Star Fox (1993 video game)

Star Fox, known as Starwing in PAL regions, is a 1993 rail shooter game developed by Nintendo and Argonaut Software, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The first entry in the Star Fox series, the story follows Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox team defending their homeworld of Corneria against the invading forces of Andross.

It was the second 3D Nintendo game after X for the Game Boy in 1992, and the first Nintendo game to use polygonal graphics, achieved with the Super FX graphics chip included in the cartridge. At the time, the complex display of three-dimensional models using polygons was uncommon in console games.

Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential video games of all time, Star Fox pioneered 3D rail shooter gameplay on home consoles, popularized the use of the Super FX chip, and established the Star Fox series as a flagship Nintendo franchise. The game received critical acclaim, sold more than 4 million copies, and inspired numerous sequels and spin-offs. A sequel, Star Fox 2, was developed but remained unreleased until 2017 as part of the Super NES Classic Edition. The next-released game in the series, Star Fox 64, was a 1997 reboot for the Nintendo 64 and further expanded the series’ influence on 3D space combat and squad-based gameplay.

The game was re-released worldwide as part of the Super NES Classic Edition in September 2017, and for the Nintendo Classics service in September 2019.