Fox McCloud is back. Almost thirty years after Star Fox 64 taught a generation to barrel roll and boost, Nintendo is bringing the Lylat System into a new era. The game has been rebuilt from the ground up, only for Nintendo Switch 2. The planets and team are familiar, but the mission is brand new.

A Classic, Reborn

Star Fox is inspired by the Nintendo 64 classic, Star Fox 64, but this isn’t just a simple port. Everything has been remade from the ground up. The stage layouts stay true to the original—the routes, shortcuts, and paths you remember through Corneria, Solar, and the asteroid fields are all here—but the visuals have been completely overhauled.

The Team Sounds Off

No Star Fox game is complete without its crew, and this one is no exception. The banter and rivalries have returned. With new cutscenes and mission briefings between stages, you’ll get to know these characters better than ever before.

Fox McCloud is still the leader—calm under pressure, loyal, and always mindful of his father’s legacy. This game adds a new prologue showing a past battle with James McCloud, Fox’s father, which finally gives context to one of Nintendo’s most emotional moments.

Falco Lombardi is the team’s top pilot and Fox’s constant rival. He’s sharp, talented, and never wants to admit when someone else does a good job. Falco argues with the crew almost as much as he fights the enemy, but when he’s at his best, no one in the Lylat System can match him.

Slippy Toad is the team’s expert engineer, keeping the Arwings running and making sure enemy weak points show up on your HUD. He gets into trouble more than anyone else and often ends up with an enemy on his tail at the worst times, but his technical skills are essential, and everyone knows it.

Peppy Hare is the team’s strategist and veteran pilot. He flew with James McCloud on the final mission to Venom. He understands what’s at stake. And yes, he will tell you to do a barrel roll.

One Planet at a Time

The campaign sends you across the Lylat System, planet by planet, as you search for Andross’s stronghold to bring back peace. The objectives you complete and the enemies you defeat will change your path, opening up new branches, hidden stages, and secret routes for those who like to explore.

Corneria is full of life and is the heart of the Lylat System. Andross has caused chaos there, and it’s up to Star Fox to reclaim it, one street and building at a time. This first mission sets the stage for everything that comes next.

Fichina is a frozen world, its surface almost entirely blanketed in ice and snow. Navigation demands precision. One mistake and you’re spinning into a whiteout.

Solar is the Lylat System’s second star, a blazing, plasma-filled world that punishes any ship that stays too long. Keep your shields up, fly fast, and don’t stop to admire the scenery.

Zoness might be the most haunting world in the system. It’s an abandoned ocean planet, stripped of its resources and left to decay by Andross’s forces. There’s a strange beauty to its emptiness, but it’s also quietly dangerous.

Beyond these planets, you’ll find an asteroid field, the inside of a nebula, and more stages. There are all-range mode dogfights with full freedom of movement, plus huge boss battles that will challenge your skills.

How You Fly

Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 offers multiple ways to play, each suited to a different kind of pilot.
Campaign mode lets you travel through the whole Lylat System on easy, normal, or expert difficulty. Easy mode gives you a longer shield and always-upgraded lasers, which is great for newcomers or veterans who want to enjoy the story. Expert mode removes all the safety nets.

Challenge mode becomes available after you finish campaign stages. It offers new objectives and rules not found in the main game. This is where experienced players go when they’re ready for a tougher challenge.

Battle mode drops you into four-versus-four online dogfights, splitting players between Team Star Fox and Team Star Wolf. Three stages, each with its own rules: seize control of satellite towers above Corneria, collect energy crystals while dodging meteorites on Fortuna, or retrieve stolen cargo from space pirates in Sector Y.

If just one person in your group owns the game, up to four players can play together locally using game share, or online with game chat. The Lylat System was always meant to be explored as a team.

New Ways to Control the Skies

Nintendo Switch 2 introduces new ways to control your ship. Hold your Joy-Con 2 controller like a mouse to switch to mouse-style targeting for easy aiming and steering. This setup is perfect for a game focused on precise shooting and quick targets.

You can split the Joy-Con 2 with another player and share pilot and gunner roles in co-op. One person flies the Arwing while the other controls the guns. This co-op mode changes the experience and makes the Arwing feel like it truly needs a team to fly.

For longtime fans, the game also works with the Nintendo 64 controller, giving you controls that feel just like they did in 1997.

Thirty Years in the Making

“Since its debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System,” Shigeru Miyamoto said during the reveal, “the Star Fox series has had a long legacy on Nintendo platforms. We’re grateful that you’ve continued to support the series for more than 30 years.”

It’s been quite a journey. Star Fox began on the SNES, changed the series on the N64, and joined the battle in Super Smash Bros. Now, with a new version just for Nintendo Switch 2, the team returns to space with new wings and one last showdown with Andross.

Star Fox launches June 25, 2026. The Lylat System is waiting.

What the Fans Are Saying

The announcement landed like a surprise missile strike — Nintendo gave almost no advance warning, opening with a ten-minute notice on their app before dropping the full Direct. The reaction online was immediate, loud, and deeply divided.

For many longtime fans, the surprise of Star Fox’s return soon turned into mixed feelings: happiness mixed with disappointment. The main complaint, seen in thousands of comments, is that this is another retelling of the same story. Star Fox 64 was already a new version of the SNES game. The 3DS brought Star Fox 64 3D. Star Fox Zero on Wii U told the same story again. By most fans’ count, this Switch 2 game is the fourth or fifth time Nintendo has revisited the same conflict with Andross and the same characters, and many believe the series deserves more. “It’s just 64 again,” was a common comment. Some fans also noted that games like Star Fox Assault and Star Fox Adventures, which moved the series forward, were not mentioned at all in the presentation’s history segment.

The new character designs were almost as controversial as the remake itself. Nintendo chose a much more realistic, animal-like style, which is very different from the series’ usual look and from Fox’s popular appearance in the Super Mario Galaxy movie. Some fans liked the return to a rougher, more detailed style similar to the original SNES box art, while others strongly disliked it. Many called it “uncanny valley,” especially when talking about Slippy Toad’s new look. A lot of fans thought the movie version of Fox was perfect and didn’t understand why Nintendo didn’t use that design for the game.

Despite the frustration, there’s still a strong love for these characters and this world. Some fans said they wouldn’t buy the game, but admitted they probably would anyway. Players who haven’t played Star Fox since the N64 days watched the trailer more than once. The new prologue about James McCloud got fans excited, with many hoping for a deeper, more story-focused game. The 4v4 Battle mode also caught attention—several people pointed out that Star Fox 64’s multiplayer was underrated, and bringing it back with online play could be a big draw.

There’s also a practical side to the fan discussion. Some argue that for Star Fox to move forward, this remake has to do well first. It needs to attract new players, especially those who discovered the series through the Mario Galaxy movie, show there’s a bigger audience, and convince Nintendo to try something new. Whether this plan works or just feels like another repeat depends on who you ask—and how many times they’ve already bought Star Fox 64.