Arwing
In the video game series Star Fox, the Arwing is a fictional prototype aerospace fighter craft, developed by Space Dynamics.
The Arwing is a single-seat swing-wing fighter and is the most powerful fighter in the Cornerian Defense arsenal. The Arwing's biggest feature is its Gravity Diffusion system, called G-Diffusers for short. The G-Diffusers serve two purposes:
- To act as an anti-gravity system to enable maximum maneuverability in an atmosphere.
- To power the Arwing's shield system.
The Arwing is armed with one standard laser, though it is possible to add a second one or two hyperlasers. The Arwing also has the ability to carry Nova Bombs as secondary weaponry.
Probably intentionally, both the Arwing and its Star Wolf counterpart, the Wolfen, are structurally designed similarly to the first letter in their respective names (Arwing like an "A," Wolfen like a "W"). The Arwing also may be considered to be a reference to the Rebel Alliance ships from the Star Wars series, many of which have names like "X-Wing", "Y-Wing", and "A-Wing". The Arwing itself seems most similar to the X-Wing.
The Arwing throughout the series
Star Fox
The original Arwing, also called the "SFX Arwing" in the Nintendo Power Star Fox comic series, is developed by the Cornerian Defense Engineering Department as the most sophisticated Star Fighter in the galaxy and is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons. The Primary Weapon is a Single Laser that can be upgraded to Type-A Twin Lasers and upgraded again to Type-B Twin Plasma Blasters. Secondary armaments include Nova Bombs.
In Part 2 of the Star Fox comic, an updated version of the SFX Arwing is built and piloted by Fara Phoenix. The new model Arwing doesn't seem to be much of an update from the original four but it has better performance and maneuverability as well as being equipped with new systems. Equipped with Hyper Boosters that allow it to outspeed even the old model Arwing. The new model is first painted in a purple color scheme to signify that its new systems are still in testing. It's later painted in the standard white color scheme to signify that testing has finished and the Arwing and its pilot are now part of the Star Fox team.
Arwings in Star Fox 2
The unreleased Star Fox 2 featured three different variations next to the original Arwing.
- General Purpose Type: The same as the original Arwing but now features a new Charge Laser.
- Heavy Assault Type: Slower than the General Purpose Type but has strong shielding. Reaction Time for the Charge Laser was unreliably long. Initially equipped with a Shield Recharger.
- Fast Interceptor Type: Faster than the General Purpose Type but is fragile due to its low shielding. Initially equipped with Twin Lasers, and a Super Shield Projector.
All the Arwings can pick up and switch to other types of special abilities in mission. All three Arwings can inter-shift into "Land-Walk" Mode which causes the Arwing to transform into a bipedal robot (said of the Valkyrie/Veritech fighters from Macross/Robotech). In Fortuna, the walker robot can swim (by pressing the jump button), and is the only way to enter the underwater area. Essentially, these versions of the Arwing is the most versatile, combining the functionality of the Arwing, Landmaster, and Blue-Marine into one.
Star Fox 64
The Arwing introduced in Star Fox 64 was an evolved design from the original version. However it had a basic design and was relatively small, it was not able to come to a complete stop in mid-air because it only had one very primitive G-Diffuser. This version could also handle temperatures up to 9000 degrees, as explained during the team's mission to Solar.
The official Star Fox 64 player's guide provided statistics for the Arwing. It is 18.5 sm in length, 5.5 sm in height, and has a maximum speed in atmosphere of M 4.2. It has a NTD-FX1 plasma engine with G-diffuser, and an armament including T&B-H1 laser cannon and smart bomb launcher.
Star Fox Adventures
The Arwing featured in Star Fox Adventures is about the same as the Star Fox 64 design.
It had a more rounded fuselage and a small storage area so Prince Tricky can come along with Fox McCloud to help him on his quest. Due to a lack of funds, the Arwings in Star Fox Adventures - along with the Great Fox - have been falling into a state of disrepair. The Arwing's special cannons that allowed for homing attacks have broken off, and the wings are shabby and rusted. This version of the Arwing bears strong similarities to the X-Wing, particularly the nose.
Star Fox: Assault
The available Arwing introduced in Star Fox: Assault bears much more resemblance to the original Arwing last seen in the original game. This Arwing has a more complex and symmetric, slicker design and was at least two times bigger than its predecessor. It is 45.76 feet long and 22.16 feet high.
It has touch pad controls and auto-pilot, and is able to come to a complete stop in mid-air thanks to its four G-Diffuser engines. It is also the first and thus far only Arwing version to have a wing walker riding shotgun, allowing the pilot to engage targets to the front while the wing walker dealt with threats to the side or rear in a fashion reminiscent of a WW2-era ball turret gunner.
Star Fox Command
In this game, Fox pilots the first official upgrade to the original Arwing (apart from the fighter's numerous redesigns over the years): the "Firefox" (Arwing II in the Japanese version). While Peppy hangs on to his antique, several of the other prominent characters have new fighters that resemble drastic modifications of the original Arwing design, such as Falco's Sky Claw, Slippy's Bullfrog and Krystal's distinctly pterodactyl-esque Cloudrunner (an obvious reference to the pterodactyl tribe in Star Fox Adventures).
Appearances in other games
Aside of the Star Fox series of games, Super Smash Bros. has Arwings flying around the Sector Z stage as an obstruction that shoots at the player. Its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee has an Arwing trophy. Arwings also appear in the Corneria and Venom levels, using their lasers to injure players. A scale model of the spacecraft can be obtained in Animal Crossing, as well as Animal Crossing: Wild World, where if it is examined, it will play a few notes from the training mission in the Super NES version of Star Fox. There is also a small model of an Arwing in the inn of the volcano level in Super Mario RPG.
In Stunt Race FX an Arwing flies over the race track and drops powerups for the player. The 2WD vehicle also resembles an arwing.
The G-diffuser systems can also be found in F-Zero racers and one vehicle is modeled after an Arwing and the pilot who drives it shares the same name as Fox McCloud's father, James McCloud.
Also, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a miniature Arwing enemy was discovered by a hacker named JayTheHam, from Zelda's Secret Ocarina (ZSO), in the game's code. From this, they made a code which made the enemy appear in Kokiri Forest. The Arwing would occasionally attack, and could be easily defeated. Upon hitting the ground, the Arwing would explode, and leave behind flames which would die down quickly. Why this enemy existed in the first place is unknown, but it could well have been a test enemy that was left in the final code or it was a joke enemy. A video of the miniature Arwing can be downloaded at this link. [1]
Nova Bombs
A Nova Bomb is a weapon on the Arwing. In later games in the series, they are simply called "Smart Bombs" (or just "Bombs"). Many fans consider that name too generic and continue to call them Nova Bombs, or "B-bombs" referring to the large letter B on them.
Nova Bombs produce a large blast radius that is devastating to fighters and causes damage to stronger vehicles, such as fleet ships. To add to the deadliness, the Nova Bomb is a smart bomb that can lock onto enemies and hit them dead on. They are also referred to as smart bombs because fellow members of the Star Fox team can be flying within the blast radius of the bomb and not receive damage. Nova Bombs can also be remotely detonated.
Throughout the series the weapon has been essential to defeat some enemies. The Sarumarine submarine on Zoness in Star Fox 64 could only have its cannons blown off with Nova Bombs. Andross in Star Fox Adventures could only have his weakness exposed by one. The Aparoid infested shield generator on Fichina in Star Fox: Assault could only be damaged by these weapons.
The maximum number of Nova Bombs that can be carried by the Arwing has varied throughout the series. In Star Fox, the player started with three but could carry a maximum of five. Same in Star Fox 2, although the Nova Bomb could be replaced with a stronger shield or a shield recharger. In Star Fox 64, the Arwing also started with three but could carry a maximum of nine. In Star Fox Adventures, the Arwing could only carry three and the player started without any. In Star Fox: Assault, the game started with zero bombs. The maximum number is not stated in the game's documentation, though the maximum seems to be nine.
In Star Fox Assault, a variation of the Nova Bomb called a Cluster Bomb (also called "C-bombs" due to the large C) is unlockable for use in multiplayer matches. Rather than one large explosion, the cluster bomb gave off several small explosions upon hitting a target.
In Star Fox Command, players can choose precisely where the Nova Bomb will detonate by using the DS stylus to drag and drop a bomb icon onto the radar screen. A Nova Bomb will then be fired and explode when it reaches that position, though the maximum number of Nova Bombs that can be carried or if the player starts out with any already in their inventory in this game has not yet been confirmed.
The vehicles capable of carrying Nova Bombs are the Arwing fighter, the Wolfen, and the Landmaster tank, although this function was taken out of the Landmaster in Star Fox: Assault.
The name may be inspired by Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers, in which nova bombs were described as extremely powerful weapons capable of destroying entire planets.
References
- Star Fox 64 Player's Guide
- Star Fox: Assault
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