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I’ve never been a massive Star Fox fan, and, for most modern Nintendo fans, I suspect that to be the case, too. I equally expect that to totally change with Star Fox, a remake of the Nintendo 64 classic that was titled Lylat Wars here in Australia, that totally reinvents the game and makes it much more appealing.
The big one is obviously the visuals, which have been totally rebuilt, making both the characters and environments look a lot nicer than they ever have. Running at a silky smooth frame rate and playing in 4K in TV mode, the game looked fantastic, with each of the three demo levels looking unique from one another, with the new graphical style really helping bring that to life.
In a bigger change, though, the original game never placed huge emphasis on its story, which was part of my issue, but this is totally different in the Nintendo Switch 2 version, with brand new cutscenes that are absolutely gorgeous and make you care much more about the mission that you’re about to embark on.
Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy have all been given a total re-design as well, making them look like puppets, matching their original design intention, and it just gives the entire game a whole new level of personality that makes you care about the story so much more.
Star Fox’s gameplay, at its core, was fairly simple, and that’s still the case with this remake. In the three missions I got to take on, it was just taking control of the Arwing with several different weapons and power-ups, with the levels made up of both linear on-rails portions and more option dog-fighting segments.
Whilst you can go from the A to B to get to the end of the level, there are some different routes you can take and scenarios that can play out, based on rescuing certain characters or completing certain mini-objectives. This allows you not only to experience new parts of the level, but to totally change the outcome of the story, so this isn’t a game that is meant to be played once.
I really like that element of the game and felt it was unique, and it’s good that people who want to just blast through the game while enjoying the basics can seemingly do that, and those who want to get every inch out of the story can also do that. It’s a game that seems simple to play, but quite difficult to master, which I’d love to see more Nintendo games take on.
I still think that the game won’t be for everyone based on the gameplay, but I think with the added story elements, and how great the game looks, these will both go a long way to making Star Fox a household name alongside the likes of Mario and Zelda, especially on the heels of the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
The game also makes use of the console’s more bespoke features; you can control the gun of the Arwin using mouse mode, which works really well, and you can also play the game in co-op with one person controlling the ship and the other responsible for shooting. The game is also compatible with the Nintendo 64 controller, which I got to experience, and it works fairly well.
I also got to experience the new online multiplayer dog fight mode, which pits two teams of four against each other, with the main goal being to make it into a zone to secure an area while taking those out around you. It’s frantic, and a lot of fun, and takes the skills that you learn from the main game and ups the ante.
Another new feature is the ability to use virtual avatars from Star Fox in GameChat, another of the console’s features we’re happy to see utilised more. You can take on the faces of Fox, Falco, Peppy, or Slippy in totality, and seeing these characters mimic facial expressions one-for-one further enhances their puppet look. Or you can just add features piecemeal, like ears or a little hat to your actual face, both of which are adorable.
