Details have emerged of a canceledStar Foxgame pitch that would have used the original puppet aesthetic used to promote the original SNES game. While it has remained one of Nintendo’s beloved series,Star Foxseems to have been shelved once again given the financial and critical bomb ofStar Fox Zeroin 2016. The game was met with mixed reception from its reveal all the way to its release. There was, at one point, a pitch for a much differentStar FoxWii U game from none other thanMetroid Prime’s Retro Studios.
Star Foxdebuted on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993 and was praised asa showpiece for the system thanks to its use of the console’s Super FX chipto create 3D graphics amid the SNES' library of 2D games. The game follows a team of four mercenaries, Fox McCloud, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, and Falco Lombardi, as they fight Andross, a mad scientist hell-bent on taking over the Lylat system.
RELATED:10 Games You Can Finish In An Hour
Following 1997’sStar Fox 64, which many claim is the bestStar Foxgame, the series faced somewhat of an identity crisis. 2002’sStar Fox Adventuresresembled theLegend of Zeldaseries, andStar Fox Zerofaced severe backlash for its awkward implementation of Wii U gamepad elements. Now, YouTube channel Did You Know Gaming has discovered that beforeStar Fox Zerobegan development, staff atMetroid Primedeveloper Retro Studio pitched its own semi-reboot of the series calledStar Fox Armada.
The pitch forStar Fox Armadawas developed by an artist at Retro Studios named Eric Kozlowsky, who had previously worked on games such asUncharted 3andBrutal Legend. The game would have used a puppet art style similar to the original promotional art for the SNES game andbeen a direct sequel toStar Fox 64, making the entries in-between non-canon. The game would focus on theStar Foxteam’s rebuilding of the Lylat system following Andross' defeat, and the creation of an armada fleet.
The game would havealso taken influence fromMass Effect’s Normandy, with a hub area based on the Great Fox for players to explore and interact with other characters.Star Fox Armadaalso would have included side-content in the form of mercenary missions and multiplayer missions, which sounded very ambitious for a Wii U-era Nintendo game.
It’s still bizarre that in the nine years sinceDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze’s release, very little is known about what Retro Studios had in developmentbefore it took overMetroid Prime 4in 2019. This pitch forStar Fox Armadaat least highlights one of the ideas that was floated, at least before it was rejected by Retro’s leadership.
