Star Fox (game)

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Star Fox

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This article is about the first game of the Star Fox series. For other uses, see here.

Star Fox
Developer(s)	Nintendo Argonaut Software
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release	Japan: February 21, 1993 North America: March 23, 1993 Europe: June 3, 1993
Genre	3D Shooter
Mode	Single Player
Platform	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Media	8 Mbit Super FX cartridge
Followed by	Star Fox 64

Star Fox (known in the PAL region as Starwing) is the original video game made for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game introduces Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team on a mission to save the Lylat System from the evil clutches of Andross. The game was originally intended to have a direct sequel, Star Fox 2; however, it went unreleased due to the looming Nintendo 64, and it was decided that the next title would be more akin to a series reboot rather than a true sequel.

Plot Synopsis

The evil Andross has invaded the Lylat system and has taken over all planets in it. It is up to the Star Fox team to thwart him and his henchmen. When they get to Venom, no matter what route, they must destroy Andross's "true form" for victory.

Plot

Dr. Andross has been planning his revenge for years. Biding his time on Venom, the planet he was exiled to, he has formed a massive army from the planets lizard-like natives as well as lizard criminals exiled there. Finally with all the weapons he can muster, he has operated a Blitzkreig-like warfare, capturing nearly every planet. Now all that is left is Corneria. But General Pepper of the Cornerian Army has hired the mercenary squadron that's known as the Star Fox Team. The team consisting of Fox McCloud, Peppy Hare, Falco Lombardi, and Slippy Toad are ordered by General Pepper to save the Lylat System. They are first deployed on Corneria with advanced prototype combat ships known as Arwings. The team battles through the Venomian Army and Fox destroy its Attack Carrier (though if the third route is selected, Falco will destroy it instead and Fox will take on the Destructor).

If they stumble upon the Black Hole in the middle of the easy route, General Pepper will state that this area is where Fox's father was last seen before he went missing; fortunately, it turns out to be a warp zone consisting of three looping rings that transport the team to another location. In a dark turn of the hard route, Fox might also be teleported to a location known as Out of this Dimension! In this outcome, Fox's last transmission he ever received from Pepper was a plea of desperation since he disappeared. Fox's only choice is to fight the odd papier-mâché creatures there. After destroying the random Slot Machine boss, the level does not end and a variant of the game credits will roll up. Fox can shoot the letters of THE END, but they will reassemble and enemy fighters will mess up the letters again. This is literally the end for Fox McCloud - he will inevitably be killed due to the infinitely-spawning enemies, no supply rings and no escape. The game will thus always end at a game over if this level is accessed.

Not counting the Black Hole or Dimension levels, there are three route orders in the game. In the easy path: The Star Fox team then head to the Asteroid Belt where they destroy the Rock Crusher, attack the Andross Space Armada and destroy the flagship's Atomic Base, and destroy the Dancing Insector of the Battle Base Meteor. In the medium route, they go to Sector X and destroy the Rock Crusher, recapture the weather control base and destroy the corrupted Professor Hanger at Titania, and save the "undersea" lifeforms of Sector Y by eliminating the Plasma Hydra. On the hard route, they'll destroy the Blade Barrier of the Asteroid Field, destroy Andross's mutated Monarch Dodora at Fortuna, take out the Atomic Base II at Sector Z, and finally destroy the Spinning Core at Macbeth and stop the Venomian Army from building a base.

At the end of each line of victories, Venom will be the last place to visit. Depending on the selected path, they will enter a different side of the planet. This begins at the airspace and the team will take it to ground level. The resilient Phantron is the boss of the easy path, the Metal Smasher and its Galactic Rider escape pod is the medium route's boss, and the Great Commander is the final line of defense for the hard route.

Finally, Andross is left. Fox goes down to fight. Andross taunts Fox continuously until Fox enters his warped room. This incarnation of Andross was an inorganic computer cube transmitting Andross' face on each side surrounded by metallic polygonal plates forming an outer layer; in the easy and medium paths the face resembled a human, but Andross takes a more demonic appearance on the hard path. Fox destroyed this form's shell through its vulnerable glowing eyes. Fox destroyed the Andross computer and flew out of the self-destructing base. Fox then received a message from General Pepper congratulating them, and the surviving Star Fox team flew back to Corneria.

Gameplay

Controls

There are four control configurations to choose from, the default being Type A.

Type	D-Pad (Left, Right)	D-Pad (Up, Down)	Start	Select	L	R	A	B	X	Y
Type A	Left and Right	Dive and Climb	Pause	Switch Viewpoints	Roll Left	Roll Right	Fire a Nova Bomb	Retro-rocket	Speed Boost	Laser Blaster
Type B	Left and Right	Dive and Climb	Pause	Switch Viewpoints	Roll Left	Roll Right	Laser Blaster	Retro-rocket	Speed Boost	Retro-rocket
Type C	Left and Right	Climb and Dive	Pause	Switch Viewpoints	Roll Left	Roll Right	Fire a Nova Bomb	Retro-rocket	Speed Boost	Laser Blaster
Type D	Left and Right	Climb and Dive	Pause	Switch Viewpoints	Roll Left	Roll Right	Fire a Nova Bomb	Laser Blaster	Speed Boost	Retro-Rocket

Items

Supply ring	After you fly through this ring, it will become your starting point if your ship is destroyed before you finish the stage. Flying through this ring will also restore most of your shield energy.
Small Energy Supply	This small ring will appear after you have destroyed certain enemies or missiles. When you fly through it, some of your shield energy will be replenished.
Power Shield	When you obtain this item, you will be impervious to the next several enemy attacks.
Twin Blaster	This will upgrade the Arwing's Laser Blasters to Twin Blaster Type A. If Type A is already enabled, it will upgrade them to Type B.
Wing gyro	If a wing is damaged, this will repair one broken wing.
Smart Bomb	This will equip the Arwing with an extra Nova Bomb, up to a maximum of five.
Extra Ship	The player must shoot the three objects to make an arwing appear in the middle. The player must then fly through the ship in order to gain a 1-Up.

Objective

The goal for every mission is to destroy the enemy leader that waits at the end of the stage. The Arwing is taken on a direct path to the main boss of each area, keeping the player locked in a fixed path and forcing them to navigate through a series of obstacles and enemies. If the player ventures too far towards the edge of the flight path, arrows will guide them back to the main course.

Levels

The map of the Lylat system.

• Level 1
  • Corneria
  • Asteroid
  • Space Armada
  • Meteor
  • Venom (airspace)
  • Venom (surface)
• Level 2
  • Corneria
  • Sector X
  • Titania
  • Sector Y
  • Venom (airspace)
  • Venom (highway)
• Level 3
  • Corneria
  • Asteroid
  • Fortuna
  • Sector Z
  • Macbeth
  • Venom (airspace)
  • Venom (surface)
• Secret Stages
  • Black Hole
  • Out of This Dimension

Reception

Star Fox teaser poster from Nintendo Power volume 45

At the time of the game's release, the use of filled, three-dimensional polygons in a console game was considered to be revolutionary, along with a handful of earlier titles, including Sega Genesis ports of Atari's arcade driving game, Hard Drivin, and their helicopter shooter, Steel Talons. Star Fox was awarded Best Shooter of 1993 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. The game 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 Power's 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.

Legacy

This game, while starting it all, is often ignored and not usually considered part of the canonical universe. In an early interview, Shigeru Miyamoto apparently considered Star Fox 64 to be a remake or a series reboot. The recap present in the Star Fox: Assault instruction manual also ignores the original game and begins the series at Star Fox 64. However, the official Star Fox Adventures Japanese site stated that the events of the SNES and N64 games are two sides of the same coin, implying that they could directly co-exist within the same timeline. In addition, the prologue for Star Fox 64 mentioned that Andross had "once again invaded the Lylat System" and that the new Star Fox Team led by Fox McCloud had been hired to save Corneria and free the Lylat System "once again," implying that the events of the SNES game happened (as the prologue's only other mention of a conflict with Andross was the one where James McCloud's Star Fox Team was betrayed to Andross by Pigma). In spite of the confusion, both games are still referenced in the Smash Bros. series, even comparing the two forms of Andross and suggesting that the SNES incarnation was not the real Andross. In WarioWare: Smooth Moves, one of the boss microgames is a brief reenactment of a stage from the original game, culminating in a final battle against the Famicom ROB. Concept art for General Pepper in Star Fox: Assault also included an artwork of Pepper wearing sunglasses just like his appearance in the SNES Star Fox game. One of the stills from the prologue to the questionably-canon Star Fox: Command also had the Star Fox team's designs strongly resembling their appearance in the SNES Star Fox game, but the still itself even invoked a similar appearance to the Nintendo Power advertisement for the game. As of such, it is unknown as whether the game is canon or not.

Comic Adaptation 

In 1993, Nintendo Power released a comic book series, in which each issue tells it's own version of the Star Fox series, based on the continuity at the time.

Trivia

• At the End Credits, a Boss Roll call plays, which names most boss characters, filling details on each one's Height, Width, Depth and arnaments.
• The Star Fox Adventures prequel manga, Farewell, Beloved Falco, does show elements of the original game - a simulation game resembling the SNES video game is a popular pastime of younger members of the Star Fox team, and the Andross AI interface had its design borrowed from the SNES game's human face.
  • In addition, the design of the character of Shears is based on the design of the unnamed character (presumably General Pepper) in the unreleased sequel. 

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Fox_(video_game)
• Star Fox (End Credits)
• Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco