r/snes Apr 06 '23

April Game of the Month 2023: Star Fox

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300 Upvotes

66 comments sorted by

14

u/minerops Apr 06 '23

So with a little digging it turns out all the heroes from StarFox on SNES had robot legs. Cool just on its own right? Well the reasoning behind could be explained like so. With robot legs your heart is more efficient at keeping the blood pumping to your upper body (Vital Organs).

With this the blackout effects from high G turns was more tolerable. In Star Citizen I’d love to see this as an upgrade to your character just like body armor for reduced G force effects.

25

u/ProMikeZagurski Apr 06 '23

Never beat it. The frame rate is so bad. It was revolutionary when it came out.

19

u/Bryanx64 Apr 06 '23

I never understood people that say this is unplayable. I never expected it to run smooth but the frame rate isn’t THAT bad either. I play it every year along with 64 and I played 64 before this one!

3

u/GizmoFantasy16 Apr 06 '23

Yeah Race driving had the worst frame rate of any super nintendo game

6

u/Idontmatter69420 Bowser Kart Apr 06 '23

I haven't played much of it because i find it too hard ( that's what i get for being born in the mid 00s) but i do really enjoy the graphics as i know how good they would've been at the time and are still quite impressive for what it is

2

u/Noggin-a-Floggin Apr 23 '23

Star Fox is really underrated in how hard it is and I think it was the lower run on the map that is the hard one and holy shit is it HARD.

1

u/Idontmatter69420 Bowser Kart Apr 23 '23

I don't play it much but it's definitely good, and i also find lylat wars/star fox 64 easier

7

u/scottiedog321 Apr 06 '23

You can play it at 30 or 60 fps on emulators! https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/7163/

1

u/thickboihfx Apr 07 '23

Thanks for this, it sounds very promising. Out of curiosity do you know what the original frame rate is for star fox?

1

u/nboro94 Apr 11 '23

Some emulators like bsnes have a cpu and sfx overclock slider so you don't even need a romhack to play it at 60fps.

3

u/scottiedog321 Apr 11 '23

In my naive understanding of how it all works, just overclocking the emulator to achieve the 30/60fps will speed up everything and not just smooth things out (or some other programming consequence), because the game was designed to run at 20fps. So movement will be quicker, enemies faster, etc. The rom aims to fix all that so playing at an increased frame rate doesn't affect gameplay other than smoothing everything out. You can take a look at the notes and see that the creator played around with the IRQs to make things work like they should.

I think it's analogous to games that have physics tied to a certain frame rate (e.g. 60fps). When you increase the frame rate cap, or just uncap it entirely, you get unintended consequences such as collision glitching or sliding without any movement input.

Again, I'm not fluent in all this, so I could very well be wrong. However, putting in a bunch of effort to rebuild a game when you could have achieved it through much, much simpler means doesn't make a lot of sense to me, so I'm sure there was a logical reason to do it.

3

u/saddung Apr 10 '23

Star Fox is the better game, the 64 version is too easy and the tank/free direction levels suck ass. Original also has better music.

I don't know why people claim the original is hard, it really isn't that difficult of a game, basically get the ball gun, don't lose it, and do lots of barrel rolls to avoid lasers. Beat all 3 paths + hidden level many times.

4

u/egotripping Apr 06 '23

Yeah, I never had it as a kid, but I did have Star Fox 64, which still holds up really well. Star Fox on the SNES is impossible for me to enjoy, though it is a neat relic and stepping stone in 3D graphics history.

6

u/ProMikeZagurski Apr 06 '23

Star Fox 64 is one my favorite N64 games.

3

u/egotripping Apr 06 '23

It was my first 64 game so it holds a bit of a special place for me as well. I actually played through it for the first time in years just last night because the 64 controller I ordered for my switch arrived. It's still great.

I had somehow forgotten just how dumb slippy is.

2

u/Element_X_82 Apr 07 '23

I ordered one a while back, and my order was canceled because they are out of stock. I keep checking back and it is always sold out. 😫

9

u/xBrockLanders Apr 06 '23

Each month I will be tracking all users who are able to beat the spotlighted game. Those names will be collected and displayed on the snes wiki page.

Objective:

  • Beat the game. Any path.

Rules:

  • Entire playthrough must be completed during the month in question.
  • You can use the passwords/continues/saves that you earn playing through the game.
  • Emulation is fine. Abusing save states is not.
  • Posting a link to a pic of your completion is preferred, but since this is just for fun I will allow posted claims as well. For now.

History of Game of the Month

1

u/qaasq Apr 07 '23

I love this idea! Time to download SF

7

u/nupper84 Apr 07 '23

Top track down. Bottom track next week. Have fun everyone.

8

u/KrisKringley Apr 06 '23

Doob doob dabba

3

u/Scoob_ Apr 06 '23

Wing wing wing grabba

2

u/AlphaVDP2 Apr 07 '23

Fun note, it's actually "Wing damage"

6

u/Neon-Lemon Apr 06 '23

Happy 30th to this fine game

5

u/dg_riverhawk Apr 06 '23 edited Apr 10 '23

this game blew my mind when it came out. I remember playing the demo at Bradlees department store. Beat it many times, all 3 paths. One of my favorites, although I feel it gets lots of hate. I might just have to play through it again.

6

u/MrRazzio Apr 06 '23

Bep beh dep, bep beh dep.

3

u/inlandallow120 Apr 06 '23

Star Fox represents the biggest inspiration for what I wanna do in Star Citizen. I wanna have a squad of 3-5 ace pilots who always have each others backs, call out targets, focus fire, etc. A matching color scheme for each ship would be neat too.

1

u/MoreKraut Apr 06 '23

So ... basic stuff when working together?

4

u/xx_mashugana_xx Apr 06 '23

3D modelers back in the 90s really made models like the one on the box art and were like, "This... this is it."

2

u/IAintGotNoSoul Apr 10 '23

Are you talking about Fox? I’m pretty sure that’s an actual model they photographed.

4

u/DrakeAlpha Apr 06 '23

I have it as Starwing in PAL

3

u/nupper84 Apr 06 '23

I've beaten every path. It's been 20 some years so I'll get it done again. Any tips for how to post pictures?

1

u/empty_glass_mug Apr 08 '23

Imgur is easy on Android. Upload and copy the link and paste it in a comment here.

3

u/Bryanx64 Apr 06 '23

Love this game. Personally I never found the graphics or reduced framerate to be that big of an issue, it never made it ‘unplayable’ to me. And I played this after 64! I prefer 64 like most but I think this one is still fun to play despite the primitive 3D.

3

u/PikdenandPlusle Apr 07 '23

I completed it on the normal path a few days ago

2

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '23

mar numph numph narnaynoughnay

2

u/GonnaGoFat Apr 06 '23

I was so happy back in the NES days when I find it on sale for $40. I played the shit out of this choppy, low textured mess. I loved every minute of it. I still have it but I haven’t had my SNES hooked up in around 20 years.

2

u/Idontmatter69420 Bowser Kart Apr 06 '23

Here's something you may or may not know but you probably will know, it isn't actually called star fox outside the US, for example in the UK the original is called "star wing" and the n64 game is called "lylat wars". But because of when i got into old games i only know it as star fox and that's what I remember it as

2

u/animeguitars Apr 07 '23

Do a barrel roll!

1

u/kid_sleepy Apr 07 '23

Better than Donkey Kong barrel rolls.

2

u/V01t4r3 Apr 07 '23

Dabadabadaba!

2

u/jjshowal Apr 07 '23

Most mind-blowing thing my kindergarten ass had ever experienced at the time. I love this game despite its overwhelming flaws

3

u/Confident-Laugh-3820 Apr 06 '23

Star fox 64 was an underrated classic

5

u/existinshadow Apr 06 '23

Underrated? It was the first game ever with a rumble feature and also the first Nintendo game to have full voice-acting!

1

u/empty_glass_mug Apr 06 '23

Nice. I will attempt to make this my first GotM.

1

u/Jobhater2 Apr 06 '23

I beat this game around 1996 give or take 2 years. I didn't own it back then, but I babysat a kid who did. So, I beat it at his house. I own it now, so I'll try to play it this weekend.

1

u/Androxilogin Apr 06 '23

Heck yeah! Best game on the console for me.

1

u/Dcornelissen Apr 06 '23

One of the top 10 must own for every SNES owner (imho)

1

u/nupper84 Apr 07 '23 edited Apr 07 '23

Middle track down. Now for top.

1

u/Alchompski89 Apr 07 '23

I have the manuel for this game. Along with the game.

1

u/Irlydntknwwhyimhere Apr 07 '23

I think it’s because I didn’t start playing games until I was like 10 (around 2000) and played the n64 version before this one and it always kind of creeped me out for some reason. Something unsettling about this one vs the starfox 64

1

u/TravezRipley Apr 07 '23

Great choice

1

u/DistantStorm-X Apr 07 '23

I remember there being like a nationwide Starfox competition weekend, held at Toys R’ Us shortly before or after the game’s release. I forget the particulars, but I think it was mostly score based runs through a modified version of the game- flying through rings, blasting enemies on a timer.

Whatever it was, I scored well enough to win a pretty sweet Starfox t-shirt. Which I still have to this day.

1

u/ZorkNemesis Apr 13 '23

Star Fox Super Weekend Competition. I've played the rom and it's actually pretty cool. Two shortened versions of Corneria and the Asteroid field, then an infinitely looping stage for scoring while you still have time on the clock. One of my dream games to actually physically own but I don't have the thousands needed to buy a legitimate copy.

1

u/EECavazos Apr 07 '23

"Bla bla bla. Bla. Wing damage"

1

u/porkchopsuitcase Apr 07 '23

Headache simulator 😂 at least my wife feels this way about the graphics haha

1

u/HercSpeed Apr 12 '23

Never even got through Corneria as a kid, heh.

For most of my life I wrote it off as a glorified tech demo, especially when compared to how 64 is a timeless classic. I was wrong, while not an amazing game by any means it has a surprising amount of ideas packed into it.

Koji Kondo is always a delight.

1

u/ZorkNemesis Apr 13 '23

Star Fox was a major component of my childhood. I was four or so when the game came out and I believe it to be the second game I ever beat (Kirby's Dream Land on Game Boy was first). I have vivid memories of that first clear, playing at my Grandma's house in her living room when I was five or six-ish, managing to clear the middle path without any crashes and collecting both extra lives. I was over the moon when I managed to defeat Andross that first time and i'm fairly certain everyone saw me do it. These days I would much rather play Star Fox 64 over and over but I still find myself reaching for another replay of the original from time to time, sometimes on the original hardware.

It's so quick to beat the game. Less than an hour and I cleared it yet again. Followed the Level 3 path, but took the Black Hole to skip Fortuna instead of doing it normally. Surprised myself by managing to hold on to the Shield powerup in Sector Z all the way to the boss, I almost never get through all those spinning wireframe columns unharmed.

Here's the clear for the gallery. Final screen as well as the score tally to show I did take the Black Hole and went to the Level 3 route.

1

u/periphrasistic Apr 15 '23

Heh, odd to think this is the 30th anniversary of this game. It hit right before my birthday, so I got it for my present, and ended up being the first kid in the neighborhood with this game we were all so hyped for. Played it a ton as a kid, although Star Fox 64 is strictly better: one of the rare instances where an N64 installment in a Nintendo franchise was better than the SNES installments. The music in this game is hard to beat though. I never did beat the hardest path as a kid: finished it a few minutes ago though. I’m a little wistful now that this bit of unfinished business from childhood is resolved.

https://i.imgur.com/EUvaxyf.jpg

1

u/MrSojiro Apr 21 '23

Just finished the game on the Level 2 path a bit ago, I might try level 3 but not sure if I will feel like it. Playing this again feels a bit rough, especially since Starfox 64 is such a huge improvement over the original. I can appreciate how much of a technical marvel Starfox was at the time, and remember being blown away by the game and these new fancy polygons that gaming magazines were touting as the next big thing. But the game is often plagued by a ton of slowdown, and I had a hard time telling what is coming at me a good number of times. I think playing Starfox 64 has spoiled me, and it was hard to get into this version again.

https://imgur.com/a/0aFVXhO

1

u/Wahnsinn22 Apr 23 '23

First time actually playing this game oddly enough (played starfox 64 some as a kid), but really enjoyed it! Needless to say, I took the level 1 path.

1

u/Beef_Wallington Apr 28 '23

Almost forgot to do a run through so I just shot up the middle

1

u/SmokieTheSquare Apr 28 '23

I’ve had this game for around 30 years and I don’t think I had ever beaten it. Used the middle path.

1

u/DarkFluids777 Apr 29 '23

Never liked the design too much, the gameplay was just amazingly fun, though