Now that I'm done with the Five Comics 2019 Rewind, I can now pivot the blog to some other topics I also want to talk about. One such topic is the new additions to SNES Online a couple of weeks ago, which I have been slowly playing through as December went along. Today, my focus is on the third of four games I've finished. BACKGROUND:
I played the original Star Fox on SNES Online. I talk about my overall familiarity with the series on the blog entry discussing my time with that game, so you can just read that here if you wish. Star Fox 2 is a very interesting game for gaming history enthusiasts, because for the longest time, it went unreleased. It was meant to come out on the Super Nintendo a couple of years, but it never did. The game didn't see the light of day until 2017, when it was made part of the SNES Classic library. SUMMARY: Remember when you killed Andross in the first game? Well, he's back, and he's extra pissed. That means the Lylat system is in danger again, and thus General Pepper enlists the help of Team Star Fox once more. Star Fox 2 plays pretty much the same as the first game (3D rail shooter where you pilot a spaceship and go "pew pew pew"), but how the game is laid out is completely different. In the original Star Fox, you go through a set of levels in a specific sequence, with each level culminating in a boss fight. Star Fox 2, on the other hand, does away with the linear progression and puts you in a map of the Lylat system where you can move freely and tackle levels in any order. The map has five worlds on it, but depending on your difficulty, only a number of them are selectable. Each individual level has unique layouts and aesthetics, but the goal will mostly be the same: infiltrate their base and destroy it from the inside. The fact that you're pretty much doing the same thing for every planet wears thin after a while, but the levels themselves have enough variety in terms of how you get to the objective. Some levels just need you to find the switch and press it, while others take you through a labyrinth filled with bosses and enemies you have to dispatch. The overworld will also have other elements strewn about that you can check out. One such thing is a spacecraft carrier, and visiting it puts you in a mission where you fly into the carrier and blow it up. You can also encounter enemy fighters in space, and heading to their location puts you in a dogfight where you have to take every enemy ship out. Think of them as the game's random encounters. To raise the stakes, Corneria now has a damage counter on it. Once it reaches 100%, it's game over. Corneria takes damage when enemy fighters or planetary missiles successfully travel through the map and reach the planet, which can be prevented by intercepting them on their way there, the destroying them in a space battle. These hazards are periodically sent out by carriers and hostile planets respectively, so clearing the actual levels will prevent more attacks from happening. What makes these hazards challenging is rooted in how the overworld works. In order to move, you have to point at a given location with the cursor, and once you've confirmed your selection, the ship that denotes your position on the map actually moves to that point at a fixed speed. As your ship moves, so do the hazards, and they're all making a beeline towards Corneria. It's like if the overworld in Super Mario 3 had Mario actually walk at a slow pace from level to level instead of just putting you automatically on the level. This mechanic can be a bit of a slog to get through when you just want to beat the game, but I do like the concept of the overworld being more than just a glorified level select screen and having dynamic elements like that. A lot of the game is striking a balance between making your way through each main level in order to reach Andross and intercepting enemy fighters/planetary missiles before they reach Corneria. It's an interesting dynamic that I enjoyed, as it required actively planning out a route as opposed to going in a predetermined sequence. I also like that the aspect of defending Corneria is still important even when you're in a middle of playing through a level. When you go through levels or take on random encounters, the overworld doesn't freeze in time; stuff like missiles moving towards Corneria or carriers deploying new enemy squadrons are still very much active in real time. This is denoted by the occasional transmission from General Pepper that you can get while playing, who will notify you when, say, Corneria has taken damage, or Andross has launched more missiles. It incentivizes you to clear levels as quickly as possible, so you can respond to any new happenings immediately. Once you progress and take out a bunch of carriers/liberate a bunch of planets, Andross will get angry, and send all manner of hell your way. These can range from deploying additional spacecraft carriers, launching several missiles from every planet under his control, and even sending out a tough boss fight in your direction. He will also dispatch the members of rival mercenary team Star Wolf, and encountering them will put you in a one-on-one dogfight. Andross's responses to your efforts vary in number and severity depending on which difficulty you select. In terms of actual space combat, there were a few changes made. For one, you're no longer stuck as Fox, because you can now select from one of six playable characters (the original four Star Fox members + Miyu and Fay, who are brand new). Each character's ship has different stats and special abilities, and the ship designs even vary from character to character. Though I was perfectly fine with the first game putting you firmly in Fox McCloud's shoes, I really like the freedom to choose who I want to play as, and the fact that my choice affects gameplay makes it interesting. Unlike the first Star Fox, your teammates no longer join you in the fray (so no friendly fire/keep them alive scenarios), which I found disappointing, as that's one of my favorite aspects of the first game. The team aspect is not completely lost, however, as you can also select a wingman after selecting who you want to play as. At any time in the overworld, you can swap who you play as between your chosen character and the wingman, allowing you to access different abilities when needed, or to give one guy a break if they've taken a lot of damage. Speaking of damage, your health does not replenish between levels, so hopping from level to level in quick succession may be ill-advised. You can restore yourself by flying back to the Mothership, which starts out on Corneria. As you start liberating planets, you can warp the Mothership to those planets, allowing you to deploy yourself from a more favorable position. What's perhaps the coolest addition to Star Fox 2 is the Arwing's ability to transform into a walker. In the main levels, you can switch from your regular spacecraft to an earthbound walking vehicle. As great as flying in a spaceship is, I found the walker much more fun, as it controls quite well and gave me the feeling that I was piloting an AT-ST (from Star Wars). Aiming was also substantially easier in this mode than in the regular Arwing, so there's that. As mentioned, there are difficulty levels in this game, and they are Normal, Hard, and Expert. Unlike the first game (which featured different levels depending on the difficulty), every setting takes place in the same overworld, with the primary difference being the amount of selectable levels at the start. That said, each difficulty still feels largely distinct from one another, as one planet can have different layouts and objectives based on the difficulty. This game has a decent amount of replay value, because every playthrough will have a different selection of planets every time, and the random events can happen at different times. There's also a scoring system that gives you a rank when you beat the game, which will appeal to the leaderboard chasers out there. Though most things still look like the usual low-poly models from the first game, Star Fox 2's visuals feel a bit more polished. Enemy designs look more defined, there are more background elements in levels, power-ups are actually identifiable on the screen, and ancillary stuff like character portraits and menus look great. There are also nice additions to the UI like the map/radar, which is incredibly useful. VERDICT: Though there are elements from the first game I wish they had kept, Star Fox 2 is still a solid sequel. It expands on the 3D space combat well by introducing character options and the awesome walker mode, creates a unique gameplay dynamic with its ever-changing overworld and the added objective of defending Corneria, and improves on the visuals somewhat. It took around 20 years for Nintendo to finally release this game, and I'd say it was worth the wait. - end -
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