Star Fox (2026) Preview – Pretty Smooth Flying
Platform:
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer:
Nintendo
Release:
Rating:
Everyone 10+
Somewhere along the lines, I lost count of the number of times I beat Star Fox 64. It was one of those games that I would start over as soon as I finished it, aiming to not only beat my high score, but find more secrets en route to taking on Andross in the climactic final battle. Sadly, the franchise lost its way after that masterpiece, and no matter what studios like Nintendo, Rare, Namco, Platinum, or any of the other teams that have tried, nothing has recaptured the magic of that N64 game.
To attempt to put the Star Fox franchise back on the right track, Nintendo last month announced Star Fox for Nintendo Switch 2, a game that remakes Star Fox 64 with new graphics, voice acting, cinematics, challenges, and multiplayer modes. I flew to New York to spend an hour playing this latest Star Fox title, and it has, thus far, earned its wings.
Before diving into the beginning of the story campaign, I play through the training mode, which takes place over the course of multiple segments. After learning how these controls work on the modern gamepad (including one-button options for somersaults and U-turns), I get a brief cutscene showing the team exiting the training simulation and transitioning to the beginning of the campaign.
In the campaign, I get a chance to see the call between Fox and General Pepper in the lead-up to the first mission on Corneria. The mission briefing is much more organic and grants significantly more context about what’s happening in the galaxy. Once the intro cutscene, where the team reports their statuses, plays, the mission on Corneria begins.
Star Fox looks incredible in motion, and Corneria looks fantastic. The highly detailed ship models and environments perfectly complement the tight gameplay, strong original designs, and frenetic action. Speaking of which, Star Fox feels as good as ever, and if, like me, you’ve played it a lot, it doesn’t take long for the muscle memory to kick in.
I have the chance to play through Corneria twice: first, on the normal track, and second, on the ‘good’ track where you fly under the arches and follow Falco through the waterfall. Taking down the Granga in All-Range Mode took me less than a minute, which is to say, it’s just like the original. The “secret” encounter with the Attack Carrier after going through the waterfall stays consistent with that.
In this second playthrough of Corneria, however, I was doing so in co-op, where I steered using a Pro Controller, and my co-op partner used a Joy-Con in Mouse mode to aim and shoot. This gameplay style requires a level of communication and anticipation of where the other will go, making for a more difficult way to play. I don’t know that I’ll spend much time in this mode, but it’s nice to have the option.
Next, I play Meteo, the asteroid field that serves as the second mission of the bottom path. Watching the meteors bounce off each other still feels impressive all these years later, and I loved seeing the new designs of some of the odder enemy units in this stage. However, rather than going through to the end to face off against the Meteo Crusher boss, I instead unlock the alternate route using the warp gates to access the warp zone. Thanks to the kaleidoscope effect of this area, the warp zone is a beautiful, vibrant sight to behold in this release.
The cutscenes between missions show off much more about the effort against Andross, including General Pepper acknowledging the branching paths, and laying out the missions of each level in instances where you have a choice. After Meteo’s warp zone, the path would normally take me to Katina to assist Bill (a personal favorite mission of mine), but in the cutscene, General Pepper lays out the stakes of each selectable mission, making it feel like a more impactful decision.
I was itching to play more of the campaign, but it was time to move to the multiplayer side of the experience. Though I will always consider the campaign of Star Fox 64 the main course, the multiplayer Battle Mode was a mainstay for me at friend gatherings, despite being super barebones, even after I unlocked the special on-foot mode. Star Fox on Switch 2 revamps the entire multiplayer suite, allowing for online or GameShare multiplayer for up to eight players. And it’s not just deathmatch; Star Fox’s Battle Mode suite gives you three maps to choose from, each with its own objectives.
On Corneria, the multiplayer objective consists of securing zones around the map, while Fichina has you collecting energy crystals. I played a couple of matches in Sector Y, which dumps you into a giant All-Range Mode area full of NPCs and the other human-controlled players. Split into two teams of four (Star Fox vs. Star Wolf), we blasted pirates smuggling cargo, then retrieved and delivered it to our respective bases. We didn’t have a full eight players, so the remaining characters on our team were replaced with bots, who were surprisingly competent; I was downed by the opposing team’s bots on multiple occasions. This version of Battle Mode evolves the concept of Star Fox 64’s Battle Mode in so many different ways. I can’t wait to spend hours matchmaking in this mode.
Though many of Nintendo’s choices for Star Fox on Switch 2 are polarizing, I fall on the side of liking much of what the developers have seemingly accomplished with this title. With the series being out of the cultural zeitgeist long enough that multiple generations of players think of Fox, Falco, and Wolf more as Super Smash Bros. characters than stars of their own game series, it makes sense to take the series’ story back to the origin of this iteration of Star Fox. With the more fleshed-out cutscenes and seemingly vastly increased dialogue, new and returning players alike will get even more insight into who these characters are, the dynamics that exist between them, and how their story plays out over the course of this adventure. My hope is that this entry will serve as a reminder of this well-liked story before Nintendo takes the story in new directions.
The Japanese box art for Star Fox (1993) on Super Famicom and the keyart for Star Fox (2026) on Switch 2
And perhaps even more controversial: the character designs. I’ll admit that Fox and Falco, in particular, were jarring to me the first time I saw them, particularly when juxtaposed against the sleeker Fox design from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Nintendo did itself no favors by starting the announcement Direct with that movie footage), but in the subsequent weeks, I’ve come to appreciate the character designs. It all began with the realization that these designs are largely meant to pay homage to the original puppets from the Star Fox game on SNES, which is especially evident when you compare the Japanese Super Famicom box art with the key art for Switch 2 (see above).
But even beyond that, once I saw the character models in motion within the context of the game, I came around to genuinely thinking they look good. This is true when they’re in the cutscenes, but it’s especially true when their faces pop up during gameplay to deliver a voice line. I truly think that once players and fans adjust to the new design, just as they needed to with Donkey Kong last year, this version of the characters will be widely considered good.
As you can probably tell from this preview, I loved my time with Star Fox. As someone who 100 percented Star Fox 64 all those years ago, I really wish I could have played some of the new Challenge mode, but the campaign, co-op, and competitive multiplayer are all hitting the right notes. I don’t know how many times I’ve played through Star Fox 64’s narrative in my life, but I can guarantee you I will be greatly adding to that number with this remake when it arrives on Switch 2 on June 25.
