While the Star Fox franchise remains one of Nintendo’s most well-liked franchises among fans of the developer, the franchise has fallen somewhat dormant in terms of new games in recent years. The last main entry in the franchise, 2016’s Star Fox Zero, saw largely mixed reception from fans and critics and the crew of Fox, Falco, Slippy, and the rest have yet to see a new game exclusive to the Switch. While the future of the series may be up in the air, a recent fan project looks to deliver a new re-imagining of an old favorite.
Though Star Fox 64 has largely seen praise as the franchise’s pinnacle, its follow-up in Star Fox Adventures brought the Star Fox franchise into a whole new genre, re-imaging the 3D rail shooter as an adventure game and gaining a cult following among fans. While the game saw poor reception on release, its Zelda-inspired gameplay helped the game to stand out from its predecessors on the GameCube. Now, with Star Fox not seeing a new game in the franchise in over six years, one fan has stepped up to take the series in a familiar direction with Star Fox Conquest.
Popular modder Zel. recently unveiled their newest project in Star Fox Conquest, an ambitious ROM hack of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that completely changes the game into a spiritual successor to Star Fox Adventures. The trailer features Fox McCloud battling several enemies from Ocarina of Time including Deku Scrubs and Tektites while wielding a sword and shield similar to Link. The massive project also features completely new music and stars Fox as he crash lands on another planet and embarks on a grand new journey.
Fans looking to try out the massive ROM hack won’t have to wait longer to jump into Star Fox Conquest as the trailer concludes with a reveal of the fan game’s release date set for sometime this year. Zel. has become a popular name within the Nintendo 64 fan community as they previously served as part of a team that worked to create a playable version of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s iconic beta version from Spaceworld 1997, as well as creating other Zelda-based fan games.
While the future of the Star Fox franchise may be uncertain, Nintendo has given fans plenty of opportunities over recent years to explore the franchise’s rich history through re-releases of older games. Nintendo Switch Online’s retro line-up includes not only the original Star Fox and Star Fox 64, but also the elusive Star Fox 2 that was previously exclusive to the SNES Classic consoles. Star Fox Conquest will look to give fans another opportunity to return to the world of Star Fox from a fresh lens while they eagerly await news on the next adventures of Fox McCloud.
Star Fox Conquest will release later in 2022.
Source: Nintendo Life
