Beginning with arcade games such as the 1985 Space Harrier, the gameplay locks the player character into a set path, only allowing for limited or no divergence from it, in a manner similar to a theme park dark ride, which is typically on train tracks.
[1] Star Fox 64 was released in 1997 and gained wide renown for its graphics, level design and non-linearity.
[1] It was the last primarily rail shooter Star Fox game, with Nintendo switching to a fully 3D range of movement going forwards.
[3] While games such as Rez (2001) and Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002) were still released during this time, the lull lasted until the advent of motion control on home consoles, leading to a "rebirth" of the genre with major third-party releases in order to capitalize on the light gun-style gameplay.
The developers, facing controversy over its differences from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, used the term "guided experience" to describe its gameplay.