Star Fox 64 remake on Switch 2 is a slick, expanded take on a classic

Nintendo's Star Fox 64 remake for Switch 2 is shaping up as one of the console's must-haves — a faithful recreation of the N64 original with massively upgraded visuals, new missions, and expanded cutscenes that flesh out the story without drowning it in exposition.

The biggest additions are narrative. Instead of scrolling text explaining what happened to James McCloud, Fox's father and the original Star Fox team leader, you now see those events play out directly. New interludes between missions show the team's dynamic in action — Fox's impulsive hotheadedness butting up against Falco's arrogance, Peppy's overbearing mentorship, and Slippy bouncing around cheerfully oblivious to the fact that there's a war on. These touches push the game beyond a straight-up arcade shooter into something with a bit more weight. The core gameplay is still the same on-rails action, and it's still unforgiving — blasting through levels without thinking will get you killed, as the Star Wolf squad fight proved when the timer ran out mid-dogfight.

Star Fox 64 originally launched in 1997 on the Nintendo 64 and became one of the defining games of that era — a cinematic, fast-moving space shooter built around Fox McCloud and his mercenary pilot squad taking on the mad scientist Andross. The series has had a rocky road since, with Star Fox Zero on Wii U in 2016 landing poorly due to its forced motion controls. A straight, high-quality remake of the beloved N64 entry is exactly the kind of release the franchise needed.

Not everything lands perfectly — the remake drops the crackly radio-filter effect on voice lines that gave the original its fighter-pilot authenticity, and ROB's new cheerier delivery feels off compared to the robotic monotone fans remember. But Star Wolf's "Can't let you do that, Star Fox" hits just as hard as it ever did. If the full release holds up to this preview, Star Fox 64 on Switch 2 looks like a genuine standout.