Developer: Nintendo EAD / Argonaut Software Ltd.
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System / Super Famicom /
Super Nintendo Entertainment System: Classic Edition / Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System / Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Famicom
Release Date: 1995/1996
September 29, 2017 (NA/EU) | September 30, 2017 (AU) | October 5, 2017 (JP)
Genre: The Dark Souls of Star Fox
Official Site: Europe | Australia | North America | Japan
Game manual: English (PDF) | English (Web) | Japanese
Reviews: Here!
Star Fox 2 is the long-lost follow-up to the original Star Fox / Starwing. Originally planned for release in 1995 or 1996, the game expanded the scope of the original with all-range mode battles and strategic elements, powered by the enhanced SuperFX2 Chip used in Yoshi's Island. Star Fox 2's release was canceled in favor of Star Fox 64 for the N64. The interviews in the LEGACY section show how Star Fox 2 influenced later games in the series and how the developers kept coming back to ideas from this lost treasure. The leaked ROMs of Star Fox 2 that people have had access to over the years have never been of the fully finished, polished, and Mario Club-playtested version and even lacked some core features. It is now available for the first time as part of the SNES Classic emulation-based micro-console developed by NERD (Nintendo European Research & Development).
Below is a comparison between the original beta title screen and the title screen of the final build:
To access Star Fox 2, you have to beat the Corneria stage in the original Star Fox (the first level).
Andross is defeated. Or so you thought. The floating-head space wizard ape spitting polygons survived and returned to take over the Lylat system planet by planet. Corneria is the last line of defense. Team Star Fox has been called in to save the day, strengthened by two new crew members, Miyu and Fay (bottom row, mid and right, respectively). You need to apply all your skill and wits to fend off Andross' forces making their way to Corneria.
TIP: The game's official manual is linked at the top of this post in the info table in PDF or HTML format! A highly informative read that includes development insights, trivia, and images of original design docs!
You can select from six characters, split into pairs of two that pilot the same type of Arwing (prototype, armored, or light). The way the things unfold will be determined by your choice of main pilot and wingman.
BONUS TIP: NORMAL = EASY; HARD = NORMAL; EXPERT = HARD! Play this at least on HARD for the "real" experience that is Star Fox 2. Don't normal it through and then go all "meh"! The things you need to worry about in terms of strategy and threats changes greatly on the higher difficulty levels.
Next you go to the map screen. This map works similarly to a Rogue-like in that the enemy units move simultaneously with your movements on that map. If your Arwing and the enemy meet, battle ensues. While in battle view, the enemy forces will keep moving towards Corneria, but their movement will be slowed down so getting out of battles quickly is always a priority. There are various mission types, dependent on if it's a planet mission, a space battle, or a fight with a battle carrier.
This game is the origin of the Arwing's Walker Mode which will be coming in handy during various missions. Star Fox 2 is also where All Range Mode first appeared.
unlock a secret base where you can get powerups and the Homing Shot ability. It only appears when you get every coin in a certain difficulty though, so in Normal you have to get all 13 for it to appear, in Hard you need 19, and in Expert you need 20 (cumulative, over multiple playthroughs).
You can, when you pause there's an option that says "View 1", select it and switch to "View 2" for third person. Doesn't work the other way around though, in third-person segments like planets and inside carriers you can't change to first person.
Sao: How did it come about that you would include this game in Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System?
Miyamoto: The Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System's producer said he wanted to include it. He said it had been through debugging and was a complete game, so it would be a waste not to put it out in the world.
Sao: If it was complete, why did you decide against releasing it before?
Miyamoto: We finished it in 1995, but the next year...
Cuthbert: "I think there are a lot of game ideas in there that haven't really been explored in the Star Fox franchise so far; there's obviously a strategic element, but also a kind of Rogue-like element in the way the encounters and the story are automatically and randomly generated. Each time you play you'll get a different experience created from hundreds of hand-crafted arenas and puzzles."
In a neat twist, it would be during the production of Star Fox Command that Cuthbert was re-acquainted with his past, ill-fated project. "During development we received a copy of the mastered Star Fox 2 ROM to play, and it was quite a blast." This ROM would have been the final game, complete with QA tweaks and ready for a release that never happened. Cuthbert is keen to point out that this version is far superior to the numerous leaked prototype ROMs which are currently doing the rounds on the web - the leaking of which has been erroneously attributed to himself. "There are a few ROMs on the net in various conditions," he states. "But the ones I checked out are all old and they don't have the randomizing Rogue-like stuff working or all the encounters in place, so you don't really get the feel of the game we were making."
I always loved Starglider 2 on the Amiga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg3uQM83dl8
Star Fox 2 reminded me even more of it, so I've asked Dylan Cuthbert directly. This little thread might be interesting to fellow Star Fox fans.
ArsTechnica: Star Fox 2 is an unusual game in terms of having a looser structure, letting players choose missions, and having a base-management element. It feels more like a '90s PC game, to be honest. Was there a culture clash between Nintendo and Argonaut in terms of how this game ultimately felt, or did the companies align conceptually on how Star Fox 2 would differ from the first?
Dylan Cuthbert: The main thrust of the game design came from [Animal Crossing creator and Star Fox Director Katsuya] Eguchi. At that point, the only person with design input on the team from Argonaut would have been me, and Eguchi and I were always on the same page regarding the game's direction. I think this is why the original Star Fox also turned out so well. He used to play a game in his youth called Star Luster, and he was also into board games such as a Monopoly-like game [Fortune Street] that was popular on the SNES [in Japan] at the time—so a lot of the more strategic ideas came from that background.
Miyamoto
Yeah. We had quite a script for Star Fox 2 and had it running, with robots morphing and running, and attempted an all-range mode in which you could fly a full 360 degrees.
Amano
Um...what's Star Fox 2?
Miyamoto
Huh? You don't know about Star Fox 2?
Yusuke Amano [Director: Splatoon; was a coordinator on SF643D]
No, it's the first I've ever heard of it!
Miyamoto
What?! No one told you about it?! It's the Star Fox game that almost was!
Miyamoto: Yes, in this title, the Arwing can turn into the Walker, which can travel on land. The idea for this goes right back to the legendary Star Fox 2 which was in development for Super Nintendo but got cancelled once we knew the Nintendo 64 was on the way. In Star Fox 2, you could transform into a robot in order to get into narrow spaces like enemy battleships. Now in this new title, you can press the A Button whenever you like and turn your ship into the Walker.
Nintendo of Europe: Imamura-san, why did you decide to bring strategy to a series that is most famous for being purely a shooter?
Takaya Imamura: "A game called 'Star Fox 2', which was not actually released, once existed. In that game, there was a strategic system, which we thought suitable for Nintendo DS. That is how we started the project."
Cuthbert: [...]We spent three months putting a lot of love into a copy of the original Star Fox, and we had one stage very similar to the original Star Fox running on the DS. We showed that to Imamura-san and he said "We'll redesign it to work with the DS better and maybe take some ideas from Star Fox 2 and make a fully fledged Star Fox."
Cuthbert: And Star Fox 2 was developed fully to completion and that was all range, there were no rails in that game either. And a lot of the people involved in that game were upset that it didn't get released. [...]
Published on Oct 2, 2017
Done on SNES Classic. This run uses the secret base that gives you back homing shot from the beta, as well as free goodies to start your run off. It also starts with double lasers on both characters, which is unlocked by beating the game with that character with a star rank or better (doing this with all characters unlocks Corneria's music during the character selection).
Never thought I'd be able to say it but I actually beat Star Fox 2 on a SNES console in 2017. (Well, I only played through Normal mode so far... but still!)
My favorite parts are when you get to go inside a base. It's really cool being able to switch between a Walker and essentially play a full 3D SNES FPS, and then turn into an Arwing to get around faster. I don't even care about the lack of rail shooter segments because I like these parts way better than anything that was in the first Star Fox.
Now to find all the medals before trying out Hard!
Played it for quite a while earlier. It's like playing a brand new game! Heck, it may even be one of my favourite Star Fox games out there. I bought the SNES Mini mostly for collection purposes but Star Fox 2 alone makes it a cherished item...that and the insane library of games.
I actually never did any of the "alternative methods" of playing this game, so this will be my first time with it.
My expectations are tempered, but it will be a fun experience at least.
What a game! Such a shame this wasn't released when it should be. But about it's duration
I have zero experience in any star fox game and i finished it on my first try in a few minutes with a C rank,126855 points. I would be pissed if I had paid full price back in the day for such a brief game
Played it on normal and found it quite the cake walk honestly, will play it on a higher difficulty soon. Really enjoyed it, I have touched the leaked build once or twice, but I don't think I've ever got anywhere past the intro screen because I just... Well there was this mystique to the game that I never really wanted spoiled. So now with an official release, finally playing it, it's really something. I really enjoyed it and it's weird that the entire blueprint for Zero is here, like, the entire game from beginning to end, just not terrible and actually working. Here's hoping Nintendo might open up the vault more often and releases another "lost" gem.
What a game! Such a shame this wasn't released when it should be. But about it's duration
I have zero experience in any star fox game and i finished it on my first try in a few minutes with a C rank,126855 points. I would be pissed if I had paid full price back in the day for such a brief game
This is how games worked back then. This isn't Uncharted where go run through one time and put it away forever. The original Starfox is a 40 minute game, so is SF64.
Played it on normal and found it quite the cake walk honestly, will play it on a higher difficulty soon. Really enjoyed it, I have touched the leaked build once or twice, but I don't think I've ever got anywhere past the intro screen because I just... Well there was this mystique to the game that I never really wanted spoiled. So now with an official release, finally playing it, it's really something. I really enjoyed it and it's weird that the entire blueprint for Zero is here, like, the entire game from beginning to end, just not terrible and actually working. Here's hoping Nintendo might open up the vault more often and releases another "lost" gem.
There actually aren't that many remaining lost Nintendo gems, and none I can think of that were cancelled globally at this level of completion. I hope Star Fox people won't mind me hijacking the thread to reply on this subject.
The beta of the Virtual Boy Mario game got fairly far along (past vertical slice). The remaining 64DD Mario Artist games were at least fairly far advanced. Donkey Kong Racing (GCN) was somewhat far along but with MS buying Rare, I think that's dead dead. The NES version of Sim City was fairly far along. I don't think any of these are viable to ever be released, unfortunately.
A lot of people might remember Project HAMMER and Cosmic Walker, both cancelled Wii games, but I don't think they got very far along. And then the "Project Giant Robot" tech demo announced with the Wii U never ultimately became a game.
But there are at least a handful of games Nintendo localized and never released in the US. Obviously everyone knows about Mother (Earthbound Beginnings) as well as Sin and Punishment, but there are a handful of others of interest. Mario & Wario on Super Famicom is an excellent puzzle game that used the SNES mouse, and it's entirely in English, but never made it over for some reason. Archaic Sealed Heat (DS) by Mistwalker had a completed US version that never actually got released. Joy Mecha Fight I think was considered for US release.
Did a run on Normal and really enjoyed it. It's amazing how different this is from Star Fox 1, though. It's more about short dogfights and quasi-dungeon crawls than long, rail shooting levels. In that way it kind of reminds me of the Mario 1 to Mario 2/Doki Doki or Zelda 1 to Zelda 2 transition, where they went in new directions instead of iterating.
If the replay value is indeed solid, this is going to be a good game.
There actually aren't that many remaining lost Nintendo gems, and none I can think of that were cancelled globally at this level of completion. I hope Star Fox people won't mind me hijacking the thread to reply on this subject.
The beta of the Virtual Boy Mario game got fairly far along (past vertical slice). The remaining 64DD Mario Artist games were at least fairly far advanced. Donkey Kong Racing (GCN) was somewhat far along but with MS buying Rare, I think that's dead dead. The NES version of Sim City was fairly far along. I don't think any of these are viable to ever be released, unfortunately.
A lot of people might remember Project HAMMER and Cosmic Walker, both cancelled Wii games, but I don't think they got very far along. And then the "Project Giant Robot" tech demo announced with the Wii U never ultimately became a game.
But there are at least a handful of games Nintendo localized and never released in the US. Obviously everyone knows about Mother (Earthbound Beginnings) as well as Sin and Punishment, but there are a handful of others of interest. Mario & Wario on Super Famicom is an excellent puzzle game that used the SNES mouse, and it's entirely in English, but never made it over for some reason. Archaic Sealed Heat (DS) by Mistwalker had a completed US version that never actually got released. Joy Mecha Fight I think was considered for US release.
The fabled Project Zero/Fatal Frame 4 that was localized but some weird thing about bug fixing that killed its release by NOE. Also, Terranigma, localized by NOA/NOE for Enix in all necessary NA languages for EU.
Nintendo's just been remaking the same story (Star Fox > Star Fox 64 > Star Fox Zero), so the timeline is basically nowhere. This, Adventures, Command, and Assault are probably all non-canon at this point.
(They should totally do a game where you find out Andross just hops into alternate universes when he loses and thus all games are canon)
Nothing of significance happens here. Andross wasn't dead and attacks, and you defeat him. Enter Star Wolf, "yaarrrr I get u next time!!" rinse repeat. Now which game did I just describe?
Did a run on Normal and really enjoyed it. It's amazing how different this is from Star Fox 1, though. It's more about short dogfights and quasi-dungeon crawls than long, rail shooting levels. In that way it kind of reminds me of the Mario 1 to Mario 2/Doki Doki or Zelda 1 to Zelda 2 transition, where they went in new directions instead of iterating.
If the replay value is indeed solid, this is going to be a good game.
I got a B-rank on hard and I guess that unlocked expert mode and oh boy what a great game it becomes on expert mode. I have now tried three times and failed mizerably on the third wave when Andross sends two of his big boss monsters and all hell breaks loose.
The big carriers start shooting their big guns which inflict 50 points of damage on Corneria and Star Wolf team just keep interfering with me and my defense station is overrun by mind control bastards.
Amazing!
I love this game and I wonder what happens if you collect enough medals? Maybe that unlocked expert mode?
I was very disappointed when I found out this got passed over for Star Fox 64. I am very happy it is getting the respect it deserves!
Im looking forward to playing it for myself. Thanks for the informative OP. Gives me a great sense of how these people felt about this title that was put away.
Awesome OT. Loved the interview. Played Star Fox 2 earlier today and enjoyed what I played of it. Didn't do a whole lot just attack those missiles that kept going for Corneria.
I liked the little short little skirmishes on the map, but expected the planet levels to be a bit longer and deeper. I was a bit surprised to find they were rather simplistic as well.
I beat the whole game on my first try with a C rating.
I like the idea of a starfox roguelike, but I'm curious as to just how much different it will actually be on different playthroughs. I guess we'll find out. I'll definitely load it up again.
The "all range mode" in this game feels quite a bit more disorienting than in Star Fox 64.
Overall I'm a little bit disappointed because I was expecting at least one or two levels of the typical, longer Star Fox variety. The ground based walker levels are technically very impressive and control pretty damn well all things considering.
Anyone playing this on normal mode and forming their opinion on it... stop.
Go play a round of hard. Trust me, you need to experience the game where your decisions have weight. The back and forth is what makes the game intriguing.
Just finished it on expert with 71% damage on Corneria.
WOW, just WOW!
The things that happen when shit hits the fan in expert mode are amazing.
When you fight Star Wolf in normal and hard mode it´s just back and forth a few times then done. But in expert you have so many missles and shit you need to shoot down and then Star Wolf members come INTO the missle fight and start harassing you!
It´s totally fantastic.
So you are dealing with all of the small shit and they start chasing you and you have to escape to shoot down more threats and they follow you.
Expert mode also shows how important it is to get lucky and find the twin blasters from either a planet drop or while intercepting missiles. And also since you cannot always depend on getting them you need to learn how to aim your charged shots. Very important to use your charged shots to kill stuff fast on expert.
Also,
I found one pepper coin when the mind control robots take over your defense system. Just fly around the lower part to pick it up.
Just finished it on expert with 71% damage on Corneria.
WOW, just WOW!
The things that happen when shit hits the fan in expert mode are amazing.
When you fight Star Wolf in normal and hard mode it´s just back and forth a few times then done. But in expert you have so many missles and shit you need to shoot down and then Star Wolf members come INTO the missle fight and start harassing you!
It´s totally fantastic.
So you are dealing with all of the small shit and they start chasing you and you have to escape to shoot down more threats and they follow you.
Expert mode also shows how important it is to get lucky and find the twin blasters from either a planet drop or while intercepting missiles. And also since you cannot always depend on getting them you need to learn how to aim your charged shots. Very important to use your charged shots to kill stuff fast on expert.
Also,
I found one pepper coin when the mind control robots take over your defense system. Just fly around the lower part to pick it up.
Imamura: But theres something I still havent talked about. The faces of the characters on Team Star Fox are based on staff members at the time.
Sao: Huh? Really? (laughs)
Imamura: Fox has a fox-like face like Miyamoto.
Miyamoto: (laughs)
Imamura: Falco is Watanabe. At the time, we laughed over how his nose sticks out like a beak! (laughs)
Watanabe: (laughs)
Imamura: [Director] Katsuya Eguchi has a mouth like a hares, so he became the hare, Peppy. [Planner] Yoichi Yamada has large, round eyes, so he became Slippy Toad.
Miyamoto: Yamadas personal mascot has always been a toad anyway. (laughs)
Imamura: And the villain Andross is I shouldnt say. (laughs)
Miyamoto: Yes, you cant say this one! (laughs)
Imamura: (softly) Andross is my boss at the time. (laughs)
Sao: (laughs) I thought I had heard everything about the Star Fox characters, but some information had yet to be revealed! (laughs)
