Summary
The recentNintendo Directfeatured many upcoming games to get excited about. Princess Zelda is finally headlining her own adventure inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, a game few knew was in development. There was also gameplay footage ofthe hotly anticipatedMetroid Prime 4: Beyond. Even theMario & Luigiseries is getting its first installment in nine years withMario & Luigi: Brothership, coming to the Switch this November. From JRPGs to first-person shooters,Nintendo’s June 2024 Direct boasted a stellar lineupcoming to the Switch, even as the console enters the twilight of its life.
That being said, as stacked as Nintendo’s lineup of announcements was for this month’s Direct, there were some major franchises that noticeably went unmentioned. Of course, not every franchise can churn out one new game after another, nor should they. Yet, there aresome series under the Nintendo umbrella that have gone untouched for the entirety of the Switch’s shelf-life, specifically one franchise. A beloved property that has largely gone radio silent since its last installment on the Wii U console, one that was once considered a tentpole Nintendo IP. The franchise in question is none other thanStar Fox.
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The Star Fox Franchise Has Gone Radio Silent
The Series Has Been On Hold Since Star Fox Zero
When the originalStar Foxwas released on the Super Nintendo in 1993, it was both a critical and commercial success. With the help of the Super FX processing chip,Star Foxfeatured polygonal 3D graphics and was only the second game on a Nintendo console to do so at the time. Four years later, the game would be reimagined on the Nintendo 64 withStar Fox 64, another critical and financial success. Both games still frequently appear in “greatest of all time” lists. Yet, since peaking on the N64,the series has been on a slow but definite decline.
Recent leaks point towards new games in the works for the Nintendo Switch 2,including newZeldaandMariotitles.
Neither Nintendo’s Wii or Switch consoles ever saw aStar Foxrelease on their platforms, and why the Switch was never home to aStar Foxtitle is largely to do with the failure ofStar Fox Zeroon the Wii U. The game already had an uphill battle being released on Wii U,as the console had a notoriously low consumer base.Star Fox Zerowas an underwhelming and frustrating addition to the once-celebrated series, largely due to the game’s absurd controls that required the player to divide their attention between the television and the Wii U gamepad.
Star Fox Zero May Have Put Star Fox On Ice
The Game Received Largely Negative Reviews
It cannot be overstated how detrimentalStar Fox Zerolikely was for the series' future.The Wii U erais one that Nintendo is probably eager to forget, sandwiched between the Wii and Switch eras, two of the most successful in the company’s history. While there are many reasons for its failure,many feel the Wii U was not properly marketed to the public, who were often confused about whether the Wii U was an entirely new console, or just a refresh of the already popular Wii.Star Fox Zerowas a death rattle of sorts for the short-lived console.
