If you’ve played the Star Fox demo on Switch 2, then you’ll know that it’s an absolute visual feast, updating the N64 original to a degree we simply never thought possible (ball’s in your court now, Ocarina).
One person who’s been open about how much the update has impacted him is none other than Takaya Imamura, the art director for Star Fox 64 and the developer largely responsible for the series’ overall presentation.
Speaking on X, Imamura-san explained how the N64’s limited hardware made it difficult to convey the differences between pre-rendered graphics and real-time CG at the time. As such, he says that the improved visuals for the Switch 2 version “brings tears to my eyes”.
Here’s what he had to say (machine translated):
“Back in the Nintendo 64 days, it was a struggle to get people to understand the difference between pre-rendered graphics and real-time CG. Many people thought the beautiful cutscenes on the PlayStation were simply a reflection of the console’s capabilities.
“That’s why, with Star Fox 64, we aimed to create demo scenes and presentations that were just as impressive as pre-rendered graphics, while still pursuing the unique appeal of real-time graphics. In that sense, the improvements in graphics this time around really bring tears to my eyes.”
Previously, Imamura-san stated that although he likes the design of Fox McCloud in the new game, he personally prefers the movie version. No, there’s no Star Fox Movie – as a reminder, the character actually crops up in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie; a surprise Nintendo itself revealed prior to its release with an official poster.
Even if you’ve yet to play the demo, hopefully the trailers and footage so far has demonstrated just how much of an upgrade this is. In terms of gameplay, it’s largely the same experience that we all went through back in 1997, though some additional content has been added to beef up the overall package.
