25 Things You DIDN'T Know About Star Fox

25 Things You Didn’t Know About Star Fox

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 25 things you may not have known about “Star Fox”!

The Many Stitches of “Star Fox 64”

“Star Fox 64” is the most interesting game in the entire franchise. Not only is this game regarded as the best “Star Fox” game ever made, it is also a reboot of the original “Star Fox” released in 1993. Not sure how you reboot a series after only one game, but when you dig into the game’s development, it starts to make sense. Following the cancellation of “Star Fox 2”, creator Shigeru Miyamoto and his team went back to the drawing board to figure out how to make this new title work. Essentially, they took some ideas from “Star Fox 2”, such as utilizing different vehicles for some levels, and blended that with the core mechanics of the original “Star Fox”. That combined with the technological advancements of the Nintendo 64 is what made “Star Fox 64”.

Send My Condolences to Your Vixen Wife

It sounds farfetched when said out loud, but would you believe that “Star Fox” has some connection to “Team Fortress 2”? It’s nothing in the narrative, but one may be surprised to hear that a couple of voice actors have done work on both Valve’s acclaimed FPS and Nintendo’s flagship on-rails shooter. Rick May, best known for the voice of the Soldier in TF2, was also known as the voice of Peppy Hare and Andross in “Star Fox 64”. As for Grant Goodeve, who voiced TF2’s Engineer, he served as the voice of Wolf O’Donnell in “Star Fox: Assault”.

For the Krazoa. You Monster.

In case the titles didn’t make it clear, “Team Fortress 2” is not the only Valve game to share actors with “Star Fox”. In “Star Fox: Assault”, Krystal is voiced by Alesia Glidewell. Prior to this, Glidewell had only voiced Carmelita Fox and Constable Neyla in “Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves”. After “Assault”, Glidewell became more recognizable once “Portal” caught the PC world by storm. Glidewell became the facemap for Chell in both “Portal” games and would later voice Zero Suit Samus as well as Krystal in the “Super Smash Bros.” games.

The Uprising That Didn’t Happen

For those unfamiliar, “Kid Icarus: Uprising” was a 3DS game that played a little similarly to the “Star Fox” games. Every level would begin with an on-rails shooting segment before taking the rest of the game into a somewhat more traditional third-person shooter portion. Still, the similarities were enough to cause some folks to ask why this wasn’t a “Star Fox” game instead. Well, director and writer Masahiro Sakurai admits to almost going in that direction. In a 2010 interview with TIME magazine, Sakurai explains that the gameplay ideas and moments he wanted to incorporate into “Uprising” would not have fit the “Star Fox” formula, the most notable being able to turn around while flying. Funny to hear that today after experiencing the awful camera controls in “Star Fox Zero”, right?

A Retconned System?

Most “Star Fox” fans know the situation with “Star Fox Command”: absolutely nothing in this game is to be taken seriously as none of it is canon. Even so, it’s strange to play this game given that it takes place in the Lylat System, yet it is very clearly missing a few key locations. We can understand Area 6 and Bolse missing because those were just Andross’s own space stations outside of Venom. But where are MacBeth and Zoness? Why is Titania missing its rings? And how did Sector Y manage to stray farther from Corneria? Nothing about “Command’s” map makes a lick of sense here.

The Obscurity of Fox’s Mother

James McCloud, Fox’s dad, has been a prominent figure throughout the franchise. But what about Fox’s mother? Does he even have one? Well, as a matter of fact, he does! According to the short-lived 1993 comics, Fox’s mother is named Vixy Reinard McCloud, and just like her husband, she too was killed by Andross. Andross had a deep obsession for Vixy despite her already being married to James. In an attempt to kill James, Andross had only caused Vixy to die, thus cementing the feud between the McClouds and the mad scientist.

The Fastest Cornerian

While we’re on the subject of Fox’s parents, James McCloud has a rather interesting alternate life. Be it because of interdimensional travel or perhaps some bizarre alternate reality, James got to experience a brief racing career in both “F-Zero X” and “F-Zero GX”. James serves as an unlockable character in both games and even comes with a machine heavily inspired by the Arwing. His bios even state that he leads a patrol squad named “Galaxy Dog” and is rivals with a man named O’Donnell. One of the non-canon endings in “Star Fox Command” takes this connection a step further and shows Fox and Falco entering a race called “G-Zero Grand Prix”.

Andross’s Origins

Compared to the rest of the cast from across the games, Andross’s inception has a few bizarre moments. For starters, character designer Takaya Imamura has stated how every character is based on someone who worked at Nintendo, Fox being based on Shigeru Miyamoto himself for having, according to Imamura, a face that looks like a fox. Andross, in particular, Imamura had based off of his own boss, believed to be Hiroshi Ikeda. As for how his English name was created, it is a portmanteau of the term “android” and Sir Edmund Andros, the 17th century governor of the Dominion of New England who was infamous for illegally imposing taxes, actively disrupting trade that sent New England into economic turmoil, exercising the military to oppress citizens, and had political opponents arrested and imprisoned.

ESRB Conundrums

When it comes to age ratings, the “Star Fox” games have faced a couple of bizarre warnings, specifically for “Star Fox Adventures” and “Star Fox: Assault”. “Star Fox Adventures” was rated T for Teen in North America with one of the reasons being depictions of “animated blood”. The weird part about this is that there is no depiction of blood throughout the game, just moments where Fox and Krystal flash red when taking damage. As for “Assault”, the game also received a T for Teen rating for the sole reason of “fantasy violence”. Every other “Star Fox” game has received an E for Everyone rating or E10+ for Everyone Ages 10 and Up.

Language Exclusivity

For a time, it was quite common for games to have different versions across certain regions. Not all of these differences were game-changing, however. “Star Fox 64” is a good example of this occurrence. Most of the differences between the NTSC, PAL, and Japanese versions are purely cosmetic, at least that’s what it seems on the surface. PAL regions actually got an extra language setting for “Star Fox 64”--er, I mean “Lylat Wars”, that other regions didn’t get. Go into the Language settings, and you can choose between having the English voiceover…or have the characters speak in “Lylat”. This setting also removes the narration from the start of a campaign…sadly.

Lost Lylat Literature

Earlier, we had mentioned something about the original “Star Fox” game getting a series of comic books. Yes, you heard that right – the 1993 original game got a 11-issue series about Fox McCloud, his past, and the various adventures the Star Fox team has been through. This was not an uncommon method for Nintendo to market some of their games as there were several other comic books published through Nintendo Power. Perhaps one of these days Nintendo can publish these old works of literature in some fashion?

Lyssa Browne, Lylat’s Legendary Lass

While we all dunk on Slippy for being the least useful of the Star Fox team, he does have more utility in that he reveals health bars of bosses. But the lovely lady behind the helpless frog is none other than Lyssa Browne. Browne has been the voice of Slippy in “Star Fox 64”, “Star Fox 64 3D”, “Star Fox Zero”, and even the “Super Smash Bros.” series. As far as other games go, Browne has also provided voices for games like “Monday Night Combat”, “Shank”, and “Dead Or Alive 4” where she voiced Spartan-458, aka “Nicole”.

The Devious Yaru de Pon

Don’t know who we’re talking about? Then, you must not have ever touched the Training mode in “Star Fox 64” as this is the only part of the game he ever appears in. But much like the evil Andross, there is a somewhat sinister connection to his name. Due to the similarities in name, it is believed that our tanuki in question is a reference to 19th Century businessman Henry du Pont. During his time, du Pont made a fortune from selling gunpowder until the American Civil War, in which he refused to sell any of his product to the Confederacy. This connection, along with how the old “Star Fox” website described him as “scheming”, is what has led some fans to believe that Yaru de Pon is some kind of weapons manufacturer.

The Truth Behind “Dinosaur Planet”

A point of frustration within the “Star Fox” and general Nintendo fanbases lies in the origins of “Star Fox Adventures”. As most folks within both fanbases are aware, the game had initially begun as an original IP Rare wanted to create called “Dinosaur Planet”. When Miyamoto saw the first build featuring Sabre the Wolf, he had Rare use Fox instead and turn the game into a new “Star Fox” game. However, there was another turning point where “Dinosaur Planet” could have become a reality. At one point in development, Rare had wanted to use Timber the tiger from “Diddy Kong Racing”. If they had stuck with this, perhaps we could have seen the game in its intended form after all.

The Elusive VS. Mode

“Star Fox 64’s” multiplayer has often been ignored by N64 fans in favor of stronger offerings like “Mario Kart 64” and “Super Smash Bros.” What some may not have known is that there were ways to make VS. Mode more exciting. By earning medals in the campaign, you could unlock the Landmaster for use in VS and even unlock an on-foot mode. Earn a medal on every stage to unlock the Landmaster. Earn a medal on every stage on Expert to unlock the on-foot mode. Yeah, there probably weren’t a ton of people willing to go through that much torment.

A Specially Marked Cereal Fox

At one point, Nintendo partnered up with Kellogg’s to sell specially marked cereal boxes containing Game Watches. Not “Game & Watch” games - we mean “watches themed around video games”. Buy two boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and mail-in the Proof of Purchase tabs to get your very own Game Watch! You could either get one themed around the Game Boy, or you could get one based on “Star Fox”. The “Star Fox” watch came with a minigame where you have to defeat the Attack Carrier, which is the first boss in the SNES classic.

A Truly Rare Actress

“Star Fox Adventures” was the very first game to introduce Krystal, a Dinosaur Planet resident who would become a Star Fox member in later games. Hardcore fans of Rare may have recognized her voice, though. Krystal is voiced by Estelle Ellis, who had assisted in localization for Rare games like “Donkey Kong Country”, “Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest”, and of course, “Star Fox Adventures”. She also was the voice of Amber in “Grabbed by the Ghoulies” and provided additional support work during the development of “Conker: Live & Reloaded”. According to her page on MobyGames, the last game she worked on was “Perfect Dark Zero” in which she helped provide motion capture.

Andross’s Controversial Return

At the end of “Star Fox Adventures”, it is revealed that the Krazoa statue was a simple disguise for Andross and that he was using General Scales as a puppet over the last several years. This rehash of the mad scientist was pretty controversial among players as the story does not hint at his presence in any way whatsoever. It wound up feeling super forced, especially since this is the only time Falco decides to show up out of nowhere. Did time constraints prevent other sections being implemented that would have explained all of this? Or was it Nintendo’s demand for the game to end this way? No one knows for certain as no developers have spoken up about how this came to pass.

When Turret Sections Could Be Exciting

“Star Fox 64” may have borrowed a few ideas here and there from “Star Fox 2”, but there was one original bit it almost had. In a seemingly never-ending quest to uncover all bits and bobs about the N64 classic, YouTube channel Elarix’s Bootleg Game Shack discovered evidence of turret sections in “Star Fox 64’s” files. In these sections, Fox would take control of the Great Fox’s turret for an entire level or two. According to Elarix, the turret mode was likely made with Area 6 and Sector Y in mind. There’s a good chance this was axed from the final build because of technical limitations.

Have You Seen This Bird?

Going back to “Adventures” one more time, the game presents a weird mystery surrounding Falco in the instruction manual. He’s mentioned and has a bio, but doesn’t show up until the end of the game? And when he does, nothing about his absence is explained! What gives? Well, there was an entire manga to explain that. “Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco” gives an entire storyline between the events of “64” and “Adventures” where Katt Monroe and her cohorts inform Star Fox about a villain’s plans to resurrect Andross. For some reason, Fox doesn’t buy it, and it causes him and Falco to get into a heated fight, ending in Falco leaving the team.

The Only Voice for a True Hero

Fox has had a few different voice actors; Daniel Owsen in the original game, Steve Malpass in “Adventures”, and Jim Walker for “Assault” and “Super Smash Bros. Brawl”. But the actor to play him more frequently (and the one that resonates with most “Star Fox” fans”) is Mike West. Oddly enough, voicing Fox in “64”, “64 3D”, “Zero”, and the newer “Smash” games are his only video game credits. So, what’s he been doing this whole time? Well, West primarily worked in radio broadcasting for the majority of his career. As for what he’s up to at the time of this video…well, to be honest, we couldn’t pinpoint it exactly.

Tribute to Iwata

The year 2016 was one of the saddest years in Nintendo history. Then-CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata had passed away the year prior, and now, we were witnessing some of the last games he ever had a hand in. “Star Fox Zero” was the very first game to pay tribute to Iwata. Iwata had served as executive producer for the game as he did with most Nintendo games at this point. After the cutscene that plays during the end credits, a message appears at the bottom of the screen that reads, “This game is dedicated to our wingman who fell in battle.”

The Legend of Rick May

Iwata was not the only “Star Fox” member we had lost to medical complications. In 2020, the world was hit with a massive pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. Many had lost their lives from severe strains of the virus, and among them was Rick May. As we mentioned earlier, May was widely known in the “Star Fox” fandom as the voice of Peppy Hare and Andross in “Star Fox 64”. In addition to voicing the Soldier in “Team Fortress 2”, May had also voiced the sinister Dr. M in “Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves” and Genghis Khan in “Age of Empires II”. According to Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, May suffered from a stroke and later passed away from further complications caused by COVID-19. While TF2 players performed gun salutes and taunts galore across their games, “Star Fox” fans were barrel-rolling throughout SF64.

Canceled Crusades

You don’t really hear much about “Star Fox” games getting canceled compared to other Nintendo franchises. However, there are at least two that are known. One was a game announced for the ill-fated Virtual Boy device while “Star Fox 2” was still in development. There wasn’t much to it - it was just the original SNES game with 3D visuals. It would get canceled due to the Virtual Boy’s abysmal sales. The second “Star Fox” game to be canceled was announced in tandem with “Assault”, simply called “Star Fox Arcade”. Namco was to develop both games. We got “Assault”, of course. So, what happened to the arcade game? Well, no one said it was canceled, but…you know, it's been over twenty years since that announcement.

Super Weekends!?

What some folks may not know is that there is a “Star Fox” game very, very, very few folks have gotten to play for themselves. From April 30 to May 2, 1993, players could participate in a special tournament where you had five minutes to blast through modified versions of Corneria and an Asteroid stage in order to get the highest score possible. The grand prize was a luxurious vacation for you and your family. Only two thousand cartridges of this version were ever made as this version would get sold for a very brief period of time. Today, this special iteration of the game fetches thousands of dollars.

Did any of these facts surprise you? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays.