Star Fox's Original Creator Now Says Nintendo's Switch 2 Remake Is "Exactly" What He Imagined

Star Fox's original creator, Takaya Imamura, now says the recently announced Switch 2 remake captures "exactly" what he had in mind when he made the Nintendo 64 original. The reversal arrives four days after Imamura told followers he preferred Illumination's Fox McCloud, voiced by Glen Powell, in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie over the Switch 2 game's redesign.

Imamura posted the update on his X account, where he often weighs in on Nintendo projects he no longer works on. He wrote that he "absolutely loves the incredibly realistic character designs" in the upcoming remake, with the comments translated by DeepL. The art director left Nintendo years ago and confirmed he had no role in the new Star Fox before commenting on its visuals.

He still prefers the cinematic Fox McCloud, though, and gave a reason: "Fox in the film is just too cute," he said. Imamura also singled out one moment in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the scene where Fox first meets Mario, calling the expression on his face "just brilliant."

"The way he seems hostile for a split second but then they immediately show understanding for one another is brilliant."

— Takaya Imamura

Fans then pressed him on a more specific change in the Switch 2 version: the swap from the series' cybernetic leg designs to "real feet." Imamura said he admires "the designers' spirit of adventure" and believes the choice came "after thoroughly researching and reflecting" on Star Fox as a whole. His next line shifted to the four leads as a group.

"No matter what style or arrangement they take on, the moment these four come together, they're instantly recognised as Star Fox,"

Imamura wrote, adding the situation made him "reflect once again on the incredible power of symbolism in character design…" He did not expand further.

On 7th May, hours after Nintendo's Star Fox Direct, Imamura had told a fan, "I suppose this is what happens when I'm not overseeing it… I do think the concept is good, though." He called the new Fox "good in its own right" with "a clear direction," and added, "I prefer the film version." That earlier post landed against a wave of fan criticism, with responses ranging from Falco's face looking "too human like" to outright rejection of the "hyper realistic approach."

I read his first posts and assumed his stance had hardened, not softened, because the new models lean so far from the boxy N64 silhouettes most players remember from 1997. The follow-up complicates that read.

The remake, known simply as Star Fox, redraws Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare with more naturalistic models than any prior entry in the series, including the Nintendo 64 original it remakes. It launches on 25th June for Switch 2 and adds new cutscenes structured as pre-mission briefings, plus a multiplayer mode Nintendo has yet to detail in full.

Imamura no longer works for Nintendo but still posts on the studio's projects. He designed Captain Falcon and The Legend of Zelda's Tingle alongside Star Fox's anthropomorphic cast, and he has said before that he based Fox McCloud on Shigeru Miyamoto. His 7th May post thanked Miyamoto directly for the remake going ahead.

The new Star Fox surfaced first in a March leak, which also flagged a Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. That Zelda project is reportedly aimed at the holiday season, although Nintendo has not confirmed it.

I think the bigger question for Switch 2 owners is whether the rest of the audience eventually warms to the new look, since the launch-week reaction online still tilts negative. June will settle that.