Highlights from the Unexpected Star Fox Nintendo Direct

Just as I was about to wrap up for the day, Nintendo surprised us with a shadow drop of a Nintendo Direct on a random Wednesday. This 15-minute showcase was all about Star Fox. Hot on the heels of Fox McCloud’s cameo in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the beloved space pilot is finally making his much-anticipated return to gaming. Here’s what we learned.

First up, we got to see the standout moment from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in stunning quality. Fox’s introduction has an anime-inspired aesthetic that makes me wish for a full series in that style.

Now, onto the main event. The next Star Fox title will simply be called Star Fox, but it’s actually a remake of Star Fox 64 for the Switch 2. It features Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy in a reimagined version of the Nintendo 64 classic, boasting an almost photorealistic art style. The game retains the iconic space, land, and underwater combat from the original, but with a stronger emphasis on character development and storytelling, complete with cinematic cutscenes.

New content includes various challenges for different levels and an updated, objective-based multiplayer mode featuring both Star Fox and Star Wolf. This mode will support online play as well as local multiplayer through the Gameshare feature. Players can also utilize the Switch 2’s mouse controls for precise flying and can split flight and weapon controls between two players using a pair of Joy-Cons. If you prefer a more nostalgic experience, you can still play Star Fox with the Nintendo 64 controller. Additionally, the game will support avatars for the Switch 2’s Game Chat, allowing you to overlay Fox and his crew as a fun filter. I can only imagine how that will be used online.

Star Fox 64 has seen remakes before, like the 3DS version, Star Fox 64 3D, and the Wii U’s Star Fox Zero, which took a different approach to the original. It’ll be interesting to see how fans respond to Nintendo revisiting this classic for a fourth time. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to experience it ourselves, as Star Fox is set to launch on Switch 2 on June 25.

The presentation wrapped up with the game’s prologue, showcasing Fox’s father, James McCloud, getting into some trouble before the main storyline kicks off.