Fox McCloud has had a strange and turbulent few decades. Following his massive pop-culture boost in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the demand for the mercenary pilot to return to the cockpit has never been higher with the mainstream audience. Yet, instead of charting a brand-new galaxy, Nintendo and developer Velan Studios have made a bold choice for the franchise’s highly anticipated Switch 2 debut: they have gone right back to 1997.
By delivering a ground-up, cinematic reimagining of the legendary Star Fox 64, the development team has inherited a double-edged sword. On one hand, they are iterating on the undisputed design peak of the franchise. On the other hand, this release marks the fifth distinct time Nintendo has retold the exact narrative arc of the Lylat Wars against Andross.
We first saw it on the original SNES, fully realized it on the Nintendo 64, remastered it on the 3DS, and split opinions on the Wii U. Thankfully, this latest incarnation is far more than a simple nostalgia trip or a lazy graphical coat of paint. It is a stunning, definitive showcase of new hardware wrapped around the tightest arcade shooting the series has ever seen, proving that some formulas are truly timeless.
To appreciate what Velan Studios has achieved here, you need to understand the historical baggage trailing behind the Arwing's exhaust. The Star Fox franchise has struggled whenever it drifted away from pure rail-shooting. Whether it was the Zelda-style on-foot exploration of Star Fox Adventures or the clunky ground combat of Star Fox Assault, deviations from the cockpit didn’t quite stick the landing. This new release smartly strips away the experimental gimmicks of the past, returning to a pure arcade focus.
The nostalgia feels are real, but the addition of the new Joy-Con 2 mouse controls provides an entirely fresh layer of tactical precision. By using the micro-movements of the controllers, players can aim across the screen with speed and accuracy that traditional analog sticks simply cannot match (I still prefer a good old Pro Controller, though). For purists who are still dealing with lingering trauma from the convoluted, dual-screen motion-based layout of Star Fox Zero, fear not: standard classic control schemes are fully supported from the options menu, and they feel spot on.
Beyond solo play, the campaign introduces a brilliant couch co-op mechanic that transforms the game's pacing. Rather than splitting the screen and compromising the amazing cinematic views, one player controls the Arwing's piloting and thrusters to navigate space or terrain, while the second serves as the gunner, managing the lock-on lasers and bombs. It transforms a traditionally solitary arcade jaunt into a co-op delight, making old stages feel completely fresh when shared with a friend on the sofa. You just need to pick who will be Han and who will be Chewie.
Visually, the game is a testament to Nintendo's new hardware, targeting a locked 60 frames per second at 4K resolution in docked mode. And to be honest, I rarely noticed a dip in handheld mode either. The new presentation showcases the Lylat System not as a collection of blocky polygons, but as a high-budget, living sci-fi epic - watching massive ships fracture and explode into debris fields makes the 1997 original feel like a lifetime ago.
Pre-release online discourse scrutinized the realistic, animalistic character redesigns, with some corners of the internet labeling the detailed fur and feather textures as slightly weird. For me, however, this artistic direction completely clicks. While the art style of Fox in the movie was fantastic, I don’t mind the aesthetic difference here one bit. The realistic look serves as an homage to the puppets from the original 1993 SNES box art. Combined with fully voiced, cinematic cutscenes between missions, the game successfully bridges old-school nostalgia and a modern blockbuster aesthetic.
Of course, the elephant in the room with any Star Fox game is longevity. A standard, linear run from Corneria to Venom can still be wrapped up in under two hours. To combat the arcade format's short campaign, Velan Studios has implemented a new Challenge Mode. This system locks players into higher-difficulty brackets and tasks them with completing unique, stage-specific objectives, such as shooting down a set number of hidden radar towers or maintaining a medal streak, forcing you to master the branching pathways and discover alternate planet exits.
The real key to longevity here is the online component, a first for the franchise. Battle Mode features four-on-four dogfights where players split into the iconic factions of Team Star Fox or Team Star Wolf. Rather than devolving into mindless, chaotic free-for-all deathmatches, these are tightly designed, objective-focused clashes across massive, sweeping maps like the icy plains of Fichina or the cluttered airspace of Sector Y. While Nintendo was kind enough to offer multiplayer sessions for this, I was unable to attend to test them out.
Nintendo has even leaned into the hardware by integrating the system’s camera features into online lobbies. The inclusion of GameChat allows players to project their real-time facial expressions onto animated avatars of Slippy Toad, Falco Lombardi, or Wolf O'Donnell during live matches. It’s a goofy, distinctly Nintendo addition that injects a lot of humor into the pre-match tension, and having some of the custom avatar items tied to challenges provides even more replayability.
This reimagining/remake/reboot doesn't try to reinvent the wheel; instead, it perfects the core gameplay that made millions of players fall in love with the franchise nearly thirty years ago. By pairing the arcade foundation of Star Fox 64 with lovely modern visuals, precise new control options, and a genuinely addictive looking multiplayer suite, Velan Studios has delivered an essential, must-own showcase for the Switch 2.
Whether you are a veteran pilot who knows every hidden route by heart or a newcomer experiencing the Lylat Wars for the very first time, this is a spectacular return to form for Fox McCloud.
