Star Fox (2026) Hands-On Preview
I played a whole lot of Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars as the correct side of history knows the game as) as a kid, but my memories of that title are tightly connected to 1997-1998 when the game initially released, and it was in regular rotation. I also dabbled a little bit in the initial Super Nintendo release, but it never stuck. Since Lylat Wars, we’ve seen 3D updates on 3DS, failed remake attempts such as Star Fox Zero, and more. Nintendo has loved to remake or remaster this game, and is having yet another go at re-telling the tale of Fox McCloud in Star Fox, a 2026 remake of the Nintendo 64 take on the original Star Fox. Star Fox 2026 is promising an expanded narrative, best-in-class gameplay, and a bucketload of nostalgia, and thanks to Nintendo Australia, I got to check the game out and can attest to that claim. This is the best feeling to take on the original formula that I’ve ever played, though I still have a couple of small nostalgia-fuelled reservations.
If you’ve played Lylat Wars previously, you know full well what you’re in for with this remake. A full playthrough of the game could be completed in 45-60 minutes, and while that might feel exceedingly short by modern standards (and probably is, but I was only able to play the first three levels in my preview experience), Star Fox 2026 is fleshing the experience out with some very impressive cutscenes. You’ve had the opportunity to see a few of these courtesy of the recent Star Fox Nintendo Direct, and I was able to see those again, natively through a Switch 2 console this time, and I must say, I was blown away by just how nice the cutscenes looked. Lylat Wars was a technical showpiece for its time, and while there are games on other systems that boast much more power than the Switch 2, Star Fox 2026 is blending best-on-Switch-2 technical artistry, with gorgeous art, and the result is striking. There’s already been some consternation online about the modern look of the cast, but this wasn’t a matter of concern for me; while playing, the look of the cast quickly fades into irrelevance as the look of the world and the Arwing flight consume your attention.
At its soul, Star Fox is an arcadey shooter. In the previous versions of the game, you would pass through seven different levels, each completed in somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes apiece on your way to neutralising the threat of Andross and his minions. In my session, I was able to explore a couple of permutations of the game’s first three levels, the iconic Corneria, before traversing the asteroid-filled Meteo, and then the icy tundra and chaotic combat arena of Fichina. It felt extremely natural to once again jump into the cockpit of an Arwing and lay waste to a legion of aerial threats along with allies Peppy, Slippy, and Falco. The quartet wax lyrical as they traverse the environment, rarely conveying anything other than the utmost confidence in their ability to complete their assigned objective, while there are also numerous instances of wisecracking between peers, typically with shots being fired by Falco towards Fox.
The shooting feels (in all the right ways) like it was ripped right out of time, leading me to revisit the original Lylat Wars on Nintendo Switch Online later that day, only to realise that the silky smooth movement of 2026 is absolutely not what it felt like nearly three decades ago (man, I’m feeling old.) Star Fox 2026 has come a long way. Even though the mechanics themselves are the same, you can still fire a multitude of different types of shots, provided you’ve collected the right power-ups; bombs can be thrown out for large-scale destruction, and you can smoothly move through space with style, but it’s just so much slicker to execute.
Next, I tried the game’s co-op mode, where myself and one of Nintendo’s finest shared control over the Arwing, one steering, and one shooter. The shooter uses the Nintendo Switch 2’s mouse controls, while the steerer can do so with the Joy-Con 2 held sideways. Shooting is a blast with the mouse, and for those who might find difficulty in the chaos of Star Fox, co-op play might make things much easier when you only need to focus on either shooting, or flight. This repeat playthrough also gave me the chance to go off track and check out the alternate paths, like Sector Y. The side-paths are an important element to the formula, and so I’m excited to see how they shape up in the final release.
There’s also online play, and while I was unfortunately unable to jump in, I did take the opportunity to stick my face in front of the Nintendo Switch 2 camera and see my animated Falco Lombardi face get into the swing of things. I see this feature creating a lot of laughs in the future, especially if you jump into chat with someone who is not playing Star Fox, giving them a bit of whiplash. If I had one criticism of the experience with Star Fox 2026, it would be with the voice acting. A lot of time has passed since the initial 1997 launch, but I have profound memories of the campy dialogue, from the prolonged “I failed youuuuuuuu”, and other exaggerated cries upon defeating a boss, and this 2026 take was quite flat in comparison. Perhaps Nintendo is going for a more serious tone in its Star Fox titles these days, and I’m sure I’ll love it too, but for now, but I miss that cheesy element.
Star Fox 2026 looks to be in really great shape. The game plays well, has some wonderful new additions, and is ticking nearly all of the nostalgia boxes. It will be interesting to see if the game’s brevity works against it, or if the multiplayer sticks, but from what I’ve played, this 2026 take on Star Fox is doing some great things, and provides this IP the opportunity for a vibrant future. I hope it works out.
