We take our hype out to space for the long-awaited ‘StarFox U.’

Nintendo

“DO A SERIES REVIVAL!”

Game: ‘StarFox Wii U’ (aka ‘StarFox U’)

Developer/Publisher: Nintendo

Platform: Wii U

Release Date: 2015 (Worldwide)

One-sentence pitch: Use the GamePad to see your Arwing’s cockpit, and transform your ship into a tank and a giant robot to defeat your enemies and save the galaxy!

It’s been a long and bumpy road for Nintendo’s beloved StarFox series. After a string of disappointing entries beginning with StarFox Adventures, the series was never quite able to regain its footing, and went silent completely after 2006’s StarFox Command on the DS, leaving the series without a new game for nearly a decade (2012’s StarFox 64 remake notwithstanding). The series featured a colorful cast of animal pilots called “Team StarFox” and allowed players to pilot the Arwing—a cross between a spaceship and fighter jet—and fly through space blasting enemies with lasers. The team is notorious for their Top Gun impressions, as they used various maneuvers to dodge enemies and blow up strategic locations.

Known for its fun storytelling and endearingly quirky voice acting, it was unknown if the series would ever make a comeback, but that all changed at Nintendo’s E3 2014 event. It was revealed that series creator Shigeru Miyamoto was heading back to the Lylat system with a new StarFox game, tentatively titled StarFox U. The game showcased the classic StarFox gameplay, as series protagonist Fox McCloud darted around in his ship destroying enemies and avoiding bombs, but with the added twist of being able to see a view from the cockpit on the GamePad.

It was then explained that the cockpit view would be used to do many things, from allowing the quick use of bombs to seeing things that won’t appear on your radar. Nintendo also revealed that the Arwing will, for the first time, be able to switch into the Landmaster—an armored tank—on the fly. Players will have to strategically switch between both the Arwing and Landmaster to get through each level, discovering new routes and blasting out of reach areas. The final part of the demo showed another new addition to StarFox: a remote-controlled robot Fox can launch from his Arwing and control with the GamePad, which can fight enemies and retrieve items for him.

Nintendo via GameSpot.com

StarFox U has to prove a lot, not only as the first new StarFox game in years, but also as a successor to the previous, iconic games which once made it one of Nintendo’s premiere franchises. What’s more, Nintendo has ambitiously stated that the game will ship sooner rather than later: it’ll be coming 2015, or at the very least before the new Legend of Zelda game. E3 2015 is going to be a big one for StarFox, as Nintendo doesn’t have much time left to meet its 2015 release goal. We’ve still yet to see any new trailers, screenshots or even an official title for it. Here’s hoping Nintendo’s E3 presentation will at last blow the doors off of StarFox U and tell us when we’ll be able to take flight again.

Are you hyped for more StarFox? What was your favorite game in the series? Tweet me @MaxMielecki. And be sure to follow us @YouNerded.