Nintendo held a last-minute Star Fox Direct livestream on May 6 to reveal Star Foxa remake of the N64 classic available exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2. It is set to release on June 25, with new game modes and online play.
Star Fox features reimagined visuals and reimagined characters, and everything seems to have a touch of Fantastic Mr. Star Fox about this. Nintendo calls it “a cinematic take” in its press release, and to that end the game features new cutscenes with full voice acting and new mission briefings between levels. Star Fox features campaign mode with easy, normal, and expert difficulties (although expert must be unlocked by playing very well), plus a challenge mode with new objectives and a new battle mode. Battle mode is a four-on-four dogfight arena with three stages: there’s a checkpoint game on Corneria, a crystal collection challenge on Fichina, and a fetch quest against space pirates in Sector Y. You can team up in private matches or join the open queue, and Star Fox will support GameShare locally and online.
The flow and layout of the game’s stages will be exactly as you remember them, as will the banter between Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy and the gang. Star Fox features local co-op throughout the campaign, with one player in control as the pilot and the other as the shooter. It will be compatible with the revamped N64 controller and Joy-Con 2 mouse controls. Since this is a Switch 2 special, Star Fox will also allow players to appear as one of the main crew members with interactive avatars in GameChat.
Nintendo gave a preview of the new Star Fox in action, with the Arwing flying, braking, boosting and barrel rolling, and the Blue-Marine submersible blasting through the squid. The stream ended with a look at the game’s prologue, which featured all sorts of high-flying anthropomorphic animals, including Fox’s father James McCloud and Pigma.