Among F-Zero and Metroid, Star Fox remains in the B-tier Nintendo franchise club, a club that consists of games that are widely known and loved but not given quite as much attention as many fans would like. Some of the games in this club (especially F-Zero) haven’t gotten a proper sequel in quite a long time, but Star Fox is finally taking its first steps into proper sequel-hood – with Shigeru Miyamoto at the helm.

As it stands, the game seems to be in very early stages, with little more than basic visuals and its gameplay mechanics, though Miyamoto claims the game is in full development. The big Nintendo Digital Event press release succinctly describes the game as the following:

“Star Fox (working title) turns the Wii U GamePad into the view from the cockpit of Fox McCloud’s Arwing fighter. While the TV shows the perspective from behind the Arwing, players can also use the gyro sensors of the GamePad to intuitively and independently target enemies. Players can instantly switch between the Arwing and Landmaster tank with the press of a button, and the game also introduces a new helicopter-type vehicle. The game is scheduled for 2015.”

In other words, Star Fox gameplay has always been about the ship’s reticle following you as you move your on-rails vehicle. In Star Fox on Wii U, it appears that you are going to be able to keep your ship stationary while independently targeting enemies, or you can choose to barrel roll and move one way while targeting in another direction. This sounds a bit unwieldy at first, but this could prove intuitive if the GamePad does not force too much movement.

In the demo offered to select press before the show, three modes were on offer: one offered simple dogfighting Star Fox stages with the new mechanics, the second offered a battle with Star Wolf, and the third involved a large open area where perspective would switch between a helicopter in the sky and a robot on the ground. The robot, tethered to the ship, would fight, explore, and get collectibles closer to the earth. Above all, the game seems designed around gameplay that would make both screens necessary in ways that one screen just couldn’t handle.

This demo, along with Miyamoto’s other recently-announced titles, seems to elaborate on why the DS and Wii U are so fundamentally different and, more importantly, why the GamePad is wholly unique. The real secret sauce to Wii U’s control scheme is that unlike the DS, the Wii U’s bottom screen is not tethered to the top and neither is the gyroscope. Because of this, the top screen can be stationary and constant, and the bottom screen can be mobile. Star Fox makes it clear that Wii U is far more than a DS home console.

Outside of gameplay, Kotaku revealed two fascinating details about the development of the new game. Regarding the story, Miyamoto stated, “We're in an era when people have a limited amount of time… to play these long story-based games, so there will be a story for the game, but you'll be able to choose the missions you want to play." As a follow-up, Kotaku noted “[Miyamoto] said there will be arena-like missions and "valley" missions that sound like they're the conventional on-rails missions from the earliest game in the series.”

This makes it sound like Star Fox is going to be not-so-linear, which is fine, but something even more surprising came up in the interview when Miyamoto discussed his plans for this 2015 game.

“[Miyamoto] said that Nintendo is seeking development partners on it, making it sound like the game is far, far from done.”

This tells me two things. The first is that this game isn’t going to be fully done in 2015 unless it is a small experience. The second, a more positive outlook, is that we could potentially get Platinum on board for the Star Fox game everyone knows they’re perfect for. A Miyamoto-engulfed Star Fox game would maybe be preferable, but a Hideki Kamiya-directed one might be the next best thing.

One more interesting tidbit picked up from early coverage (earlier than expected in some cases) is that Miyamoto may have a creative release plan for the new Star Fox game.

“Honestly I don’t have a clear idea myself yet, but one thing I’m thinking is that with this Star Fox we may take a different approach, so that rather than one big title we have multiple releases that are connected through different missions,” said Miyamoto in his interview with Time. “If I was to describe the Star Fox series up until now as being sort of a movie series, I guess I’d describe this new approach as something that’s more like a TV series for Star Fox. “

I wonder how they would make a Star Fox game episodic. Would they do one mode at a time? Would they nix the story and just release mission packs? I think the smartest thing to do would be to launch a single “shell” that contains a full multiplayer mode and the first campaign episode. As the other campaign episodes are released (with 1-3 hours of gameplay each I imagine), they are slowly added into the base shell to slowly make a complete game. This way, Miyamoto gets his episodic series and everyone else gets a complete game somewhere down the line. And of course, side missions, multiplayer maps, and perhaps even vehicles can be added with enough time.

In reality, the most we know about the new Star Fox game is that it exists and the creator of Mario is currently working hard on it. That might not mean as much as a big trailer or some public E3 footage, but there’s worse news to get than “a new Star Fox game officially exists and hasn’t been cancelled.” Here’s hoping we see a wonderful new series entry by the end of next year.