Nintendo EAD and Argonaut Software built Star Fox as a rail shooter for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with Nintendo publishing it in 1993. The game puts players in control of Fox McCloud, a skilled pilot who leads a team of mercenary fighters also called Star Fox. The team flies through space and planetary environments on a mission to stop the mad scientist Andross, who has launched an invasion of the Lylat system from his base on the planet Venom. What makes Star Fox stand out from other games of its era is its use of the Super FX chip, a custom graphics processor that sits inside the cartridge itself. This chip allows the SNES to render fully three-dimensional polygonal graphics, something the hardware cannot accomplish on its own. The result is a visually ambitious title that pushed the console to its absolute limits and gave players a sense of high-speed aerial combat that home consoles had never offered before.
Updated: Jun 22, 2026
Screenshots

1 MB · SNES ROMs
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Specifications
| Platform | SNES ROMs |
|---|---|
| Genre | Shooting |
| File Size | 1 MB |
| Release Year | 1993 |
| Developer | Nintendo EAD / Argonaut Software |
| Updated | Jun 22, 2026 |
Overview
Nintendo EAD and Argonaut Software built Star Fox as a rail shooter for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with Nintendo publishing it in 1993. The game puts players in control of Fox McCloud, a skilled pilot who leads a team of mercenary fighters also called Star Fox. The team flies through space and planetary environments on a mission to stop the mad scientist Andross, who has launched an invasion of the Lylat system from his base on the planet Venom. What makes Star Fox stand out from other games of its era is its use of the Super FX chip, a custom graphics processor that sits inside the cartridge itself. This chip allows the SNES to render fully three-dimensional polygonal graphics, something the hardware cannot accomplish on its own. The result is a visually ambitious title that pushed the console to its absolute limits and gave players a sense of high-speed aerial combat that home consoles had never offered before.
Star Fox offers three main routes through the game, each carrying a different difficulty level. Players choose a route before the mission begins, and each path takes the team through a different set of stages and planets before the final showdown with Andross on Venom. The game features both on-rails stages, where the Arwing fighter flies forward automatically, and all-range mode sections that give players freedom to move in any direction. Along the way, Fox McCloud collects Nova Bombs and power-ups that restore shield energy, while teammates Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lombardi fly alongside him, offering tips and sometimes needing rescue. Players earn extra lives by hitting score thresholds and shooting down enemies in rapid succession. The three routes bring different stages, more enemies, and tougher boss fights on harder paths, giving the game strong replay value. Star Fox delivers a tight, exciting experience that stands as one of the most technically impressive and entertaining games the SNES library produced.