Star Fox: an almost perfect remake

Philipp Rüegg

24/6/2026

Translation: Katherine Martin

Pictures: Philipp Rüegg

The Nintendo 64 classic has been given a shiny new remake. Gameplay-wise, Fox McCloud is as cool as ever. He’s only showing his age when it comes to staying power.

Star Fox might just be my favourite Nintendo 64 game. I remember taking the Bremgarten-Dietikon train and trekking for half an hour to Media Markt to buy my brand-new copy of Lylat Wars (as it was called in Switzerland) like it was yesterday. And of course, the Rumble Pak – the vibration adapter that made the action feel truly authentic – was an essential part of the fun. In terms of both graphics and gameplay, the game was a belter: varied missions, thrilling boss battles and branching level paths. Simply awe-inspiring.

Now, nearly 30 years on, Nintendo is releasing a remake of the classic, developed by US company Velan Studios (Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, Knockout City). Visually, the game is barely recognisable, but the basic structure and level design are virtually identical to the original. This has its pros and cons.

The intro mission featuring Fox’s father is new. After that, the game starts on the planet Corneria, just like it did back in 1997. And just like back in the day, my eyes are like saucers as I fly over the crystal-blue sea. The graphics look amazing – enough to make me want to book a holiday right there by the ocean.

But there’s no time for holidays: the first enemy spaceships are already appearing. Star Fox works like a classic rail shooter, your Arwing hurtling forward like it’s on a track. You can briefly brake or accelerate, but that uses up energy. So I use my blue lasers to take out anything that gets in my way.

Enemies appear exactly as I remember them from the N64. My memory of the game is still so clear that I know what my crew are going to say before they’ve said it. Mind you, some of their lines have changed ever so slightly. I instinctively charge up my power shot to take out Slippy’s pursuers. What would you do without me, you clumsy frog?

However, the Arwings are much nimbler than they used to be. The developers have adapted the controls for modern dual-analogue-stick systems, whereas in the original, you had to make do with just one stick. When I play the remake, I manoeuvre effortlessly through all the stone arches in the first mission – the bane of my life when I was 15. If you manage to shoot down Falco’s pursuers, you’ll unlock an alternate route through a waterfall. Instead of Granga, the walking war machine, there’s a flying transformer waiting for you there.

You unlock the planets in the Lylat System by completing certain objectives. Back in the N64 days, I was forced to rely on tips from my school friends, who’d picked them up from gaming magazines. Since the requirements are the same in the remake, a quick internet search is all I need to get by. Though you do stumble on most of the game’s secrets by playing through it the regular way. Sometimes you have to fly through portals, other times you have to defuse a bomb in time or leave Slippy to fend for himself in a dicey situation.

The design of the animal crew sparked some debate in the runup to the game’s release. Fox, for example, looks pretty different to how he did in the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Personally, I like his look. Brief exchanges with General Pepper lend slightly more depth to the characters, though they take place almost exclusively aboard the Great Fox, McCloud’s flying base. I was hoping for a little more creativity on that front.

That aside, the Star Fox remake is just as much fun as the original. To this day, hardly any other game delivers this blend of arcade-style flight action, colourful visuals and epic boss battles.

I love rediscovering the planets and blasting imaginatively designed spaceships and robots out of the sky until my fingers hurt. The excitement really ramps up when laser upgrades come into play. Every now and then, I hop into the Landmaster tank or the Blue Marine submarine (the latter of which I had totally forgotten about). At the end of the game, you’re confronted with a giant clam loaded with rockets. The bosses are the highlight of Star Fox. Although some are easy to beat, the way they’re designed always takes me by surprise.

The difficulty level, however, isn’t perfectly balanced. Although I could complete most missions with my eyes closed, the duels against the Star Wolf team really put my nerves to the test. I’m constantly having to rescue my comrades while two hunters are hot on my heels. I barely escape my first encounter with Andross, surviving by the skin of my teeth on my last life.

Star Fox draws its lifeblood from being played through multiple times so that players can internalise the mechanics and attack patterns. At the same time, this is its Achilles’ heel. In the original, being able to play the same missions over and over again was a given. After a handful of runs in the remake, I’m all out of steam. I’ve seen all the planets and my nostalgia craving has been satisfied – even though the game has more to offer on paper.

I much prefer Battle Mode. In this multiplayer mode, up to eight players can battle it out locally or online on three different maps. The goal is to shoot down the opposing team, hold zones or steal cargo from space pirates. There are even power-ups like shields and rockets. Since I couldn’t find any online opponents during the testing period, I played against bots. With this in mind, I can’t make a definitive judgment on it. Still, it’s bound to keep you entertained for an hour or two longer. However, you do need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play online.

The optional challenges give you some extra playtime. Once you’ve completed a planet, you can revisit it to achieve specific objectives, such as taking out ten enemies with a bomb or navigating the submarine through swarms of jellyfish without taking any damage. While that’s not the main reason I love Star Fox, it does make the 50-franc price tag a little easier to stomach.

Star Fox will be released on 25 June for the Switch 2. Nintendo provided me with a copy of the game.

In a nutshell

Lylat Wars reloaded: short, sweet, iconic

Star Fox is still a fantastic action game – with no real competition. Where else do you get to fight flying monkey skulls while a space frog shouts advice at you? The remake has stayed true to the original, but significantly improved the graphics and sensibly modernised the controls.

The missions are still surprisingly varied, especially for the uninitiated. However, with 16 levels, the campaign is on the short side by today’s standards. Challenges and the multiplayer mode stretch out the experience a bit. The biggest disappointment is still the co-op mode.

But even that failed to put a damper on my nostalgia trip. Fox McCloud’s still got it, and I’m dying for a true sequel.

Pro

• Looks fantastic
• Faithful remake with meaningful improvements
• The gameplay is still a hit
• Varied missions and boss fights

Contra

• Co-op mode is a joke
• The campaign is short

Video games

Nintendo Star Fox

Switch 2, DE

1

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles. more

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