5/20/2007 - Starfox 2 (The Unreleased)

Starfox 2 is probably the highest profile example of vaporware from Nintendo (I'm not sure if you can consider the Sony CD add-on to the Super Nintendo as an example since it was released as the Sony Playstation!). I'm pretty sure I remember reading about it in Nintendo Power.

As an owner of the original Starfox, I was really looking forward to it. Even though Starfox had very rudimentary polygon graphics, it was still a fun shooter with an awesome soundtrack. The Super FX chip embedded within the cartridge gave us a taste of what the next generation systems would bring us.

One of the biggest complaints about the original Starfox was that even though it was a true 3-D game, it was still an on-rails shooter. It did not allow for free-roaming around an expansive space. Starfox 2 would have changed that. As you can see from the video, you can actually choose your path in the Lylat system and roam free when chasing the giant missiles. You could even choose a different pilot and wingman!



Man, this looked like it would have been a really good game! I love the fact that you can transform your Arwing into a walking robot similar to that of the transformable Veritechs in Robotech. Even with a low polygon count, there is a certain beauty to these early Starfox games. It kinda forces you to use your imagination as to what the polygons are supposed to represent. Luckily, the creative artists at Nintendo made these 3-D forms spring into life with such vivid animation. Let's all hope they can port this game over to the Virtual Console!