It appears, with the release of Mario Kart approaching, that Nintendo is forgetting how to make video games. I am not going to count it out entirely, but from the early reports this new Mario Kart is more recycled than Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Party 8 could ever try to be.

I don't want Star Fox for the Wii to suffer the same fate. Reggie said recently that Nintendo is going to show off their Winter lineup at E3, and I would be willing to be Mr. McCloud is on the guest list to that show. I think that Nintendo could do something amazing with the game, and here is how.

Control wise the game needs to use motion controls in collaboration with buttons to truly show how a flying game should be made on the Wii. I don’t expect them to ask players to hold the remote like a paper airplane, but there is no reason that they should allow for players to use a Gamecube or classic controller. Here is how I see it playing out:

Aiming will be controlled using the remote, just like it is in Metroid Prime: Corruption. Also like Corruption, the option to lock-on will make the remote’s sensitivity to its advantage. The A button should fire, with the Z button on the nunchuck will lock onto enemies. Simple flicks to the left or right with the nunchuck will also let the player barrel roll, while tilting it backwards or forwards will either slow down or speed up. The joystick will move left and right, as it should, to not rely too much on the motion. These controls would also easily be able to apply to the Landmaster and Blue Marine.

As for gameplay, the title should best not stray away from the Nintendo 64 version. Gamers have made it abundantly clear that Fox McCloud is at home in vehicles, and in vehicles he should stay. It would also make sense to keep some of the aspects from the awesome Star Fox Command for the Nintendo DS, to allow players to chart their trips from planet to planet, with different objectives in-between. While I don’t think it should be exactly like the DS version, I think some aspects would definitely work well with a next-gen version, and those should be brought over.

I would also love to see more of a plot, like Star Fox Assault for the Gamecube had. Just because the characters are sort of goofy doesn’t mean they don’t invoke some sort of emotion from gamers. Wolf’s hatred of Fox is as real as Fox’s hatred for Andross, and this could easily work in a well planned out and scripted narrative. With some work, Nintendo could have another game to write stories for that don’t involve coins or mushrooms.

I think with these simple additions, a Star Fox title on the Wii would work very well. Anyone have any other thoughts?

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