Thoughts on the Star Fox (Switch 2) Reveal – Editorial

Late last Wednesday Nintendo surprised us with an unannounced Nintendo Direct all about a Star Fox 64 remake exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2. I have really mixed feelings about the announcement so I decided to share my beloved hot takes with the readers of the site.

First, I’d like to start with the positives. We are getting a Star Fox game very soon. The gameplay looks great and the graphics while playing also look very good. This is the Star Fox action we know and love. It’s also nice that the multiplayer will have GameShare and GameShare via GameChat. Using the camera to create Star Fox avatars for yourself is also something I wanted, so it’s neat to see that happening.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way I need to state how utterly disappointed I am that we are getting yet another Star Fox 64 remake. Star Fox 64 itself is a game that was a reboot of the original Star Fox on the SNES. Star Fox 64 then went and got its own remake on 3DS, and itself was rebooted again on Wii U. This story has been retold, retooled, and redone in three different storyline universes and now this one universe (Star Fox 64) is getting its third iteration of the game. A game that is also available to play right now on the Nintendo 64 -Nintendo Classics application on Nintendo Switch.

Redoing Star Fox 64 is the most uninspired, boring, and upsetting thing that could be done for many of us longterm fans. While admittedly this is probably the best way to introduce the Star Fox series to new fans, there is nothing I’d want less. The Star Fox 64 game continuity is the most fleshed out in the series, with three canonical sequels, and now we are getting that exact game for a third time. That’s right, there will soon be as many Star Fox 64 games as there are sequels to it!

There is so much more that could be done within the Star Fox 64 framework. Start making sequels to the plethora of exciting endings to Star Fox Command. Or even make the prequel game that goes into the full James McCloud story (which quite frankly should have been what Star Fox Zero was). The Star Fox Nintendo Direct did show a teaser of some of the James McCloud backstory we’ve heard so much about, but we currently weren’t even told if this is a playable portion of the game or not.

I feel like this Star Fox 64 remake really needs to have some fresh content. Be that several bonus levels, a playable short James McCloud story, maybe playable stuff regarding Bill and Katt, or even a Star Wolf campaign. While all of this is wishful thinking on my part for now, it will likely have to stay that way considering the game is set to release at a lower than usual price tag for a new Switch 2 title. A digital copy will cost $49.99 while physical will hit shelves at $59.99. With this lower price point I’m not hopeful for major content additions.

While I may have said the game looked good earlier on, that was during the gameplay segments. I think the new realistic character models are atrocious. I know some say they look like the old puppets used for the original SNES Star Fox advertising, but I have to respectfully disagree. The new models look like the puppets were on steroids. It’s very offputting and not what I want or expect from the Star Fox series in a bad way.

What makes the decision to go with these realistic Star Fox character designs even more baffling is the recent presentation of Fox McCloud, and briefly his team, in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Fox was introduced, probably for the first time, to millions of viewers just a month ago looking very similar to his past appearances. I personally thought Fox looked fantastic in the Galaxy movie. Now, unexpectedly, he looks completely different.

One reason I bring up this switcheroo is the fact that the complete opposite thing happened in the first Illumination Mario movie in 2023. The Super Mario Bros. Movie introduced a newly updated version of Donkey Kong which then helped define Donkey Kong’s new look in both Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza for Switch 2. This mainstream movie introduction helped solidify the ape’s new look and Star Fox is doing the complete opposite. I’d even argue that the new Star Fox design is the least loveable version of the character ever.

Another thing that really sticks out to me about the new designs is the character’s feet. Don’t look at me like that, I’m no foot lover, but they all have animal feet now instead of their iconic boots. The boots which happened to be a major focus of the Fox character in The Super Mario Galaxy movie. Remember those cool space boots? Too bad, now you have tiny space paws. I could go on picking apart the new character designs more, but I will just say that out of the bunch Slippy does indeed look the best. Ultimately, the designs just seem remarkably not Nintendo-like.

I also wonder what these new designs mean for the Star Fox franchise’s future. Are these realistic looking animal characters what will appear in the next Super Smash Bros. or a possible Star Fox movie? I really hope not because I’d honestly pay money for in-game DLC that replaces the new realistic models with something more traditional.

The multiplayer in Star Fox on Switch 2 sounds great and has some neat features to bring in friends, but I’m very weary of its long-term appeal. It boasts only three levels with different mission types and there is no word on future updates. It just sounds extremely limited even if the bones for something great are in place.

Star Fox 64 is a fantastic game, don’t get me wrong, and I’m confident the Switch 2 remake will play fine, but it’s not what I want from the series in 2026. For years I’ve been dreaming of a new Star Fox that would have a campaign mode that also allowed friends to take control of the other pilots in an amazing (optional) online co-op game that requires communication and teamwork to unlock various routes, to defeat enemies, and to clear objectives. A game that continues the Star Fox narrative. Instead we are getting a game that many of us have played to death decades ago with a new, not necessarily better, look. I’m happy Star Fox is back, but it could have been so much more exciting than this.