Nintendo’s surprise reveal of a new Star Fox game for the Switch 2 has sparked a wave of debate among fans, and now the character’s original creator has weighed in. Takaya Imamura, the former Nintendo art director who first designed Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox crew in the early 1990s, took to X to share his reaction to the announcement — and admitted he thinks the animated version of Fox seen in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie looks better than the redesign featured in the upcoming game. “I prefer the film version,” Imamura stated, though he added the new game’s look is “good in its own right” with “a clear direction.”
Imamura, who left Nintendo in 2021 after more than three decades at the company, woke up to a flood of messages following the Star Fox Direct presentation. Clearly still emotionally invested in the franchise he helped build, he expressed pride in seeing Star Fox 64 receive the remake treatment and thanked Shigeru Miyamoto — who famously served as the real-life inspiration for Fox McCloud’s design. When pressed on the new character art, however, Imamura quipped: “I suppose this is what happens when I’m not overseeing it.”
The fan response to the redesigned characters has been decidedly mixed, with many taking issue with what they see as an uncomfortably realistic new aesthetic. The Star Fox crew now sports high-definition fur textures, thicker proportions, and digitigrade legs — a far cry from the stylized, cartoon-like look that defined earlier entries. Online reactions have ranged from comparisons to bad taxidermy and the infamous first Sonic movie design to outright dismay, with some fans calling the new look “creepy” and others lamenting the loss of the characters’ signature charm. As GameSpot noted, the meme response has been swift and merciless.
Beyond the character designs, many in the community are questioning why Nintendo has chosen to remake Star Fox 64 yet again. The new title marks the third time the company has revisited the same game — following the original Nintendo 64 release, the 3DS remaster, and Wii U’s Star Fox Zero — making it arguably the most remade single entry in Nintendo’s catalog. With only around ten games in the entire franchise, roughly half now tell the same story. Recent leaks had suggested a genuinely new Star Fox title was in development, raising hopes that the series would finally move forward, so the remake announcement left some fans feeling deflated.
Still, the new Star Fox for Switch 2 does bring some notable additions to the table. The game will feature mouse controls, a cooperative mode allowing a second player to take the gunner seat, head-to-head Battle Mode pitting players against Star Wolf, and challenge modes for added replayability. Preorders are now live, with a $50 digital version and a $60 physical edition ahead of the game’s June 25 launch.
Imamura, meanwhile, continues to share his candid thoughts on Nintendo’s projects from the outside. He recently commented on the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda film, expressing concern that hearing Link speak for the first time could shatter the sense of mystery fans have built around the character over the years. Whether Nintendo takes his feedback on the Star Fox designs to heart remains to be seen, but the conversation around Fox McCloud’s new look shows no signs of cooling down.