The first Super NES game to utilize Nintendo's "Super FX" technology, making 3-D polygonal graphics possible on the system.
Originally made as a test program for the "Super FX" technology, but eventually released as a game by Nintendo.
Depending on which one of the three routes the player takes, it is possible to reach two hidden areas. One is the "The Awesome Black Hole", where it is possible to warp to other stages, including the final stage Venom. The second area is called "Out of this Dimension", where the player encounters a giant flying slot machine. However, after completing that area, the game has to be reset, as there is no way to get to the other stages.
A direct sequel to this game was made, called Star Fox 2, planned for a 1995 release. Instead of choosing a predetermined linear path of missions, Star Fox 2 featured a semi-real time strategy gameplay in which both player and hostile forces move freely over the star map, and both can select which forces to engage in any desired order. Although the game was finished, Nintendo decided not to release it, because the 16-bit 3D graphics compared poorly to the 32-bit graphics of the PlayStation and Sega Saturn consoles that were released around the same time. Nintendo instead decided to concentrate their efforts on a Star Fox game for their next console, the Nintendo 64, which would become Star Fox 64 (1997). The real time strategy elements would later be used in Star Fox Command (2006), and the game itself would finally be released 22 years later as an unlockable game on the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017.
This Star Fox game is included as part of the 21 games on the SNES mini console and Super Famicom Mini console.