Before there was Star Fox 64, Fox and company went on a second quest to save Corneria... but chances are, you didn't get to play it.

Hands-On Impressions

 

As a fan of the series, I couldn't help but play this lost piece of Nintendo history. Of course, I have played it at various points in the past, but never to completion, and never with an actual controller. Recently, I took on the forces of Andross once again, Xbox 360 PC game pad in hand.

So what, you might ask, makes Star Fox 2 unique? In short, a whole bunch of stuff. The biggest change, unquestionably, is the structure of the game. Completely gone are the on-rail levels and the forced progression through the map of the Lylat System. Instead, players use an on-screen cursor to navigate to their next target, which will vary as the game progresses.

It's much easier to think of Star Fox 2 as a strategy game where the map is the battlefield. Rather than a collection of battles, Star Fox 2 is one ongoing bout. During the course of battle, navigating to targets on the map is crucial, but the actual encounters make up the bulk of the gameplay. Andross is hell bent on destroying Corneria once again, and has overtaken various planets in the system and converted them to bases that can be used to launch fleets and missiles toward Corneria – your enemies in this battle.

Star Fox and company must constantly remain on their toes, jumping from one encounter to another in order to push the forces of Andross back. Each time a missile is launched, players must intercept it as it moves toward Corneria and then destroy it in an all-range mode battle.

All of the battles in the game occur in all-range mode, which provides the ability to navigate in 3D space rather than on-rails. In the case of missiles, players will have to consistently boost and stay on the tail of the projectiles to take them down before they leave the vicinity. Failure to do so will send the missiles spiraling down to Corneria, upping the damage percentage. Once the planet's damage meter reaches 100%, players will fail the mission.

A space station armed with a cannon acts as a first line of defense , shooting down missiles in its sights, eliminating the need for Fox to rush over. Defending this station is also part of the mission objective; overtaken, it acts as an extremely powerful weapon used against Corneria.

The biggest encounters in the game involve pushing back Andross' forces by destroying bases on the various planets in the system. Here players will once again enter all-range mode, but are able to utilize one of the other new functions of the game - transforming the flying Arwing into a walking attack craft.

This transformation can be done seamlessly and as often as desired in order to effectively get around, complete objectives and defeat enemies. Some objectives involve stepping on a switch, others are based around destroying a shield, but the result of any is gaining entrance to a base. Once inside, the gameplay closely resembles what was found in the first game, but will often involve transforming into a walker and blasting enemies in an arena-like room.

The Star Wolf team is another major component, and fights with various members of that team will randomly occur as you push the Andross forces further back. This will ultimately culminate in a fight with Wolf O'Donnell himself, but Pigma and Leon will both try to stop you first. Like the rest of the game, your encounters with Star Wolf are in all-range mode, though these encounters are all about dog fighting.

If one thing becomes clear while playing the game, it’s that Star Fox 2 was ahead of its time. Many of the great ideas and concepts executed here are severely limited by the SNES hardware. The visuals don't lend for a great experience either. It’s tough to see much of anything, which can make it extremely challenging to chase down enemies. This issue gave birth to the charged lock-on mechanic, but here it acts more as a crutch for players who won't likely be able to pinpoint their enemy on the screen.

From start to finish, Star Fox 2 is an extremely brief experience. This is largely due to the enemy encounters, which quickly come and go. Most foes don't pose a serious threat, especially in the game's default normal setting, so you can usually manage to dispatch them in a matter of mere seconds.

Though everything moves quickly, it does a great job of setting the tone of the game. When coupled with the real-time strategy design, you always feel as if you’re under attack. The game will occasionally remind you of such by scrolling messages across the screen during encounters detailing the latest offensive Andross has launched.

Being that this is a sequel, comparisons to its predecessor are inevitable. Despite the grand, ongoing battle of Star Fox 2, it never feels as grandiose as the original. Outside of Andross, there are no epic boss fights and the game's pacing is set primarily by the player. Forces may always be moving in, but the action doesn't really build to a climax the way it does in the more focused original game.

What we find in both Star Fox and Star Fox 2 are the makings of Star Fox 64. They laid the foundation for the diverse experiences made possible by the power of the Nintendo 64, such as the four-player multiplayer mode.

Star Fox 2 is an extremely ambitious title that, despite its shortcomings, is still a fun game to play today. While the rush of playing a lost artifact of gaming adds to the experience, the core concepts are sound, and on the highest difficulty setting, the experience feels full and redeeming to complete successfully.

 

I can't help but hope that Nintendo eventually releases this game, either through a remake or in its original form on one of their downloadable services. In the meantime, I'd love to get a reproduction cartridge of the game so I can pull it from the closet at will and play it on the Super Nintendo as intended.

If I were to assign a score to the experience, three and a half stars would be it. While fans of Star Fox will appreciate this lost title as it affords them the opportunity to see the roots of Star Fox 64 and Star Fox: Command, most others won't derive much enjoyment from the dated visuals and limited gameplay.