How Many Games Could a Star Fox Star If a Star Fox Could Star Fox: Star Fox (2026)
- T.J. "Millie" Archer
- Jul 22
- 8 min read
Except that’s actually not true, is it? Once a staple character of Nintendo’s lineup, there is a significant group of gamers that have only a vague understanding of what Star Fox actually is. Almost in the same way the west had little experience on who Roy and Marth were in the original Super Smash Bros in 1999, an inverse started to emerge with Fox, with many only knowing him as the kiai-yelling lighting bruiser he made a name for in that community.
The fact is that Star Fox had an identity crisis following the GameCube. Unsure if it wanted to be an RPG or a third-person action/vehicle shooter, the series was used to try to evolve Nintendo’s gameplay diaspora into the new millennium. As the years went on, it was compounded by a console crisis with the Wii U that some might feel was unfairly judged with it’s unusual control scheme. (The detractors were right, by the way; we figured this out in the 1960’s with the diffusion of the heads-up display in the Buccaneer and JHMCS-style weapons cueing in the 1990’s).
The fact is that Nintendo *hasn’t* been stellar at remaking Star Fox. Arguably they’ve only succeeded once, with the reimagining for Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo 64. One of my favorite games of all time, as I’ve mentioned in the past in my Afterburner Climax review—it set the standard for how a 3D rail shooter should be approached. A hyper-responsive control scheme and lightning fast movements in your X-Y axis’d box translated stealthily into Fox’s movements in Super Smash Brothers.
The third “remake” in Star Fox 3D for the 3DS was of course competent, but a well-crafted remastered port for a mobile system; not truly a remake. It was Star Fox Zero on the Wii U that seemed to make gamers and Nintendo themselves question the relevance of this franchise in a world moving on from rail-based gameplay best left to the limits of arcade machines. It didn’t do well despite initially high industry praise; primarily due to the afore mentioned questionable control element and it’s release on a floundering console. Time has not been most kind to it, with its greatest proponents still struggling to convince longtime fans that it was a diamond in the rough.
Ten years passed. General Pepper suddenly noticed strange activity coming from Venom—Er… I mean, there had been nary a word on the life of this franchise. Until an extended cameo from Fox McCloud in the Super Mario Galaxy movie came as a genuine surprise to the dwindling Star Fox fan following. This kick-started speculation that there might be a game under development; after all, why bring what had become something of an obscure character out of limbo--with a rather complete introduction--in what was destined to become one of the hottest family-friendly movies of the year if not to start a pipeline for young watchers to become invested in another Nintendo property?
In a shock Nintendo Direct announcement for May 5th, 2026, dubbed Star Fox Direct, the speculators won out in spades. Star Fox, sans any subtitle, was going to be released on the Nintendo Switch 2 for a modest sum of $49.99 globally.
And they got it right. Star Fox (2026) is the essence of what fans have actually been asking for in a Star Fox game. American developer Velan Studios understood the assignment and did the extra credit. Despite some… trepidation on the redesigns of the characters as they grazed the surface of the uncanny valley for some people (myself included), the presentation and gameplay for this game is so rock solid that it’s held back by the controller hardware in what seems like an inverse way to its Zero predecessor.
First things first; despite the honestly well-designed control scheme for the game using either the Joycons or the Switch/Switch 2 Pro controllers, this game shines using the N64 controller. It’s not just nostalgia at play here; the default control scheme using the default Switch controller options put the Smart Bomb release button a hair’s breadth out of reach of your thumb on the X button, above the laser fire button, B. This means it is effectively impossible to “heel-toe” the two buttons for maximum effect. Not only does it make it difficult to actually lock and fire the Smart Bomb, in a very specific but crucial way, it makes it all but impossible to get enough hits off on planet Aquas for a medal… Hmm, you can already see how I’m approaching this like you already know the intricate details of the game I’m talking about.
And in a sense, maybe that’s not unwarranted for what may be the worst possible audience for this game to have: People who have already played the game before picking up the controller, because that’s what it is—literally frame-for-frame, beat-for-beat, this *is* Star Fox 64. But it also isn’t. I don’t know if there is Star Fox 64 game code hidden deep in this game, but it is so on point in the way it controls, I’d love to actually do a side-by-side comparison of the game code to see, and I suspect others would as well. But the presentation also suggests otherwise.
Running at a full 60 frames per second at 1080p, there are hints that this is scratch remake. Extended hitboxes are non-existent—you have to aim far more precisely. Weapon ranges have been extended, allowing you to make hits you never could before, and in some cases where some enemies appeared to be incorrectly programmed and could not take laser hits, they can now. This points to something deeper in the base gameplay that likely can only have been done with a scratch build. That 60 frames-per-second will betray you as well; there’s no delay in the action and you have to be locked in at all times to keep those kill combos rolling in. Though I am actually lamenting the loss of the unintentional frame slow-down during large explosions. It truly was the flaw that made the masterpiece.
There has been a tone shift in the overall presentation of the game from it’s ’64 progenitor. Replays have made me more comfortable with the character design and portrayal (though portrayal always was a just a stock character set no matter what some people might tell you), but we’ve evolved from the campy, over-the-top cartoon-like presentation a la “SWAT Kats” and moved more into an actual war game portrayal. Now I’ll admit that I lament the loss of some of the wonderful, hammy voice acting from ’64, but the new portrayal is actually quite welcoming.
Beyond just working to build a fundamental base universe in dialogue, Holoviewer lore-dumps, and well-written briefings, there’s still enough homages to the original game that it’s clear this was a very deliberate and planned out direction by the dev team, and I suspect it’s leading somewhere should this game be as successful as the reviews and sales numbers seem to be indicating. Suffice to say I think the dialogue and in particular the briefing scenes are actually quite on point, and in presentation do I dare say actually somewhat surpass an understanding of strategy over contemporary Ace Combat? Yeah, I dare. That seems crazy to say; and also isn’t unwarranted. After all, Namco helped with Star Fox Assault and Star Fox Zero (with an excellent Keiki Kobayashi score and a clear reference to Ace Combat Zero in the latter). However, I also admit that after you run through each of these, the short story and variations on themes will simply be skipped—you’ll want to move on during those continuing replays.
And that’s where the game, just as its 64-bit predecessor, shines brilliantly. Your senses backed up by the note-for-note orchestral remake of the original game’s soundtrack, this is one of those games where “skill issue” is always the answer to poor performance. Whether it’s slamming into ships in Sector Y, failing the warp rings in Meteo, or getting crushed by rocks in Macbeth, your failures are yours. Once again thanks to the graphical fidelity and framerate, I found myself losing a wing in places I never would have in ’64. Yet every time I knew it was my mistake.
Sure, I’d curse the game like any self-respecting human would, but I knew—I saw that tower coming and I spun into it. I failed to let my G-Diffuser recharge and messed up that somersault. In fact, I found myself braking and boosting far more dynamically than I did in ’64; the movement is so sharp and responsive that I feel like I’m willing to take risks I didn’t before. I just wish my older hands could still fire the laser as fast as I once was able to, because I’m certain that the laser’s fire rate is limited on by my ability to mash the button.
Getting good is crucial if you want to survive the gauntlet that is the multiplayer space in this game. I get the feeling that Nintendo really wanted to position this game as a social center. Between the V-tuber-esque avatar comm system (which… actually is pretty good for an out-of-the-box experience it seems?) there is the frame of an exciting, fast-paced multiplayer platform. It feels like there was some real thought put into this as a pick-up-and-go experience.
Three game modes are presented to you as you battle as either Star Fox or Star Wolf over Corneria, Fichina, or Sector Y: Region control, treasure hunt, or cargo run, respectively. It’s a little more nuanced than that, but there is clearly some influence from FPS game modes here. It can be a chaotic experience as you run around in all-range mode collecting power ups and keeping the rival team’s numbers down to secure your objectives. Bombs can be supplanted by different weapons pickups like multi-missiles or a shield upgrade, and matches don’t last more than five minutes.
A local bot-only match is available for all modes if you just want to get pestered by the AI; they’ll ride your ass into a wall without remorse; but again—I think I may just suck. I think there may be a bit of console-FPS style auto-aim for the laser in this mode, as taking down enemy players felt easier than engagement in single-player.
Regardless it’s legitimately an enjoyable run, but it’s limited, and I grew bored of bot battles quickly. I think there’s room for expansion here and hopefully Nintendo considers map packs and additional game modes to extend the shelf life.
Just as before, though; the main game is short on purpose, and it emphasizes replay. And with the Challenge Mode they’ve hammered the point home. Beyond just medaling systems as before, you can jump right into each of the levels that you’ve unlocked on previous playthroughs to fulfill an arbitrary set of challenges to 100% the game. It could be as simple as fulfilling the Mission Accomplished state for the respective stage, or as frustrating as defeating a major late-game boss without taking a lick of damage. I’d have actually been very grateful for this in ’64, as it would have let me practice a couple of hard-to-medal planet runs more directly. But maybe I wouldn’t have gotten as good as I am now without the need to have to run my way to those respective stages each time…
Am I so biased towards my love of this series and the Nintendo 64 masterpiece that I am struggling to find flaws in the game? Well… dang, maybe. But the standout issue? It’s still just a remake. To bring a well-beat comparison to another space fairing franchise, Star Fox led an eerily similar path to Star Wars: changing up the formula in later releases that alienated much of the base. But after a slumber, The Force Awakens proved that there was an understanding; sure, it has very familiar beats to the original release, but it’s meant to act as a statement that the creators listened and knew what you really wanted out of these movies. I am extremely hopeful that this will be the last remake we’ll get of this game—the devs knew what they were doing and showed it. Now let’s take the smooth fork in the road and not the road into controversial takes on direction and quality. Don’t “Last Jedi” me, Nintendo.
About the Writer
T.J. "Millie" Archer is Life-long realist and aviation enthusiast. Once the co-founding Administrator of the Electrosphere.info English Ace Combat Database. In the present day he is freelance, roving the internet in search of the latest aviation news and entertainment. [Read Staff Profile]
