Star Fox Adventures

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Star Fox Adventures
North American box art
Developer(s) Rare
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Designer(s) Shigeru Miyamoto[1]
Chris Stamper[1]
Lee Schunemann[1]
Series Star Fox
Platform(s) Nintendo GameCube
Release date NA September 23, 2002
JPN September 27, 2002
PAL September 30, 2002
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: T (Teen)
PEGI: 3+
OFLC: G8+
Media 1 × GCN disc
Input methods Gamepad

Star Fox Adventures is an action-adventure game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube and part of the Star Fox series. It was released in North America on September 23, 2002, in Japan on September 27, 2002 and in Europe on September 30, 2002. It was the final game developed by Rare for a Nintendo home video game system, before the company was acquired as a first-party developer for Microsoft's Xbox division.[2] It is the third game in the series, succeeding Star Fox 64.

The storyline centers on the remote Dinosaur Planet (later known as Sauria) of the Lylat system, where Fox McCloud is dispatched by General Pepper to restore the planet after pieces of it have broken off and pose a risk to the system.[1] After arriving, Fox discovers a mystical staff from Krystal and sets off to rescue her and save the planet.

The response to the game was quite positive, with review scores ranging between 7.0 and 9.0.[3] The groundbreaking visuals garnered much praise, especially Fox's new look. The Zelda-like gameplay was also considered one of the title's strengths, but some argued that it was too much of a departure from previous Star Fox games.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

Star Fox Adventures uses a similar gameplay engine as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Its graphics were very sophisticated for its time, receiving particular attention for its real-time fur rendering. Like Ocarina of Time, Star Fox Adventures has a day-and-night phase, but a more accurate and gradual one. Also, a language called Dino (later known as Saurian)[when?] is used in concept similar to that of the Al Bhed language in Square Co.'s Final Fantasy X, except that the letter Y is used only in proper nouns.[1] The game also has a widescreen mode, designed for widescreen television monitors.[1]

The gameplay mechanics themselves closely mirror those of Ocarina of Time, as Fox is on foot for most of the game and pilots his Arwing only to reach another piece of the planet.[1] Similar to Link wielding his Master Sword, General Pepper forbids Fox from using any sort of blaster, quoting "This mission is about saving the planet, not blowing it up" despite the dangers around him and instead relies on Krystal's staff which he discovers on the planet, in order to attack and defeat enemies as well as interact with the surrounding environment. While Fox uses the staff primarily for attacking enemies physically, he can later gain power-ups for the staff which allow it to fire projectiles, freeze enemies, or help him reach high up areas that are normally inaccessible.[1] Fox cannot jump unless he runs off the edge of an object or a cliff, and can roll after landing on the ground, in the same fashion as Link leaps off edges in Ocarina of Time.[4] One key difference between the two games, however, is that Fox acquires his targets automatically when he approaches them, while the player has to manually trigger a lock-on when controlling Link.[1] IGN called this new system "a beneficial addition",[5] and GameSpot stated it "makes targeting a cinch".[4]

[edit] Development

Star Fox Adventures was originally planned for the Nintendo 64, as Dinosaur Planet, a game unrelated to the Star Fox series.[6] The plot concerned Sabre (who became Fox) and Krystal, along with their sidekicks Tricky and Kyte (who appears briefly at the beginning and near the end), and Randorn, a great wizard who was Sabre's father and Krystal's adoptive father (who was dropped entirely). The SwapStone (which became the WarpStone) would let the player switch between Krystal and Sabre.[6]

Artwork from Dinosaur Planet showing various characters, including Krystal's original design
Artwork from Dinosaur Planet showing various characters, including Krystal's original design

Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned in an interview that after reviewing content of Dinosaur Planet for the Nintendo 64 the similarities of Rare's anthropomorphic designs to Nintendo's Fox McCloud design were strikingly similar and the title was changed to be a Star Fox brand launch game for the Nintendo GameCube.[7] It is clear that Dinosaur Planet was far into production by the time it became a Star Fox title. Rare even went so far as to release MP3s from the unreleased game, along with numerous trailers and screenshots of gameplay, much of which appeared in Star Fox Adventures.[8]

The original title was Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, but "Dinosaur Planet" was later removed.[9] The game resulted in being Rare's final console video game released as a second-party title under Nintendo before the UK-based studio was sold and became a first-party developer for Microsoft. Star Fox Adventures, although released early on in GameCube's life, became known as one of the GameCube's most technically outstanding and graphically superior games.

Since its release, Star Fox Adventures has been designated a Player's Choice title by Nintendo, recognizing it as a game that has sold many copies and is available at a reduced retail price.[10]

[edit] Plot

[edit] Characters and setting

Main article: List of characters in the Star Fox series

Adventures features the core Star Fox team, with Falco Lombardi appearing only at the game's end, as well as adding new characters, such as Krystal, Prince Tricky, the tyrannical General Scales, and other dinosaurs. Krystal goes on to become a full-fledged member of the Star Fox team, while Tricky was briefly shown in Star Fox: Assault.

Along with the series regulars, Adventures features a numerous amount of dinosaur and prehistoric characters, all of them based on once living creatures. For example, the ruling EarthWalker tribe, featured prominently in the game, resemble Triceratops, while the rival CloudRunner tribe approximate to Pteranodons. The SharpClaw tribe, which are the major antagonists in Adventures, resemble humanoid Allosaurus. One year later, during the events of Star Fox: Assault, these various dinosaur tribes are decimated by the Aparoid attack on Dinosaur Planet, and in-game dialogue suggests that the SharpClaw may have been driven to extinction.

The entire game takes place on the world of Dinosaur Planet (in later games called "Sauria") and the pieces of the planet itself suspended in orbit. In order to transit to the pieces, Fox must use his Arwing and avoid enemies. These areas include various terrain and climates, such as the grassy hub of ThornTail Hollow, alien-like Moon Mountain Pass, the icy-terrain SnowHorn Wastes. and seaside Cape Claw.[1]

[edit] Story

 The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

Star Fox Adventures takes place eight years after Star Fox 64 on an ancient world of Dinosaur Planet, located on the side of the Lylat system opposite of the planet Corneria.[1] Krystal, a vixen looking for answers to the destruction of her home planet, Cerinia, and the murder of her parents, lands on Krazoa Palace after receiving a distress call from the planet.[1] She discovers that the planet had been attacked by General Scales and his SharpClaw army, and decides to help by collecting all of the Krazoa Spirits and returning them to the palace, which would supposedly tilt the war in the dinosaurs' favor and stop Scales.[11] However, after releasing the first one, a mysterious being pushes Krystal into the spirit's path, thus she is trapped in a floating crystal atop the Krazoa Palace and thus trapped until all the spirits can be returned.

Krystal arrives at Krazoa Palace
Krystal arrives at Krazoa Palace

Meanwhile, Fox McCloud, Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare receive a mission briefing from General Pepper to go to Dinosaur Planet and reattach pieces of the planet that had broken off, as the current state of the planet posed a threat to the welfare of the Lylat System.[12] The team, realizing that they are low on cash and that the Great Fox and Arwings are in dire need of repair, not to mention the departure of Falco Lombardi due to boredom, decide to accept the mission. Fox flies to ThornTail Hollow and recovers Krystal's staff, which she had dropped earlier due to being attacked by General Scales' floating galleon.[13] Fox learns from the Queen EarthWalker that he must find the GateKeeper for each of the four areas that had broken off from the planet in order to gain access to them, and travel to those areas to retrieve the SpellStones, which must be placed in Force Point Temples to keep the planet together, and which had been previously removed by Scales, causing the planet to be torn apart.[1]

After being warped to Ice Mountain by the Warpstone, Fox meets the Queen EarthWalker's son and his new partner, Prince Tricky, in SnowHorn Wastes. Together, they free the GateKeeper to DarkIce Mines and travel there to retrieve the first SpellStone. After defeating Boss Galdon and getting the SpellStone back, Fox travels to the Volcano Force Point Temple, where he places the SpellStone. Upon leaving the temple, the Krazoa Spirit who was released by Krystal informs him that he must also collect the other spirits and release them at Krazoa palace in order to save Krystal's life.[14]

Now finding himself having to not only save the planet but the mysterious blue vixen as well, Fox collects the second Krazoa Spirit in Moon Mountain Pass and releases it. A scene is shown of him seeing Krystal for the first time, he is speechless at her beauty. He then locates the next gatekeeper, the queen of the CloudRunner tribe, at Cape Claw. He gains access to CloudRunner Fortress, encounters General Scales there for the first time, and loses to him in a brief struggle, allowing the general to escape.[15] He collects the second SpellStone and releases it at the Ocean Force Point Temple back on Dinosaur Planet.

Fox has a brief run-in with the LightFoot tribe, who accuse him of stealing an artifact from them.[16] They attempt to execute him, but a CloudRunner fends them off, eventually forcing the tribe to let Fox free. Subsequently, Chief LightFoot orders Fox to break MuscleFoot's records in speed and strength. After that Chief LightFoot dubs Fox "an honorary member of tribe". Fox locates and collects the third Krazoa spirit in the LightFoot Village, and releases it at the palace. He then travels to the third broken piece of Dinosaur Planet, Walled City, after locating the powers of that area's GateKeeper, Tricky's father. Fox defeats the RedEye tribe there, including the King RedEye, in order to claim the third SpellStone. He travels back to the Volcano Force Point Temple once again to place the SpellStone where it belongs. He later ends up traveling to SnowHorn Wastes again, where he finds another Krazoa Shrine and collects the fourth Spirit there.

After finding the final SpellStone at Dragon Rock and placing it at Ocean Force Point Temple, the planet does not come back together. Fox realizes that he must release all the Krazoa spirits to bring the planet back together.[17] He travels back to the Walled City, where he finds another Krazoa Shrine at the top of the large temple, and obtains the spirit there. He heads back to Krazoa Palace, where he releases the spirit and discovers that there had been another shrine right on the roof of the palace. He collects the final Spirit after confronting Scales (who, instead of facing off against Fox, is mystically killed by a strange being with a voice Fox deems familiar) there and releases it, however, instead of freeing Krystal, the Spirits enter her body and exit again. The crystal shatters, and Fox narrowly saves Krystal from falling to her death. She takes her staff back, and the two discover that the real enemy was not General Scales, but Andross, who reveals himself (and judging from his point of view, is the one who trapped Kyrstal in the beginning of the game) to them in the form of a giant head (the same way he was portrayed in Star Fox 64) and flies out into space, supposedly to conquer the Lylat System.[18] Fox chases after him in his Arwing, and defeats him with the help of Falco, who suddenly flies in to assist him, after being absent from the Star Fox team for years.[19] After Andross is finally defeated for good, Falco rejoins the Star Fox team. Krystal flies over to the Great Fox in order to thank Fox for saving her. Fox is too shy for her and everyone laughs at him. ROB senses that his temperature is rising and asks if he is OK, and Fox replies that he will be fine. Fox and Krystal smile to each other, showing they've fallen in love, marking the end of Star Fox Adventures.

[edit] Dinosaurs

Star Fox Adventures features many dinosaurs resembling real-life dinosaurs. Here is a list of the dinosaurs and what they resemble:

[edit] Reception

Reviews and awards
Publication Score
All Game Guide 3.5 of 5[20]
IGN 9.0 of 10[5]
GameSpot 8.3 of 10[4]
Edge 6 of 10[21]
Compilations of multiple reviews
Game Rankings 80 of 100 (based on 79 reviews)[3]
Metacritic 82 of 100 (based on 39 reviews)[22]

Adventures sold over 200,000 copies in Japan following its release, and was the fastest-selling GameCube game at the time.[23]

The in-game graphics in Adventures were commended for their high quality
The in-game graphics in Adventures were commended for their high quality

Star Fox Adventures was generally well received by the game critics. IGN said that the game is a "perfect companion" to The Legend of Zelda series, to which Adventures is often compared.[5] The graphics were highly praised, with Electronic Gaming Monthly noting "the game is a work of art", and the UK magazine Edge wrote that the "visual splendour is immense".[24][25] The game's combat system garnered some accolades, with EGM noting that it is similar to the fluid style of Kilik from the Soul Calibur series of fighting games, and GameSpot adding that the combat is "simplistic, but it's good looking and it isn't frustrating".[4][24] The voice acting was criticized by some, with IGN remarking that it is "over the top" in some places, and EGM disliking the Dino (or Saurian) language used by some of the game's inhabitants.[5][24] Infamously, UK publication NGC magazine awarded the game 72%, which some speculated was due to bitterness over Rare's sale to Microsoft. Several issues later, NGC sarcastically published a score of 98%, which readers could cut out and place over the original if they chose to. It should be noted however that this did not indicate a new score for the game.

Despite the mostly positive reviews, Star Fox Adventures is often criticized for its setting being too much of a departure from the other Star Fox games. IGN noted that "Fans expecting a true Star Fox experience akin to the older games are in for a disappointment. The Star Fox license has been utilized sparingly -- to the point, in fact, where it feels totally out of place within the confines of this game universe. Fox is clearly only on this world at Nintendo's request, not because he belongs".[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m (2002) in Rare: Star Fox Adventures Instruction Booklet (in English). Nintendo of America, 30, 02, 28, 13, 26, 19–20, 20, 08–09, 02, 04, 18. 
  2. ^ IGN: Rare. IGN. Retrieved on September 16, 2006.
  3. ^ a b Star Fox Adventures Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  4. ^ a b c d Star Fox Adventures for GameCube Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  5. ^ a b c d e Star Fox Adventures Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  6. ^ a b IGN: Dinosaur Planet Preview. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  7. ^ IGN: Star Fox Planet?. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  8. ^ IGN: Dinosaur Planet Screenshots, Wallpaper, and Pics. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-17.
  9. ^ IGN: Dinosaurs Travel to Japan. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  10. ^ Master Game List. Nintendo.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
  11. ^ EarthWalker: Only when the spirit has been returned back into the palace it can be used to stop this war. (Star Fox Adventures)
  12. ^ General Pepper: "If Dinosaur Planet explodes, it could affect the entire Lylat System!" (Star Fox Adventures)
  13. ^ Krystal: If you are receiving this message than I am in great danger. (Star Fox Adventures)
  14. ^ Krazoa spirit: I was released when she completed my test but she is now in great danger. And for her to survive you must continue what she started and collect the remaining Krazoa spirits. (Star Fox Adventures)
  15. ^ General Scales: The famous Fox McCloud. How nice of you to pay us a visit. Let me show you some of our hospitality. (Star Fox Adventures)
  16. ^ Chief LightFoot: You take our treasure, and give it to the stinking SharpClaws! (Star Fox Adventures)
  17. ^ Queen EarthWalker: You're right. Without all the spirits the magic cannot be channeled back into the planet. (Star Fox Adventures)
  18. ^ Andross: "And now, to destroy the Lylat System!" (Star Fox Adventures)
  19. ^ Falco Lombardi: Hey, McCloud! Different time, different planet, and you still need Falco's help! It's good to see you, buddy. (Star Fox Adventures)
  20. ^ Star Fox Adventures > Overview. All Game Guide. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  21. ^ Edge Online. Edge Online. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  22. ^ Star Fox Adventures Reviews. metacritic.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  23. ^ Graphs: Weekly GCN Sales in Japan. IGN.com. Retrieved on 2006-01-21.
  24. ^ a b c Star Fox Adventures GC Review. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  25. ^ (2002) in Edge: Star Fox Adventures Review (in English). Future Publishing, 90. 

[edit] External links

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