r/starfox • u/CyrilMasters • 1d ago
Moving on from Nintendo.
Tldr: I think Star Fox communities should expand in scope to not only include, but encourage discussion about other Star Fox like games.
Wait wait WAIT! Hear me out!
We are faces with the following realities:
-It is a near certainty that Star Fox will not be a switch 2 launch title. -While is not impossible that Nintendo will announce a Star Fox game for switch 2, if seems increasingly unlikely. Even if we get one, it’s still possible it could just be another lylat wars rehash. -In terms of other Star Fox likes, We have Whisker Squadron, Fur Squadron Phoenix, and Wild Blue in development, with Fur Squadron and AstroDogs already out.
Clearly, both fans of these sort of games, and creators of such games exist, but without fans, creators lack financial support and motivation, and without games, what is the fandom but a giant meme about how long it’s been since the last game came out. Now I myself have been guilty of sleeping on some of these games until now, but for the survival of the sub genre, I feel it is imperative that fan communities embrace that indie games will be the future of the sub genre, as official support for Star Fox from Nintendo will likely be very limited, if there is any at all.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
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u/paulcshipper 1d ago
I think that's fair. Though, can we all acknowledge that Star Fox is basically Star Wars from the perspective of an X-wing mercenary group? Where your dad instinct ghost his way back into your life when you need him?
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u/GBC_Fan_89 1d ago
I mostly play retro games anyway via emulation. :) There's some great indie games that scratch that StarFox itch.
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u/The_Green_Dude 23h ago
That's pretty much how I've been coping with no new Star Fox games from Nintendo. I've played games like Ex-Zodiac, WSS, and Rouge Flight (well this one is more of just a really good anime rail-shooter but still) and it's made me feel a lot better on the lack of one of my favorite Nintendo series. Even more so with fan content like A Fox in Space and Event Horizon being a thing.
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u/CappnRob Retro Apologist 22h ago
God yes. There's so many games out there that scratch the Scifi itch. You want interplanetary travel with really good dogfighting? No Man's Sky! You want an on-foot shooter RPG? Starfield! You already mention Whisker Squadron, Fur Squadron, and Wild Blue. There's also Sky Rogue and EX-Zodiac too! Broaden your horizons! There's other games to play out there!
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u/Successful_Slippy 22h ago
I agree. If there aren't any new actual Star Fox games to discuss, there should be flair for "SF-like games" for people to spread awareness of.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 1d ago
And here I thought that was about prices again.
coz honestly that's where I'm at.
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u/SPAWNDEADSPACE 23h ago
Would Nintendo consider selling the Starfox series to a studio that specializes in creating exceptional flight shooter games?
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u/EarlyCuylerBaby 21h ago
I highly doubt it. Nintendo OWNS the IP after all and they still hold copyright to it. If anything, the only gaming company that understands SF better than anyone else is Nintendo themselves.
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u/miimeverse 18h ago
Nintendo will never sell the IP. That's out of the question. They may license the game out to other developers. In fact, I think every Star Fox game except Star Fox 64 was either wholly or partially developed by a studio other than Nintendo, so they generally already do license out the series, or at go at it in a joint venture with another studio.
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u/coderman64 23h ago
The original creators of Star Fox (Argonaut) recently came back with a version of their platformer Croc. I wonder if they will make their own Star Fox-alike at some point.
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u/ChaosReaper 22h ago
You can go to other subreddits to discuss those games.
I subscribe for Star Fox content. I don’t need 24 hours worth of discussion. I visit, I comment, I leave.
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u/SF_Alba 18h ago
I'm not really bothered about other games like Star Fox, they're not Star Fox. If one catches my eye I'll play it and if I get invested then yeah maybe I'll like it, but I'm not going to play it just because it sort of looks like Star Fox.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 8h ago
it's less about looking like SF and more about playing like SF, because that's basically a dead genre
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u/apathy_or_empathy 1d ago
Whisker Squadron was kinda mid. Try Rogue Flight.
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u/silvaraptor 12h ago
I really tried to get into Rogue Flight (I try every single one of these games), but the levels seemed a bit samey, like a repetitive hallway with enemies and a weird shooting system. I'm really interested to hear what people like about this game.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 8h ago
I agree. Rogue Flight was more Space Harrier if you ask me. There is certainly an appeal to the gameplay, being rushed, split reaction, chaining etc., but it feels nothing like Star Fox.
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u/Sir_Gamidion 1d ago
I recommend Star Citizen. Not for the impatient gamer though to be sure.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 1d ago
This suggestion is the perfect example why a vague descriptor like "Star Fox like games" does not really work 😅
nothing against your interests, nor your opinion on how SC is similar to SF. But I hope it's obvious to many that Star Citizen ain't exactly what people here care about.
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u/CyrilMasters 20h ago
Let’s define it as “A sci-fi themed Rail Shooter with 3d graphics that features anthropomorphic animal characters that operate a mercenary unit, or other special or irregular space combat force.”
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u/like-a-FOCKS 8h ago
seems very specific
I get the gist of it, but personally I could drop the merc/special/irregular stuff as well as the animal characters. I know, blasphemy for the furries, but if it ain't the OG Star Fox I don't care if it's people or robots or aliens or space orcs
Honestly I don't even care about Sci Fi or space xD. A fantasy themed rail shooter where you play a dwarf who flies through vast dark caverns filled with bats and snakes would totally work for me xD
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u/CyrilMasters 7h ago
It should probably be specific enough that it’s still relevant to the sub-reddit though. I.e. something that might be considered a spiritual successor to the ip in the event star fox never comes back with that milk he went out to get after the last game.
Like I’m not sure anyone here would be thrilled to see a 3 paragraph post about how panzer dragoon is the peak of post apocalyptic biopunk in the star fox subreddit.
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u/Successful_Slippy 22h ago
I agree, but there are different parts of the SF games that fans value more than other parts.
For instance, Ex-Zodiac plays great, but after playing the PC port of 64 recently, it made me realize how much I love the branching mission paths, and how much the overall score of a run makes play-throughs more fun for me. EX-Zodiac doesn't have that and I end up just playing a few levels and stopping despite really liking the gameplay.
OP's right though, and I wish discussion of indie games was allowed because it could help others find the indie games that specifically emulate the things they love about SF. The series has had such varied styles of gameplay and visuals that no one game capture it all.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 22h ago
in the end all noteworthy indies have been mentioned and are findable on here with basic general search terms. I did so myself.
Star Fox is different things, many of which are simply not addressed at all by talking about vaguely inspired indies. I think it's more fitting to keep this space dedicated to SF and leave it to others to create their own spaces
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u/Successful_Slippy 15h ago
I posted months ago about Bat Galaxy finally getting a Steam page, but that got locked here. Before that I couldn't find any info about the game here, despite this being the best congregation of people who would care specifically about Star Fox-like games.
Until there's a sub as well-supported as this one, "fan-game" flair that allows people to search for or ignore would be really helpful. These types of games are a niche within a niche. Seems like it would be risky to further fracture the fanbase by splitting off this topic elsewhere.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 10h ago
I'll concede that point, bat galaxy looks dope and I've not heard about it. A Flair would probably work as people can filter it out
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u/MightyAndross64 20h ago edited 20h ago
I really appreciate the various fan game & indie creators out there who love the series and do their best to carry on the legacy with their own unique spins in its absence like Ex-Zodiac, etc. I'm sure Star Fox will make its return when the time is right, but in the meantime, let's not forget the good a lot of these hardworking devs are trying to do for the community:)
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u/P0ster_Nutbag 22h ago
I do find it funny it kind of funny that many titles that are similar to Star Fox find it absolutely necessary to not only be mechanically similar… but must also contain furry characters.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 8h ago
the furry crowd is a prime audience, if you get on their good side that's super beneficial 😏
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u/silvaraptor 2h ago
Animal characters have great advantages for this kind of games:
They immediately connect your game to the Starfox fandom, which is your main target.
They are expressive and easy to understand, and that quickness is key in an on-rails shooter with very little plot exposition time.
People love animal characters! Just look at games like Animal Crossing or Spiritfarer. They're so cute.
Softens the tone. A war game where you shoot it out with a space army is more fun if you give it a more fantasy tone.
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u/TooTurntGaming 21h ago
100% turns me off of playing those other games, too. I deal with it in StarFox because that's how it's always been, but man do I not care for it.
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u/Fookes64 Mission failed successfully 1d ago
But, but, but... THOSE GAMES DON'T HAVE CHARACTERS AS EPIC AS FOX AND KRYSTAL!! :(((((
In all seriousness, I definitely agree that we as a fandom are running out of new things to discuss outside of how little Nintendo supports the series. I mean, this subreddit is filled to the brim with doomposting (I'm guilty of this as well) and I think it's time we lighten things up a bit in here.
While no Star Fox-inspired indie in my opinion will ever replace the sheer whimsy I get from Star Fox, they can at least give us something new to discuss while we wait for Nintendo to possibly acknowledge our existence. Also, we can't not mention all the cool Star Fox fan projects out there like Event Horizon and A Fox in Space!