"Star Fox," for the Switch 2 is a Surreal Trip Down Memory Lane; Now We've Got a Zelda Remake Coming Soon Too!

I had a chance to rent/check-out a copy of, "Star Fox," for the Switch 2. I was excited for the official announcement, even if it was revealed that this was more of a remake of the Nintendo 64 Classic than it was something truly new. Having played this new/old game, I can conclude that it is good fun--just like the original! Plus, the fact that it is a much fancier remake, but still a remake at heart, resulted in a bunch of surreal feelings of Deja Vu. So much is different in terms of gameplay and graphics, but many pieces were quite familiar or just like the original (albeit with gorgeous visuals). 

It was strange to experience something, "New," that I simultaneously remembered much of, even if I played it on my N64 decades ago--although I did play it a lot! Seriously, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, but I was eager to take the secret route through the waterfall for the, "First," time after I saved Falco when he was in danger during that initial mission (and, of course, went through the arches). This isn't really a review of the game so much as an observation of just how potent one concept I've discussed before can be. Yep, weaponized nostalgia.

I first talked about the idea of an item designed to appeal to our nostalgia over a decade ago, but it remains topical. I've mentioned it in the context of music quite often, but it can apply to anything, from Robert Downey Junior coming back to the MCU to all the video-game re-releases, remasters, remakes, and so forth we've been witnessing. I mean, Nintendo just spent yesterday revealing a whole bunch about their new, "Zelda: Ocarina of Time," game because I guess the Nintendo 64 really did have a lot of masterpieces worth bringing back! As it stands, "Star Fox," is a hoot in its mix of new and old, so if companies can take something, "Old," and make it new again, I'm all for it. I just want to make sure we still get plenty of things that are simply, "New," too, however. If all we ever do is engage in nostalgic navel-gazing, I feel like eventually we'll turn into one of those snakes metaphorically eating their own tail.