{"id":136924,"date":"2026-04-22T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-200190"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:00:00","slug":"talking-point-star-fox-zero-is-10-years-old-have-you-actually-played-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/04\/22\/talking-point-star-fox-zero-is-10-years-old-have-you-actually-played-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Point: Star Fox Zero Is 10 Years Old &#8211; Have You Actually Played It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4dcf8eb95200a\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4dcf8eb95200a\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"4dcf8eb95200a\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"Star Fox Zero\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4dcf8eb95200a\/star-fox-zero.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/4dcf8eb95200a\/star-fox-zero.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" alt=\"Star Fox Zero\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Gavin Lane \/ Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Today marks the 10th anniversary of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wiiu\/star_fox_zero\">Star Fox Zero<\/a>&#8216;s North American launch, the last release in the series at the time of writing. In fact, it shares that honour with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wiiu\/star_fox_guard\">Star Fox Guard<\/a>, but as an eShop game whose only physical version came bundled with Zero, the tower defence spin-off tends to get overshadowed.<\/p>\n<p>After a full decade, we&#8217;re all familiar with the wider narrative around Zero and its host platform. Nintendo and PlatinumGames&#8217; Wii U effort brought Star Fox into HD for the first time, but the control scheme equivalent of tapping your head while rubbing your belly made poor first impressions, especially if you went in hankering for instantly satisfying, cinematic rail-shooting, as well you might.<\/p>\n<p>Add to that the Wii U&#8217;s well-documented woes, and it&#8217;s unsurprising that sales were disappointing, and Nintendo hasn&#8217;t touched the series in 10 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/starlink_battle_for_atlas\">Starlink<\/a>&#8216;s excellent crossover content and Fox&#8217;s appearance in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/super_smash_bros_ultimate\">Smash<\/a> notwithstanding. Looking at our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/best-star-fox-games-of-all-time\">Best Star Fox Games list<\/a>, Zero is nestled down at #8 above Guard and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/star_fox_command\">Command<\/a> (although there&#8217;s really no &#8216;bad&#8217; games in that selection).<\/p>\n<p>However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2026\/03\/rumour-nintendos-2026-plans-include-new-star-fox-and-zelda-remake-no-3d-mario\">recent rumours<\/a> and Fox&#8217;s appearance in a certain <strong>Mario Galaxy Movie<\/strong> mean that <del>Starwing<\/del> <del>Lylat Wars<\/del> Star Fox is on the tip of many a tongue, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/features\/talking-point-what-would-you-want-from-a-new-star-fox-game\">we recently asked you<\/a> what you would be looking for from a brand-new entry.<\/p>\n<p><!-- cache: html:nintendolife.com\/ssl\/star-fox\/related-articles:199951 @ 1776880190 --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"block object-related\"> <\/aside>\n<figure class=\"picture right\" data-uuid=\"fb342af2f663e\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"Star Fox Zero\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fb342af2f663e\/star-fox-zero.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fb342af2f663e\/star-fox-zero.300x.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Star Fox Zero\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Gavin Lane \/ Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, one possibility we didn&#8217;t discuss was the potential return for <em>this<\/em> underrated entry.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2017, we&#8217;ve seen Nintendo plunder the wreckage of the good ship Wii U and bring back jewels for Switch that millions of Nintendo fans never got to play. Released late in the console&#8217;s lifecycle, Star Fox Zero is one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/potential-switch-port-round-up-the-wii-u-games-that-havent-come-to-switch\">the few remaining holdouts<\/a>. Does it deserve the same treatment? Would you be disappointed if the rumoured new game turned out to be a retooled, &#8216;Deluxe&#8217; version of Zero?<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth remembering that as well as being underappreciated (hey, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/wiiu\/star_fox_zero\">we enjoyed it!<\/a>), it must also be under<em>played<\/em> compared to the series&#8217; best. Sales figures are patchy, but <a href=\"https:\/\/vgsales.fandom.com\/wiki\/Star_Fox\">estimates<\/a> put copies sold between 440,000 and 450,000. Not awful for a system that only sold 13.56 million units, perhaps, but disappointing by first-party Nintendo standards.<\/p>\n<p>Bearing that in mind, there must be millions of Star Fox fans who never actually played the last one. Are you among them? Would you quite like the chance to play a version of Zero on your current console? Is there a chance for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wiiu\/mario_kart_8\">Mario Kart 8<\/a>-style rebirth for this entry, or has that Blue Marine sailed? Let us know in the polls below.<\/p>\n<section id=\"poll-11732\" data-block-type=\"poll\" class=\"poll\" data-uri=\"polls\/cmon_then_have_you_actually_played_star_fox_zero\" data-id=\"11732\" data-question=\"C'mon then, have you actually played Star Fox Zero?\">\n<div class=\"results hidden\">\n<h3 data-toc=\"skip\">C&#8217;mon then, have you actually played Star Fox Zero? (949 votes)<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"poll-results many-results\">\n<li class=\"result first\"><strong class=\"answer\">Of course! I&#8217;ve still got my Wii U set up!<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"219 votes (23.1%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"23\"><span class=\"val\">23<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"result\"><strong class=\"answer\">Yes, but not for a while<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"346 votes (36.5%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"36\"><span class=\"val\">36<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"result\"><strong class=\"answer\">Nope, I wanted to but I never played it <i title=\":worried:\" class=\"twa twa-lg twa-worried\"><\/i><\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"215 votes (22.7%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"23\"><span class=\"val\">23<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"result\"><strong class=\"answer\">Nooo, I steered clear of that one!<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"107 votes (11.3%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"11\"><span class=\"val\">11<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"result last\"><strong class=\"answer\">I&#8217;ve never played any Star Fox, I just enjoy articles and polls about it<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"62 votes (6.5%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"7\"><span class=\"val\">7<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"poll-11733\" data-block-type=\"poll\" class=\"poll\" data-uri=\"polls\/would_you_like_to_see_star_fox_zero_return_on_switch_1_andor_2\" data-id=\"11733\" data-question=\"Would you like to see Star Fox Zero return on Switch 1 and\/or 2?\">\n<div class=\"results hidden\">\n<h3 data-toc=\"skip\">Would you like to see Star Fox Zero return on Switch 1 and\/or 2? (917 votes)<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"poll-results many-results\">\n<li class=\"result first\"><strong class=\"answer\">Absolutely!<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"252 votes (27.5%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"27\"><span class=\"val\">27<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"result\"><strong class=\"answer\">If they spruce it up a bit, yeah, I&#8217;d be interested<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"236 votes (25.7%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"26\"><span class=\"val\">26<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"result\"><strong class=\"answer\">Only if it&#8217;s IN ADDITION TO a brand new Star Fox<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"272 votes (29.7%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"30\"><span class=\"val\">30<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"result last\"><strong class=\"answer\">Nah, let the past die<\/strong><span class=\"votes\"><span title=\"157 votes (17.1%)\"><span class=\"bar accent-bg has-votes\" data-value=\"17\"><span class=\"val\">17<\/span>%<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><!-- cache: html:nintendolife.com\/ssl\/star-fox\/related-articles:99794,130651,59684 @ 1776880974 --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"block object-related\"> <\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image: Gavin Lane \/ Nintendo Life Today marks the 10th anniversary of Star Fox Zero&#8216;s North American launch, the last release in the series at the time of writing. In fact, it shares that honour with Star Fox Guard, but as an eShop game whose only physical version came bundled with Zero, the tower defence [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136924\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}