Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 is a faithful remake of Star Fox 64. A famously short game, but one with a huge amount of replayability as players chase high scores and find alternative routes through the Lylat System. If you don’t know how to find those alternative routes, however, figuring out what exactly the unlock requirements are for all of them can be a tall order.
There are certain levels in Star Fox that, if you do the right thing, you will be presented with options as to which planet you want to visit next. Fail to complete the hidden objective, and you will simply progress to the next level. If you need a little guidance regarding what it is you have to do on any of the Star Fox levels that have secret missions which unlock alternate routes, all of them, including advice on how to complete some of the trickier ones, can be found below.
The missions you need to complete to unlock alternate routes in the Star Fox remake are identical to the ones from Star Fox 64, so you can use this guide to help navigate the N64’s Lylat System, too.
Corneria
- Rescue Falco and fly through all seven stone arches (Sector Y)
No matter which route you take on your Star Fox journey, everyone starts on the same planet – Corneria. Progress through this iconic opening level normally, and you will move on to Meteo.
If you want to be presented with the option of going to Sector Y next instead, and embark on what is famously considered to be the harder route through the game, then you have to take out the enemies tailing Falco when he asks for your help, and then fly through all seven arches once Falco issues you the challenge. Check those two boxes, and Falco will lead you through a waterfall to a hidden boss fight that, once complete, will provide you with a branching path on the galaxy map.
Meteo
- Fly through all seven energy anomalies (Katina).
If you complete Meteo as normal, you will carry on the standard Star Fox route and head to Fichinat. If you want to mix things up when you get to Meteo, then you will need to fly through all seven of the level’s energy anomalies. Don’t worry if it feels like you’ve missed them – they don’t appear until near the end of the level, and then they all appear one after the other.
That’s provided you don’t miss any. They look like orange portals (pictured above), and as soon as you miss one, the others will disappear, and your alternate route to Katina will be unavailable. Just to make the task at hand even trickier, every time you pass through one of the anomalies, your Arwing will speed up.
Sector Y
- Score 100 hit points (Aquas).
If you unlocked and chose the alternate route in Corneria, then your next port of call will be Sector Y. The alternate route you can unlock after that is a pretty simple one. So simple that you might unlock it without even realizing what criteria you met to make that happen.
That’s because all you have to do in Sector Y to unlock an alternate route that gives you the option of moving on to Aquas instead of Katina is get 100 hit points. There are plenty of opportunities to rack up that score, too, with Andross’s forces descending en masse. Ships, projectiles, turrets – take out everything you can, it all counts towards your total, and remember to lock on to targets so that you take out multiple enemies at a time as often as possible.
There are no alternate routes to unlock in Aquas.
Katina
- Take down the Saucerer before time runs out (Solar).
Take the standard route out of Sector Y or the alternate route out of Meteo, and you’ll find yourself on Katina. This is the first level in the game that turns it from an on-rails shooter into an all-range affair. You’re in a dog fight against enemy forces, and eventually, the Saucerer, their mothership, will enter the fray.
You have to take down the Saucerer before the level ends to unlock the alternate route out of Katina. The giant ship’s hatches will open periodically to release more enemy fighters. When it does, unleash everything you’ve got on the open hatches that will be glowing yellow, similar to the weak points during boss fights. Do so before the clock hits zero, and you can go to Solar. If the Saucerer survives, you’re going to Sector X.
Fichina
- Take down Star Fox before time runs out (Solar).
If you don’t take the alternate routes in Corneria or Meteo, Fichina will be the first time you encounter an all-range level. It will also serve as your introduction to Star Wolf, Star Fox’s villainous counterparts. They won’t arrive on the scene until you’ve had some time to get to grips with how all-range mode works, though.
Good job, too, as the objective you will need to complete to unlock an alternate route out of Fichina is to defeat Star Fox. That means take down all four members of the enemy squad before the time runs out. If all four members of Star Wolf are downed before the timer hits zero, you have the option to visit Solar next. If there are surviving members of the enemy team, it’s off to Sector X.
Zoness
- Destroy all 36 searchlights without being spotted (Sector Z).
The alternate route objective in Zoness is perhaps the hardest in the whole game. The stage is supposed to be a stealth mission, but like any good game with stealth elements, you can completely ignore them if you wish. The trouble with doing that here is that going in all guns blazing means no alternative route to choose at the end of the level.
Zoness is littered with spotlights. 36 of them, to be exact. Not only do you have to destroy every last one of them to have the option to move on to Sector Z, but if even one of them spots you, it’s game over. Well, an opportunity to take the alternative route over. Stay low, and do your best to keep your squad mates in the fight, as they will, on occasion, take out some of the spotlights for you. If you’re spotted, you’ll be heading to Macbeth next.
There are routes to Solar through Katina and Fichina, but there is no alternate route out of it. The only place you can go after completing Solar is Macbeth.
Sector X
- Defeat the boss fight before Slippy tries to help (Macbeth).
- Find the hidden wormhole (Sector Z).
Even though Sector X is accessible by taking the easiest route possible, it is one of the most complex when it comes to alternate routes. That’s because there are two of them to unlock, and a total of three places you could end up upon completing this level.
If you complete Sector X as intended, Slippy will interfere with the level’s boss fight and quickly get struck out of the sky, crash landing on Titania. That means you will have to go there next to rescue him. However, if you beat the boss quickly enough, Slippy never has the chance to get involved, and you can head to Macbeth instead.
There is a third, very different way out of Sector X through a wormhole that, if found, propels you to the other side of the galaxy. When presented with a fork partway through the level, go left. You’ll eventually come across panels with a blueish-white glow. Shoot them enough, and you will unlock a wormhole that provides you with an alternate route to Sector Z.
Sector Z
- Destroy all six copperhead missiles (Area 6).
There are two ways into Sector Z – either you destroy all 36 searchlights in Zoness without being detected, or you find the hidden wormhole in Sector X. Once you’re here, you are just one step away from making it to Area 6, which is the final stop you need to take on the route to Venom that ends with the more difficult showdown against Andross, and the alternate, better ending to the game.
Unlocking Area 6 through Sector Z is easier said than done, though. This level is the toughest all-range stage in the game. You have to escort the Great Fox through a sea of enemies, all while Andross’s forces fire massive copperhead missiles at the giant target you’ve been tasked to protect.
If you want the Great Fox to make it out the other side unscathed, you have to take down all six missiles before they make contact. My advice is to ignore everything else – your crewmates will repeatedly request your help – and get behind the missiles as they arrive. That way, you can deal a steady stream of damage until they explode. Destroy all six, and you move onto Area 6. If one of the missiles hits the Great Fox, the mission ends, and you go to Bolse instead.
Macbeth
- Shoot all eight rail locks and then the rail switch (Area 6).
If you haven’t managed to find your way to Sector Z, there is still a way to get to Area 6 and play through the true ending of Star Fox. You have to make it to Macbeth, though, which you can reach in several ways. Through Solar, by failing to take out the spotlights on Zoness, or by beating the Sector X boss before Slippy has the opportunity to try and help.
Macbeth is a Landmaster level, one where you are chasing a train throughout. Your mission is to send the train off course, and to do that, you will need to shoot all eight rail locks and then the rail switch at the end. The rail locks are numbered from one to eight, and they will turn from red to green once activated. If you miss a lock or the final switch, you’ll be sent to Bolse after finishing Macbeth.
Titania does not have an alternate route to unlock, nor do Bolse and Area 6.
Venom 2 – True Ending
- Reach Venom through Area 6 (Venom 2).
To unlock Venom 2 in Star Fox, where you fight the real Andross and experience the true ending of the game, you need to access the final stage by going through Area 6. You can do that by either destroying all six copperhead missiles in Sector Z or hitting all eight rail locks and then the rail switch in Macbeth.
Venom 2 provides a far tougher challenge and a more satisfying and definite ending than the one you experience by getting to Venom through Bolse. After downing all four members of Star Wolf, you’ll enter the fortress to take on Andross. Here, Andross’s true form is revealed – a creepy brain with glowing eyes that you won’t see in the regular Venom.
After defeating Andross, you will play through a segment that isn’t a part of the other ending. Fly back through the fortress as it falls around you, guided by what turns out to be the ghost, or the memory, of Fox’s father, James McCloud.
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