10 Nintendo Series Star Fox Appeared In Before The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Nintendo fans were caught off guard when it was revealed that Star Fox protagonist Fox McCloud was set to appear in the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie. It’s a major crossover moment for a character that hasn't made an official appearance in many years — but longtime fans will remember when Star Fox references surfaced regularly across Nintendo’s biggest franchises.

Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is very fond of the series, which may explain why Lylat-based references have been quietly appearing across Nintendo history for decades. In order of release, here are 10 Nintendo series that featured Star Fox cameos before Fox's silver screen debut.

Oh, and I hope you like Arwings.

10 Fast Tracks and Fox Facts

Stunt Race FX (1994)

The earliest (and perhaps most obscure) Star Fox cameo appears in Nintendo's experimental SNES racer, Stunt Race FX. Developer Argonaut Software was the same studio behind the original Star Fox as well as the Super FX chip, which powered the revolutionary 3D graphics in both games.

Fox McCloud appears on trackside billboards alongside Mario and Kirby, while Arwings can be spotted flying overhead on the Sky Ramp course. On the Night Cruise track, knocking down Star Fox logo signs even triggers an Arwing to descend and drop a power-up.

9 Arwing Appearances, Guest-Star Golfers, and Café Cameos

Super Mario Series (1996-2003)

Super Mario RPG is another SNES game with plenty of nods to other Nintendo games, like the Arwing in Hinopio's shop on Barrel Volcano. In the 1999 Nintendo 64 title Mario Golf, many non-Mario characters appear on the Tournament mode's scoreboard, including the following Star Fox names:

• "Fox"
• "McCloud"
• "Peppy"
• "Falco L."
• "Pigma"

Finally, unused data in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga reveals a fully scripted Fox McCloud cameo that never made the final cut. In it, Fox visits the Starbeans Café mid-mission and receives call-ins from comrades Slippy Toad and Peppy Hare. He departs after giving the Mario brothers the Gold Ring, an equippable accessory that awards extra experience points when a battle is won with no HP loss.

8 McCloud, James McCloud

F-Zero Series (1998-2003)

With Takaya Imamura being the leading character designer on both Star Fox and F-Zero, it's perhaps no surprise that both series consistently reference each other. N64 racer F-Zero X, for example, introduced two racers who are direct throwbacks to Star Fox characters.

James McCloud appears as a human recreation of Fox's deceased father, and his vehicle, the Little Wyvern, resembles an Arwing. Leon, meanwhile, is an anthropomorphic racer who resembles Fox's rival and Star Wolf leader, Wolf O'Donnell — while his name is likely a reference to the name of Wolf's lackey, Leon Powalski. In the GameCube sequel F-Zero GX, James' redesign makes him look even more like his Star Fox counterpart, with a haircut resembling a fox's head. The game also reveals that he is the leader of the flight squad "Galaxy Dogs," a parody of "Star Fox."

7 Unmasking a Secret to Everybody

The Legend of Zelda Series (1998-2000)

Like Superstar Saga, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has a Star Fox reference tucked away in its code. A miniature Arwing can be accessed by either using a cheat device (such as a GameShark), or by using a particular technique called arbitrary code execution (or ACE), an exploit that manipulates the game’s code using complex, precise controller inputs. An Iwata Asks interview from 2011 revealed that it was put in the game as a placeholder to help animate the dragon boss Volvagia. When spawned, Arwings fly through the air and shoot lasers at Link.

Ocarina's direct sequel, Majora's Mask, features a more accessible tribute. Five of the game's collectible masks are aligned neatly together in the pause menu, subtly mirroring four members (and one ex-member) of the Star Fox team:

• Keaton Mask — Fox McCloud
• Bremen Mask — Falco Lombardi
• Bunny Hood — Peppy Hare
• Don Gero's Mask — Slippy Toad
• Mask of Scents — Pigma Dengar

6 Nintendo Used Easter Egg! It's Super Effective!

Pokémon Stadium 2 (2000)

The crossover between Star Fox and Pokémon is surprisingly minimal — but it does exist. By slotting in Pokémon Gold, Silver, or Crystal into a Nintendo 64 Transfer Pak, Pokémon Stadium 2 players could access an extra feature called My Room. This generates a 3D recreation of the user's room as it appears on their Generation 2 cartridge, and allows them to decorate with various items.

These include Nintendo consoles, and if a Nintendo 64 is selected, the television will cycle through still images of different games, including Star Fox 64. It's quite a small payoff given the amount of steps and original N64 hardware it requires, but this is notable for being the only time that Star Fox and Pokémon have crossed over outside the Super Smash Bros. series.

5 Crafty Crossing Crossovers

Animal Crossing (2001-2012)

Excluding New Horizons, the Arwing furniture item has been featured in every mainline Animal Crossing game since the series debuted in Japan. Not only will it add some serious flair to your home, but interacting with it will cause an abridged remix of the Star Fox's Corneria theme to play. The lazy bear cub villager, Pudge, appears to be a big Star Fox fan, as the Arwing appears in his house in multiple games.

Considering the quirky life-sim series already includes villagers based on The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon characters, it's wild that Star Fox’s cast — already made up of anthropomorphic animals — has never made the jump from cockpit to campsite. Make it happen, Nintendo!

4 Crazy Like a Fox

WarioWare: Smooth Moves (2007)

Many of my favourite WarioWare microgames come from the gamer duo 9-Volt and 18-Volt, who supply challenges based on classic Nintendo games. In the Wii title Smooth Moves, the original Star Fox not only gets its own themed microgame, but has the honor of being the Volt boys' boss stage.

This one is far more elaborate than your usual WarioWare microgame, which typically only requires a single action and a few seconds to complete. Steering an Arwing with the Wii Remote held horizontally, players must evade obstacles, shoot enemies, and can even aim for a high score. There are three different levels based on Corneria, Sector X, and Titania, and each have a giant, sentient version of R.O.B. — Nintendo's real-life robot accessory — as the end boss.

3 Some Say StreetPass is Old Hat, But Not Mii

StreetPass Mii Plaza (2011)

3DS owners will fondly remember the system’s StreetPass functionality, with the StreetPass Mii Plaza app serving as its most addictive showcase. By automatically exchanging data between nearby devices, it lets you meet other players' Miis, play minigames, and gain accessories. Many of these unlockable clothing items were based on various Nintendo characters, and — well, you know where this is going by this point.

Among them were the Fox Hat, Arwing Hat, Falco Hat, and Wolf Hat. There is also a Star Fox 64 3D puzzle in Puzzle Swap which, when completed, unlocks a 3D diorama of Fox in his Arwing.

2 From Lylat Wars to Sub Wars

Steel Diver: Sub Wars (2014)

Going from popular to more obscure 3DS territory, the system was also home to Nintendo's short-lived Steel Diver series. The submarine simulation series began with its 2011 debut and ended with a 2014 eShop-exclusive sequel, Sub Wars. Both games were also directed by Star Fox designer Takaya Imamura, which may explain why Fox's mentor, Peppy Hare, makes a cameo.

Imamura told Nintendo Life in 2014: "At first, we had some dodgy salesman character acting as a guide, but this turned out to be a bit too shady. Instead we looked for a character that users are more familiar with and gives off a nicer impression, hence we went with Peppy Hare. I’m sorry to say though that there’s no connection to the Star Fox universe." A later update also added the Blue Marine from Star Fox 64 as a free downloadable submarine.

1 A Foxy Lady

Bayonetta 2 (2014)

Despite the original Bayonetta being lavished with critical acclaim, the high-octane action title almost never saw a sequel. It was Nintendo that saved the series by taking over publishing duties for 2014's Bayonetta 2, and since it launched as a Wii U exclusive, the titular heroine and her playable bestie Jeanne got to try on some Nintendo-themed outfits.

The Star Mercenary costume gives Bayonetta and Jeanne fox ears and tails, with Bayo also wearing McCloud's colors. The Umbra Witches' guns are also replaced by mini Arwings, which shoot energy beams instead of bullets and make classic sound effects from previous Star Fox games. Full-sized Arwings will also replace fighter jets when the costume is equipped in certain chapters. It’s stylish, absurd, and one of the most fully realised Star Fox cameos out there.