As Star Fox lands on the Switch, it’s hard not to laugh at its frequent rebirth. But let’s not be too quick to dismiss this remake; it was British ingenuity that first brought us 3D gaming on Nintendo consoles.
Argonaut Games, with their vector-based Starglider and pioneering X for the Game Boy, paved the way for Star Fox’s iconic graphics. Jez San and his team argued for custom hardware to render true 3D polygons, leading to the Super FX chip – a technological leap that Nintendo’s Miyamoto himself admired.
Even today, you can spot the Arwing’s sleek design in modern remakes. It was Miyamoto’s own inspirations, from Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine, that gave Star Fox its charm. But it’s the characters’ puppet aesthetics that truly stand out – a nod to British 60s ‘Supermarionation’ that has remained iconic.
While critics bemoan the constant remakes, there's an audacity in bringing back this old-school shooter. Its short runtime and arcade-like gameplay might seem quaint now, but Star Fox remains a testament to cross-pollination between Japanese creativity and British technological prowess.
