Bloody Hell, Mate! We Finally Know the Slightly Grim Fate of Star Fox's OG Promotional Puppets
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
After years of mystery, it's been revealed that the iconic, slightly creepy promotional puppets for the original SNES *Star Fox* were unfortunately destroyed due to material degradation, a sad end for a unique piece of gaming history. This news comes amidst exciting rumours of a new *Star Fox* game for the Switch 2, prompting both excitement and Jeff's trademark gentle skepticism.
Right, so the rumour mills are absolutely buzzing louder than a rogue swarm of Space Wasps about a *new* Star Fox game, possibly making its grand debut on the Switch 2. Exciting stuff, eh? But hold your Lylat System horses, because while everyone's dreaming of barrel rolls, a different, slightly sadder mystery from the depths of gaming history has just been *unlocked*.
Ever wondered what became of those slightly-too-realistic, brilliantly-creepy puppet versions of Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy that Nintendo used to hype up the original SNES *Star Fox* (or *Starwing*, if you're feeling particularly European) back in the hazy days of the early 90s? The ones that burned themselves into our collective gaming consciousness like a perfectly executed plasma shot? Yeah, me too, mate. And thanks to some intrepid digital archaeology (and some proper reporting from Victoria Phillips Kennedy over at Eurogamer, who originally covered this from Time Extension's investigation), we finally have an answer.
Turns out, the folks over at Time Extension went on a proper quest, chasing down leads like they were hunting for ancient digital artifacts. They even chatted with *Star Fox* legends Dylan Cuthbert and Takaya Imamura, who, bless 'em, didn't have a clue where their fluffy mates ended up. After all that detective work, they finally got the definitive, albeit heartbreaking, intel from the Japanese FX company Shirogumi, the original creators.
And prepare yourselves, because this is where it gets a bit... well, grim. The puppets? They're gone. Destroyed. Wiped from existence. Shirogumi explained that these glorious, slightly terrifying creations were made with fur and feathers glued onto natural rubber. And as anyone who's ever left a favourite rubber duck in the sun too long knows, rubber doesn't exactly age like fine wine. 'They deteriorate simply by being exposed to air,' was the official word. So, they had to be decommissioned post-production.
Bloody hell, what a way to go, eh? Reduced to dust and degraded rubber. Understandable, sure – health and safety, material science, all that grown-up stuff. But still, it's a proper shame. A little piece of gaming history, literally decomposing. I always found them a tad uncanny valley, mind you – a bit like if Muppets decided to join a dogfighting squadron and forgot to smile. But they were *our* uncanny valley puppets, darn it!
Now, speaking of Fox McCloud himself, our favourite space pilot has been having a bit of a moment lately. He popped up in *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie* (which, rumour has it, was the cinematic highlight, even if the film itself was just 'alright' – haven't seen it, gotta admit). And then there's the big one: whispers of an all-new *Star Fox* game arriving this year.
The scuttlebutt suggests it's a Switch 2 launch title, potentially dropping this summer, complete with online multiplayer. Online multiplayer for *Star Fox*? Now *that* sounds like a right laugh, if they get it right. But let's be gently skeptical, shall we? Rumours are like delicious digital popcorn – easy to consume, but sometimes they leave you feeling a bit empty if they don't pan out.
So, while we mourn the physical loss of those iconic, rubbery pioneers, maybe their sacrifice (or rather, their unavoidable decomposition) paves the way for a new era of *Star Fox*. One can hope, eh? Just don't expect them to send out any new promotional puppets made of organic material. Unless they've cracked the code for immortal rubber, that is. A wizard can dream! Cheers to Eurogamer and Victoria Phillips Kennedy for digging up this gem!
Tags: Star Fox, Nintendo, Gaming History, Gaming Rumors, Retro Gaming
Original article: Eurogamer