Well, we finally got a new Star Fox game! It’s yet another remake of Star Fox 64, which itself was a remake/reimagining of Star Fox on the SNES. This is the fourth time Nintendo has effectively remade Star Fox for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System from the year Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Three. The series now has five entries that are new and different games, and five that are kinda the same game. It has been 20 years since a genuinely new game in the franchise. The level design in Star Fox Zero may be wholly different from Star Fox 64, but it’s still trying to be Star Fox 64. This made me wonder: is Star Fox doomed to repeat itself over and over for the rest of time?
Let me pose you another question: what Star Fox games would you consider “good”? Adventures? Assault? Command? Guard? Zero? Even as a massive fan of the series, I like 2 to 3 games on that list. I’d wager that most people online would consider all of them bad, even if they haven’t actually played them. I’m guilty of this too, before I actually played Zero I assumed it was terrible. Now it’s my favorite game in the franchise, followed by Assault, then 64. So, what is Nintendo to do other than just keep remaking the same successful game over and over again when all the others are seen as commercial failures?
I don’t believe that’s how Nintendo sees the series, however. Despite being a multi-billion dollar company, I do think they actually have more creative integrity than that and actually respect their developers to make the games they want to make. Someone at Nintendo wanted to make a new Star Fox game and that team certainly has… a vision. Despite my initial reaction to the character designs being horror and disgust (no shade to any furries, even a lot I know don’t like these designs), they are somehow growing on me as I stare at screenshots and write this article to process my feelings.
Putting aside the designs, the game looks amazing. They seem to be leaning into the space opera tone that worked so well in Assault and to… mixed results in Command. I always wanted to spend more time with these goobers, and from what we’ve seen that’s exactly what we’re getting. Cutscenes between stages with the Star Fox Team just hanging out on the Great Fox. They’re also diving more into the lore and backstory similar to the stellar (pun intended) A Fox in Space animated series; showing what James McCloud was up to when he went missing. There’s a small detail on James’ Arwing, with both his and Fox’s pawprints on the side, that really tells me someone cares a lot about how this story will be told and presented. It’s basic, but gives me hope we’re moving back to the Nintendo that cared at least a little about storytelling.
This is precisely what I want from a Star Fox game. Heck, over the years I’ve been chipping away at a mock design doc for my own hypothetical Star Fox game that does just that, leaning into the space opera and focusing on the character relationships, drama, and friendship. I just wish it was a brand new story with brand new levels to go along with all that.
Which brings us back to the original question: is Star Fox doomed to repeat itself? I think the answer is: kinda. On one hand, remaking what, to most, is the best game in the franchise pretty much guarantees sales. If the games industry as a whole has learned anything in the past decade or so, it’s that people will buy what they already know they like over something even just slightly less familiar. It’s a safe bet to bring the franchise back into the public consciousness, along with having Fox in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and lets Nintendo easily train any new devs on staff by having them make an already proven game. As disappointed as I am that it’s just Star Fox 64 again, this is probably the right decision.
However! That doesn’t mean the series can’t move forward after this. The Switch 2 is early enough in its life that it’s plausible we’ll get another Star Fox game on it, so long as someone at Nintendo is willing to make one. It just can’t take another 10 years, or the momentum will be long gone. Nintendo can mitigate however long it takes to make a sequel by dropping older games on NSO or remastering them. Assault would be perfect on NSO with its multiplayer at the very least, and I’d be open to giving Command and Adventures another chance. Anything other than letting the series go dormant again.
And if we do get a sequel? It needs to be fresh. Not a remake of Star Fox 2 or Assault or Adventures or whatever. We need a new plot, new levels, and new-ish characters. Please bring back Miyu and Faye Nintendo. I'm begging you. Star Fox needs some women. Ideally more than just Krystal. Push the series forward. If indie games like Ex Zodiac, Wild Blue Skies, and Whisker Squadron are pushing the rail shooter just a bit further, just imagine how far could Nintendo take it.
So is Star Fox doomed? No, but it depends on what happens after. To put it another way, the franchise’s situation is a lot like the games themselves: reliant on playing the same levels over and over again for high scores. With Star Fox on Switch 2, I really hope they break some records.
Also, can we all agree to ignore leakers who ruin surprises like this for everyone?
