The ex-Nintendo developer makes the case for a Star Fox Zero Switch port

The Nintendo Switch has become a happy new home for many Wii U titles that haven’t had much success on this struggling machine – but one of the titles that lags behind is star fox zerothis machine’s questionable but entertaining entry in the Star Fox series.

One person is definitely still hoping for that port – former Nintendo developer Takaya Imamura, who also happens to be one of the key artists behind two fairly maligned Nintendo series – Star Fox and F-Zero.

Imamura took advantage of the sixth anniversary of Star Fox Zero’s release, which takes place today, to urge the company to port the game to Switch.

“I know there are some challenges but please port the game to Switch,” Imamura wrote on his Twitter account.

拝啓任天堂様
本 日 で 「スタ 年 年 経 過 致し も も も も も アニメ アニメ を を アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメ アニメアニメ シナリオ シナリオ アニメ アニメ アニメ 担当 し し ます ます ます ます ます ます ます ます ます.
よろしくお願い致します。
敬具 @youtube

— 今村孝矢 / Takaya Imamura (@ima_1966) April 20, 2022

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Imamura also suggested that if Nintendo were also willing to produce a sequel to the great promotional animation that was produced for Star Fox Zero, Imamura would be happy to get back to work on the animation’s content and story.

Imamura, who was instrumental in designing the characters and world of Star Fox and F-Zero, continues to work as a freelancer in the gaming industry. He left Nintendo in 2021.

Imamura’s comments follow PlatinumGames, which co-developed the game and has also expressed an interest in porting the game to Switch – although the decision obviously remains with Nintendo.

Star Fox Zero was… fine. I consider Star Fox 64 (Lylat Wars here in the EU) one of my top five favorite games of all time, and at times Star Fox Zero felt like a worthy successor to that game. But all too often, a control method designed specifically to justify the existence of the Wii U gamepad felt like it went against what makes Star Fox great and, worse, result in itself the action feels complex and imprecise. Game Maker’s Toolkit has a great video of the game going wrong.

However, there was a core of something great about Star Fox Zero – as you’d expect when PlatinumGames supports action fans in development. It’s the kind of game that would require a lot of work – as Imamura acknowledges – but one that would likely benefit greatly from being no longer tied to the Wii U.