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.

Character Sheet: Peppy Hare

PEPPY HARE

As stated before, I'm going back to the old Character Sheet format for the main series runs instead of the basic roster from before. The biggest reason for this is purely so I can give myself time to actually work through any given series' content. While that's not so much a concern with this series, I will need it come Pokemon time, so, yeah. Here's everyone who made it for Star Fox:

1. Fox McCloud

1e. James McCloud

2. Falco Lombardi

3. Krystal

4. Slippy Toad

5. Peppy Hare

6. Arwing

6e. Wolfen

7. Landmaster

8. ROB 64

9. Prince Tricky

10. Andross

10e. Andrew Oikonny

11. Wolf O'Donnell

12. Leon Powalski

13. Panther Caroso

14. Pigma Dengar

15. General Scales

16. Aparoid Queen

17. Anglar Emperor

18. SharpClaw

19. Aparoid

20. Monarch Dodora

Next up is Peppy, the older mentor character of the team who once flew with Fox's father and now feels the need to remind him of that fact after every single battle ever. They really like recycling a certain sound byte, that's for sure. Anyway, Peppy is a bit like Slippy in that they're both a little less physically able than their teammates Fox and Falco, and so end up falling by the wayside in things like Smash representation. This tells me that Slippy should be the template I build off of for Peppy instead of the other two.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Charge Shot

I think it would make sense if he could save the charge for a bit after charging it to use at a more opportune time.

Side B: Barrel Roll

Considering his love for recommending the, ahem, aileron roll, it makes sense for him to use it here in place of his teammates' dashes.

Up B: Bunny Hop

Same as with Slippy, though I expect he can't quite get as much height on the jump as Slippy can.

Down B: Reflector

I'd say a more standard use of it, like Fox's, would make sense here. Of course, the Power Bombs are an option too.

Final Smash: Team Star Fox OR Heroic Sacrifice

Same as his teammates, or with James and Pigma. An alternate option could be his use of the Great Fox to jam the Aparoid shields in Assault.

Entrance: Dropping out of his Arwing.

Taunts: Up, he will stretch and say he's feeling a little old for this. Side, "You're getting more and more like your father every day." Down, "Do a barrel roll!"

Kirby Hat: His ears and mustache.

Kart: An Arwing.

Special Move: He can perform a barrel roll to avoid an attack.

Spirit Battle: On Venom, with James and Pigma.

Victory Screen: "Well done. Your father would be proud."

Losing Screen: His Arwing crashing down as he cries out for help.

Color Swaps: His 64 look, SNES look, Adventures look, Assault look, Command look, his comics version, one based on Lucy, one based on James.

Thanks for reading! Next up, the Arwing flies into battle!

Star Fox Zero

STAR FOX ZERO

Star Fox Zero was the first original game in the series for ten years after Command, seemed to be only received lukewarmly by the fanbase, and it has since been eight years with no new games in sight. The game is yet another story remake of the same plot from Star Fox and Star Fox 64, being the main war with Andross.

The gameplay is mostly the same, with an Arwing as your main vehicle, all of its accessories attached, and the Landmaster returning as well. The game also features two new modes: the Walker and the Gyrowing. The Walker is basically the Arwing rearranged to have legs so it can walk around and get into small spaces. The Gyrowing is a slower helicopter-type vehicle with a small robot named Direct-i that it can deploy to hack into computer systems or pick up items. Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy return as the main pilots.

General Pepper returns, as do Katt Monroe and Bill Grey, with James McCloud having his small cameo in the final fight. Strangely, ROB 64 seems to be nowhere in sight.

Andross is our main villain, and has a boss fight that mostly hearkens back to his old fights with a lot of similar attacks, the two most notable new ones I noticed was a wall of shielding he summons around himself and a spinning purple laser. Wolf, Leon, Pigma, and Andrew Oikonny all appear in their villainous roles working for Andross, and are mostly just enemy fighters. Wolf does have a fun Walker mode for his ship though.

Much like the first game, most of our enemies are just various enemy fighters with a specific pattern of attack to them, as are most of the bosses. I would like to note the Monarch Dodora, which can fly, spit fireballs, fire lasers from its tail, and create tornadoes, as well as the Gigarilla, a giant ape that rampages around, picking up large crates and throwing them or just stomping enemies.

For our stages, Corneria, Zoness, Titania, Fichina, Fortuna, and Venom all return, as does an Asteroid Field, but instead of Sector X, Y, and Z, we now have Sector Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Omega, plus Area Three.

That's about it, really. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Fox/Falco/Slippy/Peppy: run, jump, lasers, bombs, roll, shield, sniper rifle

Krystal: spear, energy blast, bombs, CloudRunner, launch, shield

ROB: bombs, cannon, supplies, missiles, fog

Arwing: lasers, bombs, barrel roll, rockets, thrusters, shield, charge shot, somersault, half-loop, Walker, Direct-i

Landmaster: lasers, bombs, charge shots, roll, hover

James/Katt/Bill/Lucy/Amanda/Dash status?

Tricky: Stay, Flame, Find, Heel, Play Ball

CloudRunners: fly

SnowHorns

LightFoots: run, fight

Wolf/Leon/Panther: Wolfen capabilities, the moves listed for Star Fox team?

Andrew: possible echo of Andross, Death Crab

Pigma: crane arms, asteroids, missiles, gatling guns, bombs, disintegrator beam, rubix cube

Andross: tiles, inhale, lasers, punch, clap, brain, spirits, rings, meteorites, shield wall, spinning laser

General Scales: invisible, two hooked claws

Galdon: green fireballs, claws, eat Fox

Drakor: flies, blue lasers, electrical traps

SharpClaws: various weapons

Aparoids: Flyer, Beetle, Moth, Spinner, Kamikaze, Morphing Ship, Crystalline, Stringy, Bloated, Glowing Sac, Tri-Winged, Y-Shape, Electric Sphere, Crawler, Purple, Hatcher, Roller, Gunner, Force Field Generator, Blue Orb, Swirling, Silver, Larva

Aparoid Queen: eggs, scales, devastating beam, fly, lash out, energy rings, tunnel of energy breath, central beam

Anglar Emperor: inhale, exhale, swim, Arrow Head, Arrow Head pieces

Monarch Dodora: fly, spit fireballs, lasers from tail, tornadoes

Gigarilla: stomp, throw containers

Stages:

Corneria

Venom

Asteroid

Space Armada

Meteor

Sector X

Titania

Sector Y

Fichina

Fortuna (now separate)

Sector Z

Macbeth

Katina

Aquas

Solar

Zoness

Bolse

Sector 6

Krazoa Palace

ThornTail Hollow

SnowHorn Wastes

Moon Mountain Pass

Cape Claw

CloudRunner Fortress

LightFoot Village

Walled City

Dragon Rock

Volcano Force Point Temple

Ocean Force Point Temple

Sargasso Space Zone

Orbital Gate

Aparoid Homeworld

Sector Alpha

Sector Beta

Sector Gamma

Sector Omega

Area Three

Thanks for reading! Now, we move on to characters. While it does seem like we have a spot of trouble when it comes to our core main cast, I do have a plan. So, next up, Fox takes to the skies!

Star Fox 64

STAR FOX 64

Next up, we have Star Fox 64, generally considered to be the gold standard of the series and best game by a wide margin. It is more or less a story remake of the first, just with a few more things fleshed out. For instance, we now have a backstory involving Fox's father James leading a team of Peppy and Pigma Dengar against Andross, only for Pigma to betray them and get James killed. We also have the introduction of Star Wolf to the series, who would go on to be major recurring antagonists/anti-heroes.

You play as Fox leading Team Star Fox once again, with Falco, Slippy, and Peppy all on board as usual. They are mainly inside their ships just like before, with lasers, charge shots, bombs, boosters and brakes, and the ability to barrel roll, somersault, and half-loop. You also have the Landmaster Tank, which can do many of the same attacks, and hover in the air for a short time. You also have the Blue Marine submarine for water levels, and even on-foot missions playing as the four pilots who can all run, jump, fire lasers, and drop bombs.

General Pepper returns as commander of the Cornerian forces. During certain battles, you also get help from Bill Grey, a dog and friend of Fox, or Katt Monroe, a cat with a thing for Falco. Finally, we have a new member of the team, ROB 64, a robot who mans the Great Fox and provides the team with cover fire from the Fox's cannon and smart bombs, while also delivering them supplies as needed. James McCloud's presence is felt throughout the story, and he appears as a disembodied voice in the last battle.

Andross is once again our main villain, this time upgrading his final battle to a giant version of his own head and hands, punching and clapping at the fighters and inhaling them. At a certain point, this head will be shattered to reveal either the old polygonal face from the previous game or a giant brain with eyeballs.

Star Wolf are a band of mercenaries hired by Andross to deal with Star Fox. They include Wolf O'Donnell, a wolf; Leon Powalski, a chameleon; Pigma Dengar, a pig and the person who betrayed Fox's father; and Andrew Oikonny, a monkey and the nephew of Andross. They fly in Wolfens and each will target different members of the Star Fox team: Wolf to Fox, Leon to Falco, Pigma to Peppy, and Andrew to Slippy. There's not much that differentiates them here, so let's move on.

As for enemy types, they all generally just boil down to different types of ships that fly against the team. Some focus more on bombs, some more on defense or speed, but at the end of the day, there's not much point really going into it all. There are a few places, like the Aquas water missions where different types of wildlife (fish and squids and stuff) will also cause trouble.

The bosses include a mech piloted by a general named Granga, an Attack Carrier, the Meteo Crusher, another mech called Shogun, a carrier called Saruzin, a flying saucer called Saucerer, a giant clam called Bacoon, a malfunctioning robot called Spyborg, a lava monster with scythe arms called Vulcain, a marine base called Sarumarine, a giant prehistoric monster called Goras, a defense weapon called Mechbeth, the Copperhead missile, the planet Bolse's core, a war machine called Gorgon, and a running stone statue called Golemech.

As for your stages, once again you have a branching mission setup with multiple possible ways to complete your mission, always starting on Corneria and ending on Venom. Then you can head to either the asteroid field Meteo or Sector Y. Then you'll go to Fichina (formerly Fortuna), a jungle planet; Katina, a planet similar to Corneria; or Aquas, an underwater planet. Then you can go to Sector X, Solar (literally the sun), or Zoness, a toxic waste planet. The next stop is either desert planet Titania, factory planet Macbeth, or Sector Z. Finally, you either attack the Bolse Defense Satellite or the defense station in Sector 6 before reaching Venom.

I think I've got it all. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Fox/Falco/Slippy/Peppy: run, jump, lasers, bombs

ROB: bombs, cannon, supplies

Arwing?: lasers, bombs, barrel roll, rockets, thrusters, shield, charge shot, somersault, half-loop

Landmaster?: lasers, bombs, charge shots, roll, hover

James/Katt/Bill status?

Wolf/Leon/Pigma/Andrew: Wolfen capabilities

Andross: tiles, inhale, lasers, punch, clap, brain

Stages:

Corneria

Venom

Asteroid

Space Armada

Meteor

Sector X

Titania

Sector Y

Fichina

Sector Z

Macbeth

Katina

Aquas

Solar

Zoness

Bolse

Sector 6

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's go on a "Rare" adventure!

Star Fox

STAR FOX

Star Fox was a new series for Nintendo created during the SNES era that dabbled a bit in the developing 3D technology, and acted as an on-rails shooter where you played as a star fighter pilot fighting his way through a number of space battles. The plot is a sort of "Star Wars with furries," where you follow a team of star fighters led by Fox McCloud as they take down a mad scientist trying to conquer their solar system.

Our main character is Fox, a fox, and his team consists of resident Raphael-type Falco Lombardi, a falcon; the team's tech expert Slippy Toad, a toad; and wise old mentor Peppy Hare, a hare. None of them appear outside of their Arwings, so moveset potential is drastically limited at the moment. That said, the ships come with lasers, bombs, thrusters, and retro rockets, and you can do a barrel roll to defend yourself. I think some of Fox and Falco's moves in Smash pull from these, so there's at least that.

The only main support character is General Pepper, a hound dog and the commander of the Cornerian fleet who hired your team for this job. After that, Andross, a monkey, is the main villain, a mad scientist operating out of the planet Venom. He fights you in the form of a giant polygonal head that spits tiles at you, sucks you in, and shoots laser beams.

All enemies consist of various enemy ships and craft, which are fairly limited in their weaponry so not much there, and a couple creatures. These include the Attack Carrier, the Destructor, the Meteo Crusher, the Slot Machine (yes), the Blade Barrier, the Atomic Base, the Monarch Dodora, the Dancing Insector, the Professor Hanger, the Plasma Hydra, the Spinning Core, the Phantrons, the Metal Smasher, the Galactic Rider, and the Great Commander.

You have a sort of branching order of missions that get you from start to finish. You always start out at Corneria, your home planet, and end at Venom, Andross's base of operations. From there, you can go to Asteroid (an asteroid belt), Space Armada, and Meteor (a meteor). Another route takes you through Sector X, a desert planet called Titania, and Sector Y. The third will take you to the dinosaur-inhabited planet Fortuna, Sector Z, and the factory world Macbeth.

That's about it really. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Fox/Falco/Slippy/Peppy: lasers, bombs, barrel roll, rockets, thrusters, shield

Andross: tiles, inhale, lasers

Stages:

Corneria

Venom

Asteroid

Space Armada

Meteor

Sector X

Titania

Sector Y

Fortuna

Sector Z

Macbeth

Thanks for reading! Next up, we skip from one all the way to sixty-four!