The Real Reason Star Fox 2 Was Canceled Until Recently

Star Fox 2 is an unreleased game in the Star Fox series, originally scheduled for release on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Despite actually being completed, the game was never sold to the public and was essentially replaced by Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo 64. So, why was Star Fox 2 canceled? Let's find out the reasons behind this cancellation with the article below!

The State of Star Fox 2 in 1995

Star Fox 2 is a rail shooter developed by Nintendo and Argonaut Software and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was completed in 1995 with many new improvements, promising to bring the maximum experience to users.

• Technology: Like the original Star Fox (1993), Star Fox 2 pushed the graphical capabilities of the SNES with Argonaut's Super FX chip. Star Fox 2 introduced semi-real-time gameplay, new ship types, new playable characters, and a more advanced 3D game engine.

• Scenario: The gameplay in Star Fox 2 has changed quite a bit from the original. Specifically, the player controls two ships that can travel anywhere in the space system, engaging in combat with other ships as they encounter them on the map. There is also a damage counter on the home planet Corneria that goes up to 100 percent; The player must defend it from attack.

Nintendo then showed off the game at the 1995 Consumer Electronics Show, and magazines of the time published screenshots of Star Fox 2. However, the project was quietly canceled shortly thereafter, leaving only an early pre-built ROM for players to explore later.

Why Was Star Fox 2 Cancelled?

It took over 20 years for Nintendo to release a sequel to Star Fox, simply called Star Fox 2. It was thought that game fans would be able to play it for the first time in 1995, but it was completely canceled for these reasons:

1. Nintendo’s fear of outdated graphics

By mid-1995, Star Fox 2 was nearing completion, but the video game world was rapidly evolving. Specifically, the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn had hit the market, offering 3D graphics far superior to the SNES's processing capabilities.

That's why Nintendo was concerned that releasing Star Fox 2, with 3D graphics powered by the 16-bit Super FX 2 chip, would lead to direct comparisons with its competitors' next-generation graphics. Nintendo didn't want "old-gen 3D being compared to much better next-gen 3D, side by side" and damaging its reputation for innovation, according to the game's lead programmer, Dylan Cuthbert.

2. High production costs and the Super FX 2 chip

Star Fox 2 was intended to be a hardware-friendly title, using the high-power Super FX 2 chip for 3D graphics. While this provided amazing technical achievements, it did so at an increased cost per cartridge to produce. The additional expense would have been a pricey launch for Star Fox 2, which might have diminished its profitability when Nintendo already had concerns about the competitive value of the game.

3. Strategic shift towards Nintendo 64

At the same time, Nintendo was preparing to launch its new-generation console, the Nintendo 64, with significantly improved 3D capability. Shigeru Miyamoto and the Nintendo administration wanted a clear difference between the SNES era of 3D gaming and the new influx of true 3D games on the Nintendo 64.

As a result, Nintendo decided to kill Star Fox 2 and use all those game innovations for its next console as Star Fox 64 instead. This version has many innovative concepts initially for the SNES sequel.

"It was done because they did not want the old-gen 3D alongside competing with the greatly enhanced 3D of the next gen." — Dylan Cuthbert, lead programmer.

Leaked ROMs and Underground Fame

Although Star Fox 2 was canceled in 1995, the game's story doesn't end there. Its reputation grew precisely because of its abrupt cancellation, making it one of the most famous "lost" games.

After its cancellation, Star Fox 2 then became a subject of interest. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, a number of prototype and nearly completed versions of the game leaked on the internet.

Most importantly, early ROMs were buggy and incomplete, but eventually a close-to-finished Japanese build came along. Enthusiastic hackers and translators took efforts to remove beta artifacts so the game became playable and released outside of Japan.

The Eventual Official Release of Star Fox 2 in 2017

To everyone's surprise, Nintendo finally released the completed version of Star Fox 2 in 2017 with the Super NES Classic Edition. It was the very first time the game had been released officially to the public, more than two decades after it was originally intended to be released.

Finally, the launch was welcomed by developers and fans alike. Dylan Cuthbert relieved and vindicated that the world could at last see the team's efforts as they had planned. The version provided was complete and refined, correcting the flaws of the previous leaked ROMs.

Ultimately, the release was welcomed by developers and fans alike. Lead programmer Dylan Cuthbert was relieved and vindicated that the world would finally get to see the team’s efforts as they had planned. The version provided was polished and refined, fixing bugs from previously leaked ROMs.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the question of “Why was Star Fox 2 canceled until recently?” has been answered by a number of reasons. Despite not being released in its intended time frame, Star Fox 2 left a lasting impact on the franchise and Nintendo’s philosophy of 3D gaming in general. Most of its innovations were carried over into future games like Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Command. The experimental nature of the title itself also influenced Nintendo’s 3D development in general, with some of its design elements spilling over into other genre-defining efforts.

For more information about Star Fox 2 and other retro games, visit Fendory.com. We also have this exclusive, officially licensed Star Fox merchandise collection for fans of this series. Check it out.

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