Arwingpedia
Register
Advertisement
Arwingpedia

This page was a featured article

ALL SHIPS, REPORT IN!
One year has passed since disaster was averted on Sauria, and Andross's armies have been almost eradicated... but now a new threat has risen from the darkness of space. The aparoids, creatures bent on assimilating all beasts and machines into their corrupted hive mind, are spreading relentlessly, and Team Star Fox is the only thing standing between them and the utter ruin of the Lylat system.
—Game's rear cover

"Star Fox: Assault" is an action-shooter hybrid video game for the Nintendo GameCube developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. Additionally, it is the fourth released title in the Star Fox series. "Assault" was also available at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stores starting February 1, 2005 as a promotion. "Assault" returns the Star Fox series to its space-combat roots after the previous game in the series, "Star Fox Adventures", took a more action-adventure approach. Assault takes place one year after the events of "Adventures" and introduces a new enemy named the Aparoids, a race bent on the assimilation of the Lylat System into their collective mind.

Development

"Star Fox: Assault" was first announced on May 8, 2002. It had a tentative release date of April 2003 for Japan, and would be developed by the same employees who worked on Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies at Namco. New information about the game didn't show up until a short video montage at 2003's E3 in Los Angeles, which showcased the game's first-person perspective. According to Electronic Gaming Monthly, the video was booed by viewers, and EGM itself said the video was "remarkably unimpressive".

During development, the game had three working titles: Star Fox Armada, Star Fox 2, and Star Fox. It eventually came to be known as "Star Fox: Assault". In 2003, the game was intended to be multiplayer oriented, and the ground missions of the game had a control scheme similar to the on-foot multiplayer mode in "Star Fox 64".

At 2004's E3, EGM, the same magazine that wrote poorly about it a year ago, wrote a follow-up that said the game looked "much better than... a year ago". "Assault" was scheduled for a November 2004 release, but was delayed to the beginning of 2005.

"Assault" uses middleware provided by the Japanese company CRI Middleware as a game engine. Yoshie Arakawa and Yoshinori Kanemoto provided "Assault" with a musical score and sound effects with the music performed by the Tokyo New City Orchestra. Most of the score pieces use themes from "Star Fox 64", composed by Koji Kondo and Hajime Wakai.

Gameplay

Single Stick Control

Game Mode
Gamecube Control Neutral
Gamecube Button A
Gamecube Button B
Gamecube CStick Neutral
Gamecube Button R
Gamecube Button L
Gamecube Button X
Gamecube Button Y
Gamecube Button Z
Pilot Move Shoot/Charge Barrier Switch weapons Aim Align/Roll Scope (Sniper Rifle) Jump Enter Vehicle*
  • (All-Range only)
Arwing Steer/Aim Shoot/Charge Bomb Loop (up)
U-Turn (down)*
  • (All-Range only)
Brakes Align/Roll Land*
  • (All-Range only)
Boost Exit Vehicle*
  • (All-Range only)
Landmaster Steer Shoot/Charge Boost N/A Aim Align/Roll Boost Hover Exit Vehicle

The gameplay of "Star Fox: Assault" is divided into three distinctive types. The player can either fly an Arwing (an aircraft), Landmaster (a tank), or perform certain tasks on foot. All three play types are available for multiplayer mode. The game follows a completely linear track as opposed to one the player chooses, unlike its predecessors "Star Fox" and "Star Fox 64".

Arwing missions in "Assault" are similar to those of the first two games in the series. The player flies in space or close to the ground and shoots down enemies. Some levels are on rails, while others allow full freedom of movement in a relatively small area. As in previous games, the wing mates of Fox, the main character, occasionally call for help when chased by enemies. Additionally, in some levels, the player has the ability to hop in and out of the Arwing at will.

While in the Landmaster, the player has complete freedom to move about the level. They are free to shoot or running over enemies as well as assist their wingmates when necessary. Playing on foot essentially turns the game into a third-person shooter — the player starts armed with the blaster, a type of gun, and can acquire a variety of other weapons, including but not limited to a machine gun and a homing launcher. In two shooting gallery levels, the player rides on the wing of an Arwing or a Wolfen fighter, shooting enemies on the ground and in the air with a plasma cannon.

As an added bonus, by collecting all silver medals throughout the game, the player can unlock a playable version of Xevious, a scrolling shooter arcade. Exclusive to the Japanese version were unlockable versions of the classic Namco games Battle City and Star Luster obtained by collecting all bronze and gold medals.

Multiplayer

"Star Fox: Assault" features multiplayer with support for up to four players simultaneously. This mode starts off very limited, with only a few playable characters, weapons, items, and maps; but more can be unlocked by either playing a certain number of multiplayer games or achieving certain accomplishments in the main story. Players are able to fight on foot or in a vehicle (a Landmaster, Arwing, or Wolfen), though some stages prohibit certain modes of travel. Playable characters include the entire Star Fox team, with Peppy Hare and Wolf O'Donnell as unlockables.

Versus Mode Characters

Character Health Speed Jump Arwing Landmaster Pilot Special
FoxHeadshotAssault ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ N/A
FalcoHeadshotAssault ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★★ ★★ ★★★ N/A
SlippyHeadshotAssault ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ Charge Speed X2
KrystalHeadshotAssault ★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★★ ★★★ Barrier X2
PeppyHeadshotAssault ★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ Charge Speed X4
WolfHeadshotAssault ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★★(Wolfen) ★★ ★★★ N/A

Each character has a skillset and each skill is ranked with stars. Health is how much health the character has; a character with high health like Slippy can take more hits than a character with low health like Falco. Speed is how quickly the character can travel while running, and also influences how far they can roll to either side; characters with high speed cover more ground in a shorter time, allowing them to escape firefights more easily. Jump is how high the character jumps; characters who jump high, like Slippy or Peppy, can reach plateaus and other elevated areas more easily than others. Arwing, Landmaster, and Pilot skill determines how quickly the reticle targets an enemy while flying an Arwing, driving a Landmaster, or running on foot, respectively. Additionally, some characters have special abilities. Krystal, for example, respawns with 2 Barrier Spheres instead of just 1, and Slippy's Blaster charges twice as fast as normal.

Multiplayer mode offers several stages for playing, including stages from the single-player mode, "Simple Maps" (which look like they're made of building blocks), and other new maps. There are also several modes for play available, which can force a certain weapon (sniper, rocket launcher, etc.) or change the style of play (capture the crown, etc.). Also, there are a few customizable options, such as turning radar on/off, turning special weapons on/off, and turning Demon Launches on/off.

Multiplayer has a number of items and weapons, most of which are taken directly from the single-player mode. There are also special unlockable weapons such as the Demon Sniper and Demon Launcher (dubbed "The Loser Gun" by the gaming community, because one gets it when one is losing) which have the ability to kill in one hit. In addition, there are a couple special items such as jet packs (which give a player on foot a hovering ability similar to Landmaster's hover), and the "Stealth Suit", which can make the player invisible for a short period of time.

Characters

  • Peppy Hare: Play 15 times in VS Mode.
  • Wolf O'Donnell: Finish the story mode with no member of Star Fox lost in any mission (All Ally medals).

Modes

  • Survivor Mode: Finish the Story Mode
  • Missile Launcher Bout: Play 10 times in VS Mode
  • Booster Packs & Launcher Tilt: Play 230 times in VS Mode
  • Booster Packs Brawl: Play 110 times in VS Mode
  • Crown Capture: Play 30 times in VS Mode
  • Sure Shot Scuffle: Play 50 times in VS Mode

Weapons for VS Mode

Vehicles

Maps

Others

  • Special Items (on/off): Play 5 times in VS
  • Xevious: Get all silver medals in story mode

Weapons and Items

There are several types of weapons: long range, short range, cannons, etc.

Weapon Single Versus Type Ammo User(s)
SFA Blaster Pistol: Check small Check small Default Pilot
SFA Machine Gun: Check small Check small Collectable 200 Pilot
SFA Grenade: Check small Check small Collectable 5 Pilot
SFA Sniper: Check small Check small Collectable 10 Pilot
SFA Homing Launcher: Check small Check small Collectable 10 Pilot
SFA Gatling: Check small Check small Collectable 100 Pilot
SFA Plasma Cannon: Check small X mark Mission 4 & 7 Only Pilot
Barriersphere: Check small Check small Collectable N/A Pilot
SFA First Aids (3 types): Check small Check small Collectable N/A Pilot
SFA Supply Rings (3 types): Check small Check small Collectable N/A Arwing
Landmaster
SFA Lasers Check small Check small Collectable Arwing
Landmaster
SFA Sensor: Check small Check small Collectable 5 Pilot
SFA Smart Bomb: Check small Check small Collectable 9 max Arwing
SFA Stealth Suit: X mark Check small Collectable N/A Pilot
SFA Demon Sniper: X mark Check small Unlockable 5 Pilot
SFA Demon Launcher: X mark Check small Unlockable 3 Pilot
SFA Fireburst: X mark Check small Unlockable 1 Pilot
SFA Cluster X mark Check small Unlockable 9 max Pilot
SFA Predator Rocket X mark Check small Unlockable 1 Pilot
SFA Missile Launcher X mark Check small Unlockable 3 Pilot

References in later games

Star Fox Command logo
And what about when you risked your life to fight the Aparoids?
—Slippy Toad

"Star Fox Command" is the sequel to "Assault". The game takes place around 2-3 years after the events of the Aparoid war. The multiple endings have made the continuity of "Command" currently unspecified.

In versus mode, Laser upgrades use an appearance and functionality identical to their "Assault" designs.

Super Smash Bros Brawl logo
Several aspects of Star Fox: Assault are included in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl". Several character designs are used as the template for their trophies. In-game music tracks were included. For the hidden Star Fox character "taunt" conversations, voice actors Jim Walker, Alesia Glidewell, and Michael McAuliffe reprised their roles. Dex Manley also returned as a voice actor, although his character ROB from Star Fox: Assault, did not take part in any conversations. In Fox's case, his Japanese voice actor in the game, Kenji Nojima, replaces Shinobu Satōchi (who previously voiced Fox in-battle in both Japanese and English in the prior games) as of Brawl.

Star Fox 64 3D logo
In the 3DS rerelease of Star Fox 64, the Training Mode has changed into a wire-framed simulated environment, which may be based on the V.S simple maps from Assault. The Cornerian Army's logo from Assault appears in the game where it replaces the generic Corneria poster and naming in the ending cinema.

Logo EN - Super Smash Bros
In the fourth Super Smash Bros game, the events of Mission 8 are recreated in the new Orbital Gate stage. Also, one of Dex Manley's ROB quotes was reused in the stage's hidden "Smash taunts" which originated from the same mission. Many trophies in both games take their artwork styles from Assault's character artwork if they had none or did not appear in Star Fox 64 3D.

Star-fox-zero

In "Zero", several recurring Star Fox characters such as Wolf had their designs updated with some elements borrowed from their character designs used in "Assault". For instance, ROB's design in "Zero" combines his looks from "Star Fox 64 3D" and "Assault".

A type of collectable Medal, closely resembles the Ally Medals obtained in "Assault".

Super Smash Bros
As well as some Star Fox series Spirits using artworks specifically taken from "Assault" artistry, Krystal appears as an assist trophy, using her character design and magical Staff from "Adventures", but uses recycled dialogue from Alesia Glidewell's vocal performance of Krystal in "Assault", specifically lines spoken in the versus mode.

Official website

The official site has the user trying to locate data crystals to repair the Great Fox's Security Data Core. The player has to find seven throughout via various maps (more specifically, Fortuna, Katina, Sargasso Space Zone, Fichina, the Asteroid Belt, Sauria, and Corneria). Although the player can visit the orbital gate via the map, the data crystal cannot be collected there, due to it sustaining irreparable damage. Each of the crystals contained data on various enemies in the game. More specifically, the bios for Andrew Oikonny, Wolf O'Donnell, Leon Powalsky, Panther Caroso, and Pigma Dengar, as well as some data on the aparoids. Entering the site as well as accessing each of the maps treats the player to a video of the area, and also supplies data on the area and data on the characters and vehicles. The Armory supplies details about Star Fox's weapons, including videos in some cases, and the Training Room gives details about the game's versus mode.

Trivia

  • The game script will mostly remain the same in each of the 10 Missions. However, depending on the chosen rank, some dialogue will be changed. For instance: In Mission 9's Silver rank, entering the Arwing to destroy the Hatchers underneath the city will trigger Peppy to say "Fox, Falco, Slippy, Krystal... I'm proud to fight alongside you...", which hints that Peppy will make his sacrifice. However, in the Gold rank, this is changed to Peppy admitting that the Great Fox is under attack from Aparoids and Fox tells him not to do anything reckless.
  • The English voice actress for Krystal, Alesia Glidewell, is also known for having her face used as the facemap of Chell in Valve's Portal and Portal 2.
  • The English voice actor for Wolf O' Donnell, Grant Goodeve, is also known for his voice acting role as The Engineer in Valve's Team Fortress 2.
  • The official site for the game (before it was taken down) featured the names of the various character's species, although they were not of the standard animal names.
  • When Assault was initially announced by Nintendo and Namco, it was also rumored that an arcade game was under development. However, the arcade game was never heard about again in the public.
  • The music heard throughout the game are mostly tracks from Star Fox 64 redone in a higher-quality - heavy orchestral remix of familiar tracks. No Star Fox Adventures music is reused despite the Walled City returning, which may have to do with Rare copyright, or to fit with the developer change. The first five seconds of Star Fox 64's Game Over theme was conducted but not used in the final release, leading to a silent Game Over.
  • Ironically, on the official website (before it was taken down), the Navigation Room was designed after Star Fox Adventures Great Fox, rather than the Great Fox represented in Assault.
  • Despite being a T-Rated game, Star Fox Assault doesn't use any of the ESRB traits asides from the slightly fantasy violence.
  • If the player jumps off a ledge to their doom (like on Sauria and/or the Aparoid Homeworld) after fully completing the mission, it will continue to show Fox falling instead of having him emerge back on the ground, owing to the mission technically being complete by that point.

Names in Other Languages

Language Name
Japanese (スターフォックス アサルト, Sutā Fokkusu Asaruto)

References

External links

Advertisement