Well, I just played Star Fox 2 via a ROM and English patch. And it's awesome.
It has a very different feel from the first game. In this one, everything's in all-range mode (there's a few corridors throughout, but you have the choice to fly through them with your Arwing or transform into a land-based vehicle at will, and you can turn around if you want). There's several threats coming across the galaxy to attack Corneria (missiles, battleships, Star Wolf, etc.), and you get to decide what order to attack them in (or even whether to attack, as there might be a more serious threat that demands your attention). As soon as you start moving on the map screen, everything starts moving, so you need to know where you want to go and act. On top of that, stuff continues to move even while you're on a planet, so you can be trying to take out a boss and then get a message from Pepper during it saying another missile just hit Corneria. If Corneria gets hit too much, it's game over. Plus, you only have two lives in this game: yourself and whichever teammate you choose. And your shield doesn't refill between levels. You have the ability to return to the mothership at any time to refill your shield, but then that gives time for Andross's forces to get closer. So there's a greater sense of urgency in this game than the original. Feels like the stakes are higher.
But as good as the game is, I have to say I don't think it would have sold well if it was released when it was supposed to. It's too different from the original that it may alienate fans, and part of that's because it takes its new gameplay ideas to the extreme (levels are MUCH shorter to make all-range work well, some familiar Star Fox areas are missing). The idea of tackling areas in any order might be off-putting, not to mention panic at everything happening real-time. The game framerate and graphics are better thanks to the new Super FX 2 chip, but given that Super FX games tacked an extra $10 on the price of the cartridge, I worry if a Super FX 2 chip would have increased it further (I guess not since Yoshi's Island had the same chip, but still, some of us were sensitive to price).
I think Star Fox 64 had the right idea by combining some of the old (corridor levels, clear path of progression) with the new (a few all-range levels, ability to take different paths). Made the Star Fox formula a little more fresh while still making it appealing to the larger crowd (all the hoopla over the Rumble Pak certainly helped).
But then I remember that Star Fox Command is supposedly a lot like Star Fox 2. Well, hey, if you want more of that game, give Star Fox 2 a try.
Do I think it's better than the original Star Fox? No, although it's easy enough for me to complete it at least. I'd like to see a future Star Fox continue to move in the direction of Star Fox 2. What seemed to hold back the game for me is that the levels weren't interesting enough since they had to spread all this stuff around a 3D world (and make it small enough that you wouldn't get lost). Star Fox Assault seemed to solve that problem with detailed all-range levels and beautiful graphics. The individual challenges weren't quite challenging enough either, it just doesn't seem right to fight one Star Wolf member at a time. But then, in a game where you can't somersault or U-turn (or have a teammate that's actually there in the fight with you, meaning you're always by yourself), it's probably a blessing that you aren't tailed by four Star Wolf members at once.
Well darn, Star Fox Assault and Star Fox Command sound pretty good then. Must be high time for me to actually play the games. Walking around on foot absolutely can't be any worse than trying to control the land vehicle in Star Fox 2 (it's not hard, but you can't barrel roll, and you strafe with Control Pad and turn with L/R rather than the other way around).
