Star Fox | Nintendo Switch 2 | REVIEW

''GEE, A STAR FOX 64 REMAKE, HOW SWELL''

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Developed: Velan Studios

Published: Nintendo

Genre: On-Rails shooter

Release Date: June 25th, 2026

Platforms: Switch 2

GAME PROVIDED TO ME BY NINTENDO

Star Fox is back after a long hiatus and aims to bring the Star Fox crew back into the spotlight where they rightfully deserve to be. Developed by Velan Studios and published by Nintendo, the title promised us that it would be a return to form, however, does the title live up to that expectation? or did it go the way of James McCloud and crash a burn? Only one way to find out, so lets do a barrel roll!

''WHEN YOU'RE FLYING BUT NOT SURE IF ITS JUST A FART OR NOT''

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GAMEPLAY:

Its been ten years since we've been graced with a new Star Fox game, and honestly, its starting to feel like a trend amongst Nintendo games as of recently. Yoshi took nearly 10 years to get a new entry, Tomodachi Life was another that took a decade to get a new game, and now Star Fox shares this same fate. Why does this seem to be a pattern? I have no clue, I'm just over here applying clown make up to my face while I've waited 10 years for a new Mario game and also fooled myself into believing we'll get a new Punch Out entry as well, even though we've had zero hints at the franchise ever coming back after 17 years.. but a girl can dream, right?. My history with the Star Fox franchise has been a rollercoaster of emotions from ''I love this'' to reactions like ''what were they even thinking'', starting all the way back on Star Fox for Super Nintendo and all its weird polygons. Sure it can be normalized nowadays to call its polygons weird like I just did, but honestly, I feel it was ahead of its time on what it accomplished, especially when compared to the worlds ''first'' 64-bit console, the Atari Jaguar. Launching in 1993 at $250, it was touted as a Nintendo and SEGA killer, only.. it couldn't out perform either of them, not even Star Fox's polygons. I mean look at the comparisons between the two, first you have Star Fox with the odd polygons, sure, but banger soundtrack, engaging gameplay and fun cast of characters representing the Super Nintendo, but then over on the Atari Jaguar side, you have ugly pixels, no music, poor level design and an disembodied head that yells at you every time you touch a wall with ''WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FLY'' in a poo storm of a game called Cybermorph. Where did I learn to fly? how about where did you learn how to become such a terrible game!. Anyways, moving on. Years later I moved onto what became my favorite entry into the franchise with Star Fox 64. While I definitely had a great time with the original Star Fox on Super Nintendo, the Nintendo 64 version just took what worked in that, amped it to 100 and gave us some of the most iconic voice overs in video game history, alongside some of the most quotable lines of dialogue as well. Even till this day I'll be playing a game and having a tough time fighting against someone, but find myself harnessing my inner Star Wolf and going ''YOU'RE GOOD, BUT IM BETTER!'' and of course even the classic ''DO A BARREL ROLL!'' line that isn't easy to forget. But beyond the iconic lines of dialogue and fast on-rail shooting mechanics, it ignited something inside of me, something... I had not felt since... Cait Sith... and that is my hatred and disdain for Slippy. He was whiny, annoying, a cry baby, always got in the way of my Arwing fire, and just was an overall nuisance to the team, and then he tried to get us to have a ''bro'' bonding moment when you're under sea in Aquas, and hes like ''Its so beautiful!''. Please JUST SHUT UP, Slippy. But then if that wasn't bad enough, Peppy chimes in with ''You're the best, Slippy!''. Peppy, stop encouraging him!. So because of that, every chance I get, I find ways to shoot him down or just verbally trash him, its mandatory at this point, that little green freak.

Moving on from Star Fox 64 is when the franchise gets a little tricky for me, especially with Star Fox Adventures since technically its not even a real Star Fox game. Star Fox Adventures, as most Star Fox fans know by now, started off as Dinosaur Planet developed by RARE, but since Nintendo wanted a sequel to Star Fox 64 fast and were actively in development of one, they decide to combine their works on the official sequel alongside Dinosaur Planet and mesh the two into one, thus became Star Fox Adventures. While I personally do not see it as a true Star Fox game, much like I don't see Godzilla 98 as a true Godzilla movie, it was still a fun game overall all things considered, and something fresh for the franchise, and didn't even need Matthew Broderick and fish either to make it successful, so that's a win. Star Fox Assault followed next, and while it got mixed reviews overall, I personally thought it was fun as heck with three ways to play ranging from Arwing, Landmaster, and then taking on tasks on foot, but because of that reason, it divided the overall fanbase and had it come up short critically. Due to Star Fox Assaults mixed reactions, Nintendo went back to the drawing board and gave us Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo 3.D.S. with revamped graphics and voice acting, and yes, while it was awesome for sure, the franchise still needed to be redeemed, so our wait continued, and five years later.. our prayers were answered, somewhat. Yes yes, I'm referring to the dreaded Star Fox Zero on the Nintendo Wii U. Speaking from a personal opinion only, I enjoyed the game, graphically it was great, MOST of the gameplay sections were great, but to me what hindered it most were two things, one was the utilization of the Game Pad being pretty pointless and clunky to use, and the second, and well, maybe third reason, I had a hard time adjusting to it alongside others was due to switching to Walker mode, which turned your Arwing into a bird like mechanical assault vehicle, and to me it didnt play very well and felt clunky, same goes with the Gyrowing with you having to lower a robot down then use the gamepad to traverse with it or pick up stuff and move. I'm sorry, but those few things just made it hard for me to love the game overall, even though all the reimagined Arwing areas were freaking great - so again we were stuck waiting for the next entry of Star Fox to get this franchise back on track and hopefully move it in a direction that can be used going into future installments going forward. For 10 more years we waited, and for me personally, I thought the franchise was gone for good and buried into obscurity for the rest of my life, but one day, from out of nowhere, ''CANT LET YOU DO THAT STAR FOX'', we get the announcement of Star Fox 64 Remake for Nintendo Switch 2.... and this is what brings us to the actual review today. Is it the game we've been waiting for? does this game warrant another remake of Star Fox 64? and can this entry be the key to unlocking even more NEW games in the future for this franchise? Honestly? I think so.

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''The Miiverse water guy would've LOVED this''

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I get that people are hesitant about this game, considering to them, ''its just another remake'', and while that's not exactly wrong, at the same time, it's not right either. Nintendo is no stranger to remakes or even remasters of games as of the last two generations between Nintendo Switch and now Nintendo Switch 2 with games like Legend Of Zelda Links Awakening, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Pokemon Lets Go, Paper Mario Thousand Year Door, etc, you get it, all of these have all had their individual strengths and weakness, and now Velan Studios attempts their shot at greatness with this new remake, and honestly, I feel they've done their job. Graphically the game looks great, new additions in between missions for briefings, full on voice acting, stellar combat, and it all truly feels like Velan Studios harnessed their inner Capcom or inner Square-Enix when making this title, because the level of care and detail that both those companies put into their high profiled remakes like Resident 2 and Final Fantasy 7 remake series, shines through with Velan Studios love for Star Fox as well. By expanding the narrative alongside keeping classic gameplay intact, higher visual fidelity, plethora of collectibles, by itself makes it worth it. But don't get it twisted, its not ALL new, and you will definitely have to use your imagination a bit, because, well, its still Star Fox 64, just in a better package with more features. Which can be seen as good thing for people like myself who LOVES Star Fox 64, but at the same time be a detriment to people who wanted ALL new stuff and didn't want to re-tread these waters again. I get it, the hesitation, but with the refined controls, stable and extremely smooth framerate, feeling of faster flying speeds, it just feels better, unlike Slippy who is as annoying as ever. Oh boy, trust me, were going to get to that little jerk shortly, don't you worry. Retreading through familiar set pieces, you'll be able to take part in a Challenge Mode that has you earn medals based off your performance, such as how many hits can you score before the end of a level and how many of your wingmen on your crew did you keep alive, which, uhh, ends up being only two after most missions because I get tired of Slippy and just shoot him down because that jerk deserves it. ''SCRATCH ONE BOGEY!''. However I implore you not to be as unhinged and stupid as I am because some of the huge reasons why Star Fox has so much charm, especially in these challenge modes and throughout history, is because by making you fly properly, take risks and complete challenges, keeping your crew alive, it all allows you to unlock alternate paths and routes that ultimately take you to different planets with new dialogue and enemies to fight, which extends your experience beyond just a leisurely run alongside the ''easy path'' that most people would end up playing without realizing it. By flying under pillars to activate Falco asking you to follow him to a new boss fight, or hitting all the warp zones to be transferred to a new planet, there are so many options that even on two or three playthroughs, you will most likely discover something brand new every time. Speaking of brand new, how about them character designs?. I know its been a hot topic of debate because people think they look ugly or off putting, but for me personally, I just see it as people who either only played Star Fox 64 or later entries and are not familiar with the Super Nintendo puppets advertised for that game, alongside the puppet advertisement in official Nintendo Magazines as well, which is the CLEAR inspiration for the looks of these characters, thats a no brainer. But, what's up with these legs? poor Falco! you got itty bitty chicken legs. He's going to end up having to sneeze and they're gonna snap in half, poor guy. Oh well, if Falco goes out of commission, we'll just call in Howard The Duck, he looks close to their design so it will work. Sadly other features like Co-Op challenges I wasn't able to do as I don't have someone to co-op with, however, I did use Mouse Mode and its pretty dang fun, well after you get used to it that is, because the controls can feel extremely weird at first, but after about 10 to 15 minutes of testing it on a planet like Corneria, it begins to feel second nature and natural and honestly just as fun to play as the standard mode in my opinion. Its a novelty addition sure, but hey, at least we as players are getting choices, unlike past iterations like Star Fox Zero which forced us into a gimmick, so.. progress. But now I want to get into some ''negatives'' per say, about this game because its not perfect.

Everyone knows the iconic voice acting from the original Star Fox 64 and how embedded it is into out brains at this point, with its cheesy delivery, over dramatics and eccentric one liners, 30 years later, were all still quoting them. However, here in the Star Fox remake, most of the iconic lines you remember are either modified, changed or underdelivered with even bland or dry voice over. While the voice cast for all the NEW dialogue like in all your missions briefings are superb and helps immerse yourself with each character, and finally makes them feel cinematic and like real characters, the actual voice overs themselves with communications dialogue comes up short. For example, iconic lines like ''Sorry to jet, but I'm in a hurry'' is completely changed to ''Sorry to jet, but we've got places to be'' which doesnt flow as good as the original lines did, and is delivered very blandly. Same goes for the Corneria boss, when beaten in the original, he screams ''who are you guys!'' and then Fox in a cocky and brazen voice says ''Were Star Fox'', and then BOOM the dude explodes. However, again, here in the remake, that line is changed to ''Were Star Fox, tell your boss were coming for him'' but delivered very dry... - It just doesn't flow right, like at all. It goes like this for the vast majority of iconic lines as if sometimes the voice actors don't want to be there in the recording booth, which is made very much apparent with Falco's old line of ''Gee, I've been saved by Fox, how swell'' which had arrogance behind it, angst and jealousy because Falco and Fox are rivals, but in this remake, he says the line so fast that it loses any impact whatsoever, and feels like the actor just wanted to get his time in the booth done and move on. Its disheartening for sure. Honestly, I think I could've done a better job at SOME of the lines to be fair. Just put me in the game guys, let me go to work. Jokes about doing the lines myself aside, other than the iconic lines being changed or underdelivered, overall the cast is pretty fantastic in their roles with 90% of their dialogue sounding pretty dang good and their voices do match each character, hero or villain, its just as a long time Star Fox fan, having an expectation on dialogue just soured my mood a bit, but nothing that absolutely hurts the game overall. Personal gripes, if you will. My audio whining aside, tip toeing back to the graphical side of this game, it seems to balance the line between Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Zero pretty well, which is a cartoon versus realism art style that goes hand and hand with each other that make the games colors, lightning, level design and fur on each character, complete highlights and a sight to behold, especially when using Game Share to become one of the characters yourself.. and not only is it hilarious, but it looks amazing as well with the level of detail Velan Studios was able to pull off. However, you know what my favorite thing was to pull off in this title? TAKING DOWN SLIPPY. STICK TO THE POND, FROGGY!. I know it seems like I'm picking on Slippy a lot, but you don't get it, he's been a thorn in my side since the 90's, just like Cait Sith from Final Fantasy 7, and honestly I was willing to start over and let bygones be bygones with him since this is a reboot, a remake, and a brand new take on his character, but do you know what happened? literally within 10 minutes of going through the tutorial stage of the game, he screws up flying and destroys the wing on your Arwing... and that made me realize, he didn't change, he's still the same old Slippy. Rocky lied in Rocky 4 by saying ''IF I CAN CHANGE AND YOU CAN CHANGE, EVERYBODY CAN CHANGE'' because its wrong, and this dumb dumb frog is NEVER changing, so he'll stay forever my ENEMY.

Lastly diving into the multiplayer, it can be played either solo by yourself or team up with others using four consoles to play via Game Share, yes that even includes people who only have the original Switch, they're able to join you as well, either locally alongside you and online too, so everyone can enjoy teaming up together or playing the brand new Battle Mode. The battle mode here in the remake, completely blows the original games multiplayer out of the water as far as scale and overall fun goes, whether you're playing by yourself against computer based bots or against others online, it just feels fast and intense dog fighting against other players as you try to raise your own personal accolades and rankings. Flying around in real time with others, trying to down them, trying to take control of their base or area's they're holding down, its just so much fun, even if I'm very mediocre at it. The only thing I ask for going forward is upgrading the map system as right now there's only a bare bones amount available to play on and choose from and hopefully going forward with D.L.C. more options will be made available to keep this mode alive and going for a long time because its one of the best additions to the Star Fox franchise yet.

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''WASSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPP!?!?!''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day Star Fox for Nintendo Switch 2 met nearly all my expectations on what I feel a remake of this type should include or do. with new modern revision, amazing graphics that takes the smoothness of the original 64 title and makes it even better, expanded narrative that gives you more time to hang out with our main cast, an online mode that will keep you engaged long after the main campaign is over - it hits all the right spots. Sure there are downsides like roughly 3 online maps to play at the moment or changed dialogue of classic lines, but even still, those gripes, at least for me, didnt outweigh how much good Velan Studios managed to pack into this remake, and because of their effort, it only makes me even more excited about The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake that is coming later this year that I definitely want to cover. If you're a Star Fox fan or an on-rails genre fan, then do yourself a favor and pick this one up either right now or down the line, because I don't feel you'll be disappointed.. unless you're a fan of Slippy, then you just disappoint me in general. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW.

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