Star Fox Co-Creator Isn’t a Big Fan of Remake’s New Character Designs

May 7, 2026, 1:20pm

One of the key creators behind Nintendo’s Star Fox series doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of the new character designs found in the Switch 2 remake of Star Fox 64. As of this week, Nintendo finally announced its first new Star Fox game in over a decade with a release date that’s right around the corner. And while plenty of fans have been thrilled to see Star Fox back in any capacity, others have been a bit divided on the new looks of Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and some of the other main characters in the remake. Now, one of Star Fox’s own creators has weighed in on the topic and seems to have some disappointment with the changes.

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In a series of posts on social media, longtime Nintendo artist Takaya Imamura shared his own thoughts on the upcoming Star Fox. While thrilled about its existence, Imamura had mixed feelings about the new character models, expressing that these design choices wouldn’t have been made had he been involved with the project. Imamura still praised the cohesion and general idea that Nintendo is going for with this remake.

“I guess this is how it turns out if I’m not supervising… or something like that,” Imamura said. “I think the concept is good.”

“Personally, I prefer the movie version, but I thought this one was good in its own way, with a clear direction!” he added in another response.

Imamura’s own feelings have been reflected by many Nintendo fans who have been somewhat divided on the art direction of Star Fox. These reactions, which have been pouring in on social media, have resulted in some wishing for more traditional designs of the Star Fox characters, while others have started to warm up to the overhauls the more they sit with it. Regardless of how fans might feel about these design tweaks, though, Star Fox’s gameplay seems to be getting a ton of praise as it looks to expertly modernize the stylings of the N64 classic.