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General

We will answer... We are the ultimate existence... You will not resist us... You will join us!
Pigma Headshot Assault

Aparoids are a race of insect-like creatures that are part-machine, part-life form. From minor enemy units, to major bosses, they serve as the main antagonists in "Star Fox: Assault".

Appearance[]

The Aparoids are mainly insect-like cybernetic creatures that come in an immense variety of enemy infantry, artillery and leading force commanders, all of which are connected together by a hive mind ruled by the Aparoid Queen mother

Society and Culture[]

The Aparoid race live, fight, and reproduce in similar manners to ant or bee colonies. There are foot soldiers on the ground and in the air like ants. The Aparoid queen is very similar to the enormous queens of both species as they are the source of reproduction and are found in tunnel like dwellings. The Aparoid homeworld's decor and technologies are built in honeycombed or hexagon shaped patterns which bees are often associated with. They are drawn to large energy sources, like bees to nectar, seeking out lifeforms and technology to assimilate and add to their own ranks and territory. It's implied the root cause for their assimilation culture is because, due to them essentially lacking souls of their own, they need to steal others' in order to bypass evolution.

Abilities[]

They have the ability to control other technology and lifeforms in a viral manner called Aparoidedation and are thus extremely lethal to anything that gets in their way. It takes the destruction called "apoptosis" by Beltino Toad, of the controlling queen for the entire race to be completely eradicated. The Aparoids were also capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and climate environments, particularly severe blizzards. This was especially evident by there being active on Fichina after Pigma deactivated the climate control center, which prevented blizzards that otherwise rendered the planet uninhabitable. Aparoids can also survive in the vacuum of space, allowing their vast numbers to virtually overwhelm any enemy fleets.

History[]

Early years[]

Beltino Toad Assault Briefing

Beltino recalls the atrocity that befell the Cornerian Fleet around 17 years prior to the aparoid uprising.

It is not exactly known how or when the Aparoid species formed, or if they may be a mutated race. Their homeworld is outside of the Lylat System. The Aparoid queen, who likely had a significantly longer lifespan than other organisms, may have created the species, as she can spawn more aparoids. By Beltino's account, about seventeen years prior the Aparoid Invasion, a lone winged Aparoid came across a Cornerian Fleet and wiped it out leaving few survivors to witness, which alerted the Cornerian Army to the Aparoids' existence. However, nothing was done in defense, as no other known attacks were made on them by the Cornerian Army. The Aparoids did not show themselves again, and went quiet for a time.

Fortuna[]

The Aparoids had previously infected an entire planet outside of the Lylat System, and gathered enough strength to launch a full scale invasion of the entirety of Lylat, as the Queen felt everything in existence rightfully belonged to them. In the midst of the Oikonny rebellion conflict, the Aparoids executed their invasion, by first striking Fortuna, where the last battle of the rebellion was being fought. A Winged Aparoid (assumed to be the same one that attacked the fleet) arrived at Fortuna, and revealed itself when he destroyed a slightly weakened version of Oikonny's flagship, who was leading the rebellion. The Aparoid then did battle with Fox's Arwing immediately after it attacked the Star Fox team on sight, but was killed. Its Core Memory was taken by the team right as the Aparoids launched a full-scale attack on the planet. The Cornerian Fleet recognized them and escaped, but the army of Oikonny's rebels were ignorant to the danger and all of them were killed, save Oikonny himself. Fortuna's natives, escaped and suffered very light casualties, but the Aparoids had the planet occupied. Soon they struck with full force on the galaxy, capturing many planets on the way in vicious battles. The Cornerians reacted by hiring Star Fox to deal with the threat.

Katina[]

One of the next victims of the Aparoid Invasion was an outpost on Katina. Star Fox was notified of a distress signal coming from this outpost, and was sent there by General Pepper to find the source. The Aparoids attacked with many of their infantry troops, but were unable to stop them, even with consistent reinforcements spawned by Aparoid hatchers. The Aparoids finally sent the commanding Aparoid mothership to the surface of the planet. The leading vessel was destroyed by Fox, and its Core Memory was stolen by Pigma Dengar (the one who sent the distress signal) before Star Fox could claim it. The Aparoids were driven off of Katina afterwards.

Fichina[]

The Aparoids then attacked Fichina, which coincidentally, was the exact location where the Star Fox team had been dispatched to find Pigma. The Aparoids captured the climate control center, eliminated the scientists stationed there, and with some unexpected help from Pigma, got the sentry bots turned into Aparoids. But Fox intervened and were able to get the control center back on. The Sentry Bots attacked him, but were defeated by Falco. Pigma again gave some more unexpected help to the Aparoids, by using the Core Memory to turn a piece of the center's engineering into an Aparoid, which would cause the center to explode if the infection was not defeated. The Aparoid was defeated, and it was soon driven out by Cornerian Soldiers.

The Battle of Meteo[]

The Cornerians discovered Pigma's whereabouts in Meteo, an asteroid belt, and were sent to capture him with Star Fox leading it. They were unaware that, due to Pigma's actions, the Aparoids had began assimilating him into some form of machinery. The Aparoids attacked with full force and used the assimilated prototype they captured on Fortuna against the team, but to no avail. They soon caught up with Pigma, who was just assimilated into the machinery. The team defeated him and captured the Core Memory, earning Corneria a victory, with the bonus of Meteo.

The Battle of Sauria[]

Just as Corneria was analyzing vital data from the Core Memory, the Aparoids attacked Corneria's ally planet of Sauria, because they were drawn to large energy sources shown by Sauria's dinosaur tribe's unmatched ability to survive. The natives fought back hard but were nearly defeated with certain tribes suffering heavy casualties. But Star Fox quickly rushed in to reinforce the Saurians and destroy the hatchers there.

The Battle of Corneria[]

While Star Fox was on Sauria, a colossal Aparoid armada invaded Corneria itself, nearly decimating the Cornerian Defense Force, assimilating many of the soldiers stationed there, and quickly gaining control of the planet's capital city. The Aparoids also placed a number of EMP jammers throughout Corneria City to disable the use of radar and telecommunications. Star Fox came to stop the Aparoid invasion, with Fox going on foot to seek and destroy the jammers. After an arduous struggle, Fox was then trapped by a multitude of Aparoid ground and air units, and was caught between assimilation or a gruesome fall to his death, but in a turn of events, Wolf came to Fox's rescue and destroyed the Aparoids surrounding Fox. After Star Fox and Wolf defeated a large number of air and land based Aparoids, General Pepper's flagship flew in from over the ocean, having been infected by Aparoidedation. Fox was forced to fight him, and as Pepper was about to die, Peppy rescued him by stabilizing the fall trajectory with his Arwing.

The Battle of The Orbital Gate[]

The Aparoids quickly learned of the invasion plans of their homeworld, and attempted to stop it by launching a full scale offense on the orbital gate. Star Fox and Star Wolf assisted the Cornerians and seemed to hold back the Aparoids' massive waves of fighters. The Aparoids then began to warp in multiple missiles in an attempt to destroy the entire station. After the missiles had been destroyed, the aparoids launched a gigantic, three-part missile, but it was also destroyed before it could achieve its goal. It seemed that while there were still a few Aparoid fighters left in the area, the battle was over.

The Battle of the Aparoid Homeworld[]

The Cornerians launched an offensive on the planet with Star Fox leading the invasion, but the Aparoids managed to reduce the Cornerian fleet by 20% and forced them to retreat. The Aparoids had set up a shield to protect the way into the planet's core. Star Fox took out the generators and the team prepared to go into the planet solo, but the Aparoids activated an auxiliary shield. However, as the Great Fox was under heavy attack by Aparoids attaching themselves to the unprotected rear hull, Peppy and ROB presumably sacrificed themselves by ramming the ship into the shield, taking it down just long enough for the Star Fox Team to get through. The Aparoids threw everything they had in desperation at Star Fox and the Star Wolf team, which had also some how gotten through the Aparoid's defenses, but were unable to stop Star Fox from entering the queen's lair, with Star Wolf distracting a group of Aparoids that was blocking Fox from proceeding further.

The queen initially tried to fool Star Fox into surrendering by using information from things it had absorbed to try and convince Star Fox that the Aparoids were not an enemy, using the voices of the team's friends and father. It didn't work, however, (mainly due to Fox deducing that his father would never tell him to give up) and due to Star Wolf's earlier advice. After a fierce battle, Star Fox succeeded in launching the self-destruct Program into the queen, but she began suppressing it and tried to escape, which would allow it to create an antibody. Star Fox gave chase and after one final battle, was able to set off the program. The Aparoids, the queen, and their homeworld were completely annihilated soon after, and their threat was ended.

Aparoidedation[]

SFA Aparoidedation

Slippy and Fox examine the Aparoidedation effects on ThornTails.

Aparoids can infect other machines and organisms to add to their ranks through a process called Aparoidedation, the end result being a fusion of sorts between the technology, the organism, and the Aparoid.

Symptoms[]

This doesn't appear to be a fast process, but that perhaps depends on the individual. In addition, Aparoidedation, like various illnesses, also have various stages: A light stage has minor disfiguration to the right side that resembles bluish-green cybernetic code/cracks, as evidenced with Peppy Hare shortly before sending the Great Fox on a collision course with the aparoid homeworld's shield generator, and a severe stage, which has the greenish-blue fracture code enveloping the entire right arm as well as a large portion of the right side of the victim's face, severely dark discoloration of the un-cybernetic coded face, red eyes, and part of the victim's internal organs being exposed on the right side, as evidenced by Pigma Dengar when he was infected. The victim's legs may be reduced to a tentaclish puddle if fusing with large machinery when undergoing severe Aparoidedation, as evidenced by Pigma when fusing with the satellite.

Known victims[]

Aparoid

The Aparoidedation's varying stages, mild and severe, as shown on Peppy and Pigma respectively

  • Both Peppy and Pigma's Aparoidedation, regardless of how severe it was, indicated that the process starts on the right side of the victim.
  • During their invasion of Corneria, the Aparoidedation was able to control many Cornerians, including General Pepper, who was fused with his flagship. The process appears to be reversible, as it is later revealed that Pepper survived the experience, but it may also be fatal as shown when a ThornTail that was infected with Aparoidedation, was lying on its side as if it was dead. Lifeforms undergoing Aparoidedation also are capable of surviving the vacuum of space, as evidenced by Pigma breathing in space shortly before merging with a satellite upon undergoing severe Aparodedation.
  • Pigma was also assimilated by the Aparoids, although it appears, though reluctant at first due to the fact that he would have to turn down a profit to do so, that he joined up with them as a last resort to avoid capture from the Star Fox Team, also reveling in his newfound power upon undergoing Aparoidedation. Also, he infected the Cooling Station of the Weather Control Center with aparoids on Fichina. The Aparoids fused him with a giant satellite but he was destroyed (unless Command is believed to be canon, in which case he survives as a cube).
    Infected Cornerian Soldier
  • Cornerian soldiers seem to have been overwhelmed and infected, and there is a glowing pink orb in the center of their chest, indicating where they were infected. The visor is also glowing pink, hinting that they were hit there or they are now receiving their orders from the aparoid queen, but interestingly, they do not show any other signs of infection, other than the fact they attack the Star Fox team, and furthermore, the lasers fired from their guns now are greenish yellow, much like other aparoid units.
  • Cornerian fighters receive a purple tint, the visors become red (if one looks they can see the pilot through the visor, he appears to no longer be in control of the ship, and is presumably dead or infected), additional wings appear, and the ship fires purple lasers. It is unknown as to how the Cornerian fighters were infected, but it can be assumed that the aparoid fighters may have latched onto the ship to control it, as there are additional wings, hinting that an Aparoid latched onto the ship prior to infecting it.
    Infected Pepper Assault
  • There was little visual signs on General Pepper himself that indicated he was infected, but the flagship itself showed definite signs of infection, including a green eye-like organ on the center of the ship. Pepper himself was also surrounded by a pink mass in the cockpit.

Behind the scenes[]

  • When creating Assault, Namco producer Tsuyoshi Kobayashi asked to create an insectoid type of enemy to face against the Star Fox team, in honor of Namco's legacy of arcade shooter titles such as Galaxian and Galaga.
  • The Aparoids are very similar to the "Borg" from Star Trek; their collective consciousness and relentless endeavour to possess all lifeforms and technology in the galaxy are very similar. At one point, Aparoid Pigma also says at the start of the second phase of the boss battle "Resistance is useless," referring to the catchphrase of the Borg, "Resistance is futile." They also bear a resemblance to the insect-like aliens from Starship Troopers.
  • The Aparoids' assault on Corneria and the Lylat system makes them also similar to the Zerg from "Starcraft", as the Zerg in Starcraft were also xenomorphic life forms that infested and controled their enemies and tore their way through the Koprulu sector before they assaulted the Protoss Empire's homeworld of Aiur, inflicting massive casualties and decapitating the Protoss leadership before its leader, the Overmind, was destroyed by the Protoss, just as the aparoids invaded Corneria and caused massive destruction and the decapitation of Corneria's military leadership, until Fox and his team destroyed the Aparoid queen. Both races also rely on massive assaults using overwhelming amounts of expendable shock troops until they overwhelm their enemies.

Notes[]

  • The Aparoids are so far the only major villainous group in the series to not have any prior ties to Andross, either being directly affiliated with him or as pawns. They do however use identical tactics such as surprising attacks and overwhelming numbers in the acts of conquest.
  • A fan theory suggests that the Aparoids are nanotechnology based robots although the theory is still up for debate.
  • In the game's script, Aparoids are not capitalized unless at the beginning of a sentence. This seems to be outdated after Star Fox: Assault however as they use proper capitals in games after.
  • Whenever the Aparoids warped in (such as via the Aparoid Ship or the Aparoid Missile), the resulting gate will form a green, honeycomb-covered object in the sky, only to have several of the pieces fall as the warping Aparoid "crashes" out.

Names in Other Languages[]

Japan (アパロイド, Aparoido)

References[]

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