Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 Preview: It Has Earned Its Wings

I have long since lost track of how often I completed Star Fox 64. It was the sort of game I restarted immediately after reaching the end, determined both to surpass my best score and to uncover additional secrets before confronting Andross in the dramatic final showdown. Unfortunately, the series drifted off course after that landmark game. Regardless of whether Nintendo, Rare, Namco, Platinum, or any other team has taken a turn at it, nothing has restored the magic of that N64 classic.

Nintendo announced Star Fox for Nintendo Switch 2 last month in an effort to steer the Star Fox franchise back in the right direction. The game is a remake of Star Fox 64, featuring updated visuals, voice performances, cinematics, challenges, and multiplayer options. I travelled to New York to spend an hour with the newest Star Fox game, and, so far, it has earned its wings.

Star Fox 64 returns on Nintendo Switch 2

Before beginning the story campaign, I worked through the training mode, which is divided into several segments. It teaches the controls on the modern gamepad, including single-button inputs for somersaults and U-turns. A short cinematic then shows the team leaving the training simulation before moving into the campaign opening.

The campaign gave me the opportunity to watch Fox's conversation with General Pepper ahead of the first Corneria mission. The briefing feels far more natural, while providing substantially more background on events across the galaxy. Once the introductory scene plays, with the team reporting their respective statuses, the Corneria mission gets under way.

Star Fox looks superb in action, and Corneria is especially impressive. Highly detailed spacecraft and environments complement the focused gameplay, excellent original designs, and hectic action perfectly. Better still, Star Fox plays as well as it ever did. If you have spent as much time with it as I have, the muscle memory returns almost immediately.

I was able to tackle Corneria twice: once via the standard route, then again via the "good" route, flying beneath the arches and trailing Falco through the waterfall. Defeating Granga in All-Range Mode took me under a minute, which is to say that it feels exactly like the original. The "secret" Attack Carrier encounter reached by passing through the waterfall is similarly faithful.

Campaign routes and co-op play

My second Corneria run was in co-op. I handled steering with a Pro Controller, while my partner used a Joy-Con in Mouse mode for aiming and firing. This approach demands communication and an ability to predict the other player's movements, making it a tougher way to play. I am not sure I will devote much time to this mode, but having the choice is welcome.

I then played Meteo, the asteroid field that forms the second mission along the lower route. Even now, watching the meteors ricochet off one another remains impressive, and I enjoyed seeing redesigned versions of several of the stage's more unusual enemy units. Rather than continuing to the Meteo Crusher boss at the end, however, I unlocked the alternative route by using the warp gates to enter the warp zone. Its kaleidoscopic effect makes the warp zone a strikingly colourful sight in this version.

Intermission cinematics reveal far more about the fight against Andross. General Pepper acknowledges the branching paths and, whenever a choice is available, explains the mission associated with each level. Ordinarily, Meteo's warp zone would lead me to Katina to help Bill-a mission I have always particularly liked-but the cinematic has General Pepper explain what is at stake in every available mission, so the decision feels more meaningful.

I was eager to continue the campaign, but it was time to explore the multiplayer portion. While I will always regard Star Fox 64's campaign as the main attraction, its multiplayer Battle Mode was a fixture of gatherings with friends, despite being extremely barebones, even once I had unlocked the special on-foot mode. Star Fox on Switch 2 completely overhauls the multiplayer offering, supporting online or GameShare multiplayer for up to eight players. It is not limited to deathmatch, either: Star Fox's Battle Mode suite includes three maps, all with distinct objectives.

Star Fox Battle Mode multiplayer and character designs

On Corneria, multiplayer revolves around capturing zones across the map, whereas Fichina asks players to gather energy crystals. I played several Sector Y matches, which place you in an enormous All-Range Mode arena occupied by NPCs alongside the human players. Divided into two teams of four-Star Fox versus Star Wolf-we attacked pirates transporting cargo, before collecting it and taking it back to our own bases. We did not have all eight players, so bots filled the vacant positions on each team, and they were remarkably capable; opposing bots downed me several times. This Battle Mode expands on Star Fox 64's multiplayer concept in countless ways. I am looking forward to spending hours matchmaking in it.

Many of Nintendo's decisions for Star Fox on Switch 2 have proved divisive, but I am largely positive about what the developers appear to have achieved. The series has been absent from the cultural conversation for long enough that several generations of players know Fox, Falco, and Wolf better as Super Smash Bros. fighters than as the stars of their own games. With that in mind, returning this version of Star Fox to its narrative origins is logical. More developed cinematics and what appears to be a vastly expanded amount of dialogue should give both newcomers and returning players a deeper understanding of the characters, their relationships, and the way their story unfolds throughout this adventure. I hope this entry reminds players why this story is so well liked before Nintendo takes it in fresh directions.

The Japanese box art for Star Fox (1993) on Super Famicom and the key art for Star Fox (2026) on Switch 2

Perhaps even more contentious are the character designs. I admit that Fox and Falco in particular initially struck me as jarring, especially beside the more streamlined Fox design from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Nintendo did itself no favours by opening the announcement Direct with footage from that film). Over the following weeks, though, I have grown to appreciate these designs. That shift began when I realised that they largely pay tribute to the original puppets from the SNES Star Fox game, something particularly clear when comparing the Japanese Super Famicom box art with the Switch 2 key art above.

Beyond that, seeing the character models moving within the game's context convinced me that they genuinely look good. They work in cinematics, but are particularly effective when their faces appear during gameplay to deliver dialogue. I truly believe that, once players and fans acclimatise to the new designs-as they had to do with Donkey Kong last year-this version of the characters will be broadly regarded as successful.

As this preview likely makes clear, I loved my time with Star Fox. Having 100 percented Star Fox 64 years ago, I was especially disappointed not to try the new Challenge mode, but the campaign, co-op, and competitive multiplayer are all striking the right notes. I could not say how many times I have played through Star Fox 64's story over my lifetime, but I can promise that I will significantly increase that total when this remake launches for Switch 2 on June 25.