There were recent rumors that Star Fox Zero, which marks the return of one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, could be further delayed from its planned release in April. This is because Nintendo is still not happy with how the game is in its current form.
However, it seems that it is all systems go for the return of Fox McCloud, with the release of the game on the Nintendo Wii U pushing through on April 22.
The date was announced by famed Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto himself, who created the Star Fox franchise back in 1993. In an interview with Mashable, Miyamoto revealed a plethora of other information regarding the upcoming game, including the fact that it will be heavily inspired by Star Fox 64, which was released for the Nintendo 64 back in 1997 and has remained the franchise's most popular title.
One of the returning mechanics from Star Fox 64 is the branching pathways of the title, which offered gamers the choice of staying on an easier path or moving forward to a harder level after performing excellently in a certain level.
According to Miyamoto, the initial plan was to make Star Fox Zero more compact with a simpler structure compared to Star Fox 64. However, they found that fans of the Nintendo 64 version of the game want to relive the experience of playing Star Fox 64, and so changes were made to Star Fox Zero to accommodate this.
Miyamoto also said the Smart Bombs of Fox McCloud's ship, the Arwing, were supposed to be exclusive to gamers with the Fox McCloud amiibo figure because of the bombs making the game too easy. Nintendo eventually decided to include the weapon in the game.
One of the unique features of Star Fox Zero is the usage of the Wii U GamePad as a second screen. Gamers use the Pro Controller to fly the Arwing and the GamePad to aim and shoot, with the set-up allowing for co-op missions with one player focusing on flying through the level and the other player focusing on shooting.
Purchasing Star Fox Zero will also come with a separate game named Star Fox Guard, through which a map showing the locations of security cameras are shown on the GamePad and the monitors of the cameras are shown on the TV. Gamers will take control of the cameras and fire the weapons beneath them to stop robot invaders.
In an interview with Time, Miyamoto said Star Fox Zero is not a sequel nor a prequel for Star Fox 64, but rather a reimagining of the title.
"It really is going back to the roots, and that's where the 'Zero' comes from," Miyamoto explained.
Miyamoto also noted that Star Fox Zero has significant replay value, with gamers honing their skills and then coming back to previous levels to look for better ways to complete them. Nonetheless, the title has also been designed to welcome new players to the franchise.
The broader goal of Star Fox Zero, and its two-screen control scheme, is to build up interest in dogfighting games, according to Miyamoto.
"I do think that we can take this control style and still find ways to apply it to, for example, a single screen experience by switching back and forth between different view styles," Miyamoto said.
