Star Fox

Star Sox
Star Sox series logo. Based on the Star Sox: Assault logo.
Genre(s)	Rail shooter Action-adventure game
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD Argonaut Software Rare Namco Q-Games
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Creator(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto Takaya Imamura

Star Fox (スターフォックス, Sutā Fokkusu) is a video game series published by Nintendo. The original game was a forward-scrolling 15D Sci-Fi rail shooter. Later sequels added more directional freedom as the series progressed. The game concept was inspired by a shrine to a fox god who could fly, and which Shigeru Miyamoto visited regularly. The shrine was accessible through a series of arches, thus inspiring the gameplay.

The first game in the series, developed by Nintendo EAD and programmed by Argonaut Software, used the Super FX Chip to create the first accelerated 3D gaming experience on a home console. The Super FX Chip was an additional math co-processor that was built into the Game Pak and helped the Super Famicom and SNES better render the game's graphics. The Super FX Chip has been used in other Super Famicom/SNES games as well, some with increased processing speed. Its remake, Star Fox 64, further revolutionized the video game industry by being the first Nintendo 64 game to feature the Rumble Pak.

Due to trademark issues over the name Star Fox in PAL region territories, Star Fox and Star Fox 64 were released in those countries as Star Wing and Lylat Wars respectively. However, Nintendo bought the rights before the release of Star Fox Adventures so future games could be released worldwide with the same name.

The games follow an independent mercenary unit called Star Fox (made up of anthropomorphic animals) and their adventures around the fictional Lylat system.

Games

See also: List of Star Fox video games

Star Fox

Star Fox on the SNES, which used the Super FX Chip to display 3D-like graphics.

Main article: Star Fox (video game)

The first game, Star Fox (known as Star Wing in Europe), also known as Star Fox 1, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. Developed by Nintendo EAD and programmed by Argonaut Software, it used the Super FX chip to simulate 3D graphics during a period of predominately 2D games. In Star Fox, Fox McCloud and his team, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, and Falco Lombardi, take on Andross, who threatens to overthrow the Lylat system. Several boss battles from the game are included as mini-games in the Wii title WarioWare: Smooth Moves, using the Wii Remote to fly the ship.

Star Fox 64

New three-dimensional graphics in Star Fox 64.

Main article: Star Fox 64

Released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64, Star Fox 64 (Lylat Wars in Europe) introduced full spoken dialogue (Lylat Wars featured garbled Lylat Language as an option, which is similar to the dialogue in the original Star Fox/Star Wing for the SNES), fully three dimensional graphics, and new vehicles and characters. The game came bundled with the Rumble Pak, a force feedback attachment. Star Fox 64 is the true beginning of the Star Fox canon, and is one of the most popular games in the series. Although the main storyline features no on-foot missions, the player may unlock on-foot play in the multiplayer mode. The Multiplayer mode includes a free-for-all battle that goes up to 5 KOs to win, a battle royal, and a time trial.

This game is not a sequel to the SNES game, but rather a plot remake. The plot is changed but this is the beginning of the plot for the Star Fox games to come. This game is also famous for the quotes: "Do a barrel roll!" "Try a somersault!" and "Use bombs wisely" all of which are said by Peppy Hare.

A remake named "Star Fox 64 3D" was released on the 9th September 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS, featuring autostereoscopic 3D graphics.

Star Fox Adventures

Adventures features similar gameplay to The Legend of Zelda with most of the game happening on foot.

Main article: Star Fox Adventures

The next Star Fox game, Star Fox Adventures, was released in 2002 for Nintendo's next home console, the Nintendo GameCube. Developed by Rare, the game is predominately an action-adventure game in which Fox is armed with a mystical staff; traditional space shooting is limited to small segments between chapters. Its roots can be traced to Dinosaur Planet, a game Rare was developing late in the life cycle of the Nintendo 64, but cancelled at the behest of Nintendo and converted into a Star Fox game. Adventures introduced new characters, including, most notably, Prince Tricky and Krystal. Taking place eight years after the events of Star Fox 64, the main antagonist is an army of dinosaurs called the Sharp Claws, led by General Scales. Fox and Krystal fall in love soon before the final boss fight when Fox saves her life. Krystal then becomes the Star Fox team's newest member.

Star Fox: Assault

Assault returns to traditional scrolling shooter levels, but has ground-based missions as well.

Main article: Star Fox: Assault

Nintendo hired Namco to develop Star Fox: Assault, released in 2005, for the GameCube. The emphasis returned to Arwing-based gameplay, but also had portions of on-foot missions. Assault takes place one year after Adventures, with the Aparoids becoming a new threat to the Lylat system. The new Star Fox team is tasked to stop them. Along with ROB, Peppy now pilots the Great Fox, while Krystal replaces Peppy's role as one of the team's pilots.

Star Fox Command

File:Scr 049.jpg

Command was the first game in the series since Star Fox to feature aircraft-only gameplay.

Main article: Star Fox Command

Star Fox Command was developed by Q-Games for the Nintendo DS. It is the first Star Fox game for a handheld console and the first to offer online multiplayer. Like the original Star Fox, gameplay is completely aircraft based, and uses gibberish chatter instead of the voice acting of later installments. Command utilizes a new system of gameplay, incorporating strategy and abandoning its "fly-by-rail" roots. Players plot flight paths and engage enemies in an open arena-style flying mode using the Nintendo DS's touch screen. Each character has a unique ship with different abilities. For example, Slippy's ship has no lock-on feature and shorter boosts, but has stronger lasers and shielding; Fox McCloud pilots the redesigned Arwing II. Command takes place two to three years after the events of Star Fox: Assault and features nine endings, determined by the player's story progression choices. None of these endings are currently considered to affect the storyline of the series as a whole.

Star Fox 64 3D

Main article: Star Fox 64 3D

Star Fox 64 3D is a remake of Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo 3DS, being the second Star Fox title on a handheld console. Its existence debuted in a conceptual trailer for the Nintendo 3DS revealed at E3 2010, when objects from the Nintendo universe flew out of the 3DS screen. One of the many objects happened to be a flying Arwing, hinting the next Star Fox game. The game was officially announced later on. Screenshots, footage, and some information were revealed over the upcoming Star Fox 64 3D game at 3DS conferences on September 29, 2010, and January 19, 2011.

Cancelled games

Star Fox 2

Main article: Star Fox 2

The game was cancelled even though it was completely finished. Many of its new ideas were implemented for the forthcoming Star Fox 64, such as the rival team Star Wolf, all-range mode, charge shot, and a multiplayer mode (though Star Fox 2's multiplayer mode was no longer featured in the final beta). Other elements such as choosing characters, map pointing, and multiple ship variations were later implemented in Star Fox Command. A beta version of the Landmaster tank (the Walker) also makes an appearance as an Arwing with leg-like attachments. A patch for the final beta was released by a third party team of hackers to make the game complete, removing the debug mode menus, making an English translation, and removing subroutines for a buggy third vehicle not used in the game. A patch with the cleaned up game an Japanese text is also available.

Star Fox (Virtual Boy)

This game was a tech demo of what would have been a Star Fox game had the Virtual Boy adopted the series. It ended up that the closest game to it was Red Alarm. Cinematic camera angles were a key element, as they were in Star Fox 2. Shown both at E3 1995 and at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show 1995, the game, though on the Virtual Boy, still used filled polygons. One observer called it "An intriguing technical demo featuring a Star Fox-like spacecraft doing a lot of spinning and zooming in 3D. It is made of filled polygons and looks much better than the unfilled Red Alarm vehicles." Attendees to these two events were given 3D glasses to watch the demos and tech videos that were played on screens at the show floors, and from these videos, only one public image of the possible Star Fox for the Virtual Boy survives.

Star Fox (arcade)

Originally planned as a companion game with Star Fox: Assault, it was abandoned and never released. It was supposed to be released in 2004-2005, but wasn't for reasons unknown.

Spin-off titles

Shortly after the release of the first Star Fox title, in June 1993, Nintendo teamed up with Kellogg's and Nelsonic to develop and release a promotional LCD-based Star Fox Game Watch to those who bought a box of Corn Flakes and sent the order form to Kellogg's to receive the Star Fox game watch for free. In the game watch, there are four levels and the object is to fly towards the Attack Carrier and destroy it while dodging plasma balls and falling structures. The game watch also included a pair of earphones and a headphone jack for listening to the game without disturbing anyone nearby due to the game watch missing a volume control. Nelsonic later released it in stores in a different watch appearance.

Future

The Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has shown interest in creating a Star Fox game for the Wii console in the future. GamesTM told Miyamoto that they would love to see a new Starfox game for Wii, he replied: “Me too.” As of now, however, no plot has been announced, and Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert has expressed reluctance to return to the series, although this does not rule out a game from another developer. Miyamoto has suggested the Wii Remote would work well for controlling an Arwing, while series designer Takaya Imamura has also said he has a small idea on what Fox and Co. could engage in next time. A G4 interview with a series producer Dylan Cuthbert (who worked on Star Fox, the unreleased Star Fox 2, and Star Fox Command) has shown that Cuthbert will most likely not be involved with a Star Fox title for the Wii; as he says that, "The Wii is a bit more of a toy..." Hideki Kamiya has stated to be interested in making a new Star Fox game.

In May 2006, an article suggested that a Star Fox experience for the Nintendo Wii console would be coming from Shigeru Miyamoto.

In August 2009, Turkish Nintendo news site Nintendocu.com reported that a Wii Star Fox game would be revealed in the upcoming issue of Nintendo Power, showing a blurry image claimed to be the issue's cover page. (The Nintendo Power cover in question, #247, focused on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.) Titled "Star Fox Wii: Battle for Corneria", the game was to allegedly implement Wii MotionPlus and would include an online battle mode with Wii Speak support. However, the Arwings and Great Fox displayed on the cover image were images from Star Fox: Assault. The same article updated its page three days after it was first published, adding headline that declared the information about Nintendo Power revealing the next Star Fox was false. However, the same page also has evidence to show that Nintendo recently renewed the domain name "starfox.com", despite the fact, at the time, the URL still redirected to Nintendo's main portal.

In September 2009, a Nintendo news site called Infendo published an article stating that a Star Fox game for the Wii is currently being worked, said from a Nintendo staff member that did not give any more details.

In October 2009, Miyamoto commented on how the sales of the Star Fox games had been decreasing over the years, particularly in Japan. This was the latest time Shigeru Miyamoto talked about Star Fox directly, and does not necessarily mean a Star Fox Wii game will not be made.

Hideki Kamiya, the creator of the Devil May Cry series and an avid Star Fox fan himself, has expressed interest in creating a new Star Fox game on the Wii in an IGN interview.

In an interview about Masahiro Sakurai's Nintendo 3DS game Kid Icarus: Uprising, he revealed that he originally had Star Fox characters in mind to use for a new core gameplay concept made specifically for Nintendo 3DS. However, he then stated the concept worked better as a new Kid Icarus game instead.

However, later in June, Nintendo software producer and director Katsuya Eguchi hinted Nintendo may be considering making a Star Fox title on the newly announced console Wii U.

Related games

Super Smash Bros. series

File:Star Fox Brawl.jpg

Fox, Falco and Wolf as seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Three Star Fox characters have appeared in the Super Smash Bros. franchise of fighting games. Fox McCloud has appeared in all three as a playable character, while Falco Lombardi was featured in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an unlockable character. Wolf O'Donnell appears as an unlockable fighter in Brawl as well. All three characters have virtually the same Final Smash in Brawl in which each calls down a Landmaster to run over and shoot enemies with, with minor differences between each. They also share similar moves, like the Blaster, Reflector, Fox Illusion/Falco Phantasm/Wolf Flash, Fire Fox/Fire Bird/Fire Wolf. Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad make brief cameos in Melee and Brawl, with Krystal, Leon Powalski and Panther Caroso appearing alongside them in the latter.

All three games feature Star Fox related stages: Sector Z, Corneria, and Venom. Sector Z (N64) and Corneria (Melee, Brawl) are played atop the length of the mothership "Great Fox", which is scaled down from its original length of .046 miles/242' 10.56" (.074 km). Venom is played along the width of the "Great Fox", with the fighters doing battle atop the wings. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Corneria stage from Melee returns, as well as a new stage called "Lylat Cruise" which is set atop an all new ship known as the "Pleiades" that warps between various areas within the Lylat system. Andross also appears in his form from the original Star Fox as an assist trophy, sucking in air and then spewing projectiles at combatants. The item "Smart Bomb" is also featured. When used, it creates an explosion that slowly grows; however, sometimes the Smart Bomb is a dud and has a delayed explosion.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves

In WarioWare: Smooth Moves for Wii, there is a Star Fox minigame in the style of the SNES title with three stages. Using the Wii Remote, the player pilots the Arwing through Corneria, Sector X, and Titania. At the end of each level, the player fights R.O.B. (not ROB 64 from the Star Fox series, but rather the R.O.B. attachment for the NES), who is armed with a large NES Zapper.

Other media

Monthly Nintendo Power Comics

A monthly Star Fox comic strip, illustrated by Benimaru Itoh, was printed in issues 45 to 55 of Nintendo Power in 1993. It was a sort of background covering of events in the original Star Fox, with some exclusive characters not currently seen in any of the games to date. One such character was Fara Phoenix, a vixen who becomes the fifth member of Star Fox after they saved her from Venomian forces. The story followed the Star Fox team as they went from outlaws on Papetoon, to an elite Arwing fighter squadron. Fox, Falco, and Andross were the only 3 characters whose backgrounds were fully explained in the story.

Star Fox 64 manga

Nintendo of Europe released a Star Fox 64 comic drawn manga-style to retell the game's storyline. The comic showed some scenes that were not present in the game—for instance, Wolf kicking Andrew and Pigma out of Star Wolf because they acted against his orders (and thus saving Star Fox from the plot of the two). The comic ends with a robotic Andross being defeated.

Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco

Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco (スターフォックス〜さらば愛しのファルコ〜, Sutā Fokkusu ~Saraba Itoshi no Faruko~) is a manga created by Nintendo, and part of the Star Fox series. The manga chronicles the events between Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Adventures. The manga was only released in Japan, and came with the Japanese version of Adventures. It gives the back story as to why Falco left the Star Fox team. It also introduces a new antagonist, Captain Shears. Captain Shears runs a base on the sand-dune planet Titania, but unbeknownst to Star Fox, Shears is actually taking part in an experiment to resurrect Andross. In the beginning, Katt Monroe returns from Star Fox 64 along with a rag-tag team of roughnecks with apparently an inside lead on the fact that Shears is evil. Fox doesn't believe them, which ends up in a sparring match between him and Falco, thus adding more emphasis into Falco's intentions of leaving Star Fox. Eventually, it is revealed to Star Fox that Shears is indeed evil, and Fox storms in to stop the resurrection plan once and for all.

The manga ends with the Star Fox team seeing Dinosaur Planet broken apart and deciding it is worth checking out. Star Fox Adventures opens with General Pepper ordering them to go there and save it, promising to pay them if they succeed.

Recurring elements

Arwing

The Arwing (アーウィン, Āwin) is the principal craft of the Star Fox team, it has appeared in all Star Fox games to date.

Throughout its appearances, the Arwing has had considerable changes, though all versions of it retain a basic shape: a central fuselage, two crested streamlined pods attached at the sides, known as Gravity Diffusers, or G Diffusers, and wings mounted on the side pods. From Star Fox 64 onwards, the two side pods are a distinctive blue color.

The Arwings make an appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series, in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, they appear as trophies. In this series, Arwings are used by Fox and Falco as their on-screen introduction, in addition to being used as a stage obstacle on Fox's Level, Sector Z. The Arwings on this stage would occasionally fly through and shoot lasers at the players. In the Corneria, Venom, and Lylat Cruise stages they are seen flying in the background. The Arwing is also an easter egg in The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time but can only be accessed by a gameshark code. It appears in Kokiri forest as an enemy who can be defeated by Link with either a boomerang,fairy bow,or fairy slingshot. Once defeated,they fall to the ground and explode and its blast may inadvertently kill Link. The Arwing also appears as a piece of furniture in Animal Crossing: Wild World and Animal Crossing: City Folk. When touched by the game character, the Arwing will briefly play the Star Fox theme music. Also appears over a box in Super Mario RPG, Hinopio's Market, but it's just a decor.

Miyamoto explains that the craft is called Arwing "because it was like one big wing shaped like an A."

Landmaster

The Landmaster (ランドマスター, Randomasutā) tank first appeared in Star Fox 64 (1997, Nintendo 64) as a tracked light tank in two of the game's missions and one of the game's multiplayer maps.

It appeared again in Star Fox: Assault (2005, Nintendo GameCube), though with some changes, including the substitution of tank treads with tires. The Assault version of the Landmaster also handled somewhat differently and was used for all-range style combat rather than the on-rails type of missions featured in Star Fox 64.

The Landmaster tank makes its most recent appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) as Fox's Final Smash. The same design — in alternate color schemes — is also used as the Final Smash for Falco Lombardi and Wolf O'Donnell. All three Landmasters have slightly different properties. The Landmaster that Fox and Falco use is the traditional white and blue color scheme, while Wolf's Landmaster is a black and red color scheme. Falco's Landmaster can fly higher and longer than Fox's but its firepower has reduced knockback. In addition, Wolf's Landmaster has greater firepower and knockback ability than the one Fox and Falco use, but it remains on the stage for a much shorter time.

Other than a shared name, Nintendo's Landmaster tank is unrelated to the Landmaster vehicle from the film Damnation Alley.

Wolfen

The Wolfen (ウルフェン, Urufen) is piloted by Wolf O'Donnell and the members of the Star Wolf team. This ship would have first appeared in Star Fox 2, but was instead first seen in Star Fox 64 on the planet Fortuna - or alternatively - Bolse. Additionally, taking the hard path to Venom enables the player to battle the Wolfen II, which nearly outperforms the Arwing. In Star Fox: Assault, Team Star Wolf piloted the original versions of the Wolfen against the Star Fox team, and they are playable in the game's multiplayer mode. The Wolfen has also appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl as interactive elements of the Corneria, Venom, and Lylat Cruise stages. They can also be found in the original Super Smash Bros. on the Sector Z stage, seen flying in the background.

Reception

Aggregate review scores

Game	Metacritic	Game Rankings
Star Fox	-	86%
Star Fox 64	88 out of 100	90%
Star Fox Adventures	82 out of 100	81%
Star Fox: Assault	67 out of 100	71%
Star Fox Command	76 out of 100	75%

The Star Fox series has seen positive reviews, the most acclaimed being Star Fox 64, while Star Fox: Assault received the most negative reviews. Star Fox took the #115 spot on EGM's "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time", and 82nd best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Powers Top 200 Games list. It also received a 34 out of 40 from Famitsu magazine, and a 4.125 out of 5 from Nintendo Power Magazine. Next Gen Magazine pointed out Star Fox as helping pioneer the use of 3-D video game graphics. The game has been used as an example of how, even with a fully polygon design, the game was still very similar to older games in that there was a set path to travel through each level.

As Star Fox Adventures took a different approach to the franchise, many fans complained it was too much like a role playing adventure game such as The Legend of Zelda. Certain elements of the plot were also criticized, for example how Fox came to be on a potentially hostile planet entirely unarmed, simply because of the orders of General Pepper, despite, at the end of the previous game, telling him explicitly "we like doing things our own way". This is most likely because Rare did not originally intend for the game to be based in the Star Fox universe, and had to adapt their original game, Dinosaur Planet, to the new fictional universe. However, especially to players who had not had previous experience with the series, the game was seen as one of the best adventure games on the Nintendo Gamecube console, and one of the most graphically impressive games of its time. In an IGN poll for voting from a list of ten Nintendo characters for favorite Nintendo character of all time, Fox came in fourth, behind Link, Mario, and Samus respectively.

In October 2009 Miyamoto said that he felt disappointed that sales of Star Fox games in Japan had decreased during the preceding period.

External links

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• Lylat Wiki - a Star Fox wiki affiliated with the Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance.
• Arwingpedia - a Star Fox wiki hosted on Wikia
• Arwing Landing, a fansite
• Starfox-Online, another fansite in addition to ArwingLanding.net.
• StarFox Comics at Arwinglanding.net - Archived JPEG copies of all StarFox comics
• StarFox Comics at MobianLegends.com's StarFox section - Archived copies of all StarFox comics
• Page with PDF versions of the comics.