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Enemy shield analyzed!
—Slippy Toad

Slippy Toad is a childhood friend of Fox, and has been flying alongside him for several years. Slippy serves as the inventor and mechanic of the team. His inventions, from the Arwing, Landmaster, and Blue-Marine to the Reflector and Blaster, have helped the Star Fox Team prevail over the enemy, making Slippy a major contribution to the Star Fox team's success. Slippy's main role on the battlefield is providing a Shield Gauge to determinate the health of a boss, but only if he is present to do so. Due to Falco Lombardi only making a small appearance in Star Fox Adventures and Peppy's retirement from active duty in Star Fox: Assault, Slippy can be said to be the second most prominent character in the series, after Fox McCloud himself. The excitable amphibian member of the Star Fox Team, Slippy may seem like a hyper-doofus, but he has excellent mechanical know-how. Slippy specialized in engineering at the Cornerian Academy, and learned a lot from his father, Beltino Toad, who is Director of Engineering at Space Dynamics Co. Ltd. As a member of the Star Fox Team, Slippy has invented a wide variety of gadgets and vehicles.

Biography

Early Life

Slippy Toad is the son of Beltino Toad, the Research Director for the Cornerian Defense Force. Both Slippy and Beltino invented and constructed many inventions for the team, including the Blue Marine. He was a classmate of Fox McCloud at the Cornerian Academy, and trained to be a fighter pilot. However, before he could complete his training, Fox pressured him to drop out of the Academy with him (as Fox intended to drop out of the academy after learning that his father, James McCloud, had been betrayed by a teammate, Pigma Dengar, and presumably murdered by Andross). In the gap between Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Adventures, both the Toads, Slippy and Beltino, briefly designed aircrafts for the Cornerian Defense Force. He is hinted as being less athletic than the rest of the team. Example are found in the ending of Star Fox 64, when the team runs a long distance, where Slippy slowly falls behind, and in the introduction of the same game, Slippy is seen falling behind his wingmates. Also, in Star Fox Assault, in the scene where everybody jumps into their ships for launching, Slippy ends up falling head first into his ship. Slippy played a major role in the Lylat Wars as a new (and barely experienced) pilot of the Arwing. His main role was to give information about the area (in a similar way that Peppy does) and to analyze the shield strength of bosses. Slippy's inexperience and lack of talent while flying get him into trouble more often than any other team member, for which Falco taunts him mercilessly. During dogfights between Star Fox and Star Wolf, Slippy shares a rivalry with Andrew Oikonny, although there has never been anything to suggest the two characters have a history, and there is little dialogue between them.

Lylat Wars

He was first rescued by Fox on Corneria from an enemy fighter, and helped against the battle with Granga and the Attack Carrier. He then leads fighters to Fox at Sector Y and helps destroy the Shogun Warriors and the Shogun. In Meteo he helps destroy the Rock Crusher, and gets into the portal to Katina. There he expresses that "It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad!" He helps take down most of the fighters. In Solar, he proudly says the Arwings can take temperatures up to 9000 degrees. At Fichina he dogfights with Andrew of Star Wolf. While battling Spyborg on Sector X he tries to take it on himself. On Titania he gets captured by the Goras. He is rescued by Fox and gives him its shield rating. On Aquas he gives Fox tips about the Blue-Marine, and expresses disgust at the pollution. He is then congratulated by Peppy and is criticized by Falco on the Blue-Marine. At Zoness he says that it looks awful, and also helps destroy the searchlights. At Sector Z he helps destroy a couple of missiles. On Macbeth, he asks Fox how the Landmaster is treating him, and destroys some fighters. At Bolse he informs Fox that the fighters are shielded and again fights Andrew of Star Wolf. At Area 6 he helps fend off some fighters and gives information on the Gorgon's weakness. On Venom he tries to stay clear of the temple where Golemech is, but goes in. At Andross's palace, he fights Andrew again, and protests against Fox going in but to no avail. After Fox comes out they head to Corneria to be congratulated by General Pepper. They then head to the Great Fox and fly of into the sunset.

Titania Incident

Slippy was sent to Captain Shears's base to investigate anything about him, after the Star Fox team learned some facts (like Falco apparently siding with the Androssian rebels) that do not make any sense. Unfortunately, Captain Shears realized that Star Fox failed to stop the Hot Rodders (the group he claimed were Androssian rebels) so he dispatched the Goras to kidnap anyone who tried to come near the base. Slippy was competent at driving the Landmaster but was also uncomfortable with going to the base, as he has bad memories of the last time he was on Titania. He was later saved by Fox and tried to halt Andross's revival, but only succeeded in quickening it. Covered in slime from the laboratory equipment and Andross's breakout, Peppy mistook him for a alien parasite.

Plight of Sauria

Slippy also helped out in the Saurian Crisis. Instead of flying, he had stuck with giving Fox information and helpful hints about his surroundings. During the long 8 years between the Lylat Wars and the incident on Dinosaur Planet, Slippy withdrew from active flight duty so he could spend more time working on his developments, one such design was a SharpClaw disguise which enabled Fox to fool the Sharpclaw and access various areas. When Andross was defeated again and Falco returned, Slippy happily recited: "The Star Fox Team is back together again.", showing his appreciation of Falco. Slippy also gladly accepted Krystal into the team as well.

Aparoid Invasion

Slippy played a role in the Aparoid Invasion similar to his role in the Lylat Wars.

Battle of Fortuna

Slippy and the rest of Star Fox participated in the battle against Andrew Oikonny's Rebellion over the planet Fortuna. Arriving just in time to save the Cornerian fleet from destruction, Slippy and the team got into their Arwings, and battled against Oikonnys fleet. Slippy got tailed easily, but was saved by Fox, and was teased by Falco who said "You haven't changed a bit Frog-boy". During the battle, Slippy was able to find Oikonny's stealth squadron via radar, giving Fox a heads up on the incoming enemy. They were eventually forced to go planet side, since Oikonny had made a hasty retreat there. At the battle, they reached Oikonny's base, but discovered they were waiting for them. Slippy was trailed, and once again rescued by Fox. They finally caught up to Oikonny, who transformed his ship to a weaker look-alike of Andross. Slippy was able to download his shields, and the team easily defeated him. Oikonny however, taunted them, before being shot down by an unknown assaliant. The shooter turned out to be a bug-like alien, that was proved hostile by its attempt at killing Krystal. After defeating it, Slippy spotted more of these creatures and warned Fox, but not before Fox got something from the dead Apariod that Peppy knew was important.

Battle of Katina

It was soon revealed to Slippy and the team that the creature was an "Aparoid" by General Pepper. It was then revealed to Slippy's chagrin that his father, Beltino Toad, was the reasearch director. Beltino told them how 17 years ago, a sole Apariod destroyed a fleet, leaving few survivors. The thing Fox found, was revealed to Slippy and the team by Beltino as a Core Memory. General Pepper then told them that a distress signal is coming form the Katina outpost, but are unable to contact anyone, and tells them to find the distress signal. Fox tells Slippy and the rest to cover him from Arwings. At the battle, dozens of Aparoids were found, which later dropped Aparoid Hatchers. Slippy was tailed and rescued by Fox once again, who was currently piloting a Landmaster. Slippy wondered if there were survivors in the building. Finally, after killing the rest of the Aparoids, the Aparoid Walker appeared. Slippy panicked at it's size, exclaiming that "It's huge!" He was able to download its shield, and they eventually defeated it. They discovered that it held a Core Memory, but suddenly, Pigma came out of nowhere and stole it, forcing the team to find him.

Battle of the Sargasso Space Zone

Slippy later learned based on intelligence that Pigma apparently stopped at the Sargasso Space Zone, with Slippy growing nervous due to it being the home of all sorts of criminals. Because the thugs learned that Star Fox was in the system when they hailed them, and the thugs lack of cooperation, Slippy accompanied Fox to take on the interior of the space station, and held off several of the enemy soldiers/mechs that swarmed the building while Fox took out the transportation modules, and up to Star Wolf's arrival.

Battle of Fichina

Upon learning of Pigma being at Fichina due to intel from Star Wolf recruit Panther Caroso, Slippy alongside the rest of the Star Fox team arrived at Fichina, only to discover that Pigma and the Aparoids had deactivated the climate control center on the planet. Slippy gave support to Fox via the comm channel due to Fox being the only one capable of actually going down to the planet and taking out the shield generators and shutting down the blizzard. He then celebrated that the climate control center had been reactivated and the disappearance of the blizzard, although his satisfaction was shortlived when Fox was cornered by malfunctioning security robots. He, alongside Krystal, later participated in backing up Fox in taking out the Aparoids. He later did an analysis on the security droids because they had acted suspicious when attacking Fox, and discovered that they had become victims of Aparoidedation and were slaves to the hive mind. He then relayed his discovery to Fox and Falco, although Pigma then proceeded to confirm Slippy's confirmation before infecting the climate control center's core.

Battle at the Asteroid Field

After Pigma escaped in the chaos of Fichina, they tracked him down to the asteroid field. Upon arrival, Slippy discovered the wreckage of a Wolfen, indicating that Star Wolf had been through this area ahead of Star Fox. Slippy also noticed some vessels chasing the Arwings and warned about rocket meteorites and closing meteors. He later ended up ambushed by some Aparoid ships at Pigma's base and was shocked at the Aparoidetized prototype mech from Fortuna. Afterwards, he fought Pigma alongside the other Star Fox members.

Battle of Sauria

When Sauria and its inhabitants came under attack again, Star Fox arrived to end the disaster, in which Slippy controlled the skies of Sauria with Falco.

Battle of Corneria

When Corneria was devastated by Aparoid attacks, Slippy continued to hold the same role as before. He like the others, was very reluctant to have to destroy General Pepper's Flagship to prevent Aparoid Infection from taking control.

Battle of the Orbital Gate

Contacted again by his father Beltino, Slippy was the first to understand the possible Apoptosis weakness that could wipe the Aparoid Race out and that a self-destruct program might be the solution. Bombarded by Aparoid Swarms, Slippy fought against the invasion with the Star Fox and Star Wolf team and remaining Cornerian military.

Battle of the Aparoid Homeworld

Arriving at the Homeworld, Slippy held piloting position again with Falco. However, occasionally, he reported in telling Fox that he was unable to aid him in taking down the Aparoid hatchers due to the architecture of the base making sighting impossible, also complaining to the Aparoids for apparently never having heard of windows. He was able to make an immediate analysis on the impressive Anti-Laser Shield before Peppy made an impetuous suicide move to disable it. Though deeply heartbroken by the loss of Peppy and ROB, Slippy flew into the tunnels of the Homeworld with the rest of the team. Upon the encounter with the Aparoid Queen, Slippy dismissed the Queen's deceptive imitations of their fallen friends, allowing the team to carry out the Self-Destruct program. He provided the warning of the Queen's suppression towards the program as a dire counterattack, causing the true final battle to commence.

After the Queen's destruction with the rest of her kind, Star Fox managed to escape the exploding planet, taking both a tremendous victory and a heart crushing remembrance with them. Slippy was the first to discover that Peppy and ROB had miraculously survived their earlier sacrifice, albeit with only the bridge console remaining of the Great Fox, and ended up screaming in shock, initially causing the team concern before celebrating their survival. He also discovered that Fox knew, or at least anticipated that they would survive, causing him to call Fox a "sneaky dog."

Anglar Blitz

After the Aparoid race was destroyed, Slippy temporarily withdrew from the Star Fox team to spend more time with his newfound love, Amanda. However, when Fox needs backup taking out the Anglar forces, Slippy was happy to come to his assistance again. He piloted his customised Arwing, the Bullfrog, which had been fitted with Plasma Lasers and high shielding, and was the only ship in the game able to carry up to three Nova Bombs, but has no lock and only two boost bars.

Other Appearances

Star Fox Comics

Slippy is a major character in the Nintendo Power produced comics. He has a girlfriend called Croakella, predating his relationship with Amanda made in Star Fox Command.

Lylat Wars Comic

Slippy appears in the Lylat Wars Comic, performing his comic relief, mechanical and analysis roles as the games. Arriving at Corneria, Slippy is chased by tailing enemies until he does a Barrel Roll at Peppy's advice. When facing Granga, Slippy sites the legs as the possible weakness, where Fox takes a single shot and destroys the Urban Assault Weapon. After leaving Corneria, experienced pilots Fox, Falco and Peppy are clear to go, but Slippy is still getting to grips with flying as he dropped out of the Cornerian Flight Academy too early, evident from when he fails to read his low fuel tank warnings and crash lands on Titania. Fox uses the Landmaster to search for Slippy and rescues him from Goras, telling him off for missing the low fuel warnings. After Star Wolf ambush the Star Fox team, Slippy asks Peppy about why Fox chased angrily after Pigma. Peppy then tells Slippy about Pigma's treason before the team take a quick break. Slippy is later more dissapointed at the state of his battered prototype Blue-Marine than the state of Fox, following the battle with Bacoon. At Solar, Slippy once again points out that the Arwing can up to 9000 degrees heat, but reads the surface of Solar as being even higher at 13,000. Slippy, Fox and Falco's Arwings are then struck by a Time Bomb, planted by Pigma through infiltration, and plummet to Solar's lava before they are rescued by Katt Monroe's tractor beam. At the Great Fox's bar, Falco and Katt have a catch up drink before Slippy, Peppy and Fox walk in to Falco's embarrasment. At Venom's flatlands, both Slippy and Peppy are forced to retreat from overwhelming odds, awaiting Fox's return just as the planet explodes from meltdown caused by the robot Andross. Slippy then flies home with the team to Corneria where they turn down General Pepper's offer in favour of remaining mercenaries for hire. Slippy later takes a coffee break with Fox while watching Fox send the General the service bill.

Reception

Slippy has become one of Nintendo's most criticised characters over the years by both game players and critics. This is due to irritation caused by his high pitched feminine voice on Star Fox 64/3D (this is because his voice acting is provided by female actress Lyssa Browne). This has led to a common misconception from players and critics that Slippy is a female, while IGN have branded him as an "annoying croaking pest". Slippy's lower piloting skills have also been largely negatively received due to the distractions his constant SOS pleading causes a player's gameplay, especially as every ally must survive in order to obtain a mission's medal.

Trivia

  • In the original Star Fox, Slippy had a unique speech impediment - he croaks in the Japanese version, and stutters in the English translation. This was also true in the comic adaptation and its unproduced sequel, but the quirk was removed in later appearances.
  • With a count of 100 quotes, Slippy is the third most talkative character in Star Fox 64 behind Falco and Peppy. The 3DS release added seven new ones.
    • Slippy is also the only character (apart from Fox) to respond directly to Peppy in Star Fox 64.
  • Slippy is one of three in his generation whose father is affiliated with the Cornerian military, along with Fox and Lucy Hare.
  • On the Shadow Moses Island stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, if the conversation is interrupted by the opposing player, Slippy will react to Snake getting KO'd in same manner as Snake's allies.
  • Excluding Krystal who didn't join Star Fox until the end of Star Fox Adventures and acknowledging the fact that Star Fox Command isn't canon, Slippy is the only member of Star Fox never to confront Andross, but Slippy does meet Andross on Titania when Captain Shears tried to resurrect him. In this case, Andross questioned Slippy about who he was because they had never met before, prompting Slippy to conclude the ape hadn't regained his memories yet.

Names in Other Languages

Language Name
Japanese スリッピー・トード (Surippī Tōdo)
Chinese 史利比•陶德 (Shǐlìbǐ Táodé)
Korean 슬리피 토드 (Seulipi Todeu)
Russian Слиппи Тоуд (Slippi Toud)

References

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