The Star Fox remake is a test for the franchise's future

Nintendo is trying to bring back Fox’s mojo with a beautiful remake of the series’ best game.

Nintendo caught a lot of people off guard last month when it hosted a livestream starring the company's most famous space canid. Even though Fox McCloud is one of Nintendo's most recognizable mascots, the franchise has essentially been on hiatus for a decade. Aside from a brief cameo in the latest Mario movie, at this point Fox is probably better known for his appearances in Smash Bros. more than anything else (no items, Fox only, Final Destination anyone?).

After getting a chance to play a preview of the Star Fox remake, it feels like Nintendo is paying tribute to the series' best game while gauging people's interest in the franchise before committing to an entirely new release.

There's no doubt that Star Fox's biggest upgrade over the original is its new visual treatment. Often, when a company like Nintendo revisits one of its classics, they end up making something that looks like how you remember the game in your head, even if that recollection is embellished due to time and nostalgia. However, this time Nintendo made something that looks even better.

Cutscenes are simply gorgeous and have been updated with extra action and more interactions between characters and events in the game, which makes the story feel deeper and more developed. Meanwhile, flying around in an Arwing is smoother and more detailed than anyone could have imagined back in 1997. I even dig Fox's more grizzled look in this game compared to the overly cutesy rendition we saw in Mario Galaxy, as it reminds me of the old Super Famicom box art.

Gameplay is also super tight, though in this case that works both for and against the overall experience. Maneuvering through levels, sniping enemies with lasers and double tapping shoulder buttons to do a barrel roll felt extremely responsive. All the old secrets are still here too, like the tunnel behind the waterfall in Corneria. (I'm sorry if this is a spoiler, but there's gotta be some kind of statute of limitations on a 20-year-old game.) But because Nintendo stayed true to the original's formula, I found myself quickly remembering that games from the late '90s aren't nearly as deep as more modern titles. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because there's a certain kind of fun to be had from a straightforward rail shooter like Star Fox. But Armored Core VI this is not.

Aside from new and improved graphics, the biggest addition to the new Star Fox is support for "mouse" controls via the Switch 2's Joy-Con. Instead of a third-person view, this