Star Fox 64 remake brings back one of Nintendo’s greatest space adventures

There are some gaming comebacks that feel inevitable, and then there is Star Fox, a series that has spent so long circling Nintendo’s release schedule that fans have started to sound like air-traffic controllers begging for permission to land. For years, every Nintendo Direct has carried the same tiny flicker of hope: perhaps this is the one, perhaps Fox McCloud will finally climb back into the Arwing, perhaps Peppy Hare has been waiting patiently in a hangar somewhere, warming up his vocal cords to deliver the most famous flight instruction in video game history. Now, with Nintendo announcing a full remake of Star Fox 64, known to many European players as Lylat Wars, for the Nintendo Switch 2, it appears the wait is finally over. The Lylat System is calling again, Andross is causing trouble again, and Slippy Toad is almost certainly about to get into trouble again, because some traditions are too powerful to die. This new Star Fox is not just a re-release with sharper textures and a polite handshake from the past. It is being positioned as a proper remake of the 1997 Nintendo 64 classic, rebuilt for modern hardware with new visuals, cinematic presentation, refreshed voice work, orchestral music and updated character designs.

That matters, because Star Fox 64 was always a bigger, louder, more dramatic game than the hardware could fully express at the time. On the Nintendo 64, Corneria was a warzone made of chunky buildings and brave polygons, Meteo was an asteroid field full of ambition, and Venom was a hostile alien world that looked as though someone had fed green triangles into a blender. Yet despite those limitations, the game had atmosphere, pace and personality. It made players feel as though they were part of a desperate sci-fi campaign, even when half the emotional weight came from crackly voice clips and the other half came from Falco Lombardi being rude for no obvious reason. The magic of Star Fox 64 was never only in its graphics, though. It was in the rhythm. You would begin on Corneria, blasting enemy ships out of the sky while your squadmates chattered over the radio, then discover that your choices and performance could send you down different routes across the map. Play well enough, save the right teammate, fly through the right arches, defeat the right boss in the right way, and suddenly the game opened up like a secret conversation between player and designer. It was short by modern standards, but it was built to be replayed. That was the point. Star Fox 64 did not need a hundred-hour campaign, a crafting system or a skill tree where Fox unlocks improved foxiness at level 12. It understood that a tight 45-minute run could be just as satisfying as a sprawling epic if every stage had momentum, challenge and the promise that next time, with cleaner flying and fewer embarrassing crashes, you could do better.

To understand why this remake has caused such excitement, you have to go back to the beginning of the series in 1993. The original Star Fox on the Super Nintendo was a technical marvel for its time, using the Super FX chip to produce 3D polygonal graphics on hardware that was never really designed for that kind of spectacle. Today, it looks primitive in a charming way, like a space opera performed by folded paper models, but in the early 1990s it felt futuristic. Nintendo was not just making another shooter; it was showing players a new visual language. The Arwing swooped between obstacles, enemies emerged from the distance, and the screen seemed to stretch forward into space. It was rough, slow and jagged in places, but it had imagination. It also introduced a cast that should have been ridiculous on paper and somehow became iconic: a heroic fox, a cocky falcon, an ageing rabbit mentor and a nervous toad who behaved as though enemy pilots had personally scheduled him for humiliation. Then came Star Fox 64, and the formula snapped into focus. The sequel took the ideas from the SNES game and refined them into one of Nintendo’s sharpest arcade experiences. The controls were smoother, the missions more varied, the battles more cinematic and the characters far more memorable. It added full voice acting, which was still a major novelty for many Nintendo players at the time, and those voices turned a simple space shooter into something with personality.

Fox was calm and heroic, Falco was arrogant but dependable, Peppy was the veteran who could not stop giving advice, and Slippy was the friend you protected not because he was useful, but because leaving him behind would feel cruel. The dialogue became legendary, not because it was subtle, but because it was perfectly timed, endlessly repeatable and delivered with the kind of theatrical energy that only 1990s cartridge audio could provide. “Do a barrel roll” became more than a line; it became a cultural fossil from the N64 era, preserved in memes, playground impressions and the muscle memory of anyone who instinctively taps the shoulder buttons when danger approaches. “Can’t let you do that, Star Fox” became the sort of villainous interruption that still echoes through retro gaming circles. “Fox, get this guy off me” became Slippy’s unofficial life motto. The lines were short, silly and unforgettable, but they worked because the game around them was so finely constructed. Star Fox 64 knew when to push you forward, when to open up into all-range combat, when to throw in a Landmaster tank section, when to let you dive under the sea in the Blue Marine, and when to simply fill the screen with lasers and trust you to survive. The Switch 2 remake has an obvious opportunity here: it can make the world of Star Fox feel as grand as players always imagined it. Corneria can finally look like a capital city under attack rather than a collection of brave grey structures doing their best.

Sector Y can become a full-scale space battle, with capital ships, explosions and enemy formations filling the screen. Aquas, one of the strangest and most atmospheric missions in the original, can become a glowing underwater nightmare rather than a murky tunnel with fish problems. Macbeth’s train mission can become the spectacular action set piece it always wanted to be. Area 6 can become a true final defensive wall before Venom, an overwhelming gauntlet of enemy forces instead of a noble parade of polygonal targets. The original game suggested all of this with limited tools; a modern remake can finally put it on screen. The danger, of course, is that Nintendo could be tempted to overcomplicate things. Star Fox has not always had the smoothest flight path since 1997, and much of that comes from the series struggling to decide what it wants to be. Star Fox Adventures on the GameCube sent Fox out of the cockpit and into a third-person adventure full of puzzles, staff combat and dinosaurs, because apparently space combat was not enough and someone decided what the franchise really needed was a fox hitting lizards with a stick. It was a handsome and interesting game, but it was not the pure Star Fox experience many fans wanted. Star Fox Assault tried to blend Arwing missions with on-foot shooting and vehicle swapping, with mixed results. Star Fox Command experimented with strategy elements and multiple endings on the Nintendo DS. Star Fox Zero on Wii U attempted to revive the classic formula but divided players with its unusual control scheme, proving once again that sometimes the greatest enemy in the Lylat System is not Andross, but a mandatory second screen.

That uneven history is exactly why returning to Star Fox 64 makes so much sense. It is the safest choice, yes, but it is also the smartest foundation. The original remains the clearest expression of what Star Fox does best: fast missions, branching routes, high-score chasing, memorable banter and vehicle combat that feels immediate without being shallow. A remake allows Nintendo to modernise the presentation while preserving the structure that made the game endure. The key word is preserving. Fans do not need Fox McCloud to become an open-world bounty hunter who gathers mineral samples between missions. They do not need Peppy to have a tragic flashback chapter with slow walking and emotional piano music. They do not need Slippy to run a base-building tutorial, though to be fair, he probably would, and he would probably need rescuing from his own menu system. What they need is the thrill of blasting through a mission, making split-second decisions and discovering that the route map still has secrets to reveal.

The remake also has a chance to give the cast more life without sanding away their charm. Fox McCloud has always been a strangely understated Nintendo hero, cooler than Mario, less mythic than Link and far less emotionally haunted than Samus, but still instantly recognisable. He is the clean-cut squad leader, the professional, the pilot who has to keep everything together while his team behaves like a workplace training video about poor communication. Falco remains one of Nintendo’s great rivals-in-arms, a character who sounds annoyed even when he is helping, as if saving the galaxy is interrupting his plans to lean against a wall somewhere. Peppy carries the emotional history of the team, having known Fox’s father and survived earlier battles, which gives him more weight than the barrel-roll memes sometimes suggest. Slippy, meanwhile, deserves a little more respect than he gets, because behind all the screaming and crashing he is the team’s mechanic, inventor and technical support, meaning he is probably the only reason the Arwings keep flying after everyone else treats them like disposable fireworks. Modern animation and voice acting could make those relationships feel warmer and funnier.

The original game had personality, but it worked in broad strokes. A remake can add small details: a glance from Falco after Fox gives an order, a weary sigh from Peppy before repeating advice he knows nobody listens to, Slippy trying to sound confident and immediately proving why that was a mistake. The trick is not to make Star Fox too serious. This is a franchise about a mercenary space squad fighting a giant disembodied ape scientist. It can have drama, but it must never forget that it is also wonderfully absurd. The best version of Star Fox feels like a colourful arcade anime, where the stakes are huge, the characters are cool, and every few minutes someone says something ridiculous with complete sincerity. One of the most exciting possibilities for the Switch 2 remake is expanded multiplayer. The original Star Fox 64 had local multiplayer, and while it was not the main attraction, it planted the idea that Arwing dogfights could work as their own competitive experience. Modern online play could finally give that idea the room it needs. Quick 4-vs-4 battles, arena dogfights, Landmaster skirmishes and objective-based missions could give the remake a longer life beyond the campaign. Star Fox is naturally suited to multiplayer because it is readable, fast and expressive. You know when someone outflies you, and you definitely know when someone crashes into scenery and then pretends it was tactical. Add character-based chatter, team coordination and a few chaotic stage hazards, and Nintendo could have a surprisingly strong online mode on its hands.

Still, the campaign is what matters most. Star Fox lives and dies by mission design. Every level needs to feel like a ride with choices hidden inside it. The original was excellent at making players feel clever for noticing things: a hidden route, a boss weakness, a way to save a teammate, a more dangerous path that promised a better ending. That sense of discovery must remain. If the remake simply turns the game into a glossy corridor shooter, it will miss the point. If it respects the branching structure and maybe adds new routes, optional objectives or alternate mission conditions, then it could make even veteran players feel that old excitement again. The best outcome would be a remake that feels familiar for the first few minutes, then suddenly surprises you with something new, like finding a secret door in a childhood home. There is also something refreshing about Star Fox returning now, at a time when many games are obsessed with scale. The industry has become very good at offering enormous maps, endless quests and enough icons to make a player feel less like a hero and more like an unpaid cartographer. Star Fox comes from a different design philosophy. It is not about living in a world for months; it is about mastering a route, improving your score and enjoying a compact burst of action that respects your time. That does not make it smaller in value. It makes it sharper. A great arcade-style game can stay in your memory longer than a giant adventure padded with chores. Star Fox 64 proved that nearly thirty years ago, and a modern remake has the chance to prove it again. The nostalgia surrounding this announcement is powerful, but it is not empty.

People remember Star Fox 64 because it was genuinely good. They remember the rumble of the controller, the branching map, the music, the team chatter and the feeling of scraping through a mission with one wing damaged and Falco complaining as though he had personally paid for repairs. They remember discovering the hard route for the first time and realising the game had more depth than it initially revealed. They remember multiplayer battles with friends, arguments over who got to be Fox, and the quiet shame of losing to someone who picked Slippy as a joke. Those memories matter because they were attached to strong design, not just branding. For younger players, this remake could serve as a proper introduction to a franchise they may know mostly from Super Smash Bros. That is important. Fox McCloud has remained visible in Nintendo culture largely because Smash kept him in the public eye, but being good at kicking Mario across a floating platform is not the same as leading a space-combat series. A successful remake could remind players that Fox comes from a world with its own identity: sleek ships, military radio chatter, branching sci-fi missions and a cast that feels unlike anything else in Nintendo’s catalogue. Star Fox has always had the ingredients to be one of Nintendo’s major action franchises.

It just needs a game that sticks the landing. That is why this remake feels bigger than a simple nostalgia play. It feels like a test flight for the future of the series. If it works, Nintendo could have a path forward. New missions, new planets, new multiplayer ideas, perhaps even a completely original sequel that builds on the remake’s foundation. Star Fox does not need to compete with Zelda’s vastness or Mario’s universal appeal. It can occupy its own lane as Nintendo’s stylish arcade sci-fi series, the one you play for speed, spectacle, score chasing and the joy of being yelled at by animal pilots in space. There is real value in that lane, especially if Nintendo remembers that not every beloved franchise needs to become bigger to become better.

The hope is that this new Star Fox understands why the old one lasted. It was not just the memes. It was not just the novelty of voice acting. It was not just the Rumble Pak or the branching map or the fact that Andross looked like the final boss of a fever dream. It was the combination of all those things with precise, replayable, confident design. Star Fox 64 made players feel like skilled pilots while still being accessible enough for newcomers. It was dramatic without being heavy, funny without becoming parody, and challenging without losing its arcade charm. That balance is difficult to recreate, but if Nintendo can manage it, the Switch 2 remake could be exactly the revival fans have been waiting for.

So yes, the Arwing is back. Fox McCloud is returning to active duty. Falco is probably preparing a sarcastic remark. Peppy is almost certainly seconds away from offering advice everyone already knows by heart. Slippy, bless him, may already be in danger somehow, despite the game not being out yet. Andross is once again threatening the Lylat System, because apparently being defeated by a fox in a fighter jet is not enough to discourage a villain with that much forehead. After years of uncertainty, experiments and missed opportunities, Star Fox finally has a chance to reclaim its place in Nintendo’s galaxy. All it has to do is remember the golden rule: keep the flying fast, the routes clever, the banter lively and the barrel rolls mandatory.