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Star Fox 2
Super Nintendo (SNES)
The Lost Sequel Finally Made Available
3/5 stars
Star Fox 2 tries to build on the first installment on the SNES but falls short in multiple aspects and while it's a decent adventure I'm not surprised at all that it got canceled back in the 1990's.
From what I've heard Star Fox 2 was a completed game that was suppose to come out back in 1996 but was canceled mainly due to the fact the Nintendo 64 was going to come out soon and vastly improved on 3D visuals compared to Star Fox on the SNES. In my opinion, the game fell short in other areas which made that decision to cancel it easier. However, I am glad that it came out on the SNES Classic because a completed game like this should see the light of day.
The story to Star Fox 2 is familiar. The final boss from the first Star Fox Andross somehow survives the ending of the first game and returns to the Lylat and attacks it. The team headed by Fox must repel the attack and take on Andross once again.
Star Fox 2 took a major deviation from the set up of the first Star Fox. In the original SNES title, you chose 1 of 3 paths and took on several straight forward linear stages on your way to fight the final boss. Star Fox 2 is quite different. From the very beginning you have free reign on where you go in the Lylat system and you have to repel attacks from various places in the system. Missiles get launched from nearby planets and asteroid belts and you must take them out before they reach and damage the planet Corneria. If something does reach the planet, a percentage counter will go up and if Corneria hits 100% damage you lose the game. It's an interesting concept.
When you start the game you choose another one of Star Fox's team to travel with you. I chose Pepper. What the other characters do while you are the other are fighting off an attack from a whole star system I'm not sure. I think it's funny that you have a bigger team in the first game but have a bigger challenge in the second game. And to be honest I'm not even sure what your companion does while you play the game, I don't think I saw him once attacking or saving me from an assault.
You need to accomplish a couple things before taking on the final boss in this game. Like I said before, you need to keep Corneria safe from assaults. The other thing is you need to take out enemy bases and ships throughout the solar system. I traveled to a few planets, an asteroid belt and intercepted a couple larger ships along the way. The levels usually involved entering some kind of structure and taking out a boss inside to take out the base/ship.
Another major difference compared to the first game is how the levels are set up. In the first game the levels were more like a rail shooter where you have a predestined path you must follow. In the sequel, the levels are 3D. If you're fighting an enemy craft or taking out a missile you might have to circle around it. It's more realistic but unfortunately not executed the best. With the lack of a real environment and not many objects it's easy to get confused. Fortunately the radar works reasonably well.
Also Star Fox has the first appearance of Star Wolf and his gang. They appear randomly when you travel throughout the system and it's pretty much a duel scenario. The fights aren't that interesting mainly because you're in the cockpit of your ship fighting him so dodging attacks is almost impossible.
Lastly they added another mode of transport in the game. Your Arwing can change into a walker. This is mostly useful inside bases. It's a neat concept but with the lack of a second control stick it feels weird moving and aiming. It's almost as if I wasn't sure what I was controlling at any certain point.
The graphics did not age well with this game and the frame rate is pretty atrocious compared to today's standards but I'm really glad I played this game. It's not as good as the first one and you almost have to have lived through and enjoyed the SNES generation to really appreciate this game.
3/5
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