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Proto:Star Fox 2/June 8, 1995 Build

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

How about a nice leek in this trying time?
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.
Hmmm...
To do:
  • Document this build from the July Gigaleaks.
  • Cover how this differs from the June 22, 1995 build.

The ROM's file path is other.7z\SFC.7z\SFC\ソースデータ\StarFox2\SF2\SF.ROM, however, its header needs to be patched to make it bootable. Apply this patch to fix it.

Changes since December 28, 1994

Titles, Menus and Intros

The intro has been reworked, with the models, timing and animations now more refined. The Nintendo logo has changed too:

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
Sf2cesnintendo.png Sf2june8nintendo.png

The animation for the mothership zooming off into the distance has been revised and its music has been properly implemented, but both are still different from later builds.

The title screen has been altered slightly; the menu text is back to 7 pixels tall and Andross's robot eye graphics have been made more detailed.

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
SF2CES-Title.png Sf2june8title.png

The introductory cutscene has been overhauled; it now takes place over the Lylat sun, and the Hunter Fantron clones have been replaced by large carriers.

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
Sf2cescutscene1.png Sf2june8cutscene1.png

Andross's textboxes are also different colors; the first textbox is black, the second is blue, and the third is red.

The first world map cutscene shows the carriers getting into position, but the missiles and bases just show up instantly, thus getting to General Pepper quicker than later builds.

The "TEST", "TRAINING" and "SOUND" options on the title screen are now gone permanently. This is the first known build to include the "This game is designed only to play with a normal controller" screen when a Super Scope/SNES mouse is plugged in.

The music has been almost entirely replaced again, with versions that are very close to the final game.

Gameplay

The Battle mode has been removed.

The control schemes have been overhauled. What originally were control schemes A and B have been relegated to schemes C and D. New schemes with different button layouts take the places of A and B. This now means the default control scheme differs to that of the original Star Fox. First person mode has been reinstated, and now can be toggled with just Select.

The ships now have unlimited boost. The boost bar has been repurposed as a weapon charge meter, and as a result the characters now have the first slight behavior differences between their ships. The charge meters may all be the same length in this build but the rate of charge is the same as in later builds.

The walker has had its speed increased to the final value, and the UFO mode has been removed. DOuble-pressing L or R to spin the walker is also gone.

Speaking of, the map has been redone entirely, with a much more focused diagonal path to follow.

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
Sf2cesmap.png Sf2june8map.png
  • Astropolis is also now visible on the same screen as Corneria for the first time.
  • Corneria has been moved to the bottom left, and has had a massive increase in size for the sake of perspective.
  • The claustrophobic border is gone.
  • Captured planets are designated by a soft glow and a flashing dot, rather than a flickering red border. This border still shows up on the pause screen map, however, and will do in the final game.
  • The Satellite Defense System is now present.
  • The HUD has been moved to the bottom and much more information has been added.
  • The ships move faster on the map, however time can no longer be sped up.

The variety of missions have been fleshed out massively, resembling the final game in all but superficial details. Star Wolf, carriers and underground bases are all now implemented. Pepper medallions have been added, but the game does not keep track of them.

This build has a tendency to softlock after certain events, such as when Andross speaks on the map without sending out a boss, or when the door to Fortuna's base opens.

Hmmm...
To do:
Possibly provide a patch fix for the softlock issues?

The text when enemies leave a space battle now reads "ENEMY OUT OF RANGE" rather than "THE ENEMY HAS GONE".

The game over cutscene now shows many ships of the same type attacking Corneria, rather than a smorgasbord of enemies. Andross's "I control the Lylat system" voice clip also now plays when a player dies.

The cutscene showing Star Fox attacking Astropolis now features the entire team of 6, rather than the duo the player chose at the start of the game.

The final boss, credits, and score saving are all implemented.

Stages

Planets can no longer be randomly recaptured. The game is instead now completely scripted, with no random events aside from the order the player chooses to do certain missions. Planets can still be recaptured in scripted events in Hard and Expert modes, but the attacks cannot be intercepted like in the CES build. The missions themselves are also completely different, and now much more time consuming; the player must complete several objectives on a planet's surface and then go below into a secret base to destroy a core. Switches, while definitely a minor mechanic in the CES build, are now the major focus. This reduces the amount of time a player has to spend thinking about how to solve a puzzle, but the game loses a lot of variety as a result.

Events now pause on the map screen. Time does not tick on and enemies do not move unless the player's ship is moving (with some exceptions). This allows for a much more strategically satisfying experience and gives the player a chance to plan their next move without having to memorise the screen and then pause. The mothership now also can warp between liberated planets, and refills the player's health instantly rather than gradually.

The Mad Tank boss has been removed. Frumpy Dragon, Tunnel Runner and Spin Crusher have been renamed to Mirage Dragon, Tal Kong and Space Blade respectively.

Bombs now function as they did in the original Star Fox; firing and quickly exploding rather than orbiting around an enemy and dealing damage over time. The decoy item has been removed, and the shield item now animates when used. Shield recharge pads now hold the walker in position while healing.

The Satellite Defense System has been added and is fully functional, along with the Brain Spoilers.

The Arwing now no longer becomes a walker when entering Astropolis.

Graphics

The dialogue portraits and images on the select character screen have been finalized.

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
Sf2cesportraits.png Sf2june8portraits.png

The 2D ship images on the character select screen have also been modified slightly.

The HUD has been revised slightly again:

  • The amount of targets left is now denoted with one digit (for example, 3 instead of 03).
  • Corneria's damage meter is now spelled correctly.
  • The bomb symbol has returned to a more traditional one.
  • There is now a decimal on the time count (10 in-game seconds = 1 world map second), but denotes time with a MIN instead of an S like in the December 28, 1994 build. The world map also says MIN next to the time number.

The Arwing models have all been changed, thickening their bodies and wings. The walkers, too, have had their models replaced with their final versions.

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
Sf2ceswalker.png Sf2june8walker.png

There is a small line of purple pixels (next to the decimal number) replacing the denoting S for the "Clear Time" screen. This was likely an error, as it would be removed in later builds.

The game over screen looks a little less... goofy.

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
Sf2cesgameover.png Sf2june8gameover.png

The results screen has also been fully fleshed out.

December 28, 1994 June 8, 1995
Sf2cesresults.png Sf2june8results.png

When the "Corneria Fell" screen fades in from the white, the gleam from Andross' robotic eye has improper transparency until the fade-in ends. This would be fixed in the June 22, 1995 build.