[SUPER NINTENDO] Hilo oficial.

This box was found on half.com. The game was possibly going to be the North American version of Sengoku Densyo.

I found some information on this game from an old usenet post about the game being previewed at the Winter CES in 1993:

"Sengoku for the SNES looked hardly anything like the original Neo Geo
version. The graphics looked way different. This game is made by Data
East."

Serial Code: SNS-G5-USA

SGT. Saunder's Combat is based on the 1960's TV series "Combat!". The show was a drama based on World War II in Europe. ASCII made a game based on it and released it in Japan. It is a turn based strategy game, and is compatible with the mouse. It reminded me of Civilization. Activision was planning to bring it over to the US, and this prototype found on ebay several years ago was fully translated to English.

The game plays a lot like Final Fight (it perhaps used the same game engine). It was to be one of the few games on the snes to use Dolby Surround. It was apparently cancelled due to poor 16 bit sales.

Serial Code: SNS-ATOE-USA




Images

Images

Shadow Stalker is a cancelled 2D side scrolling action game that was in development in 1993 by Athena for the Super Nintendo / Super Famicom. From the few screens preserved in the gallery below (scanned from Console Plus #24, EGM #51 and Game Power #25), we can assume that the game was probably going to play similar to Shinobi / Ninja Gaiden, but with lots of huge robots and other mechanical enemies.

Images

Yes, there was going to be a game about Socks, the White House cat. And yes, that's Bill Clinton on the cover.



With video games becoming more and more mainstream in recent years, it's no question that they have had an undeniable influence on culture - and that culture has had an undeniable influence on them. And what better way to define the culture of the '90s than with a political-natured one? And no, I'm not talking about the latest entry in the Wolfenstein series that happens to feature political themes. I'm talking about a game that features a certain ex-President's cat.

Bill Clinton was the 42nd man to rule the United States, but none before him ever spawned as many jokes and satiric political innuendo than this saxophone-totin' President. And none before him ever had a cat that was going to star in a video game.

Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill. Let me repeat myself: Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill. Look at the box art and repeat that over again. Ridiculous, isn't it? Not ridiculous enough that this game was complete and ready to be produced and shipped to retailers before it was canned following the closing of Kaneko USA.

The Presidential Socks Partnership, Inc., located in Arlington, Virginia, licensed Socks in all his feline glory to Kaneko, an ill-fated company known for its production of poor-quality titles such as Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool and DJ Boy.

1993 was well before the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Bill Clinton was quite popular with the American people. Additionally, Socks was well-liked throughout the populace. Why not do a game based on the lovable kitty?.

Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill, as I said before, was complete. All that remained was for Kaneko to manufacture copies of the game and ship them to retailers. However, Nintendo may have had a hand in its demise. Nintendo's infamous censorship policies included those against including "subliminal political messages" or "overt political statements" - I would say it's a pretty overt political statement when the game's bosses were made out to be caricatures of famous Republican leaders such as Richard Nixon and George Bush, Sr. (Source: http://www.filibustercartoons.com/Nintendo.php) That, coupled with the fact that Kaneko USA was shutting down, shut Socks the Cat down as well.

I do admit it would have been rather interesting to have the chance to play this game, but no known copies exist, and no known ROMs have been dumped onto the Internet. Looks like this is one game we'll never know too much about.

I have gathered some details based on an advertisement from an old Nintendo Power and the text from the back of the game's box.



This advertisement, featured in Nintendo Power, June 1993, Volume 61, reads:

"Call it 'capital punishment,' but Socks the Cat, the nation's first feline, is at play on Capital Hill. Suddenly, 'political party' takes on a new meaning in these two new humorous games for Genesis and SNES. 'Socks Rocks the Hill', is a madcap adventure to save the world from nuclear annihilation."

(Note: It seems the ad is implying that there are two new games, meaning that Socks the Cat has two titles, but I guess the ad just thought that two new games meant one new game on two systems, being Nintendo's SNES and Sega's Genesis.)

"Socks, the White House cat, discovers the missing portable nuclear launch unit in his favorite napping spot, the basement of a foreign embassy. To avoid mass destruction, he must return to the White House and alert the first family. But, a foreign spy ring has their own political agenda. They want to see Socks run, and not for political office!"

"The chase begins. Socks must overcome the likes of foreign spies, Enemy Animal Agents, politicians, secret service agents and the ever-present media corp. To keep the party alive, Socks pounces, tumbles, and negotiates his way out of the intricate secret passages and puzzles of Washington. This cat is in a ring of trouble, but not over the hill yet! 'Socks Rocks the Hill' is a one or two player 8 MEG game for Genesis and SNES. Comedic action, scrolling graphics and playful movement make this game a platform to run on, and on and on. Rock on with Kaneko USA's 'Socks Rocks the Hill.' Available nationwide this fall!".

So you're a cat, no, not just any cat... Socks... with your sunglasses and "bad boy" attitude (clearly shown by the menacing, "what-you-lookin'-at?" grin seen on the box cover), saving the world from a nuclear holocaust and avoiding dangerous foes such as politicians and the media? Heck, I've seen crazier plots. And at least you're saving something more than just a certain selfish Princess. Ahem.

The back cover of the game box doesn't offer much new information. In fact, it simply repeats what the ad says in certain instances. But for all you hard-core Socks fans out there (and I'm sure there are many of you), I've reproduced the back cover here.

It's hard to make out, but here's what I've gathered:

"While Socks, the White House cat, sleeps peacefully in a bag that contains a portable missile launch Unit (his favorite napping spot), foreign spies steal the bag! He quickly realizes that he must return to the White House and alert the first family in order to avoid mass destruction. But, the spy ring has their own political agenda. They want to see Socks run - and not for political office!"

"The chase begins. Socks must overcome the likes of foreign spies, enemy animal agents, politicians, secret service agents, and the ever-present media corps. To keep the party alive, Socks pounces, tumbles, and negotiates his way out of the intricate secret passages and puzzles of Washington."

There aren't very many details on the game besides the plot. With the advertisement, we know that it's a platform game (and you can tell by the side-scrolling screenshots, if you can make them out), and we also know that it features both one and two-player modes (I'm guessing alternating play for the latter, but I don't know for sure). I'm guessing the controls were basic, using standard fare such as utilizing the d-pad for movement, B for jumping, menu selection, etc. without anything too fancy. And maybe it could be have been.

It could have been a fun game, really. Putting the silly plot aside, perhaps it would have given some of the other third-party platformers such as Bubsy a run for their money? Regardless of whether the game was good or not, it never got its chance to prove itself. Oh well. I have the feeling that the only thing we missed out on was a good laugh, but we're getting that now, aren't we?

That's a wrap, gamers. Looks like you'll have to get your virtual Bill Clinton fix in NBA Jam.




Information Courtesy of Jonny:

I asked Ann MacDonald who worked on the game why Socks the cat for snes was never released and got the following response:

The game was never released. Kaneko Japan chose not to produce it when Kaneko U.S. was closed. The game did clear Nintendo and was complete. No know copies exist.


Images:






Scans:
(Click in the image to enlarge)



Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch - Summer CES, Publication date: August 1993, Volume: 51, Pages: 113

Solo Flight is a cancelled flight simulator that was in development by Microprose for the Super Nintendo. The game was probably based on the original Solo Flight published in 1983 for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family. The mission of the game was to fly solo over several states, delivering bags of mail. The SNES version was going to use mode 7 graphic, similar to Pilotwings, but in the end the project was canned for unknown reasons.

Celine was able to find some screenshots of the game in Banzzai magazine #14 and Super Power #12.

Images

An interesting, educational, and music-oriented game that never saw the light of day.



Sound Fantasy, due to arrive in a larger game box (the size similar to the EarthBound’ or Mario Paint boxes), was to come packed in with the SNES mouse and mouse pad. Developed by Nintendo, this interesting-looking title was probably scheduled to be released early 1992 (around Mario Paint, which debuted on May 12th of that year), but obviously Mario Paint was the one released. It would have been silly to have two separate games both with the SNES Mouse packed in, and I’m sure the Nintendo workers were wondering whether a musically-oriented game would sell on their 16-bit system.

It would appear that they decided to go with the more “general” (and mascot-endorsed) Mario Paint to launch the Mouse peripheral. Perhaps the musical elements we saw in that game were actually derived from Sound Fantasy?



The text contained on both the front and back covers of the would-be game box is small, very blurry, and nearly completely unreadable, so we’ll have to look elsewhere for information on this cancelled game. One of the few descriptions I could find of it was featured on rottentomatoes.com:

“Now you can unleash your inner composer thanks to Sound Fantasy for the Super Nintendo. Comprised of four unique games, this software package will have you creating beautiful music in no time, thanks to its intuitive interface and simple premise. Craft exciting melodies and interesting illustrations with Pix Quartet, play against the clock and beat out the music in Beat Hopper, create beautiful harmonies with the stars in Star Fly, and use Ice Sweeper to improve your coordination skills. No matter which game you choose, the power to produce original music is in your hands with Sound Fantasy.”

Interesting indeed. It’s a shame that Sound Fantasy was canned as the Super Nintendo never had any games in the music genre, and no other console truly saw a music game until Sony’s Playstation some years later. I would have really liked to give it a try.

As the title implies, it just might have been the Sound Fantasy we were all looking for.

The game was displayed at the fall 1993 Shoshin Kai.




Images:

















Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch - Shoshin Kai Special Report, Publication date: November 1993, Volume: 54, Pages: 113

Special Tee Shot was in development by Nintendo, according to Nintendo Power, Vol. 37 (June 1992). The game was later remade as Kriby's Dream Course. It is unknown why it was not released, as a completed version of the game has been found. The game was finally released in Japan in 1996 with the Broadcast Satellaview, though it apparently differs from the original.



Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch (Previews), June 1992, Vol. 37, pg 112.

Spellcraft is based on the PC game of the same name. There is a beta of the game floating around on the internet, and seems rather complete. It is compatible with the Snes mouse, although it seems rather clunky (for instance, you must click both buttons to get to the menu). Developed by Ybarra Productions.

Nintendo Power mentioned in their May 1993 issue that they expected the game to be released in the fall of 1993.

Serial Code: SNS-C5-USA




Images












Youtube links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b81pIcyx ... r_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ11n0gx ... r_embedded

Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch, Publication date: May 1993, Volume: 48, Pages: 113

The sequel to one biggest games of the early 90s was being developed for the Super Nintendo. It was canceled in favour of 32 bit versions. The game got favourable reviews on those systems (except for control problems), but it would have been interesting to have seen the game on 16 bit systems. It had an isometric view, and likely played similar to other similar games, like Sonic Blast.






Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Summer CES '92 (shown at CES - as Spot II, though I wonder if this actually refers to the regular Cool Spot, considering the timing), Publication date: August 1992, Volume: 39, Pages: 60

Star Fox 2 (or StarFox 2), one of the most anticipated games late in the life cycle of the SNES, was quietly cancelled by Nintendo in late 1995 with the impending release of the Nintendo 64. In 2002, a near-final beta prototype of the game was leaked on the Internet by an anonymous former employee, and has become the most well known unreleased game for the Super NES.



2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the non-release of the highly anticipated sequel to Star Fox. By the middle of 1995, it was apparent that despite favourable reviews at the Winter 1995 CES, Nintendo was hesitant to release Star Fox 2 against the superior looking Saturn and PlayStation. The impending launch of the Nintendo 64 also played a part in its cancellation, with Nintendo wanting a clear break between Super FX 3D and N64 3D. Although Nintendo claimed it would be released in the September 1995 issue of Nintendo Power, it was swept under the rug along with other Super FX games like Comanche and FX Fighter. Through the course of time, alpha and near final beta ROM images were leaked. Despite its cancellation, Star Fox 2 remains a highly revered game for its excellent gameplay and intriguing history.

STARFOX II - THE SEQUEL

FILE: INTRO.ASM
AUTHOR: Dylan Cuthbert & Yasuhiro Kawaguchi
DESCRIPTION: Game Intro Code
DATE CREATED: 16-2-93

The Rise and Fall of the Super FX Spectacle

The development of Star Fox 2 began almost immediately after the original was finished. As the above code comment states, Star Fox 2 began development on February 16, 1993, a mere five days before the Japanese release of the original, if Wikipedia is to be trusted (more on the code later). The first mention in the press that I found was from the January 1994 issue of Game Players, stating the game would feature split screen multiplayer and use the Super FX2 chip. The first public statement on the development of Star Fox 2 was in a rec.games.video.nintendo Usenet post in February 1994 by Dylan Cuthbert stating that it would continue to use polygons (it also mentions Elite's unreleased Super FX game, Powerslide). Aside from that, all mentions of Star Fox 2 in 1994 were generally speculation and rumours.

The first display of Star Fox 2 by Nintendo was at the 1995 Winter CES in Las Vegas. With the delay of the then "Ultra 64", Nintendo decided to push several Super FX games (Star Fox 2, FX Fighter, Comanche, all of which were eventually cancelled) along with the unveiling of the Virtual Boy to keep attention focused their way. Really, the Winter CES show was generally a disappointment, as most companies were biding their time until the first E3 that May. It seems appropriate that the biggest games and hardware that Nintendo showed at the WCES were disappointments, second rate fare or never released. However, Star Fox 2 was generally praised by those in attendance, and reports from the CES state that the Star Fox 2 demos were always in use. The reception in the press ranged from glee (Total!, EGM), to derision (Edge). Those who were excited about the game praised the freedom of motion in levels and the new walker mode. Given the response, everything seemed to be set for the promised summer 1995 release of the game. The game was so popular, a man named Shawn J. Freeman was arrested for attempting to steal the game (probably leading to the incorrect assumption that the subsequent leaked ROMs were from the CES show)!


Star Fox 2 at the 1995 Winter CES (from the March 1995 issue of Total!).

However, it never happened. Rumours showed up as early as April 1995 that the game had been delayed until 1996 so that it did not clash with the release of the Nintendo 64 and Virtual Boy (or even that the game had to be retooled - though this certainly was not true). The game was not shown at the inaugural E3 in May 1995. Instead, Nintendo showed off the final version of the Ultra 64 hardware, along with the Virtual Boy and Donkey Kong Country 2. In the letters section of the September issue of EGM (presumably published in August), the editor wrote that Star Fox 2 was cancelled. In the September 1995 issue of Nintendo Power, they countered that claim stating:

Rumors of the demise of Star Fox 2 have been greatly exaggerated. Development of Nintendo's sequel to the hit 3-D space action game is finishing as we go to press. The big question mark is the release date, most likely in the first half of '96. The most recent versions of Star Fox 2 look very sharp and include a much more strategic feel, with radar windows and mother ships where you dock after battle.

That was the last official word we heard about Star Fox 2 for the SNES. In early 1996, Nintendo showed off what would become Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo 64, putting the final nail in Star Fox 2's coffin. Though there are claims that the high cost of producing Super FX games may have led to the delay and cancellation of the game, it seems that the main reason was that Nintendo felt it was going to be released too close to the release of the Nintendo 64. This is a quote from programmer Dylan Cuthbert from the defunct website emulatorium.com:


Star Fox 2 made the cover of UK based Total! magazine.

What happened to Star Fox 2? Why was it cancelled and how far into development was it? How is it, if at all, related to Star Fox 64?

Star Fox 2 was fully completed. I was lead programmer and whilst Giles made Stunt Race FX, myself and the rest of the original Star Fox team (i.e.. Nintendo's artists and designers) expanded Star Fox into a full 3d shooting game. We used state-of-the-art technology such as arbitrary plane clipping (which has only been seen recently in such games as Crash Bandicoot 2 & 3) to create some rather spectacular effects. (for the time)

The reason for non-release was the then impending Nintendo 64, which of course was intended to be released a lot sooner than it actually was. Miyamoto-san decided he wanted to have a clean break between 3D games on the SNES and 3D games on the new superior 64 bit system. In retrospect, he could have released Star Fox 2 and there would have been over a year and a half before the N64 came out. But hindsight is always 20/20.

Star Fox 64 incorporated a lot of the newer ideas we created in Star Fox 2 but it didn't, in my view, take the genre a full step forward. Star Fox 2 really was a different direction of gameplay.

From the timing of the statement in Nintendo, it appears that Star Fox 2 was completed in Summer 1995 (the "final" beta that was leaked has a time stamp of June 22, 1995 inside the test mode menu). Although the impending release of the Nintendo 64 factored into the decision to cancel the game, I'm sure the impressive release of the PlayStation also factored into it. Despite sporting excellent gameplay that outshone most Saturn and PlayStation games released in 1995, the graphics were definitely not impressive in comparison.



Post Cancellation

Though Star Fox 2 did not come out, it did influence subsequent Nintendo games. Miyamoto stated many of the ideas and technology for the 3D environment from Super Mario 64 came during the development of Star Fox (and probably Star Fox 2 as well). Miyamoto claimed about 30% of the ideas in Star Fox 64 came from Star Fox 2 (in all likelihood referring to the all-range mode battles, Star Wolf team and the tank levels). Dylan Cuthbert stated the strategic elements from Star Fox Command for the DS were inspired by Star Fox 2.

Were it not for the Internet, that might have been the last we heard about Star Fox 2. Though there were still occasional comments about Star Fox 2 on Usenet in 1996 and 1997, it was increasingly clear that Star Fox 2 was not officially coming out. The blossoming SNES emulation scene in the late 90s became an outlet for the proliferation of many unreleased and beta games that would have never seen the light of day. Though website archives at Archive.org are incomplete, I noted that Cherryroms.com (a large SNES ROM site back then) took Star Fox 2 off their "undumped" list between May 1999 and September 1999. This could only mean that the early "multiplayer" alpha leaked sometime between those dates. This alpha certainly piqued the interest of SNES fan-sites such as SNESZone and The SNES Site (an early incarnation of SNES Central, certainly my writing and analysis has improved since then) who produced articles about it. It was clear that this was only an internal development alpha, as even the version of Star Fox 2 shown at the Winter CES was far further along in development than this alpha.

The real blockbuster, which served as the pinnacle of the SNES emulation scene, in my opinion, was the release of the final beta of Star Fox 2 in August 2002 (well documented by d4s in this FAQ, who also had a big hand in the discovery of the ROM image). The first screenshots appeared on the now defunct website, sportkompaktwoche.de. The ROM itself needed several fixes (made by The Dumper) before it could play in emulators, though there were accusations that it was a fake before that happened. The unfixed ROM was leaked by "skyhawk" of the German fan translation site, Alemanic Translations. Apparently skyhawk claimed to have found this game on a prototype cart and dumped it himself, probably leading to the widespread belief this game was found off a prototype cart. In reality, Star Fox 2 was leaked as a pure assembled binary from a former developer who wanted the game emulated, and the ROM was not in a proper SNES ROM format initially. There was no source code leaked, nor was there ever a prototype or production cart of it. Soon after the leak of Star Fox 2, emulator authors incorporated proper Super FX emulation, allowing the general community to play the game in all its glory.

The final part of the Star Fox 2 story is the fan translation. Though it was clear English text versions of this game existed (look at screenshots taken from the game at the Winter 1995 CES), the leaked final beta was entirely in Japanese. In 2004, the hacking/translation team of Gideon Zhi, d4s, Fusoya and satsu from Aeon Genesis translated the game to English, and removed all the debugger information and cheats that were the last remnants of the beta status of the game. Essentially they finished up the game to what the final version might have looked like. The completed translation has become the fodder for many bootleggers making "reproduction" carts that have fooled more than one person into thinking the game actually did come out.


Example of a bootleg Star Fox 2 cart that I found on the INTERNET.

Source Code

I managed to get my hands on some source code for Star Fox 2. I was asked not to distribute the code, and I will respect that. The source code originated from a programmer at a British game company that produced computer games in the early 90s, but does not have any obvious connection with Argonaut. There are three archives of the source code, dating from April-May 1994. Star Fox 2 was programmed on an OS/2 operating system. There are not many real goodies of interest to the general reader (it is mostly straight ahead assembly, with few comments). Argonaut used their own custom assembler called ARGSFXX. The graphics files are in a customized binary format that I did not feel like attempting to crack.

The earliest source archive in this set dates to April 15, 1994. This archive also (to my surprise) contained a ROM in it. After scanning it, it turned out to the early alpha ROM, solving the mystery as to where it came from! There is a lot of legacy code in this archive as well, including some code from a Super NES version of StarGlider (which became Star Fox).

The second set of source code dates to May 6, 1994. It has most of the same files as the April 15 archive, but does have added level files, including training levels and one entitled "room". Unfortunately, there aren't any binaries in this archive.

The third archive dates to May 13, 1994. The levels code was pretty much unchanged from the previous archive. There are binary files in this archive, but unfortunately the are not linked together. It might be possible to combine them to make a SNES ROM, but that is beyond my level of expertise.


Early Alpha

The early alpha originated from the source code mentioned earlier. There is no record of when it originally leaked on the Internet, but looking at FAQs from Cherryroms.com, it must have been leaked sometime between May and September 1999. The ROM itself is rather buggy, and flickers on real hardware (if this video is actually being played on real hardware). The game gives a black screen if loaded in bsnes or snes9x 1.52, and flickers a lot on zsnes 1.51. This is a case where better emulation hampered how well the game runs. If you want to play this game with minimal problems, I suggest using zsnes 1.337, which runs without any flickering or sound issues.



Despite the alpha feel to this build (once you win a level, the game basically freezes and you have to reset), the 3D navigational aspects of this game are certainly approaching completion. The Arwing also is able to transform into a walker in land-based levels (which is in the final version), and this "hover" style craft in space-based levels. The hover mode never made it into the final version, probably because it is a bit difficult to control. Many of the land-based levels have N-E-S-W markers so you can tell what direction you are going. All the enemies and objects in the level (except bosses that show up) are bounded to a square area on the radar screen, though you can keep going outside of this boundary. If you go far enough, you loop around to the other side. The control scheme is the same as in the first Star Fox game (they switched the fire button from "Y" to "B" in the final version). Also notable is that acceleration/braking causes your ship to overheat for a short while if you hit the limit of the bar. The programming for the walker does not seem complete, as it moves very slowly. The music is very nice, but I did not immediately recognize any of the songs being in either Star Fox or the final beta of Star Fox 2.

In the "Mission" mode, you have the choice between Fox, Slippy, Peppy, Falco, Saru and Lady (the latter two were changed to Miyu and Fay in the final beta). Each Arwing has a distinct design, though they control and act the same. There are nine levels to select from, with varying amounts of enemies and objects, but generally pretty simplistic if compared with the final beta. Here is a summary:

· STG1-Ground: Several ostrich-like enemies roam around, once defeated an early form of the Space Blade comes, defeated by hitting glowing weak spots. The ship ejects two smaller ships that fly at you
· STG2-Desert: A second Arwing flies around in this level. There is a platform where the "E" is marked on the radar. There is this pillar in the middle, and you can shoot the top and bottom off, which summons the Mirage Dragon
· STG3-Magma: The background is the same as in the Ground Level. Again, another Arwing starts off with you at the beginning of the level (if you shoot it down, the level ends). There is a single enemy on a raised platform, if defeated it brings the Space Blade.
· STG4-Park: The background is the same as in the Ground level. Lots of four legged insectoid enemies, and robots that don't move. After a while, the Space Blade boss comes.
· STG5-Sun: Different music than the first four levels, with multiple rocket ships. Destroy one and the Mirage Dragon comes. Very impressive background.
· STG6-Sea: Different music yet again. There are a bunch of rings you can fly through, several birdlike enemies and rocket ships. Destroy an enemy and the Mirage Dragon comes.
· EXT1-Senkan: Space level with lots of enemies. The game and sometimes zsnes crashes hard when you hit an enemy.
· EXT2-Asteroid: Lots of regularly spaced cubes (asteroids?) floating around. Again, the game crashes if you hit something. Another Arwing starts the level with you.
· EXT3-Hidora: Another space level, but is very similar to the Park level in terms of enemies. There are these strange flaming head enemies. Defeat the enemies and the Mirage Dragon comes.

Space Blade entering the scene.


Arwing "hover" mode that is not in the final beta.


Multiplayer selection screen with Andross and an unnamed fox character (Lady)


Multiplayer gameplay.

In the two player battle mode, you have the choice between six characters: Fox, Slippy, Peppy, Falco, Andross and a female (?) fox character. There are five levels: two ground, two space and marine. The radar has a white marker where your opponent is. Once one person is defeated, the winning ship flies off, and you must reset. The multiplayer mode actually works quite well, with no slowdown, although it is easy to see that it could be pretty boring after a few attempts.

The test mode has five levels, plus an option to choose from various different programmers (maybe to write who did the test in the debugger?) The marine stage allows your walker to go into a "swimming" mode, though you can only go upwards. The levels are empty except for rings. There are Ground, Desert, Marine and Space levels, and you can choose one or two player modes.



There are two modes in training: type and train. The "type" mode is a single screen thing that might be an explanation screen for various parts of the game. The Arwing flies in a dark screen where random ostrich enemies appear and can be shot. The "train" mode shows the ground level, with an explanation of the controls on screen, plus the alphabet and numbers on the right side, which I can only assume are filler for future content.

Finally, the config mode has options for stereo and mono sound, plus a sound test (which doesn't appear to work). Not much else to say about that.

In summary, the alpha appears to have most of the game engine for Star Fox 2 finished, but the levels and enemies are in a very early state. There was no programming to return the player to the menu after defeating the bosses and debugger information is displayed while playing. The two player battle mode works quite well and has a fox character that is not in the final beta.


November 25, 1994 beta

Nintendo Power had an "exclusive" preview of Star Fox 2 in their February 1994 issue. It is far more advanced in development than the alpha ROM. In this version, there is a very plain, almost squared off map. The third transformation of the Arwing still exists in this beta. The game appears to have a lot of polish at this point. The start menu screen is different than the CES beta with the game titled "Star Fox II" and displays Andross and a goat character that is not in the final version.


Title screen from the November 25, 1994 build (from the February 1994 issue of Nintendo Power)


1995 Winter CES beta

This beta was shown at the 1995 Winter CES in January 1995, and was the centrepiece of Nintendo's display since the "Ultra 64" was only shown behind closed doors. Most descriptions of the WCES event say that the Star Fox 2 units were always busy. The beta was impressive enough to make the cover of Total! magazine in the UK (with a nice description of the display at the WCES), and a multi-page preview in Electronic Gaming Monthly (which has more pictures than any other magazine). Several shots found in magazines are the same, so I assume that these come from a media package distributed by Nintendo at the WCES.

From the looks of the pictures, the gameplay engine was complete by this point. The interface of the game is not much different from the final beta. One thing of note is that the CES beta has English text. The characters in the WCES beta appear to be finalized, though the title screen uses different artwork from the final beta. The title screen also indicates a change from Roman to Arabic numerals for the title. The WCES beta had a different map screen than the 94-11-25 beta, and lacks the Macbeth and Fortuna levels that are in the final version. The map icons for enemy types also differ from the the final beta. It also looks like the space battle scenes are in a third person view, rather than a first person view like in the final beta. The introductory screen for levels shows that the targets to open up the base differed in the WCES beta and the level layouts were not the same. I did not see any screenshots of the "hover" transformation of the Arwing, indicating it might have been cut by the WCES. Overall, the game seemed to be coming together by the Winter CES showing, and mostly just needed additional levels to complete development.


Winter CES beta (from the March 1995 issue of EGM)


The map screen shows fewer levels and different graphics from the final version


The targets for planet levels differed in the WCES beta compared to the final one.


Andross in the WCES beta. The beta was completely in English.


Battles in space levels were done in a third person view, rather than a first person view like in the final versions.


Final Beta

The final beta of Star Fox 2 is the culmination of a nearly two and a half year development process to take the game from an on-the-rails shooter to a fully 3D experience. The game is pretty much in a final state, though the framerate counter, several debugger modes, and some hard coded cheats indicate that this beta was not the final production version.

When this final beta was leaked, many were not convinced that it was as near final as claimed. Due to the incomplete nature of Super FX emulation in mid 2002, the game had a flickering screen and tended to freeze. Here is what I said in an article that I wrote on September 22, 2002, after the beta leaked:

Despite what others say, I disagree with people saying that it was a "final" beta. This game had a few levels in the story mode that took place in space, but due to a particularly annoying bug, proceeding very far in the game is very difficult. The bug makes it so that Star Wolf characters attack you at every small movement on the map, but you can't actually attack them unless you are very close to their ship on the map (and often you aren't). Also, when you are fighting in levels, quite often your ship disappears and the camera freezes in place, making you have to reset the game. Also, there is test levels for using a Star Wars-like walker, but in general, these stages are quite buggy and the game randomly crashes. I seriously doubt these bugs are from the lack of Super FX emulation. To me, it seems like the game engine for the free-range mode stages was complete, but the walker stages were not. If you ask me, this beta stands as a 75% complete game at best. I will try it again once the next version of Zsnes comes out and see if any of these bugs were fixed.

Final beta in test mode. Note the framerate and sprite counters.


Of course, I was completely wrong in my assessment, and I eventually had to eat crow. Once the emulation bugs were fixed, Star Fox 2 became completely playable with no bugs. It is true that the levels in the debugger modes are glitchy and prone to crashing, however these have no bearing on the mission modes.

Speaking of the test modes, there are a few things in the menu of the final beta that should be noted. The "Test" menu brings you to a selection of levels, some of which are obviously not in the final mission mode. The planetary and battleship missions tend to have no real ending when you defeat the core of the base (you can crash into the core to kill yourself). There were a couple of Andross battle modes. I found after beating one of the Andross levels that the sound started to glitch (it just kept repeating samples of the characters talking at the end). Also, your health doesn't replenish between levels, so if you die in one, you are left with no health in the next test level. Before starting each test level, there is a "planet step", which can be set to different numbers to take you to different parts of the stage. Your Arwing is orange coloured in the test modes, and the character you use seems to be be random. The Practise mode seems to just be the "easy" mode, except Corneria doesn't take damage, you have two Fox Arwings, and they are coloured orange. There seems to be little else different, as the scores in the training mode and the General Pepper coins are saved in the records. The config mode allows you to change the sound from stereo to mono, and also has a sound test. In the main game, there is a cheat that makes it so Corneria does not take damage, making the game rather lacking in challenge.


Fan translation

Thanks to the efforts of Aeon Genesis, Star Fox 2 was fully translated to English and the last of the bugs/cheats (i.e. the bug where the Arwing can transform in space levels and Corneria not getting damage when attacked) were fixed. The translation patch came out on October 17, 2004, over two years after the beta was leaked onto the Internet. Even at that point emulators had trouble running the game, though it appears that zsnes 1.40 came out a couple of months later with support. I'll admit that I never got around to playing the patch until I started the article, which probably is why I never updated this page for years and incorrect information was allowed to perpetuate (many of the pieces of incorrect information on the Wikipedia page for Star Fox 2 appear to have come from the old article). I think the translation is excellent, though admittedly Star Fox 2 is not the most story driven game. The patch gives the game a nice bit of polish to make it look like it would have if it was released.


The fan translation spruces up the logo.


Game Overview

Star Fox 2 is an excellent game, and I think it would definitely make my top 20 favourite SNES games. This game corrects pretty much all of the complaints from the first game (lack of range of motion, poor frame rate, lack of aiming cursor), and upped the intensity level. Though some might be disappointed they cut the two player multiplayer mode (which existed in the Winter CES beta), the excellent single player mode more than makes up for it.

Star Fox 2 is more than just a straight ahead shooter like its predecessor. The game runs in a semi-real time mode, with the forces of Andross closing in to destroy the planet of Corneria. Your force (two Arwings that can be changed at any point on the map screen) flies around the map, while you encounter ships, rockets and planets that are occupied by Andross. The game is split up into three difficulty levels. Rather than just increasing the amount or hit points of enemies when increasing the difficulty levels, the amount of planets needed to be rescued also increases, and the level layouts become more complex. On "normal" difficulty, only two planets need to be saved, two battleships need destroyed, and the levels are very straight forward. In "Expert" difficulty, six planets need saved, four battleships need destroyed, and the levels are complex and have bosses in them. I found the "normal" and "hard" modes were fairly easy to beat, and I passed them first try. On "expert", it really becomes crucial to manage the assault on Corneria and beat levels quickly or the planet quickly takes too much damage. Since the Mothership can heal your ships, the main challenge is protecting the planet.

The battles in Star Fox 2 are split between first person sections in space and third person planetary and battleship levels. The space sections have you doing dog fights against other ships (including the rival Star Wolf gang). The planet and battleship levels allow you to switch between the Arwing and walker modes on the fly. On planets, you have to step on trigger switches to raise the base from the ground. Once inside the base or battleship, you usually have to solve a maze or defeat a boss to gain access to the energy core. Thankfully, they added a cross-hair to make aiming more precise and the ability to lock on and shoot a charged energy blast at enemies.

Character selection is key to success in this game. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, making it key to pick a character that suits your playing style. For instance, Slippy and Peppy's Arwings are tanks that can take more hits than any other character, but have a much longer charge time for the energy blast and are slow moving. Miyu and Fay are the opposite; they have the weakest Arwing but can shoot off several charged blasts in the time it would take for Slippy and Peppy to shoot one. They also start with the twin lasers making them and offencive powerhouses from the get go. Falco and Fox have statistics between these extremes.

Now for the nitpicking section. The game has great graphics for a Super FX game. The obstacles in planet levels have textures on them, and the backgrounds are detailed. A nice added touch in the space levels are that the backgrounds reflect the location on the map where you fight the enemy. The framerate is better than in Star Fox, though it does tend to slow down if there is a lot of action on screen. The music is top notch, as you might expect from a Nintendo developed game. The control scheme rotated the face buttons by a quarter turn counterclockwise from the first game. The only complaints I have about the controls are that the cross-hair doesn't automatically reset to the centre of the screen in first person levels, leading to a bit of frustration in Star Wolf battles. Additionally, turning the walker is a bit slow, though this is likely dictated by the frame rate.

Overall, the final beta of Star Fox 2 is a lot of fun. I found the dogfight battles to be very intense and exciting. The expert mode takes about an hour to pass. The main replay value comes in trying to get higher scores. Additionally, there are General Pepper medallions in all the levels that you can search out. Once collected, they do not appear in future playthoughs.


Summary

Star Fox 2 is one of the best Super NES games, and it is a shame that it never officially got released. Although several aspects of Star Fox 2 made it into Star Fox 64, this game has a much different feel and seems more intense. At the very least, the two and a half years developing this game did not go to complete waste and we can now enjoy the fruits of this first party title with the aid of emulators. I even found myself playing the game for an hour when all I wanted was a single screenshot of a level, which should give you an idea of how great the gameplay is. Star Fox 2 played a large role in the development of fully 3D Nintendo titles on the Nintendo 64 and serves as an interesting footnote in the history of the Super NES. Star Fox 2 is still considered one of the most enduring vaporware titles and one of the most interesting stories of the Super NES.


Screenshots:






Scans
(Click in the imagen to enlarge)


Bibliography:

* Edge Magazine, Edgeview - Las Vegas CES: The Calm Before The Storm? (Edge dismissed Star Fox 2, stating "...those Super FX polygons are unlikely to draw many gasps"), Publication date: March 1995, Volume: 3, Pages: 3-9
* Electronic Gaming Monthly, Gaming Gossip (mentions StarFox 2 would likely be revealed in late 1994), Publication date: August 1994, Volume: 61, Pages: 47
* Electronic Gaming Monthly, Gaming Gossip (Says Star Fox 2 was the only big name on Nintendo's release list for 1995), Publication date: December 1994, Volume: 65, Pages: 64
* Electronic Gaming Monthly, Featured Article (features plentiful screenshots of the WCES beta, plus overviews of the gameplay and levels), Publication date: March 1995, Volume: 68, Pages: 104-107
* Electronic Gaming Monthly, EGM Letters (says the game is cancelled), Publication date: September 1995, Volume: 74, Pages: 22
* Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nintendo Spaceworld Overview - Star Fox 64 (says "there was a 16-bit sequel, but it got scrapped in favor of this one), Publication date: January 1996, Volume: 78, Pages: 81
* Game Players, Mentions Argonaut was developing Star Fox II and that it would have multiplayer and use the Super FX2 chip, Publication date: January 1994, Volume: vol 7, no 1 (36), Pages:
* Game Players, CES Overview (shows a couple of screenshots), Publication date: March 1995, Volume: 50, Pages: 42
* Gamepro, Short Proshots (preview from CES, has six screenshots), Publication date: March 1995, Volume: 68, Pages: 140
* Gamepro, ProNews (story about how Shawn J. Freeman was arrested for attempting to steal a copy of Star Fox 2 from Nintendo's booth at the CES), Publication date: April 1995, Volume: 69, Pages: 146
* Gamepro, Electronics Entertainment Expo Special Preview (speculated Star Fox 2 would be shown at the 1995 E3), Publication date: June 1995, Volume: 71, Pages: 44
* Gamepro, The Mail - Editorial (mentions Star Fox 2 was delayed until 1996, Publication date: August 1995, Volume: 73, Pages: 12
* Nintendo Power, Powered-Up: The Super FX Team (shows previews of StarFox II, FX Fighter, Comanche and Dirt Trax FX, plus information on the Super FX chip), Publication date: February 1995, Volume: 69, Pages: 60-63
* Nintendo Power, Pak Watch (preview - says it was slated for a Summer 1995 release), Publication date: February 1995, Volume: 69, Pages: 108,113
* Nintendo Power, Coming Next Issue (shows a screenshot, mentioning its coverage in the Winter 1995 CES), Publication date: February 1995, Volume: 69, Pages: 114
* Nintendo Power, Winter CES Special Report (overview of games shown at the CES), Publication date: March 1995, Volume: 70, Pages: 26-28
* Nintendo Power, Pak Watch (says the game was nearing completion when they went to press, and mentions it would be released in the first half of 1996), Publication date: September 1995, Volume: 76, Pages:
* Nintendo Power, Interview with Miyamoto (mentions Star Fox 64 derived 30% of its ideas from Star Fox 2), Publication date: January 1997, Volume: 92, Pages:
* Total!, Cover Feature, Publication date: March 1995, Volume: 39, Pages: -
* Total!, Featured article (basically an overview of the game shown at the Winter 1995 CES, they gave the game a ranking of 96% saying "buy it as soon as it comes out!"), Publication date: March 1995, Volume: 39, Pages: 18-21
* Archive of a single page website that showed the first images of the final beta ROM image of StarFox 2. Also mentions it was leaked by skyhawk of Alemanic Translation (link)
* Archive of an interview with Dylan Cuthbert, primary programmer of StarFox 2 at Argonaut, on emulatorium.com. Gives reasons for its non-release (they didn't want it to conflict with the release of the Nintendo 64). (link)
* Video interview with Dylan Cuthbert on Video Games Blogger. Warning, this website is very glitchy! (link)
* Interview with Dylan Cuthbert on Yahoo Games. Mentions that elements of StarFox 2 made it into the DS game, StarFox Command. (link)
* Interview with Dylan Cuthbert on kombo.com, which discusses some aspects of StarFox 2, including the ROM image leak (he didn't do it, btw). (link)
* Usenet post from rec.games.video.nintendo in November 1995 discussing rumours of the cancellation of Starfox 2 (link)
* Usenet post from rec.games.video.nintendo in April 1995, saying that StarFox 2 was delayed until 1996. (link)
* Usenet thread from rec.games.video.sega discussing StarFox 2 in June 1994, among other things Super FX related. Features some smack talk from Origin programmer, Chris Norden. (link)
* Usenet post from rec.games.video.nintendo in July 1995, discussing rumours of the cancellation. (link)
* Usenet post from rec.games.video.nintendo in January 1995 discussing various Nintendo related things shown at the Winter CES, including StarFox 2 and FX Fighter (link)
* Usenet post from rec.games.video.nintendo in May 1995 stating the game was delayed until 1996. (link)
* Usenet post from rec.games.video.nintendo in January 1995 with a bunch of press releases from Nintendo at the Winter CES. Includes some interesting announcements of unreleased games like Comanche, FX Fighter, and the Super NES version of Goldeneye. (link)
* Usenet thread from late 1994 discussing rumours of StarFox 2. (link)
* Usenet thread from March 1997, with plenty of discussion about the transition from StarFox 2 to StarFox 64. (link)
* Usenet thread from June 1995 saying StarFox 2 was cancelled in favour of an Ultra 64 StarFox game. (link)
* Usenet thread from February 1994 discussing the Super FX chip, and programmer Dylan Cuthbert makes mention of StarFox 2 (link)
* Youtube video of the alpha version of the game (link)
* Youtube video of an interview with Dylan Cuthbert, where he describes his experiences working with Nintendo on X (a Game Boy game), Star Fox and Star Fox 2. Explains that many of the elements of Star Fox 2 went into Super Mario 64 and Star Fox Command. (link)
* Wikipedia article on Star Fox (link)
* Wikipedia article on Star Fox 2. Warning: tons of misinformation here! (link)

Star Wars - Dark Forces

Format: SNES
Publisher: ?
Genre: Action
Players: 1

This violent, Doom inspired 3D adventure is being released on the PC these days. We can now announce that a SNES port is in production, but it still unknown who is developing it. The extremely early build we have is graphically unimpressive, but hopefully the finished game will be much cooler. The one who lives on, will see.

Scans:
(Click in the image to enlarge)

Steven Seagal Is the Final Option is one of the more infamous unreleased games. It was not based on any of his movies, and received a large amount of hype.



This game was being made by Tekmagic, and was supposed to be released in 1994. It was first shown at the summer 1993 CES. This game received a lot of hype due to the Steven Seagal license, but continual delays in the released made the hype die out. Eventually, the game moved to the Playstation and N64 as Deadly Honor, but that was not released either. A beta of the game was found, and by the looks of it, it was fairly far along in development. It is unknown if this was as far as they got developing, but the basic gameplay seemed to be intact.

The controls were a bit loose, and movements were slow, sort of like games like Out of This World and Blackthorne. Also, there was no limit to how many knives you could throw, or how many bullets you could shoot. The music was the same in both levels I played, and it seemed appropriate for a game featuring Steven Seagal. The screams of death were quite comical. The graphics were digitized, and has that pixiated look that most digitized games on the snes had. Overall, if the game was to be released like this, it would have been rather mediocre, and have compared poorly to other games in the genre.


Images:







Youtube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZs33XW1 ... r_embedded

Scans:

Street Dunk is a cancelled baskteball game that was in development by Nippon Bussan (aka Nichibutsu) for the Super Nintendo / Super Famicom. It was going to have an arcade play mode with 1 VS 1, 2 VS 2 and 3 VS 3 players matches, supported by a multiplayer mode compatible with the multitap. There are not many more info available on Street Dunk and it’s unknown why it was never released. Celine was able to find some screenshots of the game in Joypad #24 and Super Power #14 magazines.

Images

Superman was an action game in development by Sunsoft. A Genesis version of this game was released, but was panned. This game was first mentioned in the December 1992 issue of Nintendo Power, and had a full preview in the March 1993 issue. The main villian was going to be Brainiac.
The May 1993 issue of Nintendo Power mentions that the game was due at the end of 1993. Screenshot from Nintendo Power, issue 46 (scanned by Retromags)



Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Summer CES '92 (shown at CES), Publication date: August 1992, Volume: 39, Pages: 59
· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch - Gossip Galore, Publication date: December 1992, Volume: 43, Pages: 110
· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch, Publication date: March 1993, Volume: 46, Pages: 113
· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch, Publication date: May 1993, Volume: 48, Pages: 111
· Wikipedia page for the Genesis version of the game (link)

Super Dodge Ball was shown at the Summer 1993 CES by American Technos. In all likelyhood, it was going to be a port of Kunio Dodge Ball. Considering the slow gameplay of that game, it is unsurprising it was never released.

Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch - Summer CES, Publication date: August 1993, Volume: 51, Pages: 112

Super Loopz was intended for a US release by Imagineer. The game was cancelled for unknown reasons.



Super Loopz is a puzzle game similar to Pipe Dreams, with the goal of building up a network of pipes so that you create a full loop. The game came out in Japan and was cancelled for unknown reasons in the US. A nearly complete (95%) version of this game was previewed in the May 1994 issue of EGM, where they praised its addictive qualities and frantic two player mode. No known prototypes of the US version exist, though it is unlikely that it would be much different from the Japanese version which had no Japanese text.

Serial Code: SNS-2E-USA




Scans
(Click in the image to enlarge)


Bibliography:

· Electronic Gaming Monthly, Preview, Publication date: May 1994, Volume: 58, Pages: 156

Super Shadow of the Beast was a port of the Amiga game, Shadow of the Beast by Psygnosis. The snes version was being made by a company called IGS. Nintendo Power mentioned it being shown at Summer CES 1992 convention, and that it looked better than the computer versions of the game. A rom of the game exists, and it appears that the game is fairly complete. It plays similar to many platform adventure games like Castlevania or Zelda II.

Images





Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Summer CES Special, Publication date: August 1992, Volume: 39, Pages: 58-61
· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch - Gossip Galore, Publication date: October 1992, Volume: 41, Pages: 113

The unreleased game Super Soccer Champ 2 was released in Japan under the name Hat Trick Hero 2. The game features a 3/4 over-the-players view (like Ultima IV), team captain selection with various supershots and field zoom when you make a long pass. It's also a nice game to play.

The May 1992 issue of Nintendo Power had Swamp Thing listed as being in development by T*HQ for all three Nintendo Systems (Game Boy, NES, SNES). It only made it out for the first two systems. There is little other information about this game.

Bibliography

· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch - Rumor Mill, Publication date: May 1992, Volume: 36, Pages: 113

Sylvester and Tweety was a game in an early development stage at Visual Concepts and Sunsoft. This is another rom release in partnership with Lost Levels.

Thanks to Ballz, rbudrick, and Gideon Zhi for dumping these roms, and to Skrybe for sending them my way.

Sylvester and Tweety was in development by Visual Concepts by October 1993, as indicated by this short demo. This demo consists of one short scene with Sylvester and Tweety roaming around the room, and another demonstration of the character art. If you don't want to bother with the rom, here is what it looks like:






According to Rene Boutin, a producer at Sunsoft, a one level demo was shown at CES or E3 around 1994 and 1995. In the demo, you controlled Sylvester. The game was advertised in a Sunsoft advertisement in 1995, though it is unknown how close it was to completion. When Sunsoft of America went under, most games that were near completion were sold to Acclaim, so it is unlikely this game was ready for release.





Bibliography:

· Gamepro, Advertisement, Publication date: February 1995, Volume: 77, Pages: 60-61

Syvalion is a shooter that was released in Japan, and in Pal regions. It is currently unknown why it was unreleased in North America, as it was translated to English for the Pal regions. Perhaps the game was too mediocre and short to warrent releasing it. According to the half.com page, it was supposed to be released in February 1992. The game was previewed by Nintendo Power in their April 1993 issue, so the previous date is likely in error. The publisher was to be JVC.

Screenshots from Nintendo Power, issue 47








Bibliography:

· Nintendo Power, Pak Watch, Publication date: April 1993, Volume: 47, Pages: 110