Opinion: What 'Star Fox' needs to survive
I may be the only one in the world to say this, but I hope the next Star Fox – assuming there is one – has less flying.
Let me explain.
Reason 1: Star Fox evolved
The flying shooter is a dead genre, especially on consoles. During the GameCube/PS2/Xbox generation, the GameCube was the only console with such games; two StarFox games, and two Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games.
Of these four games, calling StarFox Adventures a flying shooter is really stretching it; an action-adventure game with a tacked on mini-game inspired by flying shooters would be more accurate. Two of the others (StarFox: Assault and the third Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike game) featured on-foot levels.
The Star Fox series has notoriously bounced from one video game studio to another; Rogue Squadron studio Factor 5 was bounced from Nintendo to Microsoft to Sony in rapid succession.
None of those games were sold as part of the flying shooter genre to begin with; Star Fox games are mostly bought by Nintendo fans – and, to a lesser extent, furries – while the Rogue Squadron games were sold to Star Wars fans. There wasn't really a flying shooter consumer base then, and there certainly isn't one now.
What did in the genre was the release of mega-hit Halo: Combat Evolved. The series featured first person shooting, but also allowed players to control all manner of tanks, jeeps and other vehicles. Plus, as the series progressed, flying machines. The Halo series has influenced console shooters more than any other series from the last decade, and successfully subsumed the flying shooter into the shooter as a whole.
Nintendo has no first-party or even second-party exclusive Halo-esque shooter series, period. This is like going into battle without a weapon. Nintendo needs a weapon. The Metroid series has been touted as Nintendo’s Halo, but don't let the body-armored, helmeted main character, use of first person perspective, or even the shooting fool you. Metroid is about exploration first, combat second.
The closest Nintendo has to a series that could easily shift to Halo mode is Star Fox. Admittedly, Star Fox: Assault – an early, aborted attempt at Star Fox-does-Halo – wasn’t inspiring. Still, the problem was not so much that its foot levels were on foot, but that they weren't very good.
Reason 2: Foxes are meant to be seen, not just heard
My second reason is definitely the furrier one: The Star Fox characters are visually distinctive. It is counter-intuitive to stick them in a cockpit where you cannot see them.
Of course, it would also be counter-intuitive to use the first-person perspective, for the same reason. Obviously, on-foot levels should remain in the third-person. Halo is the inspiration – not the end all, be all.
This is where the Star Fox series would be able to differentiate itself from other shooter series. The Star Fox video game genre might be shooter, but its story genre is a funny animal parody of space opera.
This parodic bent, plus the series’ trademark campiness, is where it can stand out. Shooters are often – somewhat by necessity – dark and somber. A lighter, funnier shooter might be the next big thing. At the least, a group of furries would be a breath of fresh air after all those beefy, hyper-masculine space marines.
Conclusion
Reinvention of Star Fox as a Nintendo version of Halo would be the best thing for the series — granted that the gameplay is adequate, Nintendo doesn’t balk at the concept and allows it to have modern online multiplayer, and the writers don’t create the next Shadow the Hedgehog.
This may seem like a call for Star Fox to become just another follower rather than a leader of innovation, or even a bit "anti-Nintendo", but I don't see that the series can do anything else. It’s what Nintendo needs to do if they intend to go after the “hardcore” gamer again.
About the author
crossaffliction (Brendan Kachel) — read stories — contact (login required)a reporter and Red Fox from Hooker, Oklahoma, interested in movies, horror, stand up comedy
Formerly Wichita's only furry comic.
Comments
Ew. First person-view games make me sick. If they did that, I'd be returning the game in short order...
I happened to like StarFox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet and StarFox Assault a great deal, because they weren't as focused on the Arwing...
I have my own little StarFox wishlists on my personal blog (The Realm of the FoxCoon): State of Lylat: A System-Wide Address and StarFox Wii — The Wishlist, and this article seems to closely echo much of what I said last year.
I'm with you in that Fox needs to be on foot, in a LandMaster, and in the BlueMarine, but he should also have some flying levels, as they are what StarFox is all about.
I'm not sure if Nintendo ever wants to go after the hardcore gamers again, after seeing what type of fortunes they pulled in with the Wii and its casual-gamer crowd. I hope this isn't the case, but it seems an awful lot like VGCats hit the nail on the head. It doesn't help that StarFox's co-creator (Dylan Cuthbert of Argonaut Games and Q-Games) no longer wants anything to do with the series, or Nintendo, and that the series is constantly being shuffled from one developer to another (StarFox - Argonaut Games, StarFox 64 - Rare, StarFox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet - Rare, StarFox: Assault - Namco (really, Nintendo? That's the best you could do???), StarFox: Command - Q-Games... Since Rare was bought by Microsoft to become a second-party developer (similar to how Sonic Team is a second-party developer to Sega), they have not made anything for non-microsoft consoles. The franchise needs a developer that can do it justice. Argonaut Games/Q-Games are no longer interested in working on the series they co-founded with Nintendo, and Namco tried its best, but didn't quite know what it was doing.... I think Nintendo should just develop it in-house, like it does with its other franchises... (Mario, Zelda, WarioWare... Super Smash Bros....) give the series that CREATED 3D GAMING the appropriate love and respect it needs!
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
I've heard this said a by people around the furry fandom, but can't remember ever hearing that said by gamers I know outside of the fandom. But I do remember quite a few saying the exact opposite, that they were upset by the shift away from what they liked about the series.
Outside of furries, quite a few people liked the Star Fox games for their gameplay and a little bit for their styling (which includes the use of animals, although not necessarily that as the central part). Although I could be wrong, but I would guess such a group well outnumbers furries who like the game because of the characters. This means further attempts to move the game away from flying (or possibly even the rail/restricted flying) genre would alienate a majority of the fanbase. This would then kind of raise the bar for quality that is needed to be noticed and stand on its own. In the end, that means it would be risky and easy to screw up, at the least commercially, and potentially sink the series.
If you want a furry version of Halo, maybe it would be better to start a new franchise instead of going with one that has already got jaded fans for deviating too far.
IAWTC
I really think the big draw with Star Fox is neither the furries nor the flying; it's the fact that it's a Nintendo game. Nintendo fans will buy it because this is a title that at one point had Shigeru Miyamoto's name connected with it. For some people, that still means something.
That being said, the Nintendo faithful are not enough to keep Nintendo afloat; that was pretty much the case with the GameCube. Besides, Star Fox is not The Legend of Zelda, even to Nintendo fans. It is still a second tier game in the Nintendo pantheon. In other words, if there was a series that could be "re-invented," Star Fox is safer. And Star Fox is already halfway there, anyway.
I don't think the game should ever completely dump the flying; it's just that flying alone isn't going to cut it.
I also loved the crap out of Adventures (seriously, I had to stop myself from writing 2000 words on it right now); Assault was playable if not exceptional, gameplay-wise, and the story elements were incredibly hit or miss.
I think Nintendo basically stayed alive aiming the Wii at the "casual" market; unfortunately (for them, anyway), the casual market is now playing Angry Birds on their cell phones, with no interest in buying a console. They are once again in a position where it's hardcore or nothing.
Personally, I hope they give the series to Retro Studios, who revitalized the moribund Metroid series and saved it from more or less oblivion, and pretty much are doing the same for Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Country Returns.
I share RingtailedFox sentiment about the hot potato like treatment of star fox. But I seen how well Retro Studios and High voltage games have done to other Nintendo games.
it just needs Krystal.
ans more dogfight/airstrikes a la starfox 1.0 eventually.
I kinda agree with OP, but also have this to add:
Star Fox needs to take itself more seriously. No, not GRIMDARK, I am writing(as in "typing") about better dialog. There must be no corniness in the cutscenes, otherwise they will look childish.
One of the major reasons (other than not owning consoles other than the PlayStation ones) why I don't really want to play StarFox games is that I do not consider the writing or dialogue "mature" enough for me.
Yep, I prefer Sly Cooper :)
You do not consider the writing "mature?"
I consider the dialogue in Star Fox Adventures the best I have seen in any game period; it is a veritable masterpiece of camp. From General Pepper completely ignoring Fox's question about the blaster, to the Saturday morning cartoon joke ending, involving vixens in loincloths, no less! And Krystal herself is such a wonderful camp creation; how can anyone (but furries, of course) take that character design seriously? And yet the game does, somehow. How anyone can watch the "She's beautiful" cutscene and not just fall in love with how absolutely absurd the whole thing is.
In the popular Newgrounds flash $00pah NiN10Doh!(http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/476976), the first Star Fox moment to be pulled out for parody was that scene, which says a lot about its power as a scene of pure storytelling. Not either the classics Star Fox or Star Fox 64, but that scene from the Legend of Zelda ripoff, at least five years old at the time the flash came out (long enough it should've been forgotten, but not long enough to be "nostalgia"), was chosen. Some random flash animator picked that scene to parody because he knew it stuck in people's minds. It sticks in your mind because it is really that good.
Hey, aside from Snake, ALL those characters are from Nintendo!
I believe this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaYGzGqKJu0
is needed to restore balance the Force.
I found it odd that Star Fox asked about the blaster blaster usage, he says "no" and then he goes and tells you to find a weapon...
You meant Fox McCloud?
Probably
Sly's another of my favourite series...(*grumbles about his PS3 needing replacing...:P*) Ninty could learn a thing or two from Sucker Punch Productions... and since Sly 4 was announced for the PS3, it might rekindle interest in "furry" video games, possibly giving them the inspiration, desire, and need for a new Star Fox game... I'm not saying it's a certainty (we'd need to see how Sly 4's sales go after a year or so at least), but... it's possible. However, I'd like to see Nintendo make a new Star Fox game because they WANT to, not because they NEED to. Fans demanding it could work as well.
Now, the only problem with this is, if it's a reactionary game (one that was announced or made because of a competitor's decisions or actions), then quality could suffer. Shigeru Miyamoto is known for quoting "A rushed game is rushed for ever, but a delayed game is only delayed until it's completed." Is it redundant? yes, but it's completely true. I know Nintendo won't pull a SEGA (just keeping the franchise alive to maintain copyright like with Sonic the Hedgehog, despite having crappy game after crappy game, though the last few (Unleashed, Colours, and Generations) have *finally* gotten the formula right...). If it's the choice of having either crappy Star Fox games or NO Star Fox games, then I'd make one simple request: Big N (Nintendo), end the series, lest you make crappy games, so please let Fox and friends go out on a high note, a blaze of glory with guns firing! Often, the best send-offs are the sacrificial ones (giving one's life to save the star system... it would at least make for a fantastic, if not emotional, story).
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
Also, also, any game must bring back the Corneria theme from the original Star Fox.
That song was freaking metal on the SNES.
Nice Interstate 76 reference there...
I haven't played Halo, so I wouldn't know if that is what's best for the Star Fox series. Though even as such, I think if Star Fox were to take inspiration from any series on where to go with the gameplay, I think something along the lines of a Mass Effect would be much more toward the style. Of course you wouldn't have as many on foot missions, however what I'm talking about here is mainly interaction with your squad. We already have personalities, how about the varience emphasis with the choices you make (as they did in the earlier games but these actions were more what you did with your arwing then with your squad) and extend that toward the story.
Will Fox propose to Krystal? Or will she go off and leave the team? Well, if you give the player the choice how to treat their crew, that could all be up to you.
Do you tell Slippy right to his face that he's useless in combat? Or do you humor him because you need someone to repair your planes?
Do you ally yourself with Star Wolf against a common enemy, or do you still bear a grudge against them for their prior actions?
Of course the simplest implementation of this was done in Star Fox command for the DS. But if you take that idea and run with it, make it so that the little things add up to something large. You'll truely have an interactive experience along with a flight combat simulator.
If nothing else, some of the Renegade interrupts would be hilarious.
"Will Fox propose to Krystal? Or will she go off and leave the team? Well, if you give the player the choice how to treat their crew, that could all be up to you.
Do you tell Slippy right to his face that he's useless in combat? Or do you humor him because you need someone to repair your planes?
Do you ally yourself with Star Wolf against a common enemy, or do you still bear a grudge against them for their prior actions?"
That sums up StarFox: Command and StarFox Assault (respectively), quite well.
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
Well yeah, the story examples were kind of based upon things that were done already, though certainly Assault wasn't close to what I was thinking, it's more linear then the SNES version (which is saying something). Command, while it does have branches in between missions, I've been thinking over this kind of thing what made the SNES and 64 versions so good?
I don't think it was the "OMG polygons" or "OMG rumble" even today they're both still good games. I think it was the dynamic pathing (SNES having 3, 64 which had mission objective based branches) made the game dynamic enough so that while 'on rails' it felt fresh and replayable each time.
We'll see how they re-hash the 64 one and if it's any good. It is almost scary, I have to say though, to see Nintendo cashing in on their old titles with their new systems, I mean, can't they come up with new games to push their for their new technologies? Their behavior today seems very Sega-ish, and not in a good way.
I don't think there was a day during the GameCube's lifecycle when Nintendo didn't look doomed. They managed to pull off a minor miracle with the Wii and stay alive, but casual gamers aren't going to buy a console when they have Ipads and cell phones and whatnot which are pretty decent gaming systems for the casual player in their own rights.
I'm okay with the way the Wii went; people constantly complain about the lack of blockbusters on the Wii, with 90% of its product "shovelware." These people seem to have forgotten that it really isn't much different from the GameCube, as far as the "hardcore" crowd is concerned.
Basically, my take on Nintendo is buy the Legend of Zelda and the Super Smash Bros., then hope they stay in business long enough to put out the next console. That's me as the hardest hardcore Nintendo fanboy talking; I literally have enough faith that Nintendo won't royally screw up those two series that I'm willing to buy a console I know I'm not going to get much else out of. As far as I'm concerned, Nintendo can put Mario and Pikachu and whoever's face on everything they can get their hands on. I probably won't buy it, but apparently everyone else will, so Nintendo will stay around another cycle.
I also have a lot of faith in Nintendo to stay in business; pulling asses out of fires is what Nintendo does best. The GameCube was a disaster of summer blockbuster movie directed by Roland Emmerich proportions, and they didn't die! Nintendo entered the console market with the NES, which pulled the entire concept of console gaming's ass out of the fire. Watching last minute, one-in-a-million-shot, "I'm not dead yet" moments from Nintendo is half the fun of being a fan of the company. Republic serial heroes could take notes.
Well, I don't know if that really had anything to do with Sonious's post, but whatever. It just kind of flowed out, so, yeah.
As far as the Mass Effect idea is concerned, well, I'd hate it. I hate non-fixed endings. They make me gassy. Back in grade school, I read those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books straight through. I do not know why either. That being said, I bet that would be a popular way to reinvent the franchise, and it also has roots in the non-linear games in the franchise's history. So, I think it would work. I'd hate it, but I'd still buy it.
"I'm okay with the way the Wii went; people constantly complain about the lack of blockbusters on the Wii, with 90% of its product "shovelware." These people seem to have forgotten that it really isn't much different from the GameCube, as far as the "hardcore" crowd is concerned."
Or the Nintendo, there are TONS of crap games for the original NES, I mean have they even watched the Angry Nintendo Nerd? How can they make the assertion that Nintendo has crap games only today? And back then, Nintendo games cost 50 dollars as well... that 1980's 50 dollars, which today would be around 75? I don't know, not an economist, but certainly more then today's.
You can have a fixed ending and be non-linear. Alot of games have done it. Deus-Ex (had three endings, but none of the previous choices had an impact on it it was just based on your 'final' choice), and the first two Star Foxs. Surely one should have an ultimate goal, the choices should could just change the adventure in the middle.
nah it would ruin the plot. gamers doesn't want to know anything or drama about their characters. they want action.
everytime a protagonist in any series gets with a significant other, it locks the story in a way. keeping krystal like a jamesbond girl (or fox mccloud girl in this case) would be a wiser choice.
>mfw shipping
http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/original/000/135/887/contempt%2...
Right, and she could be just a James Bond girl if you wanted, obviously in a 'kid friendly' sense, that's my point. Personally, I was very intrigued with the route they went with her in Command, which I won't spoil. But it was definitely a U-Turn from when they were together in the last game.
Apparently, it's easier and cheaper to just port games over and over again, instead of making new ones... it reeks of laziness. How many mario games or rehashes of zelda and kirby are we going to see? why are F-Zero and Star Fox neglected in comparison?
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
Better yet, when will modern games stop being 1st person shooters?
When they stop selling.
But that will only happen when gamers "grow up" and get wiser.
Because nothing says "grown up" like talking foxes.
"Grow up" or "get wiser" = to realize there is more to games than FPS.
I'm a little late to this post so this may have already been stated.
First off, Star Fox Adventures is a fluke because it was never originally meant to be a Star Fox game. It began as a game called Dinosaur Planet which had nothing to do with the Star Fox universe, sorta like how Yume K?j?: Doki Doki Panikku became part of the Super Mario Brothers universe (which with SFA - the original was completely unrelated to the final product); these games were converted, at least in part, in the hopes of capturing some of the other fanbase and bringing them over rather than on the game's merits alone.
So I think although SFA is canon... it's often considered best forgotten by gamers and probably the developers as well (outside of using Krystal to fill the role Fara Phoenix had in the comics and... any of the games?).
Here's what I would like to see in the Star Fox series.
1. New Villains. I'm tired of seeing Andross either as the main villain or thrown in at the last minute as the big bad or whatever else. This also goes for Wolf and his brood - either give them more than their typical appearance or take them out. They need an injection of new evil blood.
2. An evolving storyline that has consequences. What I mean by this is... stop the groundhog's day story. Goes hand in hand with no more Andross. Much as I love the Zelda franchise it falls into this same cliched trap. 'Borrow' a plot idea from some other well loved series, how about some advance alien species attack (Borg from STNG?), have the Star Fox crew framed for murder and have to work outside the law, kill off a major character... something! And keep it all canon, if one game a character dies then have it mentioned or the consequences continue to reverberate in following games.
3. Take it up a notch in seriousness. I wouldn't say that it's especially lacking but also I think many 'funny animal' games tend to be marketed towards kids - I think the game series could be a tad tougher in storyline and characters (though I would stress - we do not need a repeat of Loonatics with EXTREEEEEME!).
4. I think flying should be the primary feature of the games. We have a ton of games that fall under platformers or first person shooters, even if you're looking to fill that 'furry' fix. Star Fox fills in an important niche with its flight simulation and shooting aspects - at its heart it is that before story. I think platforming could be incorporated but it should always play a minor role compared to the flight battles. Some changes could be made to keep the game from being a straight road for levels with that invisible wall keeping you pretty much within a narrow path but that would be the major major change I'd see for the flying.
Plenty of other ideas too I think could help enrich this series, I might have to scan my notes for some SF fanfic I wished to write back in the day :P but I think the above alone is worth considering. My biggest problem with the SF series is similar to the Sonic series - too often they feel like they're phoning it in, there's no real 'zeal' in playing the game series anymore. Where's the draw? These days you can't get customers by age old comfortable feeling of what to expect in a game, surprise us a bit - it'll pay off more often than not.
"2. An evolving storyline that has consequences. What I mean by this is... stop the groundhog's day story. Goes hand in hand with no more Andross. Much as I love the Zelda franchise it falls into this same cliched trap. 'Borrow' a plot idea from some other well loved series, how about some advance alien species attack (Borg from STNG?)"
Assault did this already, almost quite literally, the Aparoids were pretty much an inspired Borg cliche.
And Sonic and SF seem to not be the only ones plagued by this (Spyro, Banjo and Kazooie), in fact I fail to think of a single "furry" video game series that hasn't had this happen to it. It's almost a curse.
Ah, never got around to playing Assault. Honestly, I'd been quite bored with the SF series before that came out.
Conker's Bad Fur Day?
In all honesty... gaming companies need to grow up, alongside their customers... sure, we were kids when Star Fox came out, and therefore.. the game was fairly "kiddie" in target.. but a lot (okay, nearly ALL) of the fans now are in their 20s or early 30s, and want to see more than just run-of-the-mill banter suitable for the 9-14 demographic.
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
I don't know if "Grow up" is the right term. When I think of the young, I think of dreams, inspirations, and thinking between the lines. When I think old I think, "What works" "standards" and "tradition". I think if anything, games need more new ways of thinking. Not older 'what works' kind of things.
I think Nintendo's biggest flaw is embracing the old ways of being all in the room and playing video games. Trying to make video games a social activity when lets face it, "Social" today doesn't mean being in the same room.
heh, well even looking at Conker - you somehow had Rare produce that gem for N64. Fast forward a little bit and X-Box comes out with a watered down port of the game. So the company (granted it was Rare not Nintendo) that is known for family friendly fare comes out more hardcore than the one known mainly for its gen-x'er target audience.
It's about money in the end. And like movies, game companies tend to go for safe tried and true bets. If the same story will sell over and over again, they'll keep producing the same story over and over again. Then if they wobble and produce a new story (whether good or bad) and it sells bad... chances are they'll be extremely shy from trying that again anytime soon if the safe bet is still a safe bet as an alternative.
The very reason why Sony owns Nintendo.
In b4 one-star rating.
your comments are just trollish. nintendo's pushing *far* more systems than sony is right now. Comparing sales reports, the Wii utterly ass-raped the PS3.
The truth hurts, I know.
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
More games for teenagers and young adults, not "more consoles".
Also, I "in b4'd", didn't I? ;)
the whole "inb4" fad is a retarded 4chan meme, and doesn't even deserve recognition as such (which is why i ignored it, and recommend everyone else do the same).
"more games for teenages and young adults, not more consoles"... that actually makes a great deal of sense. I agree with it. Most games these days are just unappealing and repetitive knockoffs of each other (especially first-person shooters)... it's like most games since 2004 cater only to immature male power fantasies (racing, shooting, fighting)...
sales are down with some consoles in recent weeks because the economy imploded and people don't have work, therefore, no money to spare for games and consoles.
The reason the 3DS is not selling is because 3D is just a periodic fad that comes and goes (it last appeared in the mid-1980s), and it has entirely-new cartridge formats for its games... sure the 3DS shop *sounds* promising, but... there's few apps for it, and fewer gamegear and gameboy games listed... if it had been on par with the Wii's Virtual Console at launch, it would have done much better. Since the 3DS games are not backwards-compatible, it means people have to buy *yet another* version of the DS. I think the 3DS was launched far too soon, and too close after the DSi. I mean, how many competing consoles does nintendo want? they're starting to cannibalize each other in terms of sales... you have DS vs. DSi vs. 3DS... this does not make for a good economic strategy. It's why you rarely see television networks having more than one affiliate in a certain city: they'd just compete with each other for the same audience and ratings, fragmenting the viewer/userbase, and lowering profits and sales for both.
I'm not sure if the 3DS price drop of 32% will do much to push consoles (though i'll agree: it was overpriced to begin with, and launching an expensive console during an economic depression while expecting high sales is just.... unrealistic at best), and I agree with Sonius: Nintendo should NOT be gauging the success of a game (StarFox 64: 3D) on a lackluster console to determine if the series is worth continuing. This just skews the numbers unfairly, and doesn't return a real and accurate figure of support (be it in favour or against).
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
As long as it is not against the rules, I will use any meme from any website I like, be it 4chan, 5chan, 5 chan or >9,000chan. And you should stop getting MAD.
Also, Uncharted 1,2&3, inFamous 1&2, Metal Gear Solid 4, LA Noire, Red Dead Redemption... for young adults and... just... adults.
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, Sly 4, Lego Star Wars 3, Little Big Planet 1&2... for all ages.
ALL on PS3.
uh, no one's getting mad, here. i just find it hard to take trollish fanboys seriously. why obsess about the PS3 in a nintendo thread? no one mentioned it and no one cares about it here. i find it hard to take unregistered users seriously, since they only give drive-by arguments with no intention of sticking around.
~ The Legendary RingtailedFox
I always like to focus on the individual games rather then overall console companies. It's like criticizing the stage and ignoring the play occurring on it.
You forgot the fact that the CEO's of a company make the contracts with the developers. It just so happens that Sony has some of the best ones making games for PlayStation.
Also, did Nintendo ever make a commercial like this??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNennZ-FFoI
It's a bit weird how gamers appear to assume the only people really playing games are whoever their current peers are.
Adult Nintendo fans don't seem to get that there's always a new generation of kids. Nintendo still makes games accessible to all ages due to that. It's the reason there is no gritty Mortal Kombat version of Smash Bros where Mario rips heads off.
It is true that there are adult fans to contend with, but there has to be balance.
As for Starfox, the problem with the franchise is related to Nintendo's own internal development troubles which are complex and an entire suite of articles in and off themselves. But to ruthlessly pare it down: Nintendo is extremely conservative about which projects to focus a large budget on, in order to avoid flops. They're the most paranoid company because they have a reputation among their shareholders for always being profitable. Trapped by their own success, they can't experiment. Gamers may think the Wii was a grand experiment, but it was a tough sell to a very skittish Nintendo shareholders board. Satoru Iwata talked some serious shit about the state of the entire game industry to convince these people that they had no choice but to go off in a totally new direction.
Starfox is one of many franchise casualties. Starfox is a classic game to hardcore fans, but it was never a triple A seller. Nintendo keeps re-purposing existing games (dinosaur planet) or outsourcing games (starfox assault) or making low budget spin-offs (starfox command).
You can all but bet that the refresh (it's not a straight port) of Starfox 64 for the 3DS is testing the waters for modern response to Starfox.
There's no reason why a modern, well produced Starfox shooter cannot be a success. It's a fallacy that any genre is ever "over". Popularity only ebbs and flows, and much of whether a game succeeds is based on the correct marketing - something that the game industry is crude with and often gets very wrong. Other genres that were considered "dead" by gamers who read too much into fads, have made spectacular comebacks with the right game at the right time - fighting games are one example.
I realize that furry bias here wants to see the Starfox characters out of the cockpit and available as characters. But the root of Starfox's original appeal for most people was as a shooter - not for the "furry" content.
The problem is that Nintendo may never be able to commit the resources required to make Starfox a big title again.
I'd have to agree with this sentiment, other then I hope to go they're not going to use a game on a system that is highly underselling as it is as a Barometer of how well Star Fox is doing. If that is the case I may have to take advantage of the fact they just dropped the price of the system and shell out.
But as far as target audience, it should obviously be older then 6 years old, because they're not supposed to be using the thing anyway. But I would agree, they need to make it simple enough for a child to enjoy, yet deep enough for adults to enjoy. It's a tough balance.
Again, Sly Cooper :P
I must say I must find the time to play that, or a copy in general, as I certainly didn't have the finances to buy many games back then.
The WFC of the DS says they know exactly that.
Disregard, wrong comment placement
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