The original Star Fox designer isn't getting any "special treatment" for Mario's film debut

Takaya Imamura is a Nintendo legend. The artist created character designs such as Captain Falcon, Fox McCloud, and Tingle, and served as producer, director, or art director on games including The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Donkey Kong '94, and nearly every game in the Star Fox and F-Zero series.

He retired from the company in 2021 with his legacy intact; However, the people who employed him for 30 years seem to have forgotten about him, stating that he is getting “no special treatment” for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, despite one of his most famous characters playing the lead role.

Creator Fox McCloud has yet to see a Mario Galaxy movie, despite the character's appearance

Star Fox 2 Box art depicting Fox and his crew.

Fox McCloud has been a mainstay on Nintendo's roster since 1993. Appearing in several games, he became a fan favorite in the Super Smash Bros. series. and is probably one of the most recognizable characters outside of the Mario company. All this thanks to Imamura, who based the character design on Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto.

Despite Imamura and McCloud's influence on the company, the artist made it clear that even though his character debuted in The Super Mario Galaxy, he didn't get any special treatment.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has yet to be released in Japan and as such, Japan resident Imamura has yet to see it. He's commented on the trailers, most recently saying that Fox looks a lot like Han Solo from Star Wars , but it's clear from his comments that he wasn't invited to the pre-screening.

One fan questioned this, saying, “Kyoto should invite you to a special screening,” after which Imamura revealed that Japan's corporate ways would probably prevent that.

“Unfortunately, I don't get any special treatment,” he said on social media. “Maybe it's just the Japanese way of drawing a line between people who quit. It's a sad situation for someone who played such a pivotal role in the SNES and N64 era of the company.

Have you seen The Super Mario Galaxy Movie yet?

The appearance of Fox McCloud in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was somewhat of a surprise. We haven't had a new Star Fox game since 2016 (or a good one since the DS port of Star Fox 64 in 2011) and the character is so often pushed aside.

Speaking to us at TheGamer in 2024, Imamura revealed why he believed there hadn't been a new Star Fox game for so long, citing Nintendo's goal to always “design something that's timeless.”