The Switch might not be a powerhouse system, but its reach with gamers helped Nintendo revive some franchises. Metroid got Dread and Prime Remastered on the system, with Prime 4: Beyond still coming this year. Pikmin also had a decent revival on the Switch. So it's time for Star Fox to get the same treatment.
While it didn’t get that chance on the first Switch, we hope that Switch 2 brings Star Fox back in a prominent way. Enough people have been clamoring for this series’ return, and we’re sure Nintendo is trying to think of something.
We last saw Star Fox in a proper game in the Wii U title Star Fox Zero, and it was a massive failure. Nintendo forced developer PlatinumGames to make the game use that enormous Wii U GamePad, resulting in some awkward gameplay. For those who don’t remember, players had to watch the TV screen and shoot with the GamePad, forcing players to look up and down constantly.
Fox McCloud and his friends did a prominent cameo in Ubisoft’s Starlink game. It wasn’t a huge hit, but the Switch version was incredibly popular for having these characters. Many thought this would lead to Ubisoft making one of these games, but that’s not the case.
Based on previous interviews, it seems that Nintendo is trying to find an innovative way to use this iconic character again. They don’t want to rehash the same thing, especially since Zero was a reboot and failed to gain interest. Since Nintendo is a gameplay-first company, we hope they include elements from the GameCube games without making too many references to the continuity.
If they do have plans to bring back Star Fox, we think they need to have some elements from Star Fox: Assault on the GameCube. That game tried to mix things up by adding segments where Fox McCloud gets out of his Arwing and shoots enemies with his gun. At the time, these had tank controls and felt odd, but with proper third-person shooter controls, it could be a huge hit.
Speaking of that, add Star Fox: Assault to the GameCube NSO lineup, and people will eat that up.
click to enlargeOne thing we don’t want to see is this franchise reused as one of those odd 99 NSO games Nintendo likes to make. F-Zero 99 is pretty good, and people like how it makes the franchise a bit more prominent, but that won’t be the basis of a new F-Zero. Doing that to Fox McCloud would be annoying, even if it does get a boost from fans.
Star Fox needs to come back, but we understand why Nintendo is taking its time. Maybe the crew come back in Switch 2, or maybe we just get some GameCube re-releases, but fans just want to see something from this series.