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A Game Lost in Time
Miyamoto and the team wanted the next Star Fox game to be an even grander sci-fi shooter with more action, freedom, and a heavy dose of awesome. It would take a lot of work, but the designers had many great ideas in store for the sequel. Many new features were brought to the table for Star Fox 2, features you may recognize as being in future titles. A new real-time strategy aspect was added to the game, and new vehicles such as a tank and a transforming robot were added to the armaments of the mercenary team. One mode that the team really wanted to introduce was called “all-range” mode, which would allow the Arwing to fly a full 360 degrees in an open area rather than on a rail.
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However, even the technology of the Super FX chip was not going to be enough for the ambitious sequel. Nintendo and Argonaut started developing a brand new chip, the Super FX 2 to keep up with the increased demand for more powerful processing. However, developing new hardware takes time, and the 16-bit era was racing on and new prospects were visible on the horizon. By the time Star Fox 2 was reaching completion, which it nearly did, the Nintendo 64 release was looming. Instead, Nintendo decided to cease development on the game and begin work on a new Star Fox title for the N64.
Despite its cancellation, Star Fox 2 went on to become one of the most influential games in the series. The new features and ideas for combat introduced in the game made up the bulk of Star Fox 64. The strategy aspect was of course transformed into Star Fox Command, which is perhaps the closest we’ll ever get to the original Star Fox 2. It’s rare that a game with such a solid build ends up as vaporware, but the remains of Star Fox 2 were reborn, not buried.
