---
title: 'Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 - How to Unlock EVERY Alternate Path'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=b0Os9E6Gx0M'
video_id: 'b0Os9E6Gx0M'
date: 2026-06-25
duration_sec: 822
---

# Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 - How to Unlock EVERY Alternate Path

> Source: [Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 - How to Unlock EVERY Alternate Path](https://youtube.com/watch?v=b0Os9E6Gx0M)

## Summary

This video provides a detailed guide on how to unlock every alternate path in Star Fox for the Nintendo Switch 2. It explains the branching mission structure, specific in-game actions required to access hidden stages, and how to achieve the true ending.

### Key Points

- **Overview of Alternate Paths** [0:00] — Star Fox 64 is considered short, but a single playthrough shows only a fraction of the campaign. There are 16 stages, nine with alternate paths required to access most of the game.
- **Corneria Alternate Path** [1:39] — On Corneria, after the checkpoint, destroy enemies chasing Falco to keep him alive. Then fly under all seven stone arches and follow Falco through the waterfall to unlock a choice between Sector Y and Titania.
- **Titania Warp Route** [2:42] — On Titania, after the checkpoint and Slippy mentions a strange energy source, fly through seven orange warp rings after the cluster of meteors to trigger a cutscene and enter an alternate version, leading to Katina. Ignoring the warp takes you to Katina normally.
- **Sector Y Alternate Path** [3:43] — On Sector Y, earn 100 hits or more to unlock the hard route to Aquas. Score 99 hits or fewer for the easy route to Katina. Split up with Peppy and take the top route for more enemies. Bosses give 16 extra hits combined.
- **Mission 3: Titania, Katina, Aquas** [4:28] — Titania requires defeating Star Wolf before time runs out to go to Solar; failure sends you to Sector X. Katina requires destroying Saucerer's core within one minute after destroying four vents to go to Solar; failure sends you to Sector X. Aquas always leads to Zoness.
- **Sector X Warp and Branching** [5:43] — Sector X has three outcomes: left fork after checkpoint, shoot four large rectangular panels to trigger a cutscene and warp to Sector Z. Standard route leads to Spyborg; if Slippy reprograms Spyborg quickly, you go to Macbeth; otherwise, Slippy is destroyed and you go to Titania.
- **Zoness Stealth Objective** [8:28] — On Zoness, shoot all spotlights without being detected to unlock alternate path to Sector Z. If any spotlight detects you, you go to Macbeth. Kat helps but misses often.
- **Macbeth Train Lock Sequence** [9:21] — On Macbeth, shoot all eight train locks and the track switch to reach Area 6. Locks appear on both sides, with the hardest (lock five) during the boss fight. Missing any or the switch sends you to Bolse.
- **Sector Z Missile Defense** [11:27] — On Sector Z, destroy six Copperhead missiles (in three waves of 1, 2, 3) headed for Great Fox to unlock Area 6. Any missile hitting sends you to Bolse.
- **Mission 6: Bolse vs Area 6** [12:01] — Mission 6 branches: Bolse always leads to Venom 1 (fake ending). Area 6 always leads to Venom 2 (true ending). If on Bolse, restart campaign for true ending.
- **Mission 7: Venom Endings** [12:38] — Venom 1 is easier and leads to fake ending with no true final boss. Venom 2 leads to true ending with true final boss and credits.
- **Conclusion** [13:18] — Video covers all alternate paths. Encourages viewers to check IGN wiki for stage medals and other game guides.

### Conclusion

To get the true ending, you must navigate through a series of specific alternate paths culminating in Area 6 and then Venom 2. Mastering these routes is essential for experiencing all the content in Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2.

## Transcript

Starfox 64 is known in part for being
one of the shortest Nintendo first-party
games of all time, at least if your only
goal is to beat Andross on the basic
route. But, a single playthrough only
shows a fraction of what's actually in
the campaign. There are 16 stages in
Starfox on Switch 2, and nine of them
feature alternate paths that are
required to access a large portion of
the game. In this video, I'll go stage
by stage to explain how to unlock every
alternate path in Starfox for Nintendo
Switch 2.
A full campaign run consists of seven
missions, with the first always being
Corneria and the final being either
Venom 1 or Venom 2, depending on the
route you take and whether you're going
for the true ending. But, when I say
seven missions, each of the missions
between Mission 2 and Mission 6 can be
one of two or three stages. Note that if
you're trying to get the true ending,
you'll need to make sure that your sixth
mission takes place on Area 6. There are
multiple routes that will take you
there, so don't worry if you mess up an
early alternate route, as there will be
more points that will allow you to get
back on track. Also, another thing to
keep in mind is that when I mention that
one path leads to one stage, while
another path leads to another,
oftentimes achieving the alternate path
will let you choose what your next stage
will be out of the two you just
unlocked. It's not always the case,
though, so take a look at this map to
get a full scope on where every path
could lead you.
With all that in mind, let's start from
the beginning and break down how each
branch unfolds and how to achieve those
branching paths, mission by mission.
Corneria is where the game first teaches
you that your performance actually
matters and that listening to what your
teammates are saying is often a clue on
how to get the secret exits. Corneria's
alternate path begins shortly after the
checkpoint. When Falco says he's lining
up enemies for you, destroy the group
chasing him to keep him alive. As you
reach the water, Falco will point out
the archways and lead you through them.
Fly underneath all seven stone arches,
then follow him through the waterfall to
defeat the boss.
>> That was the easy part, Fox.
Beginner's luck.
I've got eyes on a high-value target.
Follow me.
>> You'd better be right about this, Falco.
>> Completing Falco's challenge unlocks a
choice between Sector Y and Titania. If
Falco is defeated or you miss the
challenge, you'll be forced into
Titania.
From here, the campaign immediately
splits, and Mission 2 becomes one of the
first major branching points in the
game. For Titania, it has two exits, one
of which is a warp. Around the middle of
the stage, you'll pass through a
hollowed-out asteroid before reaching a
checkpoint. Shortly after, Slippy will
mention a strange energy source, and
you'll see a cluster of small meteors
ahead. After the cluster, you'll spot an
orange warp tunnel. Enter it, and your
Arwing will begin to spin. There are
seven warp rings in total. Fly through
all of them to trigger a cutscene and
enter an alternate version of the stage.
>> Never give up. Trust your instincts.
>> Completing this will get you access to
Katina. If you ignore the warp rings and
complete the stage normally, you'll
instead go to Katina.
If you chose Sector Y as your second
mission, the alternate path is as
follows.
Earn 100 or more hits to unlock the hard
route, which leads to Aquas.
Score 99 hits or fewer and you'll take
the easy route to Katina. About halfway
through the stage, Peppy will shout out
that you guys should split up. I
recommend taking the top route as it has
far more enemies than the bottom route.
This should give you more than 100 hits
easily. As you can see, I enter the boss
with over 150. But, if you're a bit
short of 100, the bosses will give you a
combined 16 extra hits. You want to keep
that in mind if you want to stay under
100 hits as you'll need to enter the
boss with fewer than 83 hits. Which is
easy. Just don't shoot that many things.
>> The time bomb has been planted.
>> By mission 3, the game starts layering
both time pressure and objective-based
conditions on top of each other, making
route control much more demanding.
Titania's hard route requires you to
defeat Star Wolf before the time runs
out. This isn't very difficult. Just use
the mini-map to keep track of the enemy
crew. They're the purple icons. After
defeating them, Fox will diffuse the
bomb and the mission will be complete
and you'll be shipped off to Solar. If
you fail to defeat Star Wolf in time,
you'll be routed to Sector X. Katina
follows a similar structure to Titania
in that it's an all-range battle that
pitch you against an enemy with a time
limit. But, instead of a crew, it's a
boss named Saucerer. There won't be a
timer at first, so you'll need to make
multiple passes destroying the
Saucerer's vents as they open. Once all
four are down, the core will be exposed
and a minute-long timer will begin.
Simply destroy the core to complete the
stage and be sent to Solar. If you fail,
you'll be treated to an Independence Day
style cutscene and you'll be sent to
Sector X. Aquas is the only exception
here in mission 3, acting as a linear
stage with no branching conditions. It
always leads to Zoness regardless of
performance.
In the mission 4 stages, the route
structure becomes significantly more
complex, combining hidden triggers,
performance gates, and conditional
branching across multiple possible
destinations. Sector X is the only stage
in the game that features both a hidden
warp route and two branching paths,
giving you three possible outcomes. For
the warp route, after the checkpoint,
take the left fork and shoot the large
rectangular panels until they open.
You'll spot these after the obstacle
course of moving platforms. Shoo and fly
through all four of them, which then
triggers a cutscene and an alternate
ending of the stage.
>> Heads up, Fox.
Keep at it.
Get your eyes checked, Fox.
Warping out? You've got guts, Fox.
We've got to see where this leads.
>> Taking the warp path takes you to Sector
Z.
Alternatively, if you take the standard
route, you'll face Spyborg. To reach
him, just play the stage like normal
without entering the warp zones. Going
left or right at the split doesn't
matter. Spyborg has two phases, and
depending on how the second phase goes
is what determines what path you'll get.
After destroying his eyeballs, Spyborg
will power down for a moment before
kicking back into gear for phase two.
Once this happens, Slippy shouts that
they are going to attempt to get close
and reprogram Spyborg. You need to
prevent this from happening to get the
alternate path exit. To do that, focus
your firepower on the head where the
lights are.
If you succeed
>> take him down before Slippy gets to him,
Slippy will pout about not being able to
reprogram him, but you'll have achieved
the alternate path which leads to
Macbeth. If you don't defeat Spyborg
before Slippy approaches him, he'll swat
Slippy out of the way, destroying their
ship and preventing you from heading to
Macbeth. You'll instead be sent to
Titania. If your goal is to reach
Macbeth, the moment Slippy goes down,
pause the game and hit restart, then
restart from the latest checkpoint. This
will prevent you from having to replay
the entire stage and quickly give you
another shot at saving Slippy. If your
fourth mission is Solar, then your job
is easy. Solar has no branching paths at
all. Defeating the boss will always lead
you to Macbeth.
If you did Aquas in mission three, then
mission four will always be Zoness,
which introduces a stealth style
objective into the routing system,
requiring you to shoot all of the
spotlights throughout the stage. There
are a lot of them and they typically
show up in clusters. Luckily, your
charged laser targeting can lock onto
them and Kat, an old friend of Falco's,
will show up during the second cluster
to help you out. Though, my
recommendation is to not rely on her
help too much, as she misses more than
she hits. If you destroy all the
spotlights without being detected,
you'll unlock the alternate path to
Sector Z. If any searchlight spots you,
you'll instead be routed to Macbeth.
By mission five, most of the remaining
branches are determined by execution
under pressure, where small mistakes can
permanently alter your path. Except for
Titania. If you fail to save Slippy
against the Spyborg in Sector X, your
mission five will be Titania, which is
linear and will always send you to
Bolse. If your fifth mission is Macbeth,
the branching path revolves around
precision during the train lock sequence
at the end of the stage. To achieve the
alternate path condition, you'll need to
shoot all eight train locks with the
tank, as well as the track switch. This
is honestly one of the hardest alternate
path conditions in the game, as it
requires you to not only keep track of
finding all eight locks, but the final
four locks are during the boss fight. As
you approach the final stretch of the
stage, Peppy will say that you need to
shoot all eight locks. This is your cue
that the first one is coming up. Lock
one is on the right side of the track.
Lock two is also on the right side of
the track, just behind and to the right
of lock one. Lock three is on the left
side of the track, so you'll need to
make sure enough of the train cars are
destroyed to cross over. Lock four is
right in line with lock three, but on
the right side of the track. I recommend
using your brake here to make sure you
have time to shoot them both.
Lock five is the hardest one to hit, as
it's on the left side of the track as
the boss emerges. So, go slow, brake
often, and make sure to not miss it.
>> Lucky you.
>> At this point, you'll need to just
ignore the boss. We won't be fighting
him at all. Lock six is on the right
side of the track behind a shutter that
you need to shoot to open up. Three
shots open it, but hitting it again will
force it closed. Lock seven is once
again on the left side of the track,
which is even with lock eight, which is
on the right side. Luckily, if Falco is
alive, he will offer to shoot the eighth
lock. Once you've hit all eight locks,
you'll need to hit the final rail
switch. It's on the right side of the
track just after the falling spikes.
It's fine if you have the health to take
some damage here. Just make sure you
don't miss the switch. You'll know you
hit it when the hits plus 50 icon shows
up. Completing the train lock puzzle
will send you to area six. If you fail
to hit all of the locks or the final
switch, you'll be shipped off to Bolse.
If Sector Z is your mission five, you'll
be treated with one of the easiest
alternate path
Halfway through the mission, a cutscene
featuring Rob 64 will play showing you
that six Copperhead missiles are headed
towards the Great Fox. These move super
slow and are easy to hit. They'll come
in three waves. First one missile, then
two,
then three. Destroy them all before they
reach the Great Fox to unlock Area 6. If
any missile hits, the mission will end
and you'll be routed to Bolse.
Mission 6 is where most of the paths
converge. At this point, the branching
structure collapses into a final split
between the game's two end-game routes.
If your Mission 6 is Bolse, it only has
one route and always leads to Venom 1,
the easier path to the ending. Venom 1
will pit you against Andross, but this
is not the true ending. This means that
if your Mission 6 is Bolse, you'll need
to restart the campaign if you are
seeking the true ending. Area 6 is the
same as Bolse and that it only has one
route which leads to Venom 2. If you are
in Area 6, congrats, you are on your way
to the true ending.
All right, time for Mission 7. Just
note, although Venom appears as a single
location on the map and only has one
medal in the main game, it's actually
two separate missions depending on your
route, as I just mentioned with Area 6
and Bolse. At this point, everything
funnels into the final confrontation,
but the game still tracks how you got
there. Venom 1 leads to the fake ending
and does not allow you to face the true
final boss or see the true ending.
Complete this mission to finish this run
of the campaign. Venom 2 leads to the
true ending and allows you to face the
true final boss. Completing this mission
will let you see the true ending and
will reward you with the game's ending
credits.
And that is it. That is every single
alternate path detailed in Star Fox for
Nintendo Switch 2. I hope you enjoyed
the video and for more on Star Fox, make
sure to head on over to our wiki over on
ign.com, where we have written guides
for obtaining all the stage medals. And
of course, for everything else video
games, stick with IGN.
>> Enemy fighters here.