When Star Fox Zero was originally scheduled to come out in the holidays of 2015, it didn't feature a map screen or branching paths, or even (by default) Smart Bombs, two core components of classic Star Fox titles such as the original Star Fox on the SNES or Star Fox 64.

Shigeru Miyamoto's original vision for Star Fox Zero, when it began development in 2014, was for it to be more like an episodic TV show (as in, a linear set of episodic, bite-sized missions), similar to his biggest inspiration for Star Fox, the 1965 TV series "Thunderbirds", as opposed to earlier games like Star Fox 64 that were designed more like an epic, longer movie. At E3 2014, he compared the tried-and-true Star Fox gameplay as the "primetime programming", while the quirkier, more experimental fare (referring to Star Fox Guard) as the "late-night programming". As explained by Miyamoto in early 2016, the initial decision to remove Smart Bombs as a core game mechanic was to streamline and simplify the gameplay, to force the player to focus more on using their own techniques and skills to get through the levels. Originally, Smart Bombs would have only been available through the special SNES Arwing mode only accessible through the Fox McCloud amiibo figure or alternatively, collecting all of the game's 70 medals.

However, after Star Fox Zero's initial poor showing at E3 2015, particularity from die-hard Star Fox 64 fans, it was decided to delay the game and attempt to make it more like a long-form movie in the similar vein of SF64, by including an arcade mode (that is unlocked by playing through the story mode, a single linear list of missions like what Miyamoto had intended) with additional branching pathways and also the re-inclusion of Smart Bombs as a universal gameplay mechanic.