "evolves past" on-rails, I end up disliking the sections that are not on-rails. Except in the case of Adventure, where the dog fights were meh and the adventuring was actually pretty good.
Great write up! I'm getting more and more excited for this game. I love Star Fox and I think this is shaping up extremely well. I plan on reaching out to Ubisoft to see if I can get a review copy for the site and provide a review.
Star Fox has always been a special series for me. I got the original game for my 8th birthday and I've stuck with the series through all of its ups and downs. While I didn't hate Zero like everyone else did, I would've preferred it to be without all the second screen stuff and just more straight forward and simple like the original games.
Thanks, Nick, that's high praise coming from you. I certainly hope you're able to get a review copy. I think a lot of Nintendo fans are excited for this game.
It's amazing how up and down this series has been, though the fans have stuck with it. I loved the original and N64 versions, and hope this is at least kinda like that.
I think Starlink will have elements from the SF series, but it's also very different, the biggest thing being that it's open world. I'm really hoping this helps the series to move in a new direction because it needs to.
I've just dabbled in the series. I've played Star Fox 64 and Adventures, neither of which really made me a big fan. I think this Starlink thing could be really cool. though. I like that toys-to-life is still barely alive.
Perhaps you could say that toys-to-life is on life support lol. But maybe Starlink will revive it all. We'll see.
Yea, this might be the last one. I mean, it could come back but has Rock Band/Guitar Hero come back with all their plastic instruments? Not really.
My favorite was Star Fox 64, and I also liked Assault. SF Adventures was my least favorite of the series (unlike a lot of other people, I never really thought Rare was all that and a bag of chips), and Zero didn't deserve the critical beating it got. It was by no means a groundbreaking game but it certainly wasn't bad.
I'm also not exactly fond of Ubisoft, but I may get the Switch version of this just for the Star Fox stuff. I wish we got more space combat games than we do. I used to play Star Raiders and Starmaster in the Atari days, and I played Rogue Squadron a bit on the N64 and Cube, but Star Fox has been my favorite space game other than Starflight, a space RPG that I wish somebody would do a follow up on.
I agree with you on Zero. Y'know, there aren't very many space ship combat games, like you said. Plenty of games that take place in space, but actual ship-based games, not much.
There is going to be a Starflight 3 https://www.fig.co/campaigns/starflight-3
Looks like there isn't since the game didn't reach its funding goal.
I was very intrigued by this game once I saw video for it. I'll wait for reviews, I think (I have so many games to play!), especially since it is technically a toys-to-life game and that does not interest me at all. But hey, if you can just play through it as just a Star Fox game, I'd be down for that.
Personally, I think Nintendo's penchant for trying new ideas with Star Fox has largely been a bad thing for the series. Assault would have been great without the on-foot sections. Zero would have been great without the second screen (well...and that dumb walking tank thing). I think that fans would be more accepting of offbeat sequels like Command if they had solid traditional Star Fox games to play as well (similar to how Hal handles Kirby).
The toys to life is optional. You can play the whole game with just a regular controller if you want, which is what I'll be doing (but I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't excited to have that beautiful arwing model!!!)
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