Starfox Adventures Rare Retrospective

Dinosaur Planet. An ancient, unspoilt world, a primeval paradise… that is, until General Scales arrived and plunged everything into chaos.

In this landmark gaming event, Rare and Nintendo join forces to chart the return of a classic Nintendo hero: Fox McCloud, best known as leader of the Star Fox team. The GameCube-exclusive Star Fox Adventures sees Fox leave the safety of his Arwing cockpit to investigate the Dinosaur Planet situation on foot, and his discovery of an amazing transformable staff is just the first chapter in a truly epic fantasy adventure.

Eight years on from the defeat of Andross chronicled in Star Fox 64, meet the Star Fox team members in their new roles: Slippy in Weapon Tech Development, supplying Fox with the latest gadgets and equipment; Peppy in Mission Support, always on hand to give directions; and Rob The Robot, supervising the mission in case you ever need extra supplies. Falco? Last seen jetting off in pursuit of a glamorous solo career…

There are also plenty of new characters to meet, most importantly Krystal, a mysterious female captured by an ancient force known only as the Krazoa, and Prince Tricky, a friendly (but smart-mouthed) young triceratops destined to become Fox’s new sidekick whether he likes it or not. In addition to these key figures, the planet is populated by a wide range of detailed dinos ready to interact with Fox and (hopefully) help in any way they can.

Since the invasion Dinosaur Planet is a place fraught with danger, but Fox McCloud didn’t get where he is today by being unprepared. Chief amongst his resources is the staff, which allows him to perform a range of hand-to-hand combat manoeuvres and can transform into more powerful configurations, but he can also rely on Slippy’s technological support and of course his trusty Arwing, which he’ll find himself returning to for the occasional flying mission. Then there are Tricky’s unique Sidekick Skills, the importance of which shouldn’t be understated (or you’ll never hear the end of it).

As you’d expect, the game features a deep, engaging storyline to complement its likeable cast of characters, and intuitive situation-based controls help to keep the player immersed. But it’s also a stunning game in technical terms: you’ll guide Fox through environments brimming with breathtaking water effects, realistic shadows and changes in weather pattern, while the characters themselves were recently upgraded to display state-of-the-art realtime fur-rendering techniques. If you think it looks good in the shots, just wait until you see it in action…

Star Fox Adventures is a game on a grand scale and a fantastic next-generation debut for such established and well-loved characters – which will also be remembered as Rare’s very first GameCube title. Keep an eye out for its release later in 2002.