Star Fox 2, a game that fans never thought would ever come to fruition, also had its own lead programmer feeling the same exact way. Dylan Cuthbert is his name, and for 22 years he thought that this game he had worked on for so long was ultimately decimated. But now, after an announcement by Nintendo that the game would be available to play, Dylan is as surprised and astonished as die-hard fans are. "I've always been asked by people if I think Nintendo would ever release it and I always thought the answer was no. I still don't quite believe it." When you consider the wait that Cuthbert has been through for this game, you can't help but understand where he's coming from.
This all started after the success of the original Star Fox, which debuted in 1993. Once that was released, Argonaut Software began work on a sequel, which broke the trend set by the first game and introduced the second ship into the storyline. Star Fox 2 was still very deep into the space combat the first entry provided, but it allowed for more movement in the game's map and overall missions. For two years the was getting set to be released until Nintendo blindsided everyone and axed it. The famous Shigeru Miyamoto was concerned that the sheer look of Star Fox 2 wouldn't be able to hold up to other titles that were released around that time from competitors Playstation and Saturn.
Cuthbert said about the ordeal, "I kind of accepted it, it was disappointing of course, but the reasons were valid; the PlayStation and Saturn had just come out and visually and 3D performance-wise we just couldn’t compete. Strategically it made a lot of sense for Nintendo and Miyamoto at the time." Cuthbert even stated how as years went by, he would wonder if anybody would even get the chance to play the game. But once news broke that the game was going to be available for players, he hit up his old team he worked with. "I had a quick phone chat with one of the game designers Yamada Yoichi and he seemed pretty excited. I also went out for beers with Imamura, one of the original designers of Fox and he was pretty happy too!"
Shows you how even after years of hard work, you can still be rewarded.