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

[00:00] Starfox 64 is known in part for being

[00:03] one of the shortest Nintendo first-party

[00:05] games of all time, at least if your only

[00:07] goal is to beat Andross on the basic

[00:09] route. But, a single playthrough only

[00:11] shows a fraction of what's actually in

[00:14] the campaign. There are 16 stages in

[00:16] Starfox on Switch 2, and nine of them

[00:19] feature alternate paths that are

[00:20] required to access a large portion of

[00:22] the game. In this video, I'll go stage

[00:25] by stage to explain how to unlock every

[00:27] alternate path in Starfox for Nintendo

[00:30] Switch 2.

[00:31] A full campaign run consists of seven

[00:34] missions, with the first always being

[00:36] Corneria and the final being either

[00:38] Venom 1 or Venom 2, depending on the

[00:40] route you take and whether you're going

[00:42] for the true ending. But, when I say

[00:44] seven missions, each of the missions

[00:46] between Mission 2 and Mission 6 can be

[00:49] one of two or three stages. Note that if

[00:52] you're trying to get the true ending,

[00:54] you'll need to make sure that your sixth

[00:56] mission takes place on Area 6. There are

[00:59] multiple routes that will take you

[01:00] there, so don't worry if you mess up an

[01:02] early alternate route, as there will be

[01:04] more points that will allow you to get

[01:06] back on track. Also, another thing to

[01:08] keep in mind is that when I mention that

[01:10] one path leads to one stage, while

[01:12] another path leads to another,

[01:14] oftentimes achieving the alternate path

[01:17] will let you choose what your next stage

[01:18] will be out of the two you just

[01:20] unlocked. It's not always the case,

[01:22] though, so take a look at this map to

[01:24] get a full scope on where every path

[01:26] could lead you.

[01:28] With all that in mind, let's start from

[01:29] the beginning and break down how each

[01:31] branch unfolds and how to achieve those

[01:34] branching paths, mission by mission.

[01:39] Corneria is where the game first teaches

[01:41] you that your performance actually

[01:42] matters and that listening to what your

[01:44] teammates are saying is often a clue on

[01:46] how to get the secret exits. Corneria's

[01:49] alternate path begins shortly after the

[01:51] checkpoint. When Falco says he's lining

[01:54] up enemies for you, destroy the group

[01:56] chasing him to keep him alive. As you

[01:58] reach the water, Falco will point out

[02:00] the archways and lead you through them.

[02:02] Fly underneath all seven stone arches,

[02:05] then follow him through the waterfall to

[02:06] defeat the boss.

[02:10] >> That was the easy part, Fox.

[02:18] Beginner's luck.

[02:23] I've got eyes on a high-value target.

[02:25] Follow me.

[02:28] >> You'd better be right about this, Falco.

[02:30] >> Completing Falco's challenge unlocks a

[02:32] choice between Sector Y and Titania. If

[02:35] Falco is defeated or you miss the

[02:37] challenge, you'll be forced into

[02:39] Titania.

[02:42] From here, the campaign immediately

[02:44] splits, and Mission 2 becomes one of the

[02:46] first major branching points in the

[02:48] game. For Titania, it has two exits, one

[02:51] of which is a warp. Around the middle of

[02:53] the stage, you'll pass through a

[02:54] hollowed-out asteroid before reaching a

[02:56] checkpoint. Shortly after, Slippy will

[02:58] mention a strange energy source, and

[03:01] you'll see a cluster of small meteors

[03:03] ahead. After the cluster, you'll spot an

[03:05] orange warp tunnel. Enter it, and your

[03:08] Arwing will begin to spin. There are

[03:10] seven warp rings in total. Fly through

[03:12] all of them to trigger a cutscene and

[03:14] enter an alternate version of the stage.

[03:16] >> Never give up. Trust your instincts.

[03:34] >> Completing this will get you access to

[03:36] Katina. If you ignore the warp rings and

[03:39] complete the stage normally, you'll

[03:41] instead go to Katina.

[03:43] If you chose Sector Y as your second

[03:45] mission, the alternate path is as

[03:47] follows.

[03:48] Earn 100 or more hits to unlock the hard

[03:51] route, which leads to Aquas.

[03:54] Score 99 hits or fewer and you'll take

[03:56] the easy route to Katina. About halfway

[03:58] through the stage, Peppy will shout out

[04:00] that you guys should split up. I

[04:02] recommend taking the top route as it has

[04:04] far more enemies than the bottom route.

[04:07] This should give you more than 100 hits

[04:08] easily. As you can see, I enter the boss

[04:11] with over 150. But, if you're a bit

[04:14] short of 100, the bosses will give you a

[04:16] combined 16 extra hits. You want to keep

[04:19] that in mind if you want to stay under

[04:21] 100 hits as you'll need to enter the

[04:23] boss with fewer than 83 hits. Which is

[04:25] easy. Just don't shoot that many things.

[04:28] >> The time bomb has been planted.

[04:30] >> By mission 3, the game starts layering

[04:32] both time pressure and objective-based

[04:33] conditions on top of each other, making

[04:36] route control much more demanding.

[04:38] Titania's hard route requires you to

[04:39] defeat Star Wolf before the time runs

[04:41] out. This isn't very difficult. Just use

[04:44] the mini-map to keep track of the enemy

[04:46] crew. They're the purple icons. After

[04:49] defeating them, Fox will diffuse the

[04:50] bomb and the mission will be complete

[04:52] and you'll be shipped off to Solar. If

[04:54] you fail to defeat Star Wolf in time,

[04:57] you'll be routed to Sector X. Katina

[04:59] follows a similar structure to Titania

[05:02] in that it's an all-range battle that

[05:03] pitch you against an enemy with a time

[05:05] limit. But, instead of a crew, it's a

[05:07] boss named Saucerer. There won't be a

[05:10] timer at first, so you'll need to make

[05:12] multiple passes destroying the

[05:13] Saucerer's vents as they open. Once all

[05:16] four are down, the core will be exposed

[05:18] and a minute-long timer will begin.

[05:21] Simply destroy the core to complete the

[05:22] stage and be sent to Solar. If you fail,

[05:25] you'll be treated to an Independence Day

[05:27] style cutscene and you'll be sent to

[05:29] Sector X. Aquas is the only exception

[05:32] here in mission 3, acting as a linear

[05:35] stage with no branching conditions. It

[05:38] always leads to Zoness regardless of

[05:40] performance.

[05:43] In the mission 4 stages, the route

[05:45] structure becomes significantly more

[05:47] complex, combining hidden triggers,

[05:49] performance gates, and conditional

[05:51] branching across multiple possible

[05:53] destinations. Sector X is the only stage

[05:56] in the game that features both a hidden

[05:57] warp route and two branching paths,

[06:00] giving you three possible outcomes. For

[06:02] the warp route, after the checkpoint,

[06:05] take the left fork and shoot the large

[06:07] rectangular panels until they open.

[06:09] You'll spot these after the obstacle

[06:11] course of moving platforms. Shoo and fly

[06:14] through all four of them, which then

[06:16] triggers a cutscene and an alternate

[06:18] ending of the stage.

[06:24] >> Heads up, Fox.

[06:26] Keep at it.

[06:34] Get your eyes checked, Fox.

[06:39] Warping out? You've got guts, Fox.

[06:43] We've got to see where this leads.

[06:48] >> Taking the warp path takes you to Sector

[06:50] Z.

[06:52] Alternatively, if you take the standard

[06:54] route, you'll face Spyborg. To reach

[06:57] him, just play the stage like normal

[06:58] without entering the warp zones. Going

[07:00] left or right at the split doesn't

[07:02] matter. Spyborg has two phases, and

[07:05] depending on how the second phase goes

[07:07] is what determines what path you'll get.

[07:09] After destroying his eyeballs, Spyborg

[07:12] will power down for a moment before

[07:14] kicking back into gear for phase two.

[07:16] Once this happens, Slippy shouts that

[07:18] they are going to attempt to get close

[07:19] and reprogram Spyborg. You need to

[07:22] prevent this from happening to get the

[07:23] alternate path exit. To do that, focus

[07:26] your firepower on the head where the

[07:28] lights are.

[07:44] If you succeed

[07:45] >> take him down before Slippy gets to him,

[07:48] Slippy will pout about not being able to

[07:50] reprogram him, but you'll have achieved

[07:52] the alternate path which leads to

[07:53] Macbeth. If you don't defeat Spyborg

[07:56] before Slippy approaches him, he'll swat

[07:58] Slippy out of the way, destroying their

[08:00] ship and preventing you from heading to

[08:02] Macbeth. You'll instead be sent to

[08:04] Titania. If your goal is to reach

[08:06] Macbeth, the moment Slippy goes down,

[08:09] pause the game and hit restart, then

[08:11] restart from the latest checkpoint. This

[08:13] will prevent you from having to replay

[08:15] the entire stage and quickly give you

[08:17] another shot at saving Slippy. If your

[08:20] fourth mission is Solar, then your job

[08:22] is easy. Solar has no branching paths at

[08:25] all. Defeating the boss will always lead

[08:27] you to Macbeth.

[08:28] If you did Aquas in mission three, then

[08:31] mission four will always be Zoness,

[08:33] which introduces a stealth style

[08:35] objective into the routing system,

[08:37] requiring you to shoot all of the

[08:39] spotlights throughout the stage. There

[08:41] are a lot of them and they typically

[08:43] show up in clusters. Luckily, your

[08:45] charged laser targeting can lock onto

[08:47] them and Kat, an old friend of Falco's,

[08:50] will show up during the second cluster

[08:52] to help you out. Though, my

[08:54] recommendation is to not rely on her

[08:56] help too much, as she misses more than

[08:59] she hits. If you destroy all the

[09:01] spotlights without being detected,

[09:03] you'll unlock the alternate path to

[09:04] Sector Z. If any searchlight spots you,

[09:08] you'll instead be routed to Macbeth.

[09:12] By mission five, most of the remaining

[09:14] branches are determined by execution

[09:16] under pressure, where small mistakes can

[09:18] permanently alter your path. Except for

[09:21] Titania. If you fail to save Slippy

[09:23] against the Spyborg in Sector X, your

[09:26] mission five will be Titania, which is

[09:28] linear and will always send you to

[09:30] Bolse. If your fifth mission is Macbeth,

[09:33] the branching path revolves around

[09:35] precision during the train lock sequence

[09:37] at the end of the stage. To achieve the

[09:39] alternate path condition, you'll need to

[09:41] shoot all eight train locks with the

[09:43] tank, as well as the track switch. This

[09:46] is honestly one of the hardest alternate

[09:48] path conditions in the game, as it

[09:50] requires you to not only keep track of

[09:52] finding all eight locks, but the final

[09:54] four locks are during the boss fight. As

[09:57] you approach the final stretch of the

[09:58] stage, Peppy will say that you need to

[10:01] shoot all eight locks. This is your cue

[10:03] that the first one is coming up. Lock

[10:05] one is on the right side of the track.

[10:08] Lock two is also on the right side of

[10:10] the track, just behind and to the right

[10:12] of lock one. Lock three is on the left

[10:15] side of the track, so you'll need to

[10:16] make sure enough of the train cars are

[10:18] destroyed to cross over. Lock four is

[10:20] right in line with lock three, but on

[10:22] the right side of the track. I recommend

[10:24] using your brake here to make sure you

[10:26] have time to shoot them both.

[10:28] Lock five is the hardest one to hit, as

[10:30] it's on the left side of the track as

[10:32] the boss emerges. So, go slow, brake

[10:34] often, and make sure to not miss it.

[10:36] >> Lucky you.

[10:39] >> At this point, you'll need to just

[10:40] ignore the boss. We won't be fighting

[10:42] him at all. Lock six is on the right

[10:45] side of the track behind a shutter that

[10:46] you need to shoot to open up. Three

[10:49] shots open it, but hitting it again will

[10:51] force it closed. Lock seven is once

[10:53] again on the left side of the track,

[10:55] which is even with lock eight, which is

[10:57] on the right side. Luckily, if Falco is

[10:59] alive, he will offer to shoot the eighth

[11:02] lock. Once you've hit all eight locks,

[11:04] you'll need to hit the final rail

[11:06] switch. It's on the right side of the

[11:07] track just after the falling spikes.

[11:10] It's fine if you have the health to take

[11:12] some damage here. Just make sure you

[11:13] don't miss the switch. You'll know you

[11:15] hit it when the hits plus 50 icon shows

[11:18] up. Completing the train lock puzzle

[11:20] will send you to area six. If you fail

[11:22] to hit all of the locks or the final

[11:24] switch, you'll be shipped off to Bolse.

[11:27] If Sector Z is your mission five, you'll

[11:29] be treated with one of the easiest

[11:31] alternate path

[11:33] Halfway through the mission, a cutscene

[11:34] featuring Rob 64 will play showing you

[11:37] that six Copperhead missiles are headed

[11:39] towards the Great Fox. These move super

[11:42] slow and are easy to hit. They'll come

[11:44] in three waves. First one missile, then

[11:46] two,

[11:47] then three. Destroy them all before they

[11:49] reach the Great Fox to unlock Area 6. If

[11:52] any missile hits, the mission will end

[11:55] and you'll be routed to Bolse.

[11:59] Mission 6 is where most of the paths

[12:01] converge. At this point, the branching

[12:03] structure collapses into a final split

[12:06] between the game's two end-game routes.

[12:08] If your Mission 6 is Bolse, it only has

[12:11] one route and always leads to Venom 1,

[12:13] the easier path to the ending. Venom 1

[12:16] will pit you against Andross, but this

[12:18] is not the true ending. This means that

[12:20] if your Mission 6 is Bolse, you'll need

[12:22] to restart the campaign if you are

[12:24] seeking the true ending. Area 6 is the

[12:27] same as Bolse and that it only has one

[12:29] route which leads to Venom 2. If you are

[12:32] in Area 6, congrats, you are on your way

[12:35] to the true ending.

[12:38] All right, time for Mission 7. Just

[12:40] note, although Venom appears as a single

[12:42] location on the map and only has one

[12:44] medal in the main game, it's actually

[12:47] two separate missions depending on your

[12:48] route, as I just mentioned with Area 6

[12:50] and Bolse. At this point, everything

[12:53] funnels into the final confrontation,

[12:55] but the game still tracks how you got

[12:56] there. Venom 1 leads to the fake ending

[12:59] and does not allow you to face the true

[13:01] final boss or see the true ending.

[13:03] Complete this mission to finish this run

[13:05] of the campaign. Venom 2 leads to the

[13:08] true ending and allows you to face the

[13:10] true final boss. Completing this mission

[13:12] will let you see the true ending and

[13:14] will reward you with the game's ending

[13:16] credits.

[13:18] And that is it. That is every single

[13:20] alternate path detailed in Star Fox for

[13:22] Nintendo Switch 2. I hope you enjoyed

[13:25] the video and for more on Star Fox, make

[13:27] sure to head on over to our wiki over on

[13:29] ign.com, where we have written guides

[13:31] for obtaining all the stage medals. And

[13:33] of course, for everything else video

[13:34] games, stick with IGN.

[13:40] >> Enemy fighters here.