Star Fox's Admirable Homage To The Nintendo 64 Misses One Crucial Mark
Topics: Nintendo, Nintendo Switch 2, Reviews
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo
Topics: Nintendo, Nintendo Switch 2, Reviews
Star Fox for the Nintendo Switch 2 is yet another worthy remake of Star Fox 64, but boy oh boy am I ready for something new.
When Fox McCloud made a surprise appearance in the Super Mario Bros Galaxy Movie, I was overjoyed. In my humble opinion, the adaptation did the flyboy justice and the rumours of him getting his own spin-off film alongside the rest of the cast is an exciting premise.
Then came the announcement of Star Fox (2026) and the realisation that Universal Studios seemingly knows more about these characters than Nintendo.
The game wastes no time getting started and, surprisingly, it delves deeper into the story than ever before.
We’re introduced to James McCloud, Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar on a mission to the planet Venom. This flashback sequence is fleeting and unplayable, but is a nice bit of worldbuilding previous remakes of Star Fox 64 lacked.
Advert
I was then thrown into an unskippable tutorial which dragged on a little too long, in my opinion, but introduced me to the ‘new-and-improved’ Star Fox team.
Credit where credit is due, Star Fox is the first game in a while that makes it glaringly obvious that this isn’t a merry band of heroes. They’re not the Guardians of the Galaxy, and while Fox has a personal history with the game’s villain Andross, they’re joining the fight for a paycheck, not glory.
This new characterisation is consistent throughout but upon transitioning to gameplay it starts to fall apart.
I’ve done three runs of Star Fox’s campaign so far, one with the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, one with the Joy-Cons in Mouse Mode and one with the Nintendo 64 controller for a laugh.
Veteran pilots will know their way around the cockpit rather well. Levels are basically a 1:1 remake of Star Fox 64 with all the bells and whistles you’ve come to know and love.
The Arwing flies smoothly, it’s fun to blast down enemy fighters, and hitting a barrel-roll never gets old. It was also fun to revisit previous levels and explore their branching paths, though if you don’t want to figure out the requirements for these the game will tell you outright what you need to do.
Using the Pro Controller was good fun and the Nintendo 64 controller is perfect for those seeking nostalgia, but I implore you to play the game with the Joy-Con’s Mouse Mode if you can.
Like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, it feels like the definitive control-scheme for this game. Aiming is incredibly tight and responsive making it ideal for those gunning for high-scores.
The improved aiming didn’t lessen the challenge though, and Star Fox is definitely as challenging as the original. I didn’t die often but I had plenty of close-calls and that was just on the Normal difficulty. I’m yet to take Expert for a spin.
I also didn't get the chance to sample the online multiplayer, but I love the idea of appearing on your ally's screen as an incoming radio transmission. It almost makes me wish I bought the Nintendo Switch 2 camera. Local multiplayer was something I gave a go, through in the campaign it's very basic. One player flies whereas the other player shoots, which was fun for a mission or two but gets boring if you're not switching controls frequently.
When you've completed the campaign, you can put your skills to the test with various challenges, or simply start up another run and see if you can beat your high-score.
As expected, Star Fox is an exemplary arcade experience and fans of the original shouldn’t have any complaints as far as gameplay is concerned. I’d have been surprised if it was anything but a faithful remake given how much practice Nintendo has had reimagining this title.
The only thing it’s missing is a reason for me to care. I wasn’t expecting an award-winning soap opera but this rendition of the Star Fox cast felt oddly soulless compared to the originals.
Falco doesn’t come across as the cocky but skilled rival to Fox, Peppy’s not the old yet experienced mentor, and Slippy lacks the timid but brave demeanour he’s best-known for. Fox also suffers from being quite unlikable if I’m honest. Again, it’s great that Star Fox honours the team’s occupation as mercenaries-for-hire but Fox is oddly cold to the horrors of Andross’ galactic invasion and those it affects.
In gameplay, they chattered like normal but the emotion felt like it was lacking, which is a shame because the battles were exciting. Hearing Falco goad you across the radio should encourage you to do something daring but in this remake it was just set-dressing. Nothing more.
Star Fox does succeed in being a solid remake of Star Fox 64, on most accounts. This is the prettiest the Lylat System has ever looked and even the oddly realistic character designs started to grow on me after a couple of missions.
Gameplay-wise, it’s just Star Fox 64, which is fine in my opinion because how can you improve upon perfection? Mouse Mode on the Nintendo Switch 2 is a literal game-changer though and I’d wholeheartedly recommend it for your first playthrough.
The game falls short in its characterisation and performances. The story is only narrowly expanded compared to the original and what you get isn’t all that impactful. What I really want to see from the next game is something new.
If Star Fox is intended to be a soft-reboot for an entire fleet of new games, it does the job well, and earns its place in the Nintendo Switch 2 library.
Pros: Stunning reimagining of the Lylat System, Joy-Con Mouse Mode is a delightful game-changer, legacy of the series is intact
Cons: Cast are a shadow of their former selves, please Nintendo tell a new story
For fans of: Star Fox 64 (duh), Metroid, Super Mario Galaxy
Star Fox launches on June 25 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. Review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.