Back in the hazy days of the early 90s, Nintendo used puppet versions of Fox McCloud, Slippy, Falco and Peppy to promote its then-upcoming release of SNES classic Star Fox (or Starwing, if you must). After the campaign had run its course, however, the puppets faded from the public eye (though, not from our memories). But, what actually happened to them?

Time Extension recently sought to get to the bottom of this mystery. And after following a few leads, including conversations with Star Fox programmer Dylan Cuthbert and artist Takaya Imamura – neither of whom had a clear idea of the puppets’ fates – the publication finally discovered the, I am afraid to say, sad truth: the Star Fox puppets have actually been destroyed.

Japanese FX company Shirogumi, which created the puppets, gave the following and definitive answer to Time Extension: “The Fox puppets created at our company were made by gluing fur and feathers to natural rubber, so they deteriorate simply by being exposed to air. Because of that, we had to destroy them after production was finished.”

Of course, this is understandable, but a shame nonetheless (although, I did and still do find them a little on the creepy side).

As for Fox McCloud himself, he’s been having a little bit of A Moment in recent weeks. Along with his cameo in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (which I’ve heard is a highlight in an otherwise okay film, though I’ve not yet seen it myself), there is also a rumour we will be getting an all-new Star Fox game this year. It’s claimed it’ll make its Switch 2 debut this summer, and include online multiplayer.