Star Fox 64 is getting a full Switch 2 remake this June

Nintendo has announced Star Fox, a ground-up remake of the 1997 Nintendo 64 game, coming exclusively to the Switch 2 on June 25. The company shadow-dropped a 15-minute presentation today to detail the project. It keeps the original branching level design but completely overhauls the visuals for the new hardware.

Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshiaki Koizumi introduced the game. They confirmed that the familiar routes and core rail-shooter gameplay remain intact. The biggest change is the art direction. Fox, Peppy, Slippy, and Falco have been redesigned with a highly realistic, puppet-like aesthetic that leans heavily into their animal traits. The game also includes new pre-mission briefings to expand the story.

I still have my Rumble Pak

I will never forget when I got the original Star Fox 64 and the Rumble Pak. Doing barrel rolls felt amazing. It was the first game that made me feel like the N64 was an actual Silicon Graphics machine. The new version tries to capture that same hardware-pushing feeling for the Switch 2.

Mouse aiming and face mapping

The multiplayer mode is back as a 4v4 online battle across three maps. Players can fight for aerial supremacy, retrieve cargo, or collect items. Nintendo added several unusual control options for the Switch 2 release. You can use a standard computer mouse for aiming, which should make precision shooting much easier. You can also split a pair of Joy-Cons for local co-op. In this mode, one player steers the Arwing and the other handles the targeting reticle.

The game integrates with the system's Game Chat feature in a very strange way. If you use voice chat, the software maps your facial expressions and mouth movements onto your chosen pilot avatar in the corner of the screen. It basically turns you into a Star Fox V-Tuber while you play. I am very curious to see how well this works in a chaotic 4v4 dogfight.

Three decades of Arwings

The franchise started in 1993 on the Super Nintendo. Argonaut Software programmed the original game with the Super FX chip. This was a custom math co-processor built directly into the game cartridge that allowed the 16-bit console to render flat-shaded 3D polygons. It was a massive technical achievement at the time. Four years later, Star Fox 64 expanded the formula. It added full voice acting, branching paths, and force feedback via the Rumble Pak attachment.

After the Nintendo 64 era, the series struggled to find a consistent identity. Star Fox Adventures on the GameCube started development as an unrelated Nintendo 64 game called Dinosaur Planet before pivoting into a Zelda-style action game with Fox McCloud as the lead. Star Fox Assault brought back the arcade shooting but added clunky on-foot segments that bogged down the pacing. Star Fox Command on the Nintendo DS experimented with turn-based strategy elements. The most recent mainline entry was Star Fox Zero on the Wii U in 2016. That game relied heavily on the gamepad's gyroscope and dual-screen setup. The control scheme alienated many players who just wanted a traditional way to play.

This Switch 2 release is the first new Star Fox product since Zero launched ten years ago. Returning to the 1997 blueprint makes sense. Nintendo is giving new players a clean entry point and giving older fans exactly what they have been asking for. The June 25 release date means we will not have to wait long to see if the new puppet aesthetic holds up in motion.