The Expansive Star Fox Mod That You Can Actually Play On Your OG SNES Console
Nintendo debuted plenty of daring new franchises and expansions to existing IP on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. From "Super Mario Kart" to "Donkey Kong Country," there is no shortage of classic games on the system and among these exciting new additions to Nintendo's stable was "Star Fox."
Though the intergalactic dogfighting series had the admittedly ridiculous premise of an anthropomorphic fox and his animal friends flying spaceships, that didn't stop players from making the new game a big success for Nintendo. In fact, "Star Fox" has been enough of a hit for Nintendo that it has prompted an impressive eight sequels (with multiple endings no less) in the years since the original game was released.
However, it hasn't just been the Big N working on new "Star Fox" content over the years as a burgeoning community of fan modders has been creating their own updates and expansions to Nintendo's classic catalog of games. Amazingly, one of these fan mods seems to be a massive addition of content to the original game and manages to run on the original hardware as well.
The highly expansive mod packs a ton of new features in
As reported by Games Radar, a modder who goes by the moniker of KandoWontu has created a new mod for the original "Star Fox" on SNES. The modded version of the game is called "Star Fox EX," with the EX standing for Exploration Showcase, and it includes 60 fps, new bosses in the main campaign, five-player multiplayer, 15 new levels, and support for the SNES Mouse and the Super Scope.
If that sounds like a lot to add to a game that came out in the early '90s, you're not wrong. The romhack took two years to come to fruition, and that's with the additional help of over 12 contributors who aided KandoWontu with the project. Still, if being recognized by a programmer who worked on the original game is any indication, many in the development community are impressed with the modder's work.
This guy is a madman :) great work getting it running so fast! Back in the day we were kind of flailing around in the dark and with only ten months to make the game so there are probably lots of places to optimize in there 😂 https://t.co/crPw6hrMUl
— Dylan and The Tomorrow Children (@dylancuthbert) November 10, 2022
"Star Fox" programmer Dylan Cuthbert has publicly praised "Star Fox EX" creator KandoWontu. "This guy is a madman. Great work getting it running so fast!" Cuthbert tweeted. "Back in the day, we were kind of flailing around in the dark and with only ten months to make the game, so there are probably lots of places to optimize in there."