The original Star Fox was a technological triumph. A sci-fi shooter starring a cast of anthropomorphic animals, the game managed to squeeze actual 3D graphics — chunky polygons and all — onto the Super Nintendo’s comparatively underpowered 16-bit hardware. Its sequel was equally ambitious. Star Fox 2 combined cutting-edge graphics with a unique, real-time structure that had you fighting off alien forces while simultaneously defending your home planet. It was tense, daring, and unlike any other game.

Of course, the other big difference between the two games is that Star Fox 2 was never officially released — until today.

Nintendo’s miniature SNES Classic is an excellent machine for 16-bit fans, with a built-in collection of some of the most revered games of all time, like Earthbound and Super Metroid. But the most important part of the collection is Star Fox 2. Originally planned as a sequel that would launch in 1996, building on the foundation of the original Star Fox, the game was ultimately canceled. With the looming presence of more powerful consoles like the first PlayStation, Nintendo feared that the game’s low-fi polygonal world would look dated in comparison. A decision was made to shelve the game. Though unfinished versions of Star Fox 2 have been lurking on the internet for some time, today marks the first official release for the game.

Initially, Star Fox 2 looks a lot like its predecessor. It’s sort of like Star Wars by way of Jim Henson, with a ragtag group of talking animals piloting angular spaceships in order to ward off an evil alien force. It has the same jagged 3D look that was so mind-blowing in the early 1990s. But whereas Star Fox was structured like a typical action game, where you progress through a linear series of levels, its sequel is much more unique.

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The goal of the game is to both protect the planet Corneria from invading forces, and to defeat those would-be invaders. But instead of going through a predetermined set of levels, Star Fox 2 gives you a choice. On the main map, you’ll see missiles heading toward Corneria, and nearby planets that are now home to dangerous alien bases. At the very end is the final enemy. It’s up to you to decide which problems to tackle. You need to take out the big baddie at the end, but if you ignore the smaller enemy bases and missile strikes, they’ll slowly deplete Corneria’s defenses, ultimately destroying it.

Once you actually delve into battle, Star Fox 2 feels much more like its predecessor. It’s a 3D space shooter, where you take the helm of a sleek craft in an attempt to eliminate a particular threat. Venturing into an alien’s base to take out its main power supply feels like going on a Star Wars trench run, and you’ll dogfight evil pigs amid dangerous asteroid fields. It’s thrilling stuff, especially when you meet a new enemy called the Mirage Dragon, which is essentially a giant, robotic, laser-spewing snake. You also have some new abilities this time around, namely the ability to transform your spaceship into a two-legged walking vehicle reminiscent of an AT-ST.

The gameplay can be tough to read at times; the rough visuals don’t always make it clear what you’re shooting at or where you need to go. But the structure creates an intensity that fits well with the game’s story. At times, you’ll be in the middle of a heated space battle, only for your superior officer to tell you that Corneria is currently under attack. It adds urgency, but it also means the game is fairly short. An entire playthrough lasts under an hour, though it also has an arcade-style high score setup to encourage you to play the game multiple times.

Star Fox 2 is a fascinating experience — though in many ways it’s clear why it was ultimately canceled. The primitive 3D visuals would’ve looked especially bad going up against the much more capable PlayStation, while the structure makes it feel fairly brief compared to the original. Luckily, many of Star Fox 2’s ideas made it into later games in the series, like Star Fox Zero on the Wii U, which features all kinds of transforming vehicles.

I’m still not sure if I actually like Star Fox 2, but I’m glad it exists. The video game industry is notoriously secretive, and while games are canceled regularly, we rarely hear much about them. That makes Star Fox 2 an important piece of game history. You can see how its ideas shaped the series, and understand a bit more about Nintendo by looking at why it was canceled in the first place. (For more on how it was made, you should definitely check out the game’s digital manual, which includes a wealth of fascinating behind-the-scenes documentation.)

I only wish it was more accessible. Sure, it’s great that it’s available on the SNES Classic, but there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t be able to download the game on a Switch or 3DS. After 20 years of waiting, I’m sure there are plenty of people curious to finally try it.