Last week’s Star Fox announcement left me feeling a little mixed. On the one hand, yay, Star Fox again! On the other, oh, Star Fox 64 again.
Truthfully, I didn’t know what to make of the big reveal that Star Fox was really another remake, a reimagining, of Star Fox 64. Maybe it was the fact that I was watching the surprise Direct in a half-shocked daze, minutes before falling asleep, and at the time, it felt like a gap-plug announcement with a vague whiff of “we’ve got this Fox guy in the big new Super Mario Galaxy Movie, what’s the easiest way we can get a game out with his face on the cover?” I was excited, but perhaps a little underwhelmed.
I’m a good bit removed from the reveal now, and I’ve got to say, I’ve changed my mind. I’m now completely on board with Star Fox on Switch 2, and will be there on day one to see what Nintendo has done with the ’97 classic.
Why the sudden change of heart? Well, I replayed Star Fox 64.
I’m sure that many of were in the same boat this past weekend. Star Fox fever is in the air, and with the 64 original right there on NSO, it would have been rude not to. It had been a good few years since I last made the trek from Corneria to Venom, but it’s got to be said, the game still rips. There’s not an ounce of fat on it, the score is phenomenal, and Sector X made me just as scared as it did when I first played it back in the early 2000s.
But some cracks started to show. I’ve long been of the opinion that Star Fox 64 is a near-perfect game, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Suddenly, the prospect of a modern remake started to make a lot of sense.
We’ll start with the whistle-stop nature of it all. Star Fox 64 is an arcade game at heart, an on-rails space shooter that you can blast through in an hour or two, all about replays and getting top scores. It’s one of the things that I love about the original, but in 2026, something tells me that such a loop won’t slide with everyone.
The rise of the roguelike means we’re all used to diving back into things for another run, but after seeing the game’s 15 levels (all of which I can wrap up in a few minutes) and exploring some different routes, that’s about ‘yer lot. I get the impression that high-score chasing isn’t quite as appealing these days as it was in ’97. The price tag is a welcome surprise, of course, but it’s still some pounds to pay for just a few mere hours of entertainment.
Based on that reveal trailer, it seems the Switch 2 remake has more meat on the bone. Those extra cutscenes are bound to beef up the runtime a little, but I’m more interested in that new ‘Challenge Mode’, and the level-specific replayability it’ll no doubt bring. I’m absolutely the kind of player who will return to every single locale just to put a virtual tick in a virtual box, so that’s another few hours right from the jump.
The Direct’s focus on online multiplayer has me hopeful there will be a thriving scene to get involved with there, too — the three game modes look varied enough, and there’s always room for Nintendo to add more down the line. Sure, the 3DS remake boasted many of these too, but I never made much use of the handheld’s online functionality, so it’ll be nice to see things that bit bigger this time around.
The other thing that struck me on this replay, and feel free to get your pitchforks and torches ready now, is that 19 years on, Star Fox 64’s visuals ain’t all that. [Hey now, watch it, Jim… Ed.] I remember the dogfights and planet traversal blowing my socks off back in the day, but times have changed, and no amount of nostalgia filtering can convince me that this still looks good in the way that Ocarina of Time, Pokémon Snap, or Banjo-Kazooie do.
The jury’s still out on the new character designs for me, but seeing an Arwing leave 4K spray trail in Zoness’ waters or glow with the HDR heat of Solar’s flames left my lips pursed in a permanent ‘oof‘ expression. This isn’t the kind of “visual upgrade” we saw on 3DS, but an entire from-the-ground-up reworking. It looks wonderful.
And yeah, now that your pitchforks are sharpened, I’ll throw in a mention of the N64 control scheme, too. Try as you might, I’ll never be convinced that the N64’s multi-button somersaults and wonky aiming are part of its retro charm, but at least that option is still there for you ’90s sickos. Mouse Mode and the potential for some gyro precision are something that I can get behind. Throw in some of that HD Rumble 2 magic, and we might be talking about one of the best-feeling games on the system.
Let me reaffirm that none of this is to the detriment of Star Fox 64 in its original state — I still had a blast with it, and will likely return to it again in the future for a swift nostalgia kick. But I left feeling pleasantly optimistic that Star Fox on Switch 2 could make the great even greater.
Only time will tell whether it actually can do that, of course, but at least I’m excited to dive back in now. If all else fails, 42 quid for a bundle of GameChat AR filters and James McCloud’s new sunglasses sounds like a pretty good deal.
Will you be returning to Star Fox 64 before playing the remake on Switch 2? Let us know in the following poll, then take to the comments to tell us the change you’re most excited for.