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5 Days Ago   #1
lazyfatbum
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Default Starfix'd?

Apparently, it's unofficially announced. Nintendo Power might announce it in the next issue. Based on what was said previously from Nintendo:

"I think it wasn't as lucrative a venture to give third parties the responsibilities of our franchises in some cases. (Starfox, F-Zero)"

...that this next installment of the rail-shooter saga will come straight from Nintendo. My thoughts on it are that it's going to be multiplayer savvy and this might be the title that showcases Wiispeak and possibly a smoother online experience, which may mean this game will be branded with a T for teen especially if Krystal shows up and starts bouncing those furry ears of hers.

I also have a sneaky suspicion that on-foot krap will make an appearance but judging by the Landmaster appearance in SSB:B I think we'll see a lot of updates to older levels. Starfox 64 is, to this day, the best out of all of them and is the highest selling. So hopefully that shows Nintendo exactly where they need to focus.

If I find any blurbs or news i'll post it here, otherwise regard this as rumor.
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5 Days Ago   #2
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They were right there about Starfox, but completely wrong about F-Zero, Sega's F-Zero game is maybe the best F-Zero game ever...

As for Starfox though, it's not like Nintendo's most recent in-house effort is that great either. I mean, Star Fox Command for the DS... okay game, but not great. It's no Star Fox 64 for sure.
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5 Days Ago   #3
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I've played very little of Starfox Command and I guess the thing that turned me off of it was having to use the stylus with my left hand. I'm right-handed. Granted, any game that makes simultaneous use of the buttons and the stylus is going to require left-handed stylus use, while any game that uses the stylus and the control pad simultaneously would require right-handed stylus use.

I actually liked Starfox Adventures, but it felt more like a half-baked Zelda game than a Starfox game. Still, Zelda games are awesome, half-baked or otherwise. Starfox Assault was pretty good, but too short. I like the constant switching between vehicles and on-foot combat. It wasn't the best Starfox game, for sure, but it was innovative.

Still, Starfox 64 stands as the greatest Starfox game of all time and should definitely be the model for future Starfox games to follow.
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4 Days Ago   #4
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Star Fox Command wasn't done in-house at Nintendo, it was developed by Q-Game, a smalltime developer founded by former Argonauts [developer of the original Star Fox] employees.
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4 Days Ago   #5
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Star Fox 64 is almost certainly better than every other Star Fox game all combined, though. So while that's better than Namco or Rare's efforts, it's still no Star Fox 64.
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3 Days Ago   #6
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The original Star Fox was decent as well, though Starfox 64 is a vastly superior remake, so I guess one could say that Star Fox for the SNES was a prototype to a better game. There hasn't been as good a Starfox game since then.

My main problem with Starfox Adventures is that it feels rushed. It could've been longer, had a bigger world, not repeated dungeons, had a final battle with General Scales instead of a deus ex machina followed by a pointless battle with Andross, who had nothing to do with the game's story, and had a better battle system.

Fox had very few moves he could do with his staff, other than magic-consuming moves, which you'd usually feel compelled not to use if you don't have to. Look at Link: he can slash in several different ways, he can jump side to side and backflip and roll, and it's all easy to maneuver. With Fox, you just whack A over and over and he does the same pattern of moves with his staff.

Also, the game's "point of no return" where all you can do is fight the final battle sucked. Not to mention you get the last two Krazoa Spirits both at once right at the end of the game, further adding to my argument that the game felt rushed. The ending was also short and underwhelming.

Overall, a good effort, but more time should've been spent on it. It tried to be Zelda and failed.
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2 Days Ago   #7
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That game was the result of Rare being sold. Remember they more or less pushed it out the door the moment Nintendo sealed the deal with MS. If they'd been able to complete it, I'm sure it would have been great. As you said, it felt like two entire dungeons got scrapped when they just handed you two spirits. The last boss fight just... didn't happen at all, and instead you fight Andross who really does feel tossed in at the last second. Further, the space battles aren't nearly as refined as Star Fox 64. That's understandable considering it was not really supposed to be a space battle game, but then they shouldn't have made that the final boss.

What really irked me was the puzzles though. When your inventory system automatically switches to EXACTLY the item you need, and everything in the game has a holographic icon saying "DO THING AT HERE NOW!", it's really hard to put decent puzzles in the game. I only actually got stuck once, when there were some hidden switches I had missed in one of the dungeons.

However, it is still one of the best looking games on the Gamecube, and better looking than a lot on the Wii for that matter. Further, the battle system showed a lot of promise, and there were some unique items to be had. The dinosaur prince thing was underrealized, but also showed promise. The boss fights, aside from the rather silly last one, were also pretty well done.

All in all, it's a game that is a testament to what happens when you sell a company when it's making something for you. I have no doubt Rare WANTED to finish it, but when the talks were finalized I'm sure word came down from MS that they wanted Rare to get started on projects for them as soon as possible, and so they more or less had to push it out the door against the typical Rare "when it's done" time frame.
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2 Days Ago   #8
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Graphically, it was a very beautiful game, as you said. I certainly felt that it had plenty of material to be a longer game: four SpellStones plus seven Krazoa Spirits? Each should've had its own dungeon, or at least each of the Krazoa Spirits should have, for a total of seven dungeons. But yeah, seeing as it was Rare's sole game for the Gamecube, I can imagine Microsoft had something to do with them rushing it along so that they could begin development for the XBox. It's a shame because it had so much potential.
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2 Days Ago   #9
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Graphically the game was beautiful, sure. But the actual gameplay was mind-numbingly boring, the story was TERRIBLE and really made no sense, some of the ways it had been cut back from Dinosaur Planet obvious and sad, the combat unbelievably dull, and more. DK64 didn't do it, I still like that one, but somehow this one finally convinced me, Rare really did like collecting too much.

I know I've said it before, but really a big part of the problem was how linear it was. I mean, in a DK64 or something you usually have several things you could be doing. But in this one you just need to collect everything in order, and you're collecting like three different sets of random items. It all seems so pointless, particularly with such stupidly easy puzzles and combat... and it's not fun either. (The bosses are fun sometimes, but that's not enough to save the game.) I quit playing partway through the game and don't think I'll ever finish it.

I don't know if it's actually a BAD game, though. I might just consider it average... just one of the most boring, tedious examples of average ever.

I definitely think Dinosaur Planet on the N64 was looking much more interesting. Nintendo shouldn't have forced Star Fox on the game. But yes, I definitely agree that the rest of the problem was because of how the game had been rushed because of the sale of Rare, etc. They just wanted to be done with it...
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2 Days Ago   #10
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I was convinced that Rare loved collecting even before SFA. Probably the biggest thing I disliked about Banjo-Kazooie and DK64 (which weren't bad games on the whole, but certainly not favorites of mine) was the necessity of collecting. I'd search for hours, going through the same corridors of the same area, over and over again, looking for that one stone that I left unturned, just to find that last Jingo or banana or whatever. It wasn't what I would call fun. There were aspects to both games that were fun, but that wasn't one of them. I will hand it to Rare, though: their games have always been very inventive, and the puzzles and mini-games are all unique and fun. However, the collecting gets to be way too tedious. Conker's Bad Fur Day didn't suffer as much from this problem. I actually preferred SFA's system of straightforward collecting too.

As far as Rare is concerned, I'd have to say that their best platformers came out during the 2D era on the SNES. Collecting existed in the DKC games (or at least the latter two), but it was still possible to enjoy the game without collecting absolutely everything, plus I felt more compelled to collect everything in those games than I did in Rare's N64 platformers.
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1 Day Ago   #11
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It's certainly an interesting discussion. I think SFA was the first Rare game I could honestly say I found disappointing. Some got annoyed with Banjo, and others with DK64. I remember a number annoyed with the last minute "Oh yeah, find EVERY SINGLE TEDDY BEAR" quest in Jet Force Gemini.

I can see that, though personally I'm a collection freak myself.



(Side note: I personally don't like the new look of Penny Arcade's site. The old one had character, this one looks like every other site out there.)

Anyway, as they started making games for MS for some reason they never really quite got up to where they were. I liked PD0, but to be totally honest I haven't played that game nearly as much as I ever played the first PD, or GE for that matter (both completely demolished in terms of pretty much every danged thing to complete there is). Viva Pinata is pretty good though. I found it addictive enough, though Rare is as guilty as so many others of really pathetic "DC". Banjo Nuts and Bolts is the first game in a while that really drew out that "gotta do absolutely everything in this game" feeling.
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1 Day Ago   #12
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I can't really say anything about Rare's post-SFA games as I've never owned an XBox or an XBox 360. I would like to own a 360 someday, though, and when and if I do, I'll give some of those games a shot.

Poor Fox is little more than an errand boy.
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1 Day Ago   #13
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SFA was retarded, it's only saving grace was the feeling of playing something breathtakingly beautiful such as the depth of field during battles, the bump mapping and fur, all next gen and all beautiful. But like Banjo was Rare's take on Mario SFA was their attempt at a Zelda but I think whoever said that once the MS deals were in question a lot of quality slipped. Banjo~Kazooie held a deeper and more meaningful story construction than SFA. I believe that if the story maintained its original ideas, it would have been a huge success.

As far as Andross at the end, I could buy that because this is Rare we're talking about. Look at the end boss of Conker's BFD, though in all fairness Conker's is a tragic/comedy with SFA trying to be a serious take on a lighthearted fantasy and role playing game. So instead of a plot twist, it just felt like a plot gap. And no newgame+ to play as Krystal with a harder difficulty setting? Come on Rare.

There is a strong rumor of Killer Instinct being redone for 360, there's also PD this Christmas for download and a whisper of an original Blast Corps redux on XBL soon. All of which are equally welcomed. VP was ingenious but it lacked anything for us old, crusty hardcore types who just want to kill things. MS said its going to be focusing on bringing Rare up and putting them more in the spotlight. This, with info of Bungie quitting the Halo series, could mean that the test of PDZ being a replacement for Halo with PD2 hitting sometime next year could put Rare in top form as the new FPS multiplayer go-to. All of that depends on whether or not Rare will step up and address why the quality of games have slipped and what's being done to fix it.
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10 Hours Ago   #14
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Quote:
That game was the result of Rare being sold. Remember they more or less pushed it out the door the moment Nintendo sealed the deal with MS.

More accurately, it was pushed out the door the moment the Stamper brothers sealed the deal with MS.

Nintendo sold their stake, but it was only a 49%, non-majority stake. Ownership had already been transferred from the Stampers to MS.
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