Fox McCloud

Fox McCloud
Star Fox character
File:Foxcommand.jpg Fox McCloud in Star Fox Command.
First game	Star Fox (1993)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto, Takaya Imamura

Fox McCloud (フォックス・マクラウド, Fokkusu Makuraudo) is a fictional anthropomorphic fox character from the Star Fox series of video games. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and designed by Takaya Imamura. As his name implies, he is a fox (although anthropomorphized), and the main protagonist of the series. According to the Star Fox 64 Player's Guide, Fox's image was modeled after the Japanese god Inari's foxes (kitsune), though they are white while McCloud bears Red Fox markings. Fox usually even wears a red "Scarf" around his neck, much like the statues at the Inari shrines.

In each game the player controls Fox, either on the ground or in his Arwing. He is the leader of the Star Fox team, and is joined by his wingmates on various missions.

In the English release of Star Fox 64, he was voiced by Mike West. In both the Japanese release of Star Fox 64 and Super Smash Bros. series, Fox's voices were done by Shinobu Satouchi. For English dialogue of Super Smash Bros. Melee and Star Fox Adventures, Fox's voice was done by Rare's Steve Malpass. In Star Fox: Assault, his voice was done by Jim Walker in the English release and by Kenji Nojima in the Japanese release.

Physical appearance

In the original Star Fox, Fox wears an orange suit with a flight jacket and gray boots, along with a communication device on his head. In Star Fox 64, his suit is green instead of orange, his jacket sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and now bears green eyes. In Super Smash Bros. and its sequel, Melee, Fox appears as he did in Star Fox 64. In Star Fox Adventures, he has a white vest instead of a jacket, his headgear is replaced with a device on his wrist, and wears a knee pad on his left leg. He also wears a large backpack for carrying items, such as Krystal's Staff and the CloudRunner Flute. In Star Fox: Assault, his appearance changes drastically. He wears a green and red jumpsuit, a white vest, pads on his knees and shoulders, and his boots are red and black instead of gray. As in Adventures, his communication device is on his wrist. In Star Fox Command, Fox has gone back to his Star Fox 64 attire, but without his sleeves rolled up. In the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Fox has a similar appearance of his Star Fox 64 and Command designs, and now holds his blaster in his right hand at all times.

History

Early life

Fox is the son of the Star Fox team's founder, James McCloud. His mother has never been mentioned in the actual games, but the Nintendo Power comic detailed her as Vixy Reinard, who was accidentally killed by Andross. Many fans, however, do not believe this to be part of the actual games' storyline, so his mother remains a mystery. James taught Fox under the lifestyle of not giving up; something that Fox recalls often. During his early teens, Fox was a member of the Cornerian flight academy, along with his friend Bill Grey. When General Pepper sent the Star Fox team to investigate Venom's strange activity, Pigma Dengar betrayed his team, causing James McCloud and his close friend, Peppy Hare, to get captured by Andross. Peppy barely escaped Venom, and returned to Corneria to inform Fox of his father's fate. Upon hearing this news, Fox dropped out of the academy to avenge his father, and Peppy took Fox under his wing and began to train him.

Star Fox

In the original game, Fox is still an amateur pilot in training. His father had just gone missing after pursuit of Andross, and was last seen in "The Awesome Black Hole" (a result of Andross' experiments) before his disappearance. Fox McCloud decided to step up and create the Star Fox team, which includes Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad. Soon, he and the rest of the Star Fox team are hired by General Pepper to stop the threat of Andross. With a strategic route in mind, they tackle Andross' forces until they reach the planet Venom. After several more hardships, Fox decides go to Andross' base alone at the last moment. He goes against Andross in a final showdown, and successfully defeats him. They then head back to Corneria.

Star Fox 64

Star Fox is called upon to stop Andross and save the Lylat System. Fox leads a new Star Fox throughout the battles in the Lylat System, running into allies and enemies alike. His friendship with Bill Grey is revealed during one of these missions, and he also goes toe-to-toe with Wolf O'Donnell of Star Wolf in others. Once Star Fox reaches Venom, they fight through its defensive lines all the way to Andross's base. Despite the protests of his team, Fox enters alone. Fearlessly, he defeats Andross one on one, but Andross refuses to fall alone and attempts to take Fox with him. Fox is then shocked to hear his father's voice intone 'Don't ever give up, my son' and follows his father's Arwing as Andross' base explodes behind him. It is unclear whether James was actually alive or whether this was some sort of ghost or other apparition; but one can see a beam of light (be it a spirit or an actual Arwing) flying away in the distance as the team congratulates Fox for a job well done. They head back to Corneria, where Pepper offers to officially integrate Star Fox into the Corneria Army. Fox declines, saying that they prefer the way things are now. Fox is soon told by ROB via communicator that the Great Fox is prepared to leave. Fox and team then leave Corneria to go to their next job.

Star Fox Adventures

In Star Fox Adventures, set eight years after the events of Star Fox 64, a cockier Fox McCloud calmed the conflict on Sauria (also known as "Dinosaur Planet") by teaming with Prince Tricky of the EarthWalker tribe and returning the SpellStones to their rightful positions in two of the planet's temples, freeing an imprisoned Krystal by returning the five remaining Krazoa Spirits to their rightful positions, and defeating a reawakened Andross, who was behind the troubles on Sauria. After that, he returned to Great Fox, and General Pepper paid him for saving Sauria. He and Falco Lombardi (who had mysteriously disappeared) were reunited, and Krystal joined the Star Fox team. Immediately afterwards, the Star Fox team apparently used the money that Fox received to repair the Great Fox, as well as upgrade the Arwings and Landmasters.

Star Fox: Assault

File:SFAfox.jpg

Fox McCloud, as seen in Star Fox: Assault.

Fox played a crucial role in defeating the Aparoids, firing the final shot to bring down the Aparoid Queen. It is due to the Aparoid threat that Fox and his team joined forces with their rivals, Star Wolf, to defeat the Aparoids. Something interesting to note is that this is the first Star Fox game where the rest of Star Fox joins Fox in the final battle, though for only part of it.

Star Fox Command

Once again, the Lylat System falls under peril in Star Fox Command, this time under a new foe known as the Anglars, who originated from Venom's acidic oceans. It is up to Fox McCloud to save the galaxy once more by slowly liberating invaded territory and arriving at Venom to defeat the Anglar Emperror. This time, he begins the battles with only ROB at his side, as the team has been disbanded for various reasons. Along the way, other characters will join Fox and the team becomes whole again.

As Command has nine different outcomes, it is uncertain which is the true path Fox and crew take; but the developers have suggested that any sequel would ignore the endings and pick up the story from the middle.

Super Smash Bros. series

File:Fox SSBB.jpg

Fox McCloud fighting Pit from Kid Icarus in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Fox McCloud is also a returning character in every Super Smash Bros. game. He wears his Star Fox 64 outfit in the Super Smash Bros. series. He is a fast, fierce character with an extremely powerful up smash. His "Fire Fox" special move is a fire attack which he can use to gain (or lose, if need be) altitude; his "Reflector" (also known as the "Shine," or "Deflector") returns enemy projectile attacks and also damages opponents if the player can hit them with it. He also uses his laser blaster which does little damage but stuns enemies, and it is excellent for annoying human players as well as delivering quick damage from far away. Super Smash Bros. Melee makes him heavier and adds a "Fox Illusion" dash attack, as well as changing his "stun" blaster into a rapid-fire one, which doesn't cause the foe to flinch. Falco Lombardi, added for SSBM, plays far more similarly to the N64 Fox.

Fox is considered a top-tier character in tournament level games, due to his unparalleled speed and agility. His Reflector (or Shine) is considered one of his deadliest moves, as it, along with Jigglypuff's Rest, is the fastest move in the game, requiring only one frame to execute. It is often used to KO opponents who are off the side of the field, as well as for fast combos (often referred to as "Shine-Combos"). For instance, one tactic involves throwing an opponent straight down when near the edge (which involves Fox pinning the opponent on the floor and blasting him/her), and immediately follow with the Reflector, which rockets the character straight down off the edge. Despite his strengths, Fox also suffers from a light weight (which means he can be KO'd at rather low hit percentage) and predictability of the "Fire Fox" attack; in particular, opponents can easily counter or dodge the offensive attack or predict his trajectory and spike the character off the stage. The Fox Illusion attack, if missed, also leaves him vulnerable for a second or so. He was confirmed on November 3, 2006 at the Nintendo World Tour to be in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Fox's outfit in Brawl is similar to, though not completely like, his 64 and Command designs. Additions include a holster for his gun, a green lens over his right eye, and a small device on his belt. Also, the microphone on his communicator is now on the right, where before it was always on the left whenever he had it.

Love life

In the 1993 Nintendo Power Star Fox comic, Fox had a romantic relationship with Fara Phoenix. While slightly ambiguous, it is obvious that they held mutual affections for each other, by the way they flirt and hold each other on several occasions throughout the comics. Still, the comics are considered non canon, since Star Fox 64 replaced the original SNES Star Fox title.

In Star Fox Adventures, it was hinted that there was a relationship growing when he met Krystal (referring to her as "beautiful" and staring at her for several seconds before Peppy contacts him, telling him to stop goofing off and to get back to the mission), and there was some mutual interest shown in Krystal. According to some unused audio in Adventures, Fox and Krystal originally were going to have a much deeper relationship, but this was ultimately scrapped for unknown reasons.

In Star Fox: Assault, Krystal and Fox's relationship is advanced (though not a major part of the story). Krystal's affection for Fox can been seen in her constant desire to help Fox, and the way she flirtatiously tells Fox that they "finally have a mission together" during Sauria's invasion. Fox is quite shy about anything personal between the two, stammering if Krystal flirts with him. Fox's affection for Krystal can be most notably seen during the cutscene after the Sauria mission. When Tricky tells Fox to bring Krystal to Sauria on their honeymoon, Fox frantically tells Tricky that "we're not yet..." and he continues to stutter with his tongue tied. Tricky playfully pointed out that Fox just said "not yet," resulting in Fox trying to change the subject. Krystal giggled to herself during their conversation, showing that she is entertained and not bothered by this exchange.

In the opening of Star Fox Command, it is revealed that Fox and Krystal did pursue a romantic relationship, and that the two never wanted to be without each other. Fox knew the dangers of their profession, and had to ask Krystal to step down; Krystal was heartbroken by Fox's request, and left him. Some of the endings feature Fox and Krystal making up-one shows them having a son named Marcus-while some others show them both taking a different path.

Appearance in games

Fox McCloud has been featured in several games, beginning with the original Star Fox for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom:

• Star Fox (Scrolling shooter, 1993, SNES)
• Star Fox 2 (Unreleased scrolling shooter, 1995, SNES)
• Star Fox 64 (Scrolling shooter, 1997, Nintendo 64)
• Super Smash Bros. (Fighting game, 1999, N64)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (Fighting game, 2001, Nintendo GameCube)
• Star Fox Adventures (Adventure game, 2002, GCN)
• Star Fox: Assault (Action/adventure game, Action, 2005, GCN)
• Star Fox Command (Scrolling shooter, 2006, Nintendo DS)
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Fighting game, 2007, Wii)

Fox also has small cameos in other games, notably Stunt Race FX, where a portrait of him can be found in track-side billboards. In F-Zero GX, a Fox McCloud custom paint job can be applied to the vehicles. In The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, a hack in the game to change an enemy into an Arwing complete with flight and lasers. Another cameo is in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars where his Arwing can be seen on a crate. In Animal Crossing, there is a piece of furniture modelled after his Arwing from Star Fox 64. In Wario Ware: Smooth Moves! for the Wii, the boss microgame of 9-Volt and 18-Volt's stage is based on the original Star Fox. In the microgame, the player must pilot Fox's Arwing with the Chauffere form, and defeat ROB at the end.

Trivia

• In Star Fox 64, while playing in Expert Mode, Fox wears black sun shades (much like his father). He also wears them in the Good-bye, Fox ending in Star Fox Command.

References

• Description

External links

• Need to be improved on
• Star Fox official site