The retro homebrew scene keeps delivering surprises, and this one is a two-for. Days after Randy Linden’s Super FX 3 chip was used to refresh the original Star Fox, the engineer’s Super Nintendo follow-up has received the same treatment. Star Fox 2, the long-buried 16-bit sequel that was famously canned at the eleventh hour in 1995 before eventually resurfacing on the SNES Classic Edition, can now be played through Linden’s upgraded silicon on suitable hardware.
Linden, whose name has become synonymous with cutting-edge SNES engineering thanks to his work on Limited Run’s 2026 DOOM cartridge, personally handled the porting work. The new build adds Super FX 3 compatibility and battery-backed save support to the cartridge, meaning players can finally preserve their campaign progress without relying on passwords or external tools. Anyone wanting to try the new version will need to grab a nightly build of the MesenCE emulator to load it up.
Why the Super FX 3 Upgrade Matters
The Super FX chip is one of the most storied pieces of silicon in 16-bit history. Designed by Argonaut Software and manufactured by Nintendo, the original Super FX co-processor allowed the base SNES to render polygonal 3D graphics — a feat that gave Star Fox its signature look back in 1993 and powered titles such as Stunt Race FX and Yoshi’s Island. The chip essentially turned the humble Super Famicom into a rudimentary 3D console years before dedicated 3D hardware became standard.
Super FX 3 is Linden’s modern reimagining of that technology, and its appearance in the recent DOOM cartridge showed it can handle workloads the original chip could never have dreamed of. Seeing it land on Star Fox — and now Star Fox 2 — proves the design is versatile enough to breathe new life into classic Nintendo library titles, not just modern ports shoehorned onto aging hardware.
A Second Life for a Canned Classic
Star Fox 2’s history is unusually dramatic for a cartridge game. Conceived as a direct sequel with branching paths, all-range mode dogfights, and a fully rotatable map, it was completed, reviewed by Japanese magazines, and shelved when Nintendo decided the SNES was approaching the end of its commercial runway and the project would make more sense as a Super Nintendo 64 launch window title. The completed ROM eventually leaked online, and the game officially debuted on the SNES Classic Edition mini-console in 2017, more than two decades after its cancellation.
For retro collectors and emulation enthusiasts, the arrival of a battery-backed Super FX 3 build is meaningful on several fronts. It is a tangible demonstration that hobbyist engineering can still meaningfully expand what an old console is capable of, and it gives Star Fox 2 — a game long stuck in a frustrating limbo between unfinished business and official re-release — another fresh reason to be played and discussed. Expect hobbyists, modders, and physical-cartridge enthusiasts to keep a close eye on Linden’s next move. For more on the broader retro scene, browse the latest RetroArcade news.
{“className”:”ra-news-source”}Source: Time Extension