Star Fox 1.2.0 Is Out, and Four-Player Split-Screen Is Back on the Couch

The first time I ever played Star Fox 64 against other people, it was on a borrowed N64, a tiny CRT and four of us squinting at our own corner of the screen. Nobody could aim. Everybody screen-peeked. It was perfect.

So forgive me for grinning like an idiot at this one: Star Fox version 1.2.0 is now live on Switch 2, and it brings four-player split-screen to Battle Mode. Nintendo teased it during the September Direct, and it's landed as a free update - no paid pack, no season pass, just more game for the people who already bought it. That's how you do it.

The headline feature is simple. Up to four players can now share one Switch 2 in Battle Mode, either blasting each other locally or teaming up on a single console to jump into online battles together. That second part matters more than it sounds. Online multiplayer on one system usually means one lucky person holds the controller while everyone else watches. Now the whole couch gets to fly.

There are new Battle Mode stages too - Katina, Sector X and Venom, names that will make any 64 veteran sit up a little straighter - each with its own objectives rather than just being fresh scenery. And the patch doesn't stop at multiplayer: Nintendo's notes list changes and adjustments across campaign mode, challenge mode, Battle Mode and training, so solo pilots get some attention as well.

Who's this for? Honestly, families first. My nephew is at exactly the age where split-screen arguments are the best part of a weekend, and a Star Fox dogfight is so much easier to pick up than a sprawling shooter. It's also for anyone who bought the game in the summer, finished the campaign, and let it drift to the back of the home menu. This is a very good reason to bring it back.

I'll be honest about one thing: I'd have loved split-screen at launch. But getting it for free a few months in is a gesture I'm happy to cheer for. Barrel rolls on the sofa, here we come.

Image: Crisco 1492 / CC BY-SA 4.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo_Switch_2_in_Docking_Console.jpg