Star Fox fans have had a rough time in recent years, but it seems like the series could have gotten a huge push from one of Nintendo’s biggest developers. A new video from Did you know gaming has revealed a bunch of new details about a pitch for Star Fox Armada, an internal proposal for the series from Retro Studios. Thrown in 2013 after the team finished working on Donkey Kong Land: Tropical Freezethe game would have provided a radical new direction for the franchise, including online play and character models based on the Super Nintendo dolls Star Fox game.

The information was provided by Eric Kozlowsky, who gave Did You Know Gaming his full 12-page pitch that was provided to Retro Studios management. Kozlowsky said the idea to reboot Star Fox came from Retro’s success with Metroid and Donkey Kong. At the time Retro Studios got involved with both franchises, neither had gotten a major push in a while, so it made sense to Kozlowsky that Retro could continue that trend with Star Fox. However, unlike Metroid prime And Donkey Kong Country returnswould have been Star Fox Armada basically a reboot, where games like Star Fox Adventures, star fox attack, And Star Fox Command. The game would have picked up where star fox 64‘s story stalled, as the Lylat System and Corneria try to rebuild from the war with Andross.

Star Fox Armada would have seen the Star Fox team hired to help rebuild, before discovering a new threat more powerful than their old adversary. The game would have built on the classic Star Fox formula but added open world mechanics and online multiplayer options. Completing missions would have earned players money, which could be sent back to Corneria, or used for things like ship upgrades or unlocking new vehicles. The game would have been released for the Wii U platform, using the GamePad screen to relay information about ship damage, mission parameters, and more. There would also have been couch co-op, with one player controlling the ship using a Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and the other using the GamePad as a gunner.

The pitch was rejected by Retro’s top buyers, and Nintendo eventually made it Star Fox Zero with PlatinumGames in 2016. At the time of writing, there hasn’t been another Star Fox game since. It remains to be seen when the next Star Fox game comes out, but it’s kind of sad to think about what could have been!

Would you have liked to see a Star Fox game from Retro Studios? Are you a fan of the series? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter and on Hive at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!