Star Fox is getting an impressive-looking remake for the Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo announced via a shadow-dropped Nintendo Direct event. Simply titled Star Fox, the game is a remake of the popular Star Fox 64 (known in some regions as Lylat Wars) that served as many a fan’s entry into the series back in 1997 on the Nintendo 64 system. This news, while definitely coming out of nowhere, has been building up with the character making an appearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and a major leak at Nintendo pointing to the first new game starring the titular Fox McCloud in nearly a decade coming sometime this year for the handheld.
The game, while boasting updated visuals, appears to offer a mostly unchanged experience from what players remember. Players will once again pilot the Arwing through the skies of Corneria and other locations, aided by Falco, Peppy, and Slippy in supporting ships. The level design will remain relatively unchanged, remaining an on-rail experience, though some minor control over the player’s craft has been added, allowing for boosting and breaking. The sections, including the Landmaster ground tank and Blue-Marine submarine, will also remain included.
Switch 2 mouse controls will be implemented into the game, as well as a two-player mode in which friends can share a set of Joy Cons, with one player controlling the ship while the other controls the gun. If you are looking to recapture a feeling of nostalgia, the Switch 2’s Nintendo 64 controller is completely functional with Star Fox, allowing it to be played traditionally.
While the core story remains unchanged, Nintendo has stated that fresh cutscenes will be added to the game for new story moments between the characters, and expansion of the overall narrative. The main story can also be played in Easy, Normal, or Hard difficulty, with the latter featuring perma-death, barring the ability to continue from a game over. Challenge mode will allow you to replay levels with new objectives not found in the main game. This, combined with the veteran’s difficulty, means even players very familiar with the game have new ways to enjoy it.
An online mode, known as battle mode, has also been added to the game, which is available locally or online via GameShare. It will see one team take the role of the Star Fox pilots as they face off against the Star Wolf team in head-to-head 4v4 dogfights. Different stages will have different missions, such as battling over the zone control on Cornelia or collecting energy crystals on the ice planet of Fichina. An additional feature of the online play is the ability to apply AR filters via GameChat for any members of the Star Fox team, with character facial movement synced to mirror yours. Now you can tell your friends to do a barrel roll the right way.
Star Fox launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 25.
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