Star Fox 2 (SNES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Nintendo's 2017 3D shooter for the Super Nintendo, Star Fox 2.

Played through the game on hard mode. I am playing the version that was included with the SNES Classic Edition.

Though Star Fox 2 didn't see an official release until 2017 with its inclusion on the SNES Classic, this follow-up to the very first SuperFX game was completed and ready for release back in 1996.

You can find my playthrough of the first Star Fox here:    • Star Fox (SNES) Playthrough - Nintend...  

I seem to recall that Nintendo got cold feet shortly before the game's intended release, and feared that releasing it so close to the launch of the N64 might blur the lines a bit too much between the console generations. It certainly wouldn't do to convince your customers that they didn't need to buy a shiny, new N64 for 3D gaming, would it?

Unfinished, fan-hacked prototypes of Star Fox 2 had floated around the internet for years, but thankfully the big N finally saw reason to make available the game in its final finished form, and entirely in English, no less!

It's a lot of fun to play now, and it's hard to imagine just how much this would've impressed if had been put out twenty-three years ago. The graphics were a massive jump over those in the original Star Fox (no doubt owing to the increase in power from the Super FX 2 chip), and the impression of less linear level design helps the game feel quite progressive for its time.

Whereas the original Star Fox was strictly a rail-shooter, the sequel gives you a bit more freedom. In addition to the ability to choose the stage order, the stages themselves feel more like arenas than hallways this time. Encounters with fighter squads, missile groups, and enemy officers happen in open space, and they give you enough maneuverability to help sell the illusion of freedom for the short time that they tend to last.

Fighting for control of the bases feels a lot like the all-range mode from Star Fox 64. The areas are small, but there are items hidden in their nooks and crannies, and there are some simple door puzzles thrown in for variety's sake. These areas, along with the base interiors, also allow you use of the walker mode in order to flip switches, take out ground-based enemies, and to more easily maneuver the bases' corridors. The corridors sections were my favorite part of the game - they feel like super-simplistic mech combat sequences, and the controls are a lot better than you might expect with such an uneven framerate and an entirely digital control scheme. I also really loved them for the super-primitive look of their non-textured, low poly-count environments. They're simple enough to look classic rather than trashy and cheap two decades later.

Though the quality and the speed of the 3D graphics can't compare to the early stuff on 32-bit consoles, they are unbelievable for the SNES. The design of the levels and the enemies is as solid as you could hope for when everything is made up of giant, flat triangles, and the 2D art sets it all off nicely. So does the soundtrack, with its diet space opera-brand of synth orchestra tunes.

The only reservation I have with Star Fox 2 is that it loses a lot of the spirit and personality of the first game with its shift in styles. Most of the best moments in Star Fox were the pre-scripted set pieces and the inane chatter between squad members. Those elements really helped to focus the experience and anchor the story to the gameplay. Star Fox 2 lacks these things - the choice of different wingmen means you don't get any sort of personal banter, and the lack of any narrative elements turns most of the battles into a series of arcade-style shooting galleries.

The game is a fantastic achievement and a great deal of fun to play despite its liver spots and its creaky joints, but it doesn't really feel like Star Fox. It feels more like the game that Vortex wanted to be with its transforming vehicles and open spaces. Whether that is a good or bad change is up to your tastes.

Regardless, I didn't find that in any way a deal-breaker. I really enjoyed Star Fox 2, and I enthusiastically recommend it to any SNES fan that hasn't yet had the pleasure.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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