One of the programmers for the original Star Fox SNES game feels the franchise will return to Nintendo systems in the future.
Currently, Star Fox is one of many Nintendo franchises that hasn’t had a successful or meaningful title on its platforms in some time. The last entry, Star Fox Zero, was a significant flop for Nintendo during the Wii U era. The title was a “reimagining” of the N64 title that is still beloved. However, despite some unique elements, the control scheme and other parts of the title led to it selling less than half a million copies in its lifetime. That made it the worst-selling title in the series’ history.
Will Star Fox Return to Nintendo?
Many felt that a reboot or continuation would happen with the Nintendo Switch, but that never came to fruition. Plenty of rumors surfaced that it could get one, but nothing materialized. However, in an interview with VGC, Star Fox programmer Dylan Cuthbert, who worked on the original game, said he felt the series would return one day, if for no other reason than that Nintendo wants to “keep trying”. He recalled how the original game was special because it was trying to capture the feel and look of various other franchises while also implementing certain “family-friendly” characters and styles that Nintendo was known for.
To that end, Cuthbert noted that there are certain elements in the modern takes on the franchise that make them feel “lesser” to the original: “It’s the combination of all those things that I suppose was what made Star Fox what it was. So some of the more recent titles – maybe, say, the Namco version, for example – are all great games, but there’s always that one element missing, that sort of UK old-school 3D shooting game element missing from it.”
He also said that despite it being so many years since the original, he’s not bored with the franchise and was even wearing a shirt with Fox and crew while he did the interview. Cuthbert also stated that Nintendo may make another attempt with the franchise because there’s currently nothing like it out there in gaming. He feels the franchise has remained in people’s minds after so long because it’s a gameplay loop and a universe that hasn’t been truly replicated. Despite this, many spinoffs and entries in the series have “messed with the formula,” leading to mixed results.
Source: VGC
