33 Years Ago: 'Star Fox' Revolutionized Gaming with Its UK Debut on Super NES

The '90s were a pivotal time for the video game industry. The titles bursting onto the scene helped pave the way for today's games. And on this day, 33 years ago, a certain rail shooter made its debut in the UK on Super NES. That's right; it's Star Fox. Widely regarded as one of the most influential games of all time, it was a pioneer for 3D rail shooter gameplay on home consoles.

It also marks the first appearance of the iconic Fox McCloud, everyone's favorite space pilot (who's voiced by Glen Powell in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie). Taking place in the Lylat planetary system where anthropomorphic animals exist, the titular team, Star Fox, must defeat Andross, an evil (and mad) scientist. Andross has declared war on the Lylat System after he was banished to the planet Venom. Fox McCloud and his teammates, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lombardi, are "a group of adventurers with outstanding combat skill."

While today is the anniversary of the UK release of Star Fox, the game debuted in Japan and in North America on Feb. 21 and March 23, 1993, respectively. The single-player game was the second 3D Nintendo game after X, which premiered on May 29, 1992, for Game Boy. Developed by Nintendo EAD and Argonaut Software, Star Fox hails from creator Shigeru Miyamoto, artist Takaya Imamura, and director Katsuya Eguchi.

Star Fox was well-received by critics. It holds an 88% on the review aggregator GameRankings. Entertainment Weekly lauded the rail shooter for showing "some heart behind the hardware," before adding that "rarely have such powerful spacecrafts been piloted by so adorable an array of frogs, birds, and bunnies."

Retrospectively, Official Nintendo Magazine ranked it at No. 28 on its list of the greatest Nintendo games. Complex also slotted Star Fox in at No. 24 on its "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" list.

Star Fox has eight games in its franchise, with a ninth slated for release on June 25, which will be an enhanced remake of Star Fox 64 specifically for Nintendo Switch 2.

Play some Star Fox today, and be sure to do a barrel roll for good measure.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 9:09 PM.