StarFox2 SNES

[Player0]

Okay, I generally accept that this is not an emulation board, and that sharing roms is bad. However, when something this big comes along, the rule book goes out the window. I am big in to emulation of older games/programs. I do have a large collection, but unless I really know you, don't bother requesting any. With that said...

The holy grail of SNES roms was recently released. A nearly complete (probably THE most complete) version of StarFox 2, the SFX sequal to the original game. Ive attatched the ROM to this post. It will play on SNES, and in my next post I will attatch a hacked version of zsnes that runs this game better (im sure the zsnes team will be releasing a new version with these rom header fixes shortly).

Ive had the original StarFox 2 beta rom for ages, back when it was still using SFX1 and was less than 30% complete I imagine. There DID exist a more complete (95%?) version which was displayed at the Winter CES back in 94. In fact, the rom was temporarily stolen by some guy there, who was caught. This rom was the source of many a magazine article and photo op back in the day. I have the Nintendo Power magazines from back then showing some pretty incredible footage.

I dont know how, but someone actually found some of the source code from this game, and compiled a rom image (the rom is actuall NOT a dump, quite rare). Ive tried to get more information on this game for years now. I wanted the game in 95 and started my rom quest in 98. Apart from the first beta rom, I ended up empty handed.

This rom is probably close to 99% complete. It does run fine on the SNES but screws up in Zsnes still, but it will be fixed shortly like I said. Its more complete than the version showed at CES, and apart from a framerate counter (locked at 20) and some other testing things, the game is quite complete and playable. In fact, im going to go play it right after this post ;)

The game was never released by Nintendo because they wanted to focus their energies on the N64, and StarFox 64...loosely based on SF2, but mostly resembling the first version. As far as I can tell, StarFox 2 does some cool things, but isn't the same quality as the first. The music just isnt the same, and the free-for-all gameplay, although quite innovative, just doesnt feel the same. The art style is still pretty good.

Anyone who likes StarFox or Snes emulation (me on both counts) should grab this rom and thank god because this thing was found well against the odds ;) I love it when that happens.

[Player0]

And the modded zsnes files to tide you over...

[Player0]

On a side note, I will consider giving out a weekend FTP pass at 128k to my rom collection to anyone who submits the best review to our site by the end of the month.

[sptw]

Hi Player0,

The first attachment doesn't work for me , bad checksum.I'm on Snes v.1.39.

[Player0]

Try unzipping it.

Snes 1.39?

Well you should use Zsnes 1.36 and use the second patch file.

Unzipping the rom might help. It will have a bad checksum. Its NOT a legitamite bad checksum actually, but thats how Zsnes is currently reading it.

[sptw]

Yes, Snes 1.39.I coud try Znes, but if i remember it well, it doesn't work good for me with OpenGL.

[sptw]

BTW, any chance to write a review in portuguese and take a little look in your rom files? :D :D :D

[Player0]

I never heard of snes 1.39...but zsnes is by far the best emulator around. But no, its a DirectX application, not a OpenGL one.

You could however use the DOS version, which doesnt use DirectX calls, but relies on VESA. You may need to get some VESA software for your card though.

Im afraid i cant read portuguese ;)

[sptw]

Im afraid i cant read portuguese ;)

At least i tried :D


Agree with you P0, Znes is good, really the best, but give it a try on Snes9x (http://www.snes9x.com) using OpenGL bi linear output mode, and check if there are some differences on image quality for you.I tried Znes before, but Snes9X looks better with opengl for me.Thanks anyway for helping :)

[Player0]

Oh you mean snes9x. Yes, thats the second best emulator. I didnt know it had GL support. Since the super nintendo isnt going to take hardly any advantage of dx or gl i cant imagine their being any visibile difference, but I will check it out.

Snes9x has a much lower compatibility that zsnes for sure. And, its much slower too...not that that matters these days.

[sptw]

Yeah, Znes is much more compatible than Snes.Well, i don't know how the guys from snes implemented opengl on it, but at least for my geforce2 the image quality is much better than Znes, maybe with this new card you can't see any difference.

Here is the option on Snes9x:

[Player0]

snes9x is running way to fast on this laptop for some reason.

Using GL bilinear filtering is just like using interpolation on Zsnes. The quality looks exactly the same to me on the radeon 7500 and the gf2pro i have here.

[sptw]

Hummmm, i can't remember if i used interpolation when tried Znes, but i'll give it a try again on Znes with this option :)

[sptw]

Yup, you're right, interpolation on ZSnes and opengl on Snes9x seems to be the same image quality.Thanks for that P0.I'll try your zsness modded file now :)

[sptw]

No, it doesn't work for me with Znes too.When i try to load the rom, black screen, nothing else.

[Player0]

You unzipped it first right?

[sptw]

Yes i did.I could see 20 .spc file.Any thoughts?

[sptw]

I fixed it P0.I got the first zip file and it's working now.BTW for what is the second zip file then?

[Player0]

The second zip file are just patches for Zsnes so it will run StarFox2 properly without blinking.

It will run okay on snes9x too if you disable sound. Snes9x has poor spc700 support I guess.

[sptw]

Spot on.Now i know why the game was blinking a lot.Thanks m8 :)

[speculative]

Hey I just stopped by here to see what's up and stumbled across this post! :) Nice find! Is this a new release or a find that has been floating around the net for awhile? I've got pretty much all the old ROM's I can handle (SNES, NES, SMS, GB, Genesis, 2600, etc.) but didn't nab any N64 roms etc.

Have you heard if they ever released that sequel to Kid Icarus for NES that was floating around? It was a prototype, working cart that people were trying to get the owner to upload...

Anyways, nice find! :)

-speculative

[Player0]

The SF2 rom was pretty recently released from what I gather.

Ill see if i dont have the kid icarus one for you. I dont even know what I have these days hehe.

[kreg]

hello,

i know this post is old now, but i was in search of starfox 2 and google found this fourm.

player0, what are the 20 spc files for and how do i use them to take care of the blinking problem with zsnes? as of now i'm using zsnes 1.36 for windows.

btw, thank you much for finding this rom. i too grew up enjoying starfox on the snes. since some time has passed since the last post, have there been any new events or news regarding this rom? has anyone by chance completed the game?

kreg

[Dude]

Hey guys I know this is an old thread but, I want to know, who can figure out the translation patch for this rom??

I use ZSNES 1.42 and it rocks with most roms, but with the star fox 2, I can't get the translation patch to work, any ideas? :dninja2:

[Kopfschuss88]

:welcome:

I use Snes9x personally. see if that works.... i guess.

[Player0]

Whered you find the patch? If you let me know ill patch a rom ;)

[speculative]

Lol... talk about thread back from the dead!

[kreg]

holy crap on a stick. this thread lives!

well since the topic twitching again, does anyone know what the latest beta version of this game was? i heard rumors that someone we trying to clean up the rom and make it playable. such as removing the frame rate counter and other things. any know?

-kreg

[Player0]

I havent heard of that. I dont even know whos working on the patch. Dejap? I need to check in to it later when I get home.

[kreg]

for the record i have 3 different starfox 2 roms.

starfox2.scm
starfox2 beta 1.1.scm
starfox2 final.scm

i think the one called final was done by a 3rd party fan or something. not really sure. for all i know there could be more hacks of it out there.

-kreg

[Player0]

There are 3 beta roms of SF2 in existence. One EXTREMELY preview rom, one rom with two levels and some playability, and the near final version which was shown at CES and has the frame rate counter on it.

[speculative]

On a related note, recently I've heard of a Sonic the Hedgehog beta ROM making the rounds (I think it was for Sonic the Hedgehog 2). It is pretty playable, but you have to use some tricks to play it.

[Flybye]

It's funny how I never really got into the SNES. After the NES, I started migrating over to PC, even if back then I only had 4 megs of ram in my old 486 DX/2 66mhz :D

Someday I'll have another NES sitting right next to my Atari 2600. Can't wait to play Ninja Gaiden again :) I've tried emulators, but for some odd reason it just doesn't feel right.

[Player0]

Yeah, I agree, there's something not the same about emulators, which is why Ive started collecting more old hardware. I dont have Ninja Gaiden but I beleive I have Ninja Gaiden 2 thanks to Alex. In fact, I managed to somehow end up with 3 NES's at home.

Im still going to grab a http://www.estarland.com/NintendoNES.cat..product.22535.html tho.

The SNES is by far the best 16-Bit gaming platform around, Genesis in second I guess. Depends on what games you like. You cant find a PC game in the early 90s that tops the ones on the SNES except for maybe a Flight sim or FPS. Honestly tho, Ive never been one to worry about what Im playin on, more abuot what I'm playing. :)

Some games are right on the TV, and some are right on the PC. FPS on a gamepad sucks :)

[Player0]

On that note, yes, I know the Neo Geo... but thats more of a 24-bit really, tho I suppose it was competing in the 16-bit market. SNES still rules ;)

[Yourmove]

Ahh, the wonderful snes. As a matter of fact I took mine out and played the Super Mario World all the way through yesterday. Couldnt find my Street Figther 2 game though -_- (which was annoying). I tore the house up looking for it. SNES was indeed the best, emulators just dont do it justice sometimes. They dont feel right like Flybye said. I liked the SNES for RPGs and Fighting games personally, always got wooped in Street Fighter 2 by my brother. :/

I need to collect some more cartridges for it now that i think about it...hmm.

[kreg]

let's not forget the best SNES game ever.

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City.


Man that game was a joke...

[Player0]

Super Mario World was awesome. Looong game though, you got through it in a day? Well I suppose if you dont do all the extra worlds its possible. That game was nice and uber long, probably the best Mario game ever. Mario 64 was hella fun too tho. What happened with Sunshine? I couldnt stand playing that stupid game.

Zsnes does pretty well with most of the games. I'd really love a cart dumper so I can play ROMs on the SNES box, theyre fairly cheap these days on the import scene. The biggest issue is the controllers. You can wire most controllers to the PC with some work, and you can find adapters some places, but Ive never tried it.

[Synthohol]

i never played SNES ever, i went from the atari 2600 to the xl800 to PC games.
i have a PS emulator and most PS games work on my PC.
i might bug you for help trying SNES ems' i remember the commercials for some nintendo games and they looked fun, my gameboy has thousands of hours logged in it though, i havent picked it up since unreal 2002 though:)

[Player0]

Ooo, I grew up on the 800XL, which is comparible to the Atari 5200 games really. What I really want to find is a Star Raiders cart for the XL/XE series. The 2600 version of Star Raiders bites.

What PS emulator do you use? ePSXe is hella fun. I had to hack my DVD drive in order to make PS games run on it. I have a hacked PS and a PS2 at home so I dont really need the PC. It's kinda hard to find PS games for download, since Sony is a hound about it. I bet if you look on BitTorrent theres a bunch.

My big emu thing tho is Mame. I got about 99% of the Mame games out there. I really want to buy some plans and build a full fledged arcade cabinet, have it in my living room to play some REAL Galaga or Samuri Showdown. Nice little mATX in there or something. Expensive though, and I dont have any wood working tools anymore. Need at least a small circular saw and a scroll saw I imagine.

Oo... and a nice 4 player joystick rig with a nice big glowblue trackball for some serious Centepede or Marble Madness action *drool*

[Synthohol]

oh i dont d/l PS games, i use the real ones in my CD drive with the hack file i start first then any PS game i put in the cd works.
i have the PS2 one too but until i bought your old burner, i didnt have a dvd drive and havent thought to try it yet.

[Player0]

I think the burner I gave you is the one I hacked to work with PS games lol

[Yourmove]

Heh, well lets just say I had a lot of time on my hands. ;)
Took me a good 6 hrs to beat it but luckily i remembered how to get through most of the places from the olden days.

And speaking of burners, does anyone know where I can get a decent quality low priced DVD burner, it seems my CDRW burner has had enough with burning. I guess it didnt like being force fed CDs. I tried to be good to her, I really did, but she doesnt like me anymore (being the fickle thing she is).

[Synthohol]

46.00 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152035)
a few bucks more for better (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manufactory=1336&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=372%3A13801&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=374%3A13802&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=5&Submit=Property)