Star Fox Zero Began As A Prototype For The Original Wii

During an interview earlier this week with Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, we spoke about the origins of Star Fox Zero. As we discussed the series legacy, Miyamoto revealed to us that Star Fox is a much more important property to Nintendo than we previously understood.

Star Fox has been a testing ground for Nintendo consoles, with Miyamoto using the series to put the hardware through its paces. "I work very closely with the programmer of Star Fox 64. Basically, every time we get new hardware, we do a Star Fox prototype."

Star Fox Zero began its life as one of these. "This Star Fox started out being based on a prototype we created for the Wii," he tells us. "We took that prototype and thought about what we could do with it. We came back and just said that this should be a Star Fox game."

Obviously, Star Fox Zero has come a long way since its humble origins. The two-screen play wouldn't have been possible on the original Wii, and the game certainly look as pretty as it does in HD at 60 frames per second on the Wii U.

For more on Star Fox Zero, you can read more from our conversation with Shigeru Miyamoto and our hands-on impressions of the game.