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General

General Pepper's Flight Log, pg 90
What a place to battle! Andross has turned Zoness into a toxic waste dump and is rumored to be building a supply base there! Fox, see what kind of trouble he is brewing up there. Watch out for mutated native life-forms- they're tough! Andross's refinery installations have security systems with high powered searchlights to scan through Zoness's tainted atmosphere. Don't let the searchlights spot you or you'll lose the element of surprise.
97 Pepper Live

Zoness is one of two oceanic worlds of the Lylat System, the other being Aquas, although unlike Aquas, it has many islands that break the water's surface.

Overview[]

Planetary Compendium
Zoness was once the aquatic vacation world of the Lylat system. The planet is nearly covered with ocean, with only small groups of islands breaking the watery surface. However, Andross's bio-weapon has polluted the once beautiful oceans and transformed the beautiful sea creatures into hideous monstrosities.
Star Fox 64 logo

Nearly covered with ocean, small groups of islands and Cornerian-made bases are the only ground that breaks above the crashing waves of Zoness. The planet is near the stars of Lylat, so it is tropical in nature. Zoness was home to a wide array of aquatic animals, including the dragon-like Todora, Troika fish, and Z-Gulls. A favored dish of many seaside restaurants were Kani. Zoness was the second most-visited planet in the Lylat System at one point, Corneria being the first.

History[]

Lylat Wars[]

Before the Lylat Wars, Zoness was the premier holiday planet for anyone who could afford it. However, the planet was secretly conquered by the Androssians and was transformed from a paradise to a nightmare. Toxic dumping turned the ocean into a sickly-green color and mutated the native life forms tremendously. Andross began construction on new supply depots and refinery stations when the Star Fox team attacked the planet.

Rather than taking its defenses head-on, the team attempted to sneak in quietly. It was a hit-and-run attack. A series of Radar Buoys protected the main supply areas, scanning the skies with powerful flood-lamps, and formed an extensive early warning network. The team was able to destroy the buoys, with some surprise assistance from Katt Monroe, before they could alert the system and proceeded to lay waste to the infrastructure.

In the final moments of the attack, Fox McCloud confronted the Sarumarine, one of the sources of the planet-wide pollution. In a hard-fought battle, Fox destroyed the poisonous submarine and put an end to the one of the origins of the toxic waste.

Aparoid Invasion[]

Nine years after the Lylat Wars, Corneria City news made information about a large environmental clean-up of Zoness known to the public, by the use of noticeboards, however, the planetary fate was undisclosed due to the large-scale annihilation of Corneria.

Trivia[]

  • Actual footage of Zoness before its mass pollution was showcased during the working stages of Star Fox 64.
    • In the same footage, what seems to be an unused Sarumarine crewman appears via comm channel. Many of his lines can be heard in the rejected developer dub.
  • Peppy's entry on the Japanese Star Fox 64 site tells that he took his wife Vivian on their honeymoon to Zoness, explaining his shock at seeing the state of the planet.
  • Falco's disgust at seeing the planet polluted, in sharp contrast with his usual cool demeanor, may imply Zoness was his homeworld. That level being where Katt Monroe, a character he has history with, first appears, could support this.
  • Like other names, Zoness is a reference to Captain Harlock; specifically the Zoness warships belonging to the Mazone. Both are named after the Amazon tribe of female warriors from Greek mythology.
  • During 64's development, stages were mostly named after their theme had been decided, often to fit their code initials. As Zoness' initials were ZO, it's possible the stage was originally nicknamed "Zōsui" (増水) meaning "flood." In the Japanese guide, the gates are specifically called "flood gates," which Japan uses to keep rivers from flooding or tsunamis from reaching inland. As it does not make sense for floodgates to be in the middle of the ocean, this suggests Andross may have been planned to flood the islands during development.

Names in other languages[]

Language Name
Japanese (ゾネス, Zonesu)

References[]

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