Ok - I guess I'll just post the drafted parts
inside the thread.
Feedback is not only welcome, but very crucial. My goal is to compose a concise set of parts that, when put togeather, summarize what we want and our message to Nintendo.
Until we get some type of online database we can acccess, send all feedback to my Email:
Voyager2001@cox.net (or just post in this thread)
Also: Check out the proposed table of contents a few posts ago - write drafts! write a personal letter to Nintendo! (as mentioned) WE WANT YOU!!!
All we can truly hope for is that this grabs the atention of those important few - lets all make it happen!
(This post is gonna get very long very quickly...)
IntroductionThe twinkling of the starry heavens was as a gentile rain that shimmered through the jet stream of a four ship formation: a final formation that was to be the last hope of a desperate world; a nation?s final rage that shot into the heart of a pitch black night seething with evil hordes. With the precision and grace of angels, this single squadron fought against all odds, striking down evil with a thunderous heart. And so, just as the last remaining bow from a hero?s quiver, they carry a heavy message towards the heart of a vile enemy. Energized by outcries of the innocent, and empowered by the eternal memory of fallen patriots, the four fighters pitch the evil warlord deep into the bowels of a dead planet to be consumed by the flames of his own malicious lair. Triumphant, victorious, the four ships turn to face the dawn of a new day. Free from evil, their graceful arcs reveal the emblem emblazoned on their wings: They are Star Fox.
It was the dawn of a new culture. Video games had long captured their player?s imaginations within the arcade, but now in the very homes, the very living rooms of their users, video games soon developed their own aura among the younger generation. Star Fox, since its initial release, has demonstrated itself to be one of the core members of the video game culture. More importantly, many Nintendo fans found and kept Star Fox in a very special place in their hearts.
Just as that special romantic novel, that imaginative cinema movie, and that inspiring orchestra score hold beautiful meanings in the hearts of their viewers and listeners, so too can a sincere video game touch, awe, and inspire a heartfelt player as any other piece of fine culture. Star Fox 2, a Nintendo SNES title that was cancelled in its final stages of development, has become to many such players a ?lost episode? of a classic series that has maintained its initial momentum for over 15 years. During these passing years, entire generations of computer gaming systems have risen, lived, and died, without ever achieving the mark set by classic video game series like Star Fox.
Now more of a legacy icon than a simple game title, Star Fox 2 possesses a ?lost arc? spirit that resonates to wishful players and Nintendo enthusiasts alike as never before. This title is by no means at all a terminated video game project of a past decade. Indeed, it is as a rediscovered Hollywood film, a lost photograph plate of the 19th century, or even a forgotten Beethoven symphony. Star Fox 2, although never actually released, has become as much a part of the Star Fox culture as any other title in the series. Its formal resurrection by Nintendo as museum classic will fulfill a missing piece of not just a video game series, but a piece of cultural art that will make complete an already legendary collection.
The Culture of Star FoxThe Star Fox franchise is much more than a science fiction action video game series, it has become, through its players, an icon of the Video game industry. Motion pictures, when first introduced met swift criticism, and were even referred to as the bane of the artistic world?s existence. In the early 20th century, however, the motion picture industry became a recognized contributor to American culture, as classic novels and plays could be communicated in entirely new ways, offering myriads of previously unfathomed means of artistic perception and development. Soon, namely after 1914, the full length motion picture was widely accepted as the premier theater of contemporary art and culture of the modern era.
Video games, with their equally humble beginnings, have brought about the same revolution to the entertainment industry that is only now beginning to be actualized. Players can take command of a story and travel down a path of imagination and adventure, leaving even the barriers of reality behind. Stories, plot twists, and character development all take on a completely new meaning in this new form of engaging theater. Just as renowned cinema masterpieces so craftily employ lighting, sound, and composition to create a living symphony where depth and emotion are carried as a song?s melody, so to are the elements of a sincere video game.
Titles like Star Fox are to the gaming industry as movies such as The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly (1966) and Citizen Kane (1941) are to Hollywood. Every nuance of every such film has been wrapped into the pages of contemporary cultural history, and Star Fox is no exception. The iconic images of the famous four ship diamond formation streaking the upper atmosphere and keeping a peaceful blue planet safe have permeated the genera, and left a standard that is rarely approached. There are very few who have heard of Nintendo without hearing of Star Fox. A mainstay member of the Nintendo family, the series has thoroughly established itself as a centerpiece among adoring fans. Toys, t-shirts, homemade Arwing models, and even crochet sweaters all celebrate the adventures of the Star Fox team nationwide.
Such a status makes the circumstances that surround Star Fox 2 tragic. While a 15-year-old lost episode can account for a lot of the mystery and intrigue that saturates the title, it ultimately becomes a sorrowful symbol of lost potential. Star Fox 2?s condition as a slightly-incomplete title robs the series of part of its own legacy. What?s worse is that there is no real technological barrier that?s keeping a potentially complete version away from players; in other words, a classic game that is so close to being totally embraced by a huge fan-base is simply sitting idle, aimlessly floating around the internet in its incomplete form.
Nevertheless, our ambition is as potent as our hopes, and as brilliant as our dreams. We truly want to experience the classic Star Fox 2 title the same way we have to so many other Nintendo titles.
The Lines of Fantasy and RealityI couldn?t close my eyes, for I did not want to miss a single moment, a single frame, of this strange, blue and white two-toned craft. Its edges were sharp, yet it possessed the grace of the gentlest dove. Studying its every nuance, my imagination raced to fill in what details were missing; but there was no time to wait! The scramble alarm sounded, and my eyes grew wider as I felt this sudden rush of adrenaline as the thrusters roared and my craft shot out of its place of rest. Before I could even blink, I could already feel the mist of the morning clouds that lingered over the city?s edge. The blue skies streaked passed my line vision as I tried with all of my might to understand why I felt this way; what it was that I couldn?t stop looking at. My aircraft banked into the turns following a perfect path of mathematical precision. As the enemy offensive was pushed back, we climbed into the upper atmosphere, where I gazed upon the starry havens, infinite in their majesty. Constant was the path of our fighters across the sky; constant was their resilience through chaos; constant was their attitude forward; constant was my discovered calling.
Most of the other children couldn?t understand my almost hypnotic stare at the screen; for them it was simply a multitude of shapes, explosions and laser fire. For me it something else entirely; it was the first time I envisioned the sheer beauty behind the physical laws. This simple game was a window through which I saw more order than I knew in real life. My fires of passion were set on that day ? the earth, moon, stars, gravity, magnetism, thrust ? the harmonic symphony of astrophysics was audible to me for the first time, and since I have heard nothing else.
Star Fox; a science-fiction action Nintendo game; inspired me as though it were a renaissance novel. Star Fox was a theater where my imagination preformed freely. Needless to say, I liked that game. Games truly can be as inspiring as a master artist?s painting. The world is replete with experiences of how science fiction fans grew up to design space shuttles: The Ionic Propulsion Engine, developed by NASA engineers, was inspired from an episode of Star Trek; Impressed by Captain Kirk?s handheld computer, a programmer coded the program known as QuickTime. Boeing engineers have even claimed that their designs took the shape of their own childhood fantasies.
Already a source of technical inspiration, the mystical worlds that are imagined and produced into cinema and games are a worthy part of our culture, and Star Fox is no exception. It is not merely a game to fill one?s time; it is a living fantasy that helps bring people together by inviting them to share their ideas and dreams.
