Star Fox Roster Select Screen

And here's the roster select screen! Have a happy Halloween. See you all on November 10th for the start of the revisits. I believe we have at least a handful to visit.

Star Fox All-Star Mode

STAR FOX ALL-STAR MODE

As always, it will go in order of first game appearance:

1.      Fox, Falco, Peppy, Slippy, Arwing, Monarch Dodora, and Andross on Meteo

2.      Fara Phoenix on Papetoon

3.      ROB, Landmaster, Wolf, Leon, Pigma, Andrew, Wolfen, Katt, Goras, and James on Sector Z

4.      Krystal, Sabre, SharpClaw, General Scales, and Tricky on Krazoa Palace

5.      Captain Shears on Titania

6.      Aparoid, Panther, and Aparoid Queen on Orbital Gate Assault

7.      Anglar Emperor on Corneria

8.      Grippy, Hi-Ho, and Infernal Joker on Corneria Precious Metals LLC

Star Fox Adventure Mode

STAR FOX ADVENTURE MODE

Our story begins out on Papetoon, where Fox and Krystal take their son Marcus out on his first flying mission, teaching him how to work an Arwing. They run a series of trials for him, ending just as an armada appears in the sky above, made up of a combination of ships from various armies they’ve fought in the past. Andrew Oikonny appears in the command ship, laughing and taunting the McCloud family. A boss battle ensues, with you able to choose which family member you play as, and the other two acting as your wing partners.

After Andrew is defeated, you get a distress call from Admiral Peppy Hare, pleading with you to head to Corneria, as an army have attacked the planet there. The McClouds make their way, finding the planet under attack, this time with Pigma at the head, piloting the Infernal Joker. You fly a series of battles, picking up Peppy and Bill Grey as part of your party. Beltino and Grippy Toad also appear, with Grippy having a sidequest where you protect his factories from being overrun.

After the battle, Peppy shows you a missive they received just before the attacks, showing Andrew, Pigma, Captain Shears, General Scales, the Anglar Emperor, and the Aparoid Queen declaring war on the galaxy, to finish Andross’s noble work. Peppy convinces Fox that they’ll need to reform Team Star Fox and gather as many allies as they can to defeat them.

From here, you can choose where you go, with five different options that you can do in any order. These include:

AQUAS – Where Slippy, Amanda, and Lucy Hare are fighting off the forces of the Anglars, with Anglar Emperor as the final boss.

ZONESS – Where Falco, Katt, and Dash Bowman are in combat with Captain Shears and Monarch Dodora. Falco is revealed to actually be in a relationship with Katt now, which he is embarrassed to admit.

TITANIA – Where the team encounter Fara Phoenix, Miyu, and Fay, protecting a supply ship from a battle cruiser, with Goras showing up as the final battle. Things get awkward when Fox introduces Fara and Krystal.

FORTUNA – Wolf, Leon, and Panther are holding their own against a new batch of Aparoids, with a new Aparoid Queen as the final boss. Team Star Wolf are the most hesitant to join but ultimately do.

SAURIA – Krystal encounters her brother Sabre, who joins them alongside Prince Tricky, as they take on General Scales.

After beating each of these five segments, your team heads to Venom, where Pigma and Andrew pilot a combined ship. In the end, you get to the core, where you discover a clone of Andross, mixing Aparoid and Anglar DNA, stolen Cornerian tech, and Saurian magic to make him into an ultimate war machine of mass destruction. Your chosen team fly against him in a final battle, James McCloud joining you in the final phase.

After the battle, the team flies away. Slippy suggests the possibility of forming together into one ultimate pilot fleet, but Wolf, Falco, and Fara vehemently reject the idea. They are about to reach Corneria, when a rift opens in space, and Master Hand pulls the entire team in.

Star Fox Classic Mode

CLASSIC MODE

Same as before, the Classic Modes will all be patterned after games in the series. Here's the one for Star Fox 64. Naturally, it will have a similar multiple choice premise as the game:

1. Vs. Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy, on Corneria.

2. Vs. Wolfen horde, with three Star Fox members as allies, on Meteo OR Attack Carrier Boss Battle on Lylat Cruise

3. Vs. Team Star Wolf, on Snowpeak Ruins OR Vs. Arwing (Bill Grey) on Krazoa Palace OR Vs. Giant Cloyster on a water stage.

4. Spyborg boss battle, with Bill Grey, on Sector Z OR Vs. Wolfen Horde on a sun-based level, with a fire effect on the stage OR Vs. Katt Monroe on Junk Quixote

5. Vs. Giant Goras on Titania OR Vs. Landmaster horde on Macbeth OR Vs. Wolfen horde, with Katt as an ally, on Sector Z.

6. Vs. Team Star Wolf, on Atomic Base OR Gigarilla Boss Battle on Area 3.

7. Vs. giant Andross, with James as an ally, on Venom

Star Fox Assist Trophies

And here's our assist trophies and what they would each do:

1.      Clucktron: It will target items on the stage, grabbing them with its and running off the stage with them.

2.      Gigarilla: It will march around the stage, hefting up large storage containers and flipping them over for high damage.

3.      Golemech: It will run back and forth across the stage, causing walls and booby traps to go off behind it, but will do no harm itself.

4.      Herbert: He will create a clone of his summoner, who will fight as an NPC.

5.      LightFoot: He will appear on the stage carrying a Smash Ball and will run around with it at high speed, avoiding anyone who tries to attack him. If you can catch him, you will gain the Smash Ball.

6.      Miyu and Fay: Functionally similar to the Kat & Ana assist trophy, with Miyu and Fay appearing inside their Arwings, and then racing back and forth across the stage, pelting it with laser fire.

Star Fox Stage Roster

And here's the final stage roster. If this was a real roster from a real game, which one would you pick to play on first?

Venom

Finally, we have Venom, the standard “final stage” of the Star Fox series. Venom is a nearly uninhabitable planet with an acid sea and constant volcanic activity. Andross set up a base for his experiments there, and used the planet to gather an army to battle the Cornerian fleet.

Now, the Smash version of this stage is functionally another “Great Fox stage” except with the Great Fox facing the screen, and the fight taking place on the ship’s X-shaped wings. I find this layout to be incredibly awkward and frustrating, so I’d rather not use it, but I do still want Venom represented. Possibly tapping a bit more into the final runs common in most games to infiltrate Andross’s headquarters.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urr_CPdc2h8

Titania

Titania is a common location in the series, typically as the “desert level,” not necessarily worthy of stagedom, but it does have a central role in the plot of the comic “Farewell, Beloved Falco.”

This stage would then represent that comic, likely taking place at Captain Shears’ base, with Katt’s team’s ship present in the middle of an attack on the base, likely with the players being able to fight on top of both. The tentacles of Goras could also play a role as a hazard.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkYCFBnvPLA

Sector Z

Now, although I decided not to set the Corneria stage on the back of the Great Fox, I do feel that a “Great Fox stage” is an absolute essential for series representation.

So, I defaulted back to the original version, set in Sector Z. That said, the stage will incorporate the updates Smash’s Corneria brought to it, making it the optimal “Great Fox stage.”

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4TnPJSTjCE

Papetoon

In the Nintendo Power comic, Team Star Fox called an out-of-the-way desert planet named Papetoon home. There, they acted as Robin Hood-style bandits, attacking freighters taking goods away from the planet’s people. They also lived near a village, inside a large hollow tree.

A Papetoon stage would reflect most of this area, with their tree as a major structure on the stage, and a freighter passing over the stage that you can fight on and eventually cause to crash.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTLf7Q6E0jU is the closest we could ever come to a theme.

Orbital Gate Assault

For Star Fox Assault, the Orbital Gate is very much an iconic scene in the story, and I would be remiss to not include it.

That said, I personally feel that the Orbital Gate Assault stage from Smash Wii U was a bit much, so I would probably change it up, but I’m not particularly certain on the details.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxVZS_5D0d0

Meteo

The original Star Fox for the SNES had a rather unique polygon visual to it that I do at least want to represent on some level. Technically it is there in Atomic Base for Star Fox 2, but that’s kind of its own thing.

Meteo would be a stage representing that aesthetic, placing you on the back of one to three Arwings as they fight through a space battle, being similar to the 3DS Mute City stage from Smash in concept, except out in space on Arwings instead of racers. I went with Meteo as the name, but Space Armada was a close second.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyLa0R5Zo-M

Macbeth

In most series, I always include at least one that I added specifically because I think it would be cool. The Macbeth mission in Star Fox 64 is a rather unique one, with you in the Landmaster following a freight train as it travels through a hazardous wasteland full of enemy turrets and ships.

This would be set on top of that train as it travels along its journey. As the battle goes on, enemy ships and turrets would pass by, creating hazards for the player characters.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5KGCViaE_4

Lylat Cruise

Super Smash Bros. Brawl created a unique stage to represent Star Fox, a stage set on the back of an original ship called the Pleiades as it flew around the Lylat system, visiting many familiar planets and scenes throughout the series.

I would be remiss to leave it out, even without it really representing anything specific to the series. Just on a Smash level alone, it has become an iconic setting in its own right.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA61NOh0HgI

Krazoa Palace

Star Fox Adventures is strangely the easiest game for stage picks, being very much a different game from the rest of the series considering it originated as its own series. Naturally, the best route is to pick a stage that best reflects the grand ancient civilization vibe of the game.

Naturally, the most iconic location to go with is Krazoa Palace, a giant air temple flying high in the sky where Krystal was originally captured, and where Fox regularly returned after each major segment of the game. The stage will be large, with much of the iconic scenery of the place in the background, and even with Scales’ airship and a few CloudRunners flying around in the background.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRKSLloiS0

Corneria Precious Metals LLC

Star Fox Guard is a weird little spinoff game released at the same time as Star Fox Zero, with the player acting as a security guard for a mining facility being invaded by robots.

This stage will be set in one of those facilities, with the layout being a maze of sorts with turrets that will fire on anyone who crosses their line of sight, and barriers that will close on occasion.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzvd_Z_HBSA

Corneria

Corneria is a standard staple of the series, acting as the starting home base in most games, and functioning as the central headquarters of General Pepper and his forces. It appears in every game and has a central role, being one of the main locations that best deserves to be represented for itself.

Although this stage exists in Smash as a “Great Fox stage” with the planet in the background. I decided to go a different route. Almost every game that features planet has a scene fought in the capital city, often with Fox fighting on the ground, often with an invading mothership hovering over the central tower. I’m going to represent that instead, with the stage taking place in the sky over that capital city, with a mothership appearing at the top from time to time.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opj9sGpltIo

Atomic Base

As for Star Fox 2, one unique feature stands out in the form of the bases that exist in the middle of most stages, that require you to infiltrate using the walker formation, taking you through a long maze of obstacles to a nuclear core at the center.

This stage will reflect that, starting at the entrance to the base, with a space battle taking place in the background. Then a platform will rise beneath you and carry you inside, the obstacles common to those bases causing problems here and then, before finally taking you into the nuclear core area.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU9UJwIVn5Q

Area 3

The Star Fox series tends to recycle areas, which makes sense considering it all takes place in one solar system, but can be frustrating when you want to find stages representing specific games. That said, one scene from Star Fox Zero stuck out as the most memorable in my mind.

That scene takes place in the space station of Area 3, when the Star Fox team fights the giant Gigarilla. This stage will be based on that scene, with the fighters fighting on a group of platforms that moves around the station, the Gigarilla tromping around and throwing things in the background.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70kuefS896M

Star Fox Roster

And here's the final character roster for the Star Fox series. If this were a real roster from a real game, who ya mainin?

Infernal Joker

The game takes you through several levels with different maze layouts and different enemy types trying to get in. Here and there, a boss will be thrown at you as well.

The most iconic of these is the Infernal Joker, a giant robot designed to look like a devil, that can shift around into different forms and is piloted by Pigma Dengar.

As a fighter, it will be a bit shrunken down, but will still be big and powerful, using moves from its boss battle to fight.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen.

Hi-Ho

The robots sent in to attack Grippy’s factories and steal the ore being mined come in many forms.

The Hi-Ho is the most common and most basic, being a little WALL-E-looking bot with big eyes and small claws for gripping objects.

As a fighter, the Hi-Ho will represent all major robots in the game, its moveset pulling from all the enemy tactics used against it. It will be quick and sneaky with lots of distracting moves.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen.

Grippy Toad

After a very long stretch with no games to speak of, Star Fox finally made Star Fox Zero for the Wii U. It was functionally another story remake of Star Fox 64, just with new graphics and mechanics and levels and all that jazz. Alongside it, a spinoff was also made, based on the tower defense games like Plants vs. Zombies that were popular around that time.

The game placed you in control of a new security employee hired by Slippy’s uncle Grippy Toad, the CEO of the profitable Corneria Precious Metals LLC company, in charge of protecting his factories from robot invasion.

Seeing as your characters is basically a Mii who sits at a control booth, Grippy will instead take up the position of rep for the game, with his moveset pulling from all the mechanics used to defend the base. As such, he will be slow with a high focus on defense.

Likelihood rating: Probably not.

Anglar Emperor

Shortly after Star Fox Assault, we got Star Fox Command, which presents itself storywise as a grand finale of the Star Fox series, having several ending that give the characters multiple happily (and less than) ever afters. The game puts the scattered team up against the Anglars.

The Anglars are a race of genetically enhanced fish people native to Venom and created by Andross. Their emperor is a large puffer fish who acts as the final boss, both piloting a ship and then taking them on himself once his vehicle is destroyed.

As a fighter, the Emperor will be floaty and defensive, with his moves pulling from his people’s shown abilities, his own boss battle, and his ship.

Likelihood rating: Probably not.

Aparoid Queen

In the end, Team Star Fox, Team Star Wolf, and the Cornerian fleet launch an assault on an Orbital Gate that will transport them to the Aparoid homeworld. The four main pilots of Team Star Fox manage to get through, at great cost to their allies.

On the other side, they find the Aparoids’ queen, a giant version of them constantly birthing new ones and controlling the horde’s movements.

As a fighter, the queen will be big and powerful, pulling her moveset from her main boss battle, if a little shrunken down and altered for a proper Smash battle.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen.

Panther Caroso

In Star Fox’s battles with the Aparoids, they encounter their old foes, Team Star Wolf. They’ve had a few changes, Andrew Oikonny having left to take up his uncle’s mantle, while Pigma Dengar was kicked out for . . . well, being Pigma Dengar.

In their place, they now have a charming Latin panther named Panther Caroso, who acts as a rival for Krystal in their various space battles, while also constantly flirting with her. He and his teammates Wolf and Leon would all prove invaluable allies in the game’s final battle.

As a fighter, he will pull from the same moveset as his teammates, except he will be a bit more lithe and graceful in his movements.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause.

Aparoid

After Star Fox Adventures, we got a more proper Star Fox game in Assault, set a few years after 64, with Peppy having retired from active duty and Krystal taking his place on the main team. They are called into action once again as a new species invades the Lylat system.

These invaders are the Aparoids, large parasitic insectoid creatures that attack energy sources and assimilate their victims into their ranks, Borg-style.

As fighters, you will mainly play as the standard moth-based Aparoid, shrunken down a bit, and pulling its moveset from all the various Aparoid types.

Likelihood rating: Probably not.

Captain Shears

A notable missing character from the Star Fox team at the beginning of Star Fox Adventures is Falco Lombardi. A comic was later written, explaining this absence. The comic told the story of Falco leaving the team after a fight, and joining up with Katt Monroe to help her with a mission on Titania. Meanwhile, the rest of the team also travel to Titania on a mission to protect a Cornerian base from a band of terrorists.

The commanding officer of this base is a dog named Captain Shears. He soon turns out to be the man Katt’s team is fighting against, who are in turn the terrorists Star Fox is meant to fight. It is soon revealed that Captain Shears is secretly a follower of Andross, who has been using his base on Titania as a lab to create a clone of his fallen master.

As a fighter, Captain Shears will be quick and agile, with years of training. He pulls his moves from his abilities shown in the comic, including his sword skills and his boar steed.

Likelihood rating: Non-game.

Prince Tricky

After Krystal is captured, a distress call is put out across the galaxy: a distress call the Star Fox team picks up. When they arrive, Fox heads down to the surface, and meets the queen of the EarthWalkers (Triceratops), who pleads with him to rescue her captured son.

This son is Prince Tricky, a spunky young EarthWalker partially based on the boss from Diddy Kong Racing. He becomes Fox’s constant companion throughout the game, helping him accomplish certain tasks through the use of his sidekick skills.

As a fighter, Tricky will be small, speedy, and tough, his moveset pulling from his various sidekick skills.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause.

General Scales

The leader of the SharpClaw tribe is a tall member of their race armed with twin hooks fixed to his wrist.

This is General Scales, the main villain of Star Fox Adventures for most of the game. Sadly, he never ends up fighting you in a boss battle, as in both versions of the game, he is overshadowed by the true villain, Drakor or Andross.

As a fighter, General Scales will instead pull from the abilities of his tribe, as well as his own actions in important cutscenes, with a lot of strength and power behind him.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

SharpClaw

The main adversaries Krystal faces in her opening chapter are a race of tyrannosaurids attempting to conquer the whole of the planet Sauria.

These are the SharpClaw tribe, who are not T-Rexes specifically, as that is the Red Eye tribe, but predatory dinosaurs similar to T-Rexes. Perhaps Allosaurs or Carnotaurs. They function as the core enemy types throughout the game, attacking and subjugating various tribes until Fox can free them.

As fighters, they will be quick with good defenses and fierce attacks. Their moveset will pull from all their various subtypes.

Likelihood rating: Probably not.

Sabre

Alongside Krystal, the original Dinosaur Planet would have starred another male cat wielding a sword.

This is Sabre. He did not make the final cut of the game, his role instead being replaced by Fox in the game.

As a fighter, he will be an echo of Krystal, using most of the same moves, with his stat difference being what it would have been in the original game.

Likelihood rating: I feel like “Never gonna happen” is putting it mildly.

Krystal

When the Game Cube era began, Rareware began work on a new IP they called Dinosaur Planet, which starred two catlike creatures going on an adventure on a planet entirely inhabited by dinosaurs, helping fight back against an invasion by a race of T-Rex-type dinosaurs. At some point in development, it was pointed out that the protagonists look a bit like Fox McCloud, and so the game was pivoted to be a Star Fox game, except really not a Star Fox game except for a few short levels crammed in. The story of this new game starts with a young fox breaking into an ancient palace in order to stop an invasion only for her to be captured and trapped in a jewel.

This young fox is named Krystal, and she was one of the two original protagonists of the game. After Team Star Fox arrives, answering a distress call, Fox takes up her staff and uses it as his main weapon throughout the course of the game, rescuing her in the end. After that, she joins Team Star Fox and becomes a love interest for Fox.

As a fighter, Krystal will be quick and agile, using her spear for most of her attacks. Her moveset will pull from Fox’s moveset in the game, a moveset that is hers in the opening chapter and would have been hers in the original game.

Likelihood rating: Strong.

James McCloud

Throughout the game, the story is told of Andross’s first rise to power, and how the original Star Fox team, made up of Fox’s father James, Peppy Hare, and Pigma Dengar, flew against him, only for Pigma to betray them, and James to end up dead.

Late in the game, Fox starts hearing his father’s voice as he penetrates Venom and takes on Andross. Then, when taken to another dimension for the final battle, James seems to appear in the flesh, flying alongside Fox and helping him deliver the final blow. Some versions, like the Nintendo Power comic, posit that James is, in fact, not dead, but trapped in that other dimension permanently.

As a fighter, James will be an echo of Fox, almost matching him in terms of stats, but with a slight bit of variance.

Likelihood rating: Could happen.

Goras

After a battle, Slippy ends up downed, and crashlands on the desert planet of Titania. Fox and his team head down to find and rescue him, only to find him in the grip of a giant tentacled monster living under the sand.

This is Goras, another recurring boss throughout the series. It was an ancient monster from Titania’s history, found and genetically enhanced by Andross.

As a fighter, Goras will be big and powerful, with solid reach and lots of grabby attacks. Its moveset will pull from its abilities displayed throughout the series.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen.

Katt Monroe

When the Star Fox team are sent to take out Andross’s oil refineries on the planet Zoness, they find help in the form of an anthropomorphic cat flying a fighter stolen from Andross.

This is Katt Monroe, a former flying partner of Falco with a stated and mostly unrequited crush on him. She appears often throughout the series as an ally, even forming a new team with Falco in one of the many endings of Command.

As a fighter, she will be another in the list of fighters with similar moves to the Star Fox team, except hers will pull a bit from her major appearance in the “Farewell, Beloved Falco!” comic.

Likelihood rating: Could happen.

Wolfen

While Team Star Fox flies in their Arwings, Team Star Wolf has another fighter as their weapon of choice.

Theirs is the Wolfen, a much more streamlined, daggerlike starfighter with similar speed and maneuverability.

As a fighter, the Wolfen will be an echo of the Arwing, with moves based on their own versions of the standard ship-based attacks.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen.

Andrew Oikonny

The fourth member of Team Star Wolf is a nepotism pick from Andross himself, his nephew Andrew Oikonny.

Andrew serves Star Wolf with the express purpose of furthering his uncle’s goals, later leaving the team when their goals no longer aligned. By the time of Assault, Andrew has taken his uncle’s place as the head of Venom’s forces, and attempts a new invasion of Corneria.

As a fighter, Andrew will act as an echo of sorts for Andross, his moves pulling from his giant mech patterned after his uncles. That said, he will be able to run around on his two feet, unlike his uncle.

Likelihood rating: Could happen.

Pigma Dengar

Perhaps the most despicable of the Star Wolf members is the literal pig, Pigma Dengar.

Pigma once served as a teammate of James McCloud and Peppy Hare, only to sell them out for money, leading to James’s death. He spends his life doing whatever necessary for his next paycheck, stabbing anyone he can in the back to help him get it. He even tries to sell out the entire system to the parasitic Aparoid horde, finding himself assimilated into their hivemind as a result.

As a fighter, Pigma be sluggish and slow in his movement, reflective of his hedonistic lifestyle and sizable figure. His moveset will pull a bit from his days on Team Star Wolf, but also from his later battles as a puppet of the Aparoids and Anglars.

Likelihood rating: Could happen.

Leon Powalski

Wolf O’Donnell’s right hand man and most faithful companion is the anthropomorphic chameleon Leon Powalski.

Leon is described as sneaky and sadistic, taking pleasure in the pain of others. He acts as a direct rival to Falco whenever the team’s fight, and sticks by Wolf even as the roster gets shaken up from time to time.

As a fighter, Leon will have a similar movepool as Wolf, except he will have a much greater focus on stealth and sneaking around to get backhanded attacks off on his opponents.

Likelihood rating: Good possibility.

Wolf O'Donnell

Perhaps the biggest staple of the series introduced in 64 was Team Star Wolf, a band of mercenaries hired by Andross to keep Team Star Fox off of his back, who would act as recurring adversaries and occasionally hesitant allies.

Their leader is Wolf O’Donnell, an anthropomorphic wolf and ruthless warrior, who views Fox McCloud as his ultimate rival, even to the point of saving Fox so that no one else can be the one to take him down. Despite this, Wolf does have a sense of honor and will act as a hero when necessary.

As a fighter, Wolf will be vicious and brutal in his attacks, his moves pulling from a similar pool as Team Star Fox, but all with a slightly more brutal and underhanded twist to them.

Likelihood rating: Already in.

Landmaster

Another new feature of the Star Fox team introduced in Star Fox 64 is the introduction of a land-based tank they could pilot for certain missions.

This is the Landmaster, which would quickly become a staple secondary vehicle of choice for the team, and even appear as Fox and Falco’s final smash for two games.

As a fighter, the Landmaster will be big and heavy, with devastating attacks behind it. Its moveset will pull from everything the Landmaster can do in game.

Likelihood rating: Probably not.

ROB 64

Star Fox 64 was very much a plot remake of the original game, retelling the exact same story of Andross’s war on the Lylat system, except expanding and improving on everything in it, firmly establishing the characterizations of the core cast, and introducing new beloved cast members that would become staples of the series moving forward.

One of these is ROB 64, a robot that serves as a member of the Star Fox team, acting as the pilot of the Great Fox while the team are out in their Arwing, and providing them with technical support as well as covering fire when needed.

As a fighter, ROB’s moveset will pull entirely from everything the Great Fox supplies to the team in the midst of battle. He will be strong and powerful, if a bit stilted in his movements.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause

Fara Phoenix

Like most popular Nintendo properties, Star Fox got itself a comic adaptation in the Nintendo Power magazine. This comic showed the Star Fox team’s adventures a few years after the events of the first game, including countering terrorist attacks, discovering a plot to resurrect Andross, and gaining a new teammate.

This is Fara Phoenix, the daughter of a wealthy Lylat system businessman and skilled pilot in her own right. Before Krystal, she was Fox’s main love interest, and even appeared in the cancelled Star Fox 2. Despite the name, she is an anthropomorphic fennec fox, not a phoenix.

As a fighter, she will be similar in nature to the other Star Fox team members, pulling from the exact same moveset, but with slight differences. For her, there will be multiple references to the comic in question.

Likelihood rating: Non-game (or . . . does she count as a game character? The comic came first, so . . . I don’t think so?)

Andross

The war being fought throughout the Lylat System was almost entirely instigated by a power-hungry mad scientist.

This is Andross, an anthropomorphic monkey and the main villain of the series. Several years prior to the series, he established a base on the nearly uninhabitable planet Venom, gaining the favor of the native species there and putting together an army. He often appears as a giant floating head in his boss battles, though I’ve personally never been quite clear whether it’s a very narcissistically designed spacecraft or he mutated himself into that.

As a fighter, he will be in his giant head form, shrunken down a bit for the stages. His moveset will pull from his boss battles, including the large panels of his SNES days and the grabby hands of later years.

Likelihood rating: Could happen.

Monarch Dodora

MONARCH DODORA

Throughout the game, Team Star Fox takes part in multiple space battles all throughout the galaxy, in space and in the air above various planets. Though most of their foes are various forms of enemy spacecraft, one mission on the dinosaur planet Fortuna brings them face to face with a two-headed dragon.

This dragon is named Monarch Dodora, and was bio-engineered by the villain Andross to follow his orders. Dodora would recur a few times throughout the series, always as a boss.

As a fighter, Dodora would be big and powerful with decent aerials, though sized down a bit to fit on the stage. Its moveset would pull from its various boss battles.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen.

Arwing

In all of their battles, the Star Fox team favors a sleek triangular style of star fighter.

Their vehicle of choice is the Arwing, equipped with lasers and missiles, and capable of shifting around to turn into walkers, allowing the team to enter small tunnels and traverse the ground when needed.

As a fighter, the Arwing will switch regularly between flight and walker mode, using all of its core attacks as its moveset.

Likelihood rating: Probably not.

Slippy Toad

Last but not least, the fourth member of the original team is an anthropomorphic toad named Slippy.

Slippy is the youngest member of the team, and generally the least skilled as a pilot, often needing Fox or Falco to bail him out of trouble. He makes up for this by acting as the engineer and mechanic of the team, repairing their ships and whipping up new weapons for them.

As a fighter, Slippy will be small and quick, but with a lot less power behind his attacks than Fox and Falco. Like always, he will be fairly similar to his teammates, just with a bit more tech usage.

Likelihood rating: Strong.

Peppy Hare

Next up is the team’s mentor, an anthropomorphic hare named Peppy.

In early installments, Peppy had the vibe of an older brother to the group, until Star Fox 64 established him as a contemporary of Fox’s father, placing him in more of a sage fatherly role to the team, always giving the others advice on how best to tackle a situation. In later games, he’d retired from active duty, giving up his place on the team to Krystal.

As a fighter, Peppy would be slower, but still with a bit of agility owing to his nature as a hare. He will pull from the same pool as his teammates, but tailored more to a weathered veteran like him.

Likelihood rating: Strong.

Falco Lombardi

Fox’s first wingman (pun intended) is a hot-headed anthropomorphic falcon.

This is Falco Lombardi. On the team, he serves the role of “edgy guy who always has some comment about everything Fox does.” You know, the Raphael of the group.

As a fighter, Falco will be a little bit faster than Fox, with better aerials. Like in Smash, all members of Star Fox and Star Wolf will be semi-clones of each other, pulling from the same pool, but with slight adjustments based on who they are.

Likelihood rating: Already in.

Fox McCloud

At the outset of the SNES era of Nintendo, they started to be able to do a bit more. Better graphics, more complex controls, and ever so slightly pushing into 3D. A game built mostly to show off some early concepts was Star Fox, an on-rails shooter that let you pilot your way through epic space battles controlling ships made of polygons. The plot sets you in the middle of an intergalactic war, in control of a small band of heroes for hire known as Star Fox.

At their head is Fox McCloud, an anthropomorphic fox and dashing hero archetype. Later games would expand his backstory as the son of a fallen hero killed by the main villain Andross, giving him personal stakes in the fight.

As a fighter, Fox will pull heavily from the abilities of his ship and his own when fighting on the ground, as well as, of course, his Smash moveset. He will be fast and speedy, on the moderately light side.

Likelihood rating: Already in.

Star Fox Roster, Final Update

STAR FOX ROSTER

And here's the final roster for the Star Fox series:

1. Fox McCloud

1e. James McCloud

2. Falco Lombardi

3. Krystal

3e. Sabre

4. Slippy Toad

5. Peppy Hare

6. Fara Phoenix

7. Arwing

7e. Wolfen

8. Landmaster

9. ROB 64

10. Katt Monroe

11. Prince Tricky

12. Grippy Toad

13. Andross

13e. Andrew Oikonny

14. Wolf O'Donnell

15. Leon Powalski

16. Panther Caroso

17. Pigma Dengar

18. Captain Shears

19. General Scales

20. Aparoid Queen

21. Anglar Emperor

22. SharpClaw

23. Aparoid

24. Hi-Ho

25. Monarch Dodora

26. Goras

27. Infernal Joker

Now, it is time to begin our character cards!

Character Sheet: Goras

GORAS

And now we come to the end of our characters, with only four left to add. They include:

1. Fara Phoenix

2. Katt Monroe

3. Captain Shears

4. Goras

Next up, we come to another recurring boss, a tentacled plant monster thing that lives in the deserts of Titania. It appears primarily in Star Fox 64 and its remake, with appearances in both the Lylat Wars and Farewell Beloved Falco comics.

Here's his moveset:

Standard B: Monster Breath

It will breathe out heavily damaging energy breath from its mouth.

Side B: Quick Strike

It will lash out in three consecutive strikes with its tentacles.

Up B: Tail Sweep

It will spin fast to sweep its tail, gaining a bit of lift in the process.

Down B: Slippy Shield

It will use Slippy's downed Arwing as a personal shield to block attacks.

Final Smash: Beneath the Sand

It will leap up and then burrow down under the stage. Its tentacles will burst up from the ground, grabbing players and pulling them under.

Entrance: It will burst up from sand.

Taunts: Up, it will flail its arms up in the air. Side, it will let out a loud roar. Down, it will nestle in the sand for a second.

Kirby Hat: The top of its head and a couple fake tentacles.

Kart: Buried beneath the track, with a Landmaster caught in its tentacles that its controlling up top.

Special Move: Grabbing another racer with a tentacle and pulling it under.

Spirit Battle: Giant battle on Titania.

Victory Screen: Grabbing all four Arwings and plunging back into the sand.

Losing Screen: Its death animation.

Color Swaps: Its normal green, a red variant, purple, black, blue, yellow, silver, and brown.

Thanks for reading! Now, let's complete our roster!

Character Sheet: Captain Shears

CAPTAIN SHEARS

And now we come to the end of our characters, with only four left to add. They include:

1. Fara Phoenix

2. Katt Monroe

3. Captain Shears

4. Goras

Captain Shears is a dog captain in the Cornerian military stationed on Titania. He hires the Star Fox crew, claiming his base to be under attack by terrorists, only for it to be revealed that he was cloning Andross, and the "terrorists" were trying to stop him. He uses the standard Cornerian firearms, but also rides a giant boar (which I misremembered as a horse in a previous blog) and wields a sword. He also has the Andross clone at his disposal.

Here's his moveset:

Standard B: Sword Strike

He will dash forward, slashing rapidly with his sword.

Side B: Boar

He will mount his boar and ride it as it charges forward.

Up B: Lift

He will use the lift from his base to move up and down.

Down B: Bonds

He will place shackles from when he took Slippy as a hostage to bind his opponents.

Final Smash: Andross Clone

His Andross clone will break free of its tube and slam down hard on the stage, crushing anyone beneath it.

Entrance: He will rise up on a lift.

Taunts: Up, he will stand tall and look proud. Side, he will perform a flourish with his sword. Down, he will pace back and forth.

Kirby Hat: His hat and shades.

Kart: His boar.

Special Move: Dropping his Andross clone onto the track behind him, where it will take up a lot of space.

Spirit Battle: With Andross, on Macbeth.

Victory Screen: Proclaiming the dawning of a new age ruled by Andross.

Losing Screen: Him being crushed by his own clone.

Color Swaps: A green uniform, a red one, blue, purple, black, white, gold, and black-and-white.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Goras emerges from the desert.