Star Fox 2

Star Fox 2
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Genre(s)	On-rails shooter

Star Fox 2 is an unreleased game in the Star Fox series that was originally going to be released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the game was going to be released in 1995. While it was finished it was not sold to the public and was essentially replaced with Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo 64. There are still playable versions on the internet by downloading an emulator. Leftovers of the game were used for Star Fox Command and Star Fox 64.

Plot

Star Fox 2 continues the battle against Emperor Andross who seeks to conquer the Lylat system. The Star Fox team consisting of Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy and new members Miyu and Fay assembled once again to defeat him. The game introduces a new semi-real time game play system, featuring new ship types and two new Star Fox team members. It also features a more advanced 3D game engine thanks to a new improved version of the Super FX chip.

Gameplay

The premise of Star Fox 2 is very different from the original Star Fox: Instead of following mostly linear paths inside predefined missions, the player moves a team of two ships freely around a map screen that represents the Lylat system. When the player's ships make contact with enemy forces, the game will go into an action perspective, piloting the Arwing ship directly with controls and game play similar to the first Star Fox. When the player clears the specified objectives in that encounter, destroying all fighters in the vicinity for example, the game will go back into the main map screen, where the player can select a new destination for his craft.

The objective of the game is to destroy all enemy forces present in the map while defending planet Corneria (located in the lower left corner of the map), preventing its damage level from reaching 100% due to enemy attacks. To protect Corneria the player will have to intercept fighters and incoming missiles, called IPBMs in the game, while also dealing with the sources of these attacks: battleships, which will deploy more fighter squadrons, and planetary bases which will fire more missiles towards Corneria. To assist the player, General Pepper will employ an immobile space station that can shoot down enemies on a limited basis — the player must also defend this installation from special enemy ships called viruses that can take over the satellite, and use its cannon to fire at Corneria.

If the player's ship makes contact with a captured planet on the map screen, they will be transported into another action sequence located on the planet's surface. There they will have to open the enemy's base entrance through different means depending on the level (by pressing a switch, defeating a boss, etc.) Once the player has been able to gain access to the base interior, he/she will have to go through a complex and destroy the base's generator at the end. The planet will be then liberated and no more missiles will be fired from it. Starfighters from the Star Wolf team will be defending some captured planets, and they will have to be fought if the player wants to liberate one of those planets. They eventually go after the player's Arwings when some time has passed. Bosses will also be dispatched to chase the player's ships at some point in the game.

The game runs in semi-real time: when the player takes an action, time starts counting and enemies will perform actions as well. This occurs whether the player is moving around on the map screen or has engaged an enemy in battle, making it possible for enemies to damage Corneria or new enemies to launch during that time. This forces the player to think tactically and defeat their enemies as quick and efficiently as possible. At times the player may even have to leave a battle to take on other enemies that are getting too close to the planet. In this way, Star Fox 2 bears considerable similarity to many real-time strategy games.

Once the player has cleared all enemy forces present on the map, his ships will then travel to Andross' base, located on the top right corner of the map, to face one last level and fight Andross himself at the end of it. Once Andross is defeated, the player has won the game, and his performance will be scored and ranked in a debriefing screen.

Difficulty levels have a great impact on the game, changing the layout of all levels and presenting stronger and more numerous enemy forces on each successive difficulty level. Each difficulty level also contains its own bonus items (dubbed "Pepper Coins" by fans), which will be hidden inside the game's levels for the player to find and collect.

Characters

Star Fox 2 features six playable characters, the highest known number of any game in the series until Star Fox Command. Primary characters include Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and two new additions to the team: Fay, a female white coker spaniel with a pink hair bow who is a new member of the team, and Miyu, a tomboyish female lynx who is also a new addition to the team. Most of the main characters in the game have an intensely positive or negative relationship with Fox McCloud and his team, particularly Andross, the game's main antagonist who has repeatedly organized invasions of Fox's home, the Lylat system. The supporting character Wolf and his Star Wolf team serve as secondary villains throughout the game. Most of these characters have reappeared in later games in the series, such as Star Fox 64 or Star Fox Assault, and also in other franchises, such as Super Smash Bros. The game was supposed to feature voice acting, but it was cut.

Trivia

• Fara Phoenix, a female character that appeared in the Star Fox comics in Nintendo Power magazine in 1993, appeared in an early build of Star Fox 2, but was replaced in the final game before it was ultimately cancelled.
• The game was reviewed in Nintendo Power V69 and mentioned the use of the Super FX chip. It was also listed for a Summer 1995 release date.