Project Giant Robot

Star Fox Zero is a 3D rail shooter that largely follows the gameplay of its predecessors, predominantly Star Fox 64, in which the player controls Fox McCloud as he pilots his Arwing craft through various levels. The game is controlled using the Wii U GamePad, with the left control stick used to maneuver the craft while gyroscopic controls can be used to aim weapons. A cockpit view is displayed on the second screen to assist with aiming. The minus button on the GamePad can be used to swap the two displays at any time.

Some of the game's vehicles can transform in certain situations. For example, the Arwing can transform into a bipedal Walker (which originated in the then-unreleased Super NES game Star Fox 2) that lets the player freely walk around on platforms and in enclosed spaces. The Landmaster tank can transform into the Gravmaster, which can perform extended aerial maneuvers for a short time. A new vehicle introduced to the series is the Gyrowing, a drone-like helicopter that can lower a small robot called Direct-i that can enter small spaces, hack into computers, or latch onto explosive cubes that can then be dropped on enemies.

The game's development began with experimentation on leftover assets from a never-released Star Fox game for the Wii that had been worked on by a small group since about 2008. The Wii project never took form because, in the words of series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the team could not come up with enough compelling new ideas for it. The game's existence was confirmed in a press sheet on June 8, two days before E3 2014 began. During the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 10, Time leaked information about the game in the morning, then Nintendo announced the title publicly, and Nintendo's E3 presentation again hinted at its further details later. During an interview with Wired, Miyamoto expressed his desire to work with external developers for faster completion of the project.

In an interview with GameSpot, Miyamoto revealed that both the Project Guard and Project Giant Robot tech demoes shown off alongside Star Fox for Wii U were connected in some fashion. During a Nintendo Direct presentation in March 2016, Project Guard was formally revealed as Star Fox Guard, and bundled both digitally and as a physical copy alongside Star Fox Zero. Project Giant Robot was never released, officially being canceled in 2017.

Star Fox Zero received a mixed reception, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. Common points of discussion include the control scheme, the short length of the campaign, and the structural similarities to earlier entries in the series.

Jose Otero from IGN praised the levels and bosses, commenting that Star Fox Zero reimagines a classic Nintendo 64 game, but was critical of its awkward controls. Similarly, Damien McFerran from Nintendo Life observed that the players need to be patient to master its problematic controls before becoming attuned to them, comparing them to Splatoon. Peter Brown of GameSpot's primary fault with the controls was that it forces the player to divide attention back and forth between the TV and GamePad. However, Brown did conclude that the second run was more enjoyable than the first, praising the branching paths and level design.