Star Fox
| Star Fox | |
|---|---|
| developer |
Nintendo EAD Argonaut Software Rare Namco Q-Games Platinum Games |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Designer | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| First title | Starwing (1993) |
| Last title | Star Fox 2 (2017) |
| Platform (s) |
Super Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo 64 Nintendo GameCube Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console ( Wii & Wii U ) Wii U SNES Classic Mini |
| Genre (s) |
Shoot 'em up action adventure |
Star Fox ( Japanese ス タ ー フ ォ ッ ク ス , Sutā Fokkusu ) is a video game series from Nintendo that was invented by Shigeru Miyamoto . In Europe, the first game in the series was released in 1993 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System under the name Starwing .
content
The space pilot Fox McCloud , accompanied by his teammates Peppy Hare , Slippy Toad , Krystal (only in the younger parts Star Fox Adventures, Star Fox Assault and Star Fox Command) and Falco Lombardi , fights for peace in the Lylat system , which is created by the mad scientist Andross is threatened. In so-called arwings (spaceships), landmaster tanks and submarines , the Star Fox team fights in space or on planetary surfaces against Andross' enemy squadrons, aparoids and other opponents.
Gameplay
In general, the Star Fox games are 3D shoot 'em ups . The player controls Fox's vehicle and tries to maneuver it safely through different levels and shoot down as many enemies as possible, as well as avoid enemy fire and collisions. For the most part of the level Fox moves on a fixed trajectory and can move up, down or sideways within this until he finally meets an end boss at the end of the level who has to be defeated. In some levels, however, the Star Fox team flies in "open formation", and the player can move freely in all directions within an area in order to fulfill a certain objective, such as the destruction of certain objects within a time limit.
Main series games
Starwing
The first title in the series was released in early 1993 in Japan under the title Star Fox (Japanese ス タ ー フ ォ ッ ク ス Sutāfokkusu ) for Super Nintendo . It was launched in Europe in the summer of 1993 under the name Starwing . It was the first game to use the integrated Super FX chip and for the first time enabled 3D graphics with polygons, which were revolutionary at the time, on the SNES . The British company Argonaut Games was heavily involved in the development of the chip and the basic programming .
The gameplay consists exclusively of controlling Fox McCloud's Arwing space glider through a predefined and automatically scrolling environment. Opponents have to be eliminated by laser or bomb fire and obstacles have to be avoided. At the start of a game there is the option of choosing one of three linear routes, all of which start on the home planet Corneria . At the end of each level there is a final boss to be defeated. The routes lead over other planets or space areas to the planet Venom , where the final boss Andross is waiting.
The three wingmen Falco, Peppy and Slippy accompany and support Fox through the levels, but also regularly seek the support of the player when they are followed by an opponent. Depending on how well the player has done in the respective level, an evaluation of the performance on a percentage scale appears after the end of each level.
Starwing can only be played in single player. It also appeared as one of 21 pre-installed games on the SNES Classic Mini . Since all the games on this console are available as English NTSC versions, the game is also available for the first time in Europe as Star Fox .
Lylat Wars
Fox 'debut on the Nintendo 64 first appeared on April 27, 1997 in Japan under the title Star Fox 64 (Japanese ス タ ー フ ォ ッ ク ス 64 ). The game had outstanding polygon graphics at the time , Japanese (only in Japan), English (USA and Europe) and "Lylatian" (only in Europe) voice output as well as a multiplayer mode with game variants for up to four people. For the first time the Rumble Pak was used, which also appeared in a bundle with the game.
A new edition appeared in 2011 under the title Star Fox 64 3D for the Nintendo 3DS ( see below ).
Star Fox Adventures
The game originally developed as Dinosaur Planet by Rare for the Nintendo 64 was released for the GameCube in 2002 . Initially developed without any reference to the Star Fox series, at the request of Shigeru Miyamoto the story was moved to the Lylat universe during porting and the main character Saber was replaced by Fox McCloud. In contrast to the previous parts, Star Fox Adventures is no longer a shoot 'em up, but ostensibly belongs to the action adventure genre. It is therefore reminiscent of the Zelda series in terms of gameplay .
Star Fox Adventures was the last title from Rare for the Nintendo GameCube, as the company was subsequently taken over by Microsoft and from now on (with a few exceptions) only develops exclusive titles for the in-house consoles of the Xbox series .
Star Fox Assault
This GameCube game was released in Europe on April 29, 2005. It combines the gameplay of Lylat Wars with a more deathmatch- like gameplay of a third-person shooter . Accordingly, the multiplayer mode is the most extensive of the Star Fox series to date. Star Fox Assault uses a more extensive arsenal and many technical details - such as the spaceship ( Arwing ) - have been improved. Ground missions were also introduced here, in which the player must simultaneously monitor the airspace; these mission types are some of the largest in Star Fox Assault.
The game is considered to be the weakest representative of the series, especially in comparison to its predecessors, which is not least due to the short development time and the cooperation with Namco .
Star Fox Command
This Star Fox title developed by Q-Games for the Nintendo DS was first announced at E3 2006 . Many tactical elements have also been added in this part of the series. Before each mission, a route must be explored on an overview map and flown off before the dogfight can take place . For the first time in the main game, not only Fox, but also his comrades (some of whom have left the team in the game) and even former enemies can be controlled by the player. The story is not linear and can be influenced by actions taken by the player between the missions. There are a total of nine different game ends that can be reached.
Star Fox Command supports a multiplayer mode (local and online - the latter has since been discontinued) and the touchscreen with which you control the vehicle. The game was released on January 27, 2007.
Star Fox 64 3D
In Star Fox 64 3D is a remake of the classic Lylat Wars , which was released on September 9, 2011th Most of the content was taken over and graphically improved, the story and the gameplay remained identical. What is new is the so-called gyro control , which implements control of the vehicle by moving the console. In addition to the previous levels of difficulty Normal and Expert , a third mode, 3DS, has been added, which is specially (but not exclusively) optimized for gyro control. The Japanese and English voice output has also been renewed, but in some cases with different voice actors than in the version for the Nintendo 64. In Europe there was also localized voice output for the first time, including in German.
The multiplayer mode has been completely changed, which in contrast to Lylat Wars now contains new maps and new upgrades. Multiplayer duels for up to four players are only possible locally, there is no online mode.
Star Fox Zero
As part of the E3 2014 announced Shigeru Miyamoto , a new Star Fox for the Wii U to. At E3 2015, the game was officially launched as Star Fox Zero . It represents a restart of the series and combines elements from Lylat Wars with ideas from the discontinued Star Fox 2 . Nintendo took over the development together with Platinum Games . StarFox Zero also supports Nintendo's amiibo figures. Originally, the game should have been released on November 20, 2015, but in mid-September Nintendo announced that the release would be postponed to the 1st quarter of 2016. The game was released together with Star Fox Guard ( see below ) on April 22, 2016.
Offshoots and unreleased games
Starwing Official Competition
Starwing Official Competition (also known as Super Weekend and Star Fox Competition ) is a former competition that was held by the game magazine Nintendo Power at various game fairs. The gameplay is basically identical to Starwing, but greatly shortened. The introduction, story, training and route selection have been removed so that the game can move forward quickly and allow each of the thousand participants at the Spielzeit trade fair to take part. You can only select one of the four preset controller settings, after which the first level begins immediately. During the playing time, a timer runs which can be increased by a few seconds by shooting opponents. If the timer runs out, it is game over and it is the next participant's turn.
This version is very rare and was only issued directly to the respective trade fair operator by Nintendo. The game never appeared in retail stores, but individual modules were repeatedly auctioned off online.
Star Fox 2
The planned successor was based on the Starwing gameplay, but expanded it fundamentally. Instead of prescribed and automatically scrolling paths, the levels now offer an area that can be explored freely in all directions. The player can choose between six characters (in addition to the original Star Fox team, the two pilots Miyu and Fay could also be selected) with three different variants of the arwing, which differ in attack and defense power. In levels with a solid surface, the Arwings can transform themselves into two-legged robots . You could also meet the hostile Star Wolf team for the first time. A multiplayer mode was also planned.
The discontinuation of the game was justified among other things by the fact that Nintendo wanted to draw a clear line between the 2D and 3D generation. Especially with regard to the already much more advanced consoles of the competition - especially the significantly more powerful PlayStation , which appeared in 1994/95 - Nintendo did not want to publish any 3D games on outdated and limited hardware. The development of its own 3D console, Nintendo 64 , was also in full swing. As a result, the publication was put on hold and ultimately canceled entirely, despite its almost complete completion at the time. Nevertheless, the game was further developed, completed and also handed over to the quality assurance team at Club Mario.
In the meantime, various versions from different development stages have found their way onto the Internet as ROMs. Some of these were still very buggy until 2004 when a 99% working beta version came on the Internet. Dylan Cuthbert, developer at Q-Games and formerly Argonaut Software , confirmed in an interview with NintendoLife in 2015 that a version that is 100% ready for publication exists and that he has it in his possession. This version should also offer more content than the versions of the game circulating on the Internet.
For a long time no other official publication was planned. Though consideration was given to releasing Star Fox 2 as a Virtual Console title for the Nintendo Wii or Wii U , this was never implemented due to difficulties with the emulation of the Super FX chip. For this reason, other popular titles such as Yoshi's Island are missing in the catalog for Virtual Console titles. It wasn't until the SNES Classic Mini was announced in 2017 that Star Fox 2 was officially advertised as one of the pre-installed titles. The console was released on December 29, 2017 and contains 20 other games in addition to Star Fox 2. Artworks , (virtual) game boxes and operating instructions in the style of the original concept drawings were created especially for this publication by the original character designer Takaya Imamura .
Star Fox Virtual Boy
A Star Fox title was in the works for the Virtual Boy , which was shown for the first time at E3 1995 . Apart from some recordings of the presentation, no further information is known and since the Virtual Boy was also very badly received on the market and is considered a flop by Nintendo, development was stopped.
Star Fox Guard
Star Fox Guard is a spin-off that comes with the first retail version of Star Fox Zero as a bonus, but can also be purchased separately from the Nintendo eShop. It was originally presented as a tech demo at E3 2014 under the title Project Guard . The game principle is a tower defense variant. As slippy, the player controls the security system of an industrial complex and has to place up to 12 surveillance cameras in the area. Intruders must be tracked down and destroyed via these. The game is announced with over 100 missions, but more levels can be created by players and shared online. On April 22, 2016, Star Fox Guard was released parallel to Star Fox Zero.
Other media
Comics and Manga
Nintendo Power Comics
The American magazine Nintendo Power published several Star Fox comics in issues 45 to 55 (February to December 1993), which expand and shed more light on the events in Starwing. Drawings and story come from Mangaka Benimaru "Ashura" Itoh (also involved in illustrations and character designs for various games in the Pokémon , Kirby and Earthbound series).
Lylat Wars comic
As part of the publication of Lylat Wars in Germany, a Lylat Wars comic was published in 1997 as a free special edition 6 of Club Nintendo magazine . This comic also does not tell a new story, but rather represents an extended adaptation of the events in Lylat Wars.
Star Fox Adventures manga
For the Japanese market, Nintendo published the manga Farewell, Beloved Falco ( Japanese さ ら ば 愛 し の フ ァ ル コ , Saraba aishi no Faruko ) on the official Japanese homepage of Star Fox Adventures in 2002 . This manga completes the historical gap after the end of Lylat Wars and tells an original story with various recurring and new characters from the game series. The conclusion of the manga leads to the beginning of Star Fox Adventures .
Anime
To market Star Fox Zero, Nintendo released a Star Fox short anime . The anime was created in collaboration with Wit Studio and Production IG and was released on YouTube on April 20, 2016 . It is available in different language versions, including German, Japanese and English.
Web links
- Star Fox at MobyGames (English)
- Official German Star Fox Adventures website
- Born slippy: the making of Star Fox (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gaming Universe: Miyamoto confirms new Star Fox ( Memento of the original from June 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Nintendo Officially Announces Star Fox Zero
- ↑ Miyamoto on using the amiibo characters in Star Fox: Zero. (No longer available online.) Nintendo-Magazin.de, June 27, 2015, archived from the original on July 1, 2015 ; accessed on August 2, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Nintendo Autumn / winter 2015 release schedule. (No longer available online.) Nintendo of Europe , August 24, 2015, p. 1 , archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; accessed on August 24, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Nintendo: A Message from Miyamoto-san regarding Star Fox Zero. September 18, 2015, accessed September 19, 2015 .
- ↑ Star Fox: Super Weekend. In: ign.com. Retrieved September 19, 2015 .
- ↑ The Full Story Behind Star Fox 2, Nintendo's Most Famous Cancellation. In: NintendoLife. May 22, 2015, accessed September 19, 2015 .
- ↑ A Totally Complete Version Of Star Fox 2 Really Does Exist. In: NintendoLife. May 21, 2015, accessed September 19, 2015 .
- ↑ Nintendo Explains Why 'Star Fox 2' Skipped Virtual Console And Came To The SNES Classic Edition. In: forbes.com. June 30, 2017, accessed December 31, 2017 .
- ↑ German Star Fox 2 instruction manual
- ↑ a b Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES - Developer Interview Part 1: "Star Fox" + "Star Fox 2". In: nintendo.de. September 7, 2017, accessed December 31, 2017 .
- ↑ Star Fox (Virtual Boy - Canceled). In: Unseen64. May 18, 2008, accessed September 19, 2015 .
- ↑ First edition of the Nintendo Power Star Fox Comics (English)
- ↑ Farewell, beloved Falco at Nintendo.co.jp (Japanese)
- ↑ Star Fox Zero: The Fight Begins. In: aniSearch.de. April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016 .
