Proto:Star Fox 2/August 31, 1994

This is a sub-page of Proto:Star Fox 2.

This page or section details content from the July 2020 Nintendo Leak. Check the July 2020 Nintendo Leak category for more pages also sourced from this material.

This build is farther along than the May 13th build, however, it is still behind the CES demo.

The ROM can be found in other.7z\SFC.7z\SFC\ソースデータ\StarFox2\SF2\SFROM.ZIP.

Changes since May 13, 1994

To do: Explore the levels in depth. In particular STG2, which has three forks, and an area with a satellite behind a closed gate, which is destroyed by a homing bomb, and after - the Japanese text, which is different from destroying the "pencil rocket" trap.

Despite appearances, the menu is functionally identical. The font uses a new palette with an outline and displays over a rotating textured cube and part of Taitania's (Mission 2 in this prototype) sky.

May 13, 1994	August 31, 1994	After leaving the first mission, if there was a boss fight before that

Every other menu retains the black background, and reverts the text palette to that of the April 15, 1994 build. EXCEPT:

May 13, 1994	August 31, 1994	Final

the character select screen has been implemented (based on the 2P character select screen from previous builds)! Only one character can be selected at a time, but it's a start. Miyu is here, but Fay is currently represented by a unique sheep character who appeared in unused graphics in the previous builds. They have the placeholder names of FFF and OOO respectively, and their respective Arwing designations are FY-001 and FA-001.

The map is now also (mostly) functional, with only minor bugginess. The planets are 3D with wrapping textures, and all act as if a mission is available there. However, the main game in this prototype doesn't have its main objective programmed in yet, so Andross's forces fly around aimlessly in space.

May 13, 1994	August 31, 1994

Andross's forces use placeholder sprites from Link's Awakening, such as Boo Buddies, Ghinis, Anti-Kirbys, and Bloobers.

The mission debriefing in this prototype is similar to the one in the first Star Fox, having General Pepper explain the mission to the player's character before it starts, instead of featuring a target description screen that shows the targets like in the WCES build onward.

Observe: linearity. And mushrooms.

Most of the unused graphics from earlier prototypes are used in this prototype in the missions.

The debug information present in earlier builds has been disabled here.

An extra life.

The developers seem to have gone off the free-roaming gameplay of earlier builds, as now each level is a sprawling linear path surrounded on both sides by walls, in a manner not too dissimilar to the original Star Fox. However, the progression is more dungeon crawler than space shooter, as the player solves puzzles and destroys targets to shut down forcefields and progress.

There is a new boss present, which is known as King Dodora in later prototypes. This is the only boss that can actually be fought in levels in this prototype. At the end of a stage, the background transitions, the music stages and a voice says "incoming enemy" (lifted from the original Star Fox). The Arwing is then locked in walker mode, and the boss appears. If the player dies to the boss, they are respawned before the boss appears but are not put into walker mode and King Dodora never emerges. Once the boss is defeated, nothing happens, and the game is essentially softlocked until the player resets the console, or uses a button code to return to the world map.

Speaking of the walker, its movement speed has been increased yet again and it still isn't enough. The texture on the back has been updated to a simple "X" shape, though.

May 13, 2994	August 31, 1994

Encounters in this prototype load a linear looping level, taking the place of EXT1-SENKAN, that can't be beat. Several types of enemies and some large battleships are hurled towards the player… and a large lava bird.

Hm.

The most complete mission in this version is on Taitania (read: the only planet that was named by this point). This mission uses music and assets attributed to Venom in later versions of the game. It has a fully functioning route, enemies, objectives and paths, plus a working King Dodora boss with its own stormy backdrop and rain. All it's missing is an ending.

The other missions, while reusing assets and music from previous builds, are brand new. However, being unfinished, it leaves not much to be astounded by. Mission-4 however does have a fluctuating background, that switches between a pastel mountain and a dark desolate landscape every few seconds. Impressive for the hardware, yes, but not that much intuitive for the gameplay experience.

Mission-3 takes place on a fiery planet, that would be known as "Macbeth" in later builds. For whatever reason, the level collision becomes wonky when the player has two satellites left to destroy, so which satellites get destroyed first should be carefully thought out; The wonky collision restricts the player from accessing a large majority of the level, however it's just enough to allow the player to shoot down the two remaining satellites.

Also notable is the water level, Mission-6, which General Pepper identifies in English as "EXTRA 1-MISSION FINAL STAGE". This could suggest that Andross was going to appear underwater... or it could be an error. The background on this stage is partly broken, as the horizon does not rotate with the 3D objects.

Battle mode is oddly not as functional as it is in earlier prototypes. Only one level can be properly played; in the rest of the levels, the players' Arwings repeatedly crash into both each other and the floor, while the camera rapidly moves around. In this build, each level is still divided into 3 rounds, however when an opponent is destroyed, unique victory music starts playing (or nothing, like in Marin). At the end of all rounds, a similar placeholder screen from previous builds is shown, only with a recolor vertical bar at the bottom.

Test mode works perfectly here - the player can select their Arwing pilot and pick a stage to play, with no hassle.

Training mode uses the neighborhood map that would later become the secret base in the final game, plus a "Welcome" sign and several static robots. Depending on the emulator in use, this mode can appear very broken, with flickering polygons and missing graphics.

Palette 1	Palette 2	Mockup

Pressing Start loads an options screen that looks like it should change the player's Arwing type and control scheme, however it appears to lack functionality. It also displays in some odd palettes. It's perhaps possible this screen was intended to use the Train/Type palette from previous builds (Note that the bizarre duck/caveman placeholders are still present).

Config mode now has updated sound effects in the SE option.

Game Over	Continue

This is also the first known build to include "Game Over" and "Continue" screens.

Debug Controls

To do: There's more debug button combo codes, including one that sends the player back to the world map without the need to force a Game Over to occur.

• L + R + Select: Instantly lose a life. This also restarts the music and timer.
• A + B + X + Y + L + R: Plays the death animation, loses a life, and then spawns the boss.
• L + R + Y: Toggle first person camera.