Arwingpedia
Advertisement
Arwingpedia
General

This page was a featured article

I sent you a Landmaster Fox! Check the location of the Landmaster on Radar!
PeppyHeadshotAssault

The Landmaster is a tank used by the Star Fox Team, designed by Slippy Toad and was originally being developed by Space Dynamics Co., Ltd. as an armored exploration vehicle. However, when the Star Fox Team required a land based combat vehicle, it was converted by adding stronger battle armor and weapons systems. The only prototype is now part of the Star Fox Team's arsenal. Although primarily a ground based assault weapon, the Landmaster can also hover for a short time, and can roll from side to side to help it avoid land mines and enemy attacks. Since Corneria's defense forces do not have a tank corps, the Star Fox Team's Landmaster is the only vehicle that can do the job.

Schematics

Both the Landmaster and the Blue-Marine use propulsion system components originally developed for the Arwing. All three can synthesize their own hydrogen fuel for their plasma engines, giving them extended operating ranges.
—Technical Specification Comments

Rolling Thunder

The Landmaster tank shares many hull pieces with the Arwing, so it's not surprising that they look much alike. More important, however, are similarities that they share beneath their armoured skins. The Landmaster uses many of the same propulsion and weapon components as the Arwing (including the G-diffusser unit), adapted for use in a ground based vehicle. Though some space jockeys will always prefer flying over driving, they must admit that the Landmaster gives you the same firepower and flexibility that the Arwing gives you in the and in space.
—Official Nintendo Power Player's Guide, pg 14

Cannon

The Landmaster's laser is more powerful than the Arwing's base weapon. The main gun can't be upgraded, but it can charge up and lock on to targets.
—Official Nintendo Power Player's Guide, pg 14

G-Diffuser

A lot of power is used to hold the hull together, so the G-diffuser won't generate an extra shield when you roll.
—Official Nintendo Power Player's Guide, pg 14

In the games

Star Fox 64 logo

In "Star Fox 64", the Landmaster tank makes its first appearance, looking very similar to the T57 AAP Tank, sporting the familiar blue and white color schemes of other Star Fox team vehicles. There are two blue G-Diffuser fins at the back, and the Star Fox team logo is adorned on the sides, just like the Arwing. A large laser turret sits on the front end of the car. The Landmaster has the ability to launch bombs and use a booster, as well as individually controlled thrusters which can allow the tank to move sideways and hover. The Landmaster's brakes allow it to come to nearly a complete stop for a short time, unlike the Arwing, which maintains minimal speed when braking.

In the Main Game mode of "Star Fox 64", the Landmaster tank is only used on two missions. On the red planet Titania, the Landmaster was deployed because of the sandstorms that covered the skies, in the search for Slippy Toad who crashed onto the planet. On Macbeth, Fox needed the Landmaster to closely follow and derail the Forever Train.

Assault logo

In "Assault", the Landmaster has a technicality and aesthetic design update, now having the wheels instead of tank treads.

When Fox was quickly surrounded on Katina's Outpost Base by the new and overwhelming Aparoids, the new improved Landmaster was summoned to help hime deal with the threat. But the Great Fox's targeting systems were not entirely accurate enough for desired transmission. On the forever winter planet Fichina, the heavy Landmaster was used in place of the Arwing to drive through the blizzards that made flight unsuitable, however, the tank was too large to fit inside the Climate control center. On Sauria and the Aparoid Homeworld, the Landmaster was used in conjunction with the Arwing to allow a strategic switch in vehicle conditions, it was still nevertheless too large to take into the central caves and ruins.

Star Fox 64 3D logo
In Star Fox 64 3D, the Landmaster bears more resemblance to its Super Smash Bros. Brawl design, which was a combination of the N64 and GCN designs, rather than the original one. The stats of the vehicle can now be viewed on the dual screen.

Star-fox-zero

In "Zero", the Landmaster can now fire up to three homing missiles as an equivalent to the charge shot of the Arwing. Later in the game, it can transform into the alternative heavy-jet transformation known as the Gravmaster, a jet-like vehicle that can fly freely (albeit with less maneuverability and speed than the Arwing). However, it can only remain in this form as long as it has boost energy, which is constantly depleted while active; when the boost gauge empties, it reverts to the Landmaster form.

It also has an alternate six-wheeled version known as the Roadmaster (the latter of which was a "pet project" of Slippy Toad, according to ROB 64).

In the Comics

LylatWars 1997 logo
The Landmaster appears when the Star Fox Team arrive at Titania in the Lylat Wars Comic, mirroring the same role as it does in the games. Fox uses the Landmaster (described as a Vector Class II Cybertank) in the search for Slippy after he crash lands on Titania from low Arwing fuel. Fox refers to the laser firepower being supplied through plutonium as he shoots off the claw that Goras has Slippy's Arwing stuck in. The beast self destructs from the one shot.

During the incident at Titania, Peppy, upon discovering that Falco was allegedly aiding the Androssian Remnant (actually Katt Monroe's group, Free-As-A-Bird), became suspicious of Captain Shear's true motives, and sent Slippy and a Landmaster to investigate the base due to Fox's Arwing being damaged by his dogfight with Falco. Unfortunately for Slippy, although he is a competent driver, he suffered paranoia from bad memories of Titania due to nearly becoming a monster's lunch, was captured by a Goras sent by Captain Shears to retrieve a hostage, and the Landmaster was presumably impounded upon Slippy's capture. Fox and Slippy later managed to locate the Landmaster, although they were forced to nearly risk their lives in the process to defeat a revived Andross by firing one of its Smart Bombs at Andross, heavily damaging the Landmaster and destroying the research base in the process.

Trivia

  • In Star Fox 64, the two levels on which the Landmaster is driven (Titania and Macbeth) are both named after characters from Shakespeare plays. They also share incidental musical themes.

Names in Other Languages

Language Name
Japanese (ランドマスター Landmaster)
(超高性能回転式地対空戦車 Ultrahigh Performance Rotary Surface Anti-Aircraft Tank)
(グラヴマスター Gravmaster)
(反重力飛翔形態 Anti-Gravity Flight Form)

References

Advertisement