Metroid Prime Developer Once Pitched a Star Fox Reboot

Star Fox fans have had a rough go of it over the last few years, but it seems the series could have gotten a huge push from one of Nintendo’s biggest developers. A new video from Did You Know Gaming has revealed a ton of new details about a pitch for Star Fox Armada, an internal proposal for the series from Retro Studios. Pitched in 2013 after the team finished work on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the game would have offered a radical new direction for the franchise, including online play, and character models based on the puppets from the Super Nintendo Star Fox game.

The information was provided by Eric Kozlowsky, who gave Did You Know Gaming his full 12-page pitch that was provided to Retro Studios management. Kozlowsky said that the idea to reboot Star Fox came from Retro’s success with Metroid and Donkey Kong. At the time Retro Studios got involved with both of those franchises, neither had gotten a major push in a while, so it made sense to Kozlowsky that Retro could continue that trend with Star Fox. However, unlike Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns, Star Fox Armada would have actually been a reboot, ignoring games like Star Fox Adventures, Star Fox Assault, and Star Fox Command. The game would have picked up where Star Fox 64‘s narrative left off, as the Lylat System and Corneria attempt to rebuild from the war with Andross.

Star Fox Armada would have seen the Star Fox team hired to help with the rebuild, before discovering a new threat more powerful than their old adversary. The game would have built on the classic Star Fox formula, but would have added open-world mechanics, and online multiplayer options. Completing missions would have earned players money, which could be sent back to Corneria, or used for things like ship upgrades, or unlocking new vehicles. The game would have released for the Wii U platform, taking advantage of the GamePad screen to relay information about damage to the ship, mission parameters, and more. It would have also featured couch co-op, with one player controlling the ship with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and the other using the GamePad as a gunner.

The pitch was declined by Retro’s top brass, and Nintendo ended up making Star Fox Zero with PlatinumGames in 2016. As of this writing, there hasn’t been another Star Fox game, since. It remains to be seen when the next Star Fox game will release, but it’s a bit sad to think about what might have been!

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