Phantron

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Fantron
Manufacturer	Andross's Empire
Attack(s)	Laser Cannons Missile Launchers
Height	25 Space Meters
Width	22 Space Meters
Depth	31 Space Meters
Role	Special Close Orbit Robot
Affiliation	Andross
Appearance(s)	Star Fox Star Fox 2
Location	Venom

Fantron is a special machine that hovers in the planet Venom's air space. Every single movement it makes produces a series of after images of its body.

History

Battleship Type

When first encountered in Venom airspace, Fantron is shown to be capable of producing two phantom images of itself to confuse its opponent as well as performing high speed dodge maneuvers to avoid enemy fire. It is also capable of firing multiple shots and missiles while dodging the opponent.

A thing to note about Fantron's mirage technique is that it begins to spin around several times vertically until it creates its illusions. It is possible that its constant circular motion tricks the opponent's mind into seeing more than one Fantron.

The mirage technique is flawless unless the opponent strikes the real Fantron and disrupts its focus, making the other imitation Fantrons disappear.

Fantron cannot take much punishment so it relies mostly on its dodge and deception strategy. Having very little hull armor makes it very vulnerable to projectiles but it is a much faster fighter in the long run.

Once Fantron is cornered, it quickly retreats to the planet's surface below.

The Battleship Type also is briefly fought on Venom and requires the same strategy to defeat. Unlike during the airspace battle, however, when defeated, it then moves around and immediately transforms into its Robot type (see relevant section below).

Firing a bomb at Fantron when it is orbiting Venom results in it firing a krypton missile that can instantly kill the player. The way to avoid it is to not move at all; apparently, it is a motion-detecting missile, so it misses completely if no movement occurs.

Robot Type

Robot Type

When approached a second time on the planet Venom's surface by the player and defeated by the player a second time, Fantron will resort to its emergency strategy. It will transform into a much larger mecha mode.

This mode reduces its speed, but it also retains all of the abilities it had in its previous form, but with an additional "Tron Attack" that allows it to detach one of its legs and send it careening in the player's direction. For some unexplained reason, it somehow regrows its thrown leg.

Star Fox 2

Hunter Fantron

Hunter Fantron

Hunter Fantron, or "H Fantron", would have been an rebuilt version of the original Phantron suited for close quarters grappling combat. What it lost in maneuverability and, most notably, its deceptive tactics, it made up for its newfound strength and heightened hull armor. When traveling, it keeps its long cable-like grappler arms tucked underneath it until its victims come into range. When the player is held fast by its swinging arms, it unleashes a flurry of laser fire on the helpless starfighter often resulting in the loss of a pilot. In the early version of Star Fox 2, it replaced the Mirage Dragon as the primary space boss on a higher difficulty setting.

Gallery

Names in Other Languages

Japan	(ファントロン Phantron) (空間浮遊ロボット Space Floatation Robot)

Trivia

• The Fantron is similar to his successor, the Gorgon, from Star Fox 64, since they can throw off their opponent in a physics-defying way.

References

• Star Fox (End Credits)
• Star Fox 1993; Instruction Booklet