10 Video Games That Were Cancelled Despite Being Almost Finished

After the overwhelming success of bombastic polygonal shooter Star Fox for the SNES in 1993, there was a lot of excitement about how the upcoming sequel (which began development almost immediately after the first game’s launch) could further push the boundaries of what Nintendo’s console was capable of.

Using the same Super FX chip that was used in Yoshi’s Island, Star Fox 2 was faster and more visually ambitious than its predecessor. It also incorporated a real-time strategy element in which players would need to defend the home planet against advancing enemy forces.

With the game only months away from release, however, Nintendo slammed on the brakes. The reason for this last-minute cancelation was the release of Sony’s PlayStation and SEGA’s Saturn which heralded the arrival of fully 3D games.

According to sources, Nintendo was concerned that this new level of visual fidelity would make Star Fox 2 look inferior in comparison. That was all the reason needed to stop this game from hitting shelves.

There is a happy ending to this story, though. Almost two decades after the cancellation, Star Fox 2 finally made it into our hands when it released as part of the miniature SNES console in 2017.