Star Wars X-Wing (PC) Star Fox (SNES) February 1993 Arcade Flight Sim Shooters

[7eve70rd]

Video game historians,
I have been wondering about the creation of Star Fox.

Was Star Fox appealing to Star Wars fans intentionally?
Was it a re-skin of the Star Wars dogfighting scene with the X Wings fighting the Tie Fighters?


How Star Fox Fits into Arcade Flight Combat History

The series draws inspiration from earlier arcade and console shooters, particularly:

1. Space Harrier (1985 – Sega)
A pioneering 3D rail shooter where players control a flying hero blasting enemies in a surreal, scrolling landscape.

Star Fox inherited its over-the-shoulder perspective and dodging mechanics.

2. After Burner (1987 – Sega)
A fast-paced jet combat game with scaling sprites to simulate 3D speed.

Star Fox’s barrel rolls and lock-on missiles feel similar.

3. Star Blade (1991 – Namco)
An early polygonal rail shooter in arcades, resembling Star Fox’s visual style.

Both games used tunnel-like levels and boss battles.

4. Wing Commander (1990 – Origin Systems)
While more complex, its space combat and story-driven missions influenced Star Fox 64.


And ultimately, could Nintendo create a new Star Fox game that borrows heavily from Rogue Squadron dogfight series?

Pilot Wings from Nintendo is not exactly Ace Combat.

Thoughts on the future of Arcade Flight Sim Shooter games?

 

[fake-kun]

No.

There will never be a new Star Fox game.

 

[7eve70rd]

I don't want to participate in the Star Citizen fandom.

Maybe a Buck Bumble (Nintendo 64) sequel will emerge before we see a Star Fox 64 sequel.

 

[Hourai]

Define internationally. It's a Japanese game, so I assume you mean non-Japanese audiences. However, you could also mean non-whatever country you're from.

Either way, it's got a respectable audience. However, the last good Star Fox game was 64 in 1997, which even Uncle Jimtendo knows. Though if you're being semantic about it, the last good game was 64 3D. This is important, because 3D is actually very different in gameplay, even if it looks the same and everything else is the same. I should know; I play the both of them a lot.

Star Fox 1 and 2 are seen as curiosities, in part due to the fact that they weren't really made to work so much as be technical feats. I do think Star Fox 2 is good, but it's undeniably rough. Assault is a game that exists, and I do think Zero would've been great if not for the fucking controls. I don't care how much you get used to it - the controls are still inferior to not using a gimmick.

Anyway, it's as much a reskin of Star Wars as much as Final Fantasy is a reskin of Dragon Quest. They're wildly different games that fit in the same genre. That's it.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Like you said, I think Starfox's gameplay is closer to rail shooters and traditionnal shmups than space sims like the XWing series. The later focus on dogfights in space with few obstacles and using pips to reallocate energy resources between weapons / engines / shields.

I have replayed Tie Fighter (DOS) recently and it aged pretty well. In DosBOX pure, with controls remapped on the gamepad.

There's also a huge overhaul mod for XWing Alliance with retextures for 4K, VR and additionnal content. The community is still very active, it's amazing that those niche games are still getting modded today.

X-Wing Alliance Upgrade

www.xwaupgrade.com

 

[Orclease]

You forgot to mention the Atari 1983 Star Wars Arcade game. It plays a lot like Star Fox from a first person perspective and the wire frame graphics look closer to the original Star Fox SNES game.

 

[7eve70rd]

The idea of playing as a pilot that flys space ships thru space is different from being an air force pilot in World War 2.

Star Wars X-wing & TIE Fighter​

Has Nintendo acknowledged seeing the first Star Wars film with Luke piloting the X Wing and the desire to create a space jet pilot game?

I feel like a huge inspiration of the Legend of Zelda is the film LEGEND. Visual inspiration for the Zelda art is very similar to Tom Cruise playing the green tunic wearing boy.

Star Wars/Legend are movies. Nintendo makes video games with playable scenes.

Would Star Fox and Legend of Zelda exist if Japanese businessman had not seen these popular movies for inspiration?

 

[moonbits]

yes, if it wasn't for star wars and tom cruise nothing would exist

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Would Star Wars exist if Lucas hadnt watched The Hidden Fortress? King Kong was in the public domain when Nintendo ripped it off with Donkey Kong.

Silly forum will boil everything down to east vs west all the time... XD

 

[7eve70rd]

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) – pilot hero from Star Wars (1977). Hamill’s voice making him iconic.

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) – F-14 pilot from Top Gun (1986). U.S. Airforce propaganda film.

Christopher "Maverick" Blair (Mark Hamill again!) – The lead in Wing Commander (1990–1996), a space combat game that ripped Top Gun’s energy (even the "Maverick" name). Hamill basically became the voice of sci-fi pilots.



Then Nintendo mashed it all together:

Fox McCloud – In 1993, they drop Star Fox with this furry, confident fox pilot leading a squad.

He’s got Luke’s hero vibes (thanks to Hamill’s legacy), Maverick’s attitude, and even the animal call sign thing (Top Gun’s "Goose" and the Nintendo "Fox"). The whole game feels like Star Wars meets Top Gun with a Nintendo twist.

Even Fox’s rival, Wolf O’Donnell, feels like Top Gun’s Iceman vs. Maverick, and the team missions owe a lot to Wing Commander—which probably took notes from Star Wars’ Death Star trench run anyway.

Nintendo basically took the coolest parts of ’80s and ’90s pop culture, added anthropomorphic FURRIES ...


Have there been any interviews in magazines or otherwise acknowledging this from Nintendo employees?

 

[moonbits]

Would Star Wars exist if Lucas hadnt watched The Hidden Fortress? King Kong was in the public domain when Nintendo ripped it off with Donkey Kong.

Silly forum will boil everything down to east vs west all the time... XD

would star wars exist if it wasnt for dune

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

would star wars exist if it wasnt for dune

It's a chicken egg situation.

 

[7eve70rd]

When Wing Commander became a film, it failed. That film series died.

Now we have to suffer from the digital movie experience of Star Citizen. It is never ending DLC bundles worth of pixel crack.

Nintendo wants to make a Live Action Legend of Zelda Movie.

All I ask is for Nintendo to take Star Fox off the rails and let it become a fully 3D open world/sky arcade flight sim shooter like Rogue Squadron/Rogue Leader games.


It's been 25 years since https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_Skies_(video_game).