is an
anthropomorphicAnthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Examples include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse and forces of nature such as...
video game characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the
Star Fox series. He was created by
Shigeru Miyamotois a Japanese video game designer and producer who has been called the "father of modern video games" and "the Walt Disney of electronic gaming" for helping create the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero franchises and games such as Nintendogs and Wii Music.-Early...
and designed by
Takaya Imamurais a Japanese artwork designer for Nintendo. He designed the characters from the F-Zero and Star Fox series of video games. He is credited for creating many of the characters, universe, and overall concept of those franchises. He is the original designer of Captain Falcon and Fox McCloud in Super...
. As his name implies, he is a
red foxThe red fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora. It has the widest range of any terrestrial carnivore, being native to Canada, Alaska, almost all of the contiguous United States, Europe, North Africa and almost all of Asia, including Japan. In Ireland and the UK, where there are no longer any other...
and the main
player characterA player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
of the series.
In each game the player controls Fox, either on the ground or in his Arwing. He is the leader of the Star Fox team, and is joined by his wingmates on various missions.
In the English release of
Star Fox 64, he was voiced by Mike West. In both the Japanese release of
Star Fox 64 and
Super Smash Bros., Fox's voices were done by Shinobu Satōchi (speaking in English with a Japanese accent for the English version). For English dialogue of
Super Smash Bros. Melee and
Star Fox Adventures, Fox's voice was done by Rare's
Steve MalpassSteve Malpass is a former designer and voice actor for Rare Ltd and HAL Laboratories. He moved to Cardiff after he graduated from high school to work as the voice actor the company. He was known for the role of Fox McCloud in Star Fox Adventures and Super Smash Bros...
. In
Star Fox: Assaultis 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 released on February 14, 2005 in North America, on February 24, 2005 in Japan, on April 29, 2005 in...
, his voice was done by Jim Walker in the English release and by
Kenji Nojimais a Japanese seiyū who was born in Tokyo. He is employed by Japanese voice talent agency Aoni Production. He is the son of veteran seiyū Akio Nojima and is the younger brother of seiyū Hirofumi Nojima...
in the Japanese release. Nojima reprised his role for
Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by Sora and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. Brawl was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conference by Nintendo president and Chief...
, as did Walker for the English version.
Concept and creation
In 1992,
Argonaut SoftwareArgonaut Games plc was a British video game developer. Founded as Argonaut Software by teenager Jez San in 1982 the company name is a play on his name and the movie title Jason and the Argonauts.-History:...
and Nintendo collaborated to produce a 3D
space shooterShoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often a spacecraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what design elements...
for the Super Nintendo, provisionally titled 'SnesGlider'. The development team, led by
Shigeru Miyamotois a Japanese video game designer and producer who has been called the "father of modern video games" and "the Walt Disney of electronic gaming" for helping create the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero franchises and games such as Nintendogs and Wii Music.-Early...
, redesigned what had been a tech demo into a rail shooter, with Nintendo designing the game and Argonaut handling the technical aspects. However, without a story, it lacked incentives to play beyond flying and shooting. Miyamoto sketched out a fictional universe, but could not decide on a natural hero to convey a sense of an epic space battle. Names under consideration included
Star Wolf,
Star Sheep,
Star Fox,
Star Sparrow and
Star Hawk. Miyamoto finally settled on having a fox as the main character after visiting
Fushimi Inari-taishais the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines....
in
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
, the head shrine of
Inariis the Japanese kami of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry and worldly success and one of the principal kami of Shinto. Represented as male, female, or androgynous, Inari is sometimes seen as a collective of three or five individual kami...
, a Japanese
kamiis the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. The oldest written record of Japanese creation is in the Kojiki of 712. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity," some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a...
associated with foxes. Inari is portrayed as being able to fly, and its shrines, particularly the one in Kyoto, are surrounded by red arches (
torii), giving Miyamoto the idea of a fox that could fly through arches.Fox's face was modeled after Inari's, and always wears a red "scarf" around his neck, like the statue, with the exception of his design from
Star Fox: Assault. This however could be contested on the grounds that Fox's face was not based upon Inari's until
Star Fox 64, known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars because of trademark issues, is a scrolling shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released on April 27, 1997 in Japan, on July 1, 1997 in North America and on October 20, 1997 in Europe and Australia. It was later ported to...
, as Fox had a very realistic look in the original
Star Fox. Fox's personality is loosely based on Miyamoto's, with the name 'Fox McCloud' being suggested by Dylan Cuthbert, one of the Argonaut team.
Characteristics
In the original
Star Fox, Fox wears an orange suit with a flight jacket and metallic boots, along with a communication device on his head. In
Star Fox 64, he wears a green suit and his jacket sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. In
Super Smash Bros.Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as , is a crossover fighting game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan on January 21, 1999, in North America on April 26, 1999, and in Europe on November 19, 1999. Super Smash Bros. is the first game in...
and its sequel,
MeleeSuper Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
, Fox appears as he did in
Star Fox 64. In
Star Fox Adventures, he has a white vest instead of a jacket, his headgear is replaced with a device on his wrist, and wears a knee pad on his left leg. He also wears a large backpack for carrying items, such as Krystal's Staff and the CloudRunner Flute. In
Star Fox: Assault, his appearance changes drastically. He wears a green and red jumpsuit, a white vest, pads on his knees and shoulders, and his boots are red and black instead of gray. As in
Adventures, his communication device is on his wrist. In
Star Fox Command, Fox has gone back to his
Star Fox 64 attire, but without his sleeves rolled up. In
Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by Sora and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. Brawl was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conference by Nintendo president and Chief...
, Fox has a similar appearance of his
Star Fox 64 and
Command designs. Although Nintendo has not officially cited Fox's height in a game manual,
Nintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #240 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US....
released a card featuring Fox, which stated his height, during
Star Fox 64, to be 5'8", his weight to be 155 lbs, and his age to be 18. Fox would be 26 in
Adventures (as
Adventures takes place just 8 years after the events of
Star Fox 64), 27 in
Assault (the game manual stated 1 year had passed since the conclusion of
Adventures), and 29 to 30 in
Command.
In the 1993
Nintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #240 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US....
Star Fox comic, Fox had a romantic relationship with Fara Phoenix. While slightly ambiguous, it is obvious that they held mutual affections for each other throughout the comics. Still, the comics are considered non-
canonA canon, in terms of a fictional universe, is a body of material that is considered to be "genuine" or "official", that can be directly referenced as, or as if it were, material produced by the original author or creator of a series...
, since
Star Fox 64 replaced the original SNES
Star Fox title. In the official games canon, Fox became infatuated with Krystal when he first saw her trapped on top of Krazoa Palace in
Star Fox Adventures. He is romantically involved with Krystal after the events of
Star Fox: Assaultis 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 released on February 14, 2005 in North America, on February 24, 2005 in Japan, on April 29, 2005 in...
, confirming that they loved each other when speaking with Lucy about his relationship with Krystal. During
Command Krystal soon leaves after Fox asked her to leave because he feared for her safety.
Star Fox Commandis the fifth game in Nintendo's Star Fox series which was published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in 2006. Released in Japan on August 3, 2006 and in North America on August 28, 2006, it was first announced at the E3 2006 conference, under the name Star Fox DS...
has several different endings in which they either get back together or split apart completely. In one of these endings, the pair settles down and has a son named Marcus McCloud 10 years later. Marcus takes on his father's legacy by becoming the future leader of the Star Fox team.
Fox is known for having three most notable personalities. Those being professional, cocky, and shy, expressed in different circumstances. His professional side is shown when he is in serious situations especially in his Arwing, this is most notable side to Fox shown in all Star Fox games. Fox's cocky side was more notable than his professional side in
Star Fox AdventuresStar Fox Adventures is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube as part of the Star Fox series. It was released in North America on 23 September 2002, Japan on 27 September 2002, Australia on 15 November 2002 and Europe on 22 November 2002...
, where he acted more like a teenager than compared to an adult, showing low enthusiasm when taking on difficult situations. Fox's shy side is only expressed when he is around Krystal, who flirts with him frequently. His reactions are shown as him blushing, temperature rising, and constant stuttering. This is a clear sign of Fox's feelings towards Krystal. He also has shown signs of being a little self-centered and money-hungry. In
Star Fox Adventures he was constantly grumbling about not being paid enough for what he was being asked to do and made references to only caring about any of this for the inevitable pay-off. He frequently rolled his eyes or sighed when he found out what he was being asked to do even more work or when a conversation with a character simply went on too long. Nonetheless, this was more bravado than anything else, as he ended up saving the day quite willingly.
Star Fox
In the original
SNESThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
game, Fox's father, James McCloud and his Star Fox team had gone missing in 'The Awesome Black Hole', after he was betrayed by one of his two teamates. Fox McCloud assembled a new Star Fox team, which includes
Falco Lombardiis an anthropomorphic video game character from the Star Fox series. His appearance resembles that of a falcon. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and designed by Takaya Imamura. For the majority of the series, Falco acts as the wingman and friend of title character Fox McCloud.Falco first appeared...
, Peppy Hare (who was originally on James McCloud's Star Fox team), and Slippy Toad. They are hired by General Pepper to pilot the experimental Arwing spacefighter and stop the threat of Andross. With a choice of three routes, the player plays as Fox, fighting Andross's forces.
Star Fox 64
Star Fox 64 is a remake of
Star Fox on the SNES, and adds new characters and ideas taken from the cancelled
Star Fox 2is an unreleased video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was to be the second of the Star Fox series and the direct sequel to Star Fox. Both Argonaut Games and Nintendo developed the game, with Nintendo planning to publish it. The Japanese version was completely finished except...
. Fox McCloud's friendship with Bill Grey is depicted during the game, and he fights Wolf O'Donnell of the rival Star Wolf team. The Black Hole of the SNES game is absent, instead, James McCloud is supposed to have died at the hands of Andross himself. Once Star Fox reaches Venom, they fight through its defensive lines or Star Wolf to Andross's base, depending on which route the player takes. Despite the protests of his team, Fox faces Andross alone. If the player has chosen the hard route, Fox's father James appears to lead his son to safety when Andross's base explodes, disappearing when Fox escapes. Whether this was living James, a ghost or a figment of Fox's imagination is yet to be seen. Fox then leaves victorious as Andross's base explodes behind him. Back on Corneria, General Pepper offers to integrate them into the Cornerian army. Fox declines, saying that they prefer doing things their own way.
An action figure of Fox McCloud armed with a missile launcher was produced to accompany the game, but never got beyond the prototype stage.
Star Fox Adventures
In
Star Fox AdventuresStar Fox Adventures is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube as part of the Star Fox series. It was released in North America on 23 September 2002, Japan on 27 September 2002, Australia on 15 November 2002 and Europe on 22 November 2002...
, a GameCube game set eight years after
Star Fox 64, Fox McCloud is hired to stop Dinosaur Planet breaking apart. Fox rescues Prince Tricky, a young dinosaur of the EarthWalker tribe, from the Sharpclaw tribe. The villain of the game, General Scales, plans to conquer the planet piece by piece. The two find four Spell Stones, magical objects that hold the planet together, returning them to their rightful positions, and free Krystal, an imprisoned vixen, in which Fox and Krystal fall in love with a resault in Krystal joining the team at the end of the game. Fox then defeats a resurrected Andross, who was the real villain behind the troubles on Dinosaur Planet. McCloud then returns to the Great Fox, and General Pepper pays him for saving the planet. Falco Lombardi, who had been absent for the majority of the game, is reunited with the team.
Star Fox Adventures was originally intended for release on the Nintendo 64 as
Dinosaur Planet, an action adventure starring Krystal and a fox character named Sabre. Created by developers Rare, the game was essentially complete, and was ready for release in the fourth quarter of 2000. The game was shown off at the E3 video game trade show in May that year, but cancelled shortly afterwards.
Nintendo had noticed the similarity between Fox McCloud and Sabre, and decided to convert the game into
Star Fox Adventures. In an interview with IGN at the 2000 E3, Shigeru Miyamoto commented on the similarity between the two characters, jokingly suggesting he should call the development team about it.
Star Fox: Assault
A year after the events of
Star Fox Adventures, Fox and his team are hired to defeat Andrew Oikonny, the nephew of the late Andross and former Star Wolf member, who has started a rebellion against Corneria with the remnants of Andross's forces. Team Star Fox manages to corner Oikonny on the planet Fortuna, when Oikonny is suddenly shot down by a creature known as an Aparoid; strange, bug-like organisms with the ability to assimilate things living or not. On planet Katina, the team runs into Pigma Dengar, who sent out an S.O.S. signal to lure them. Pigma steals the core memory of a defeated Aparoid, which the team needs in order to locate the homeworld of the race and destroy the Aparoid Queen; the Aparoid leader. Star Fox then encounters and gets into a brief skirmish with the Star Wolf team while searching for Pigma. After defeating Pigma, the stolen core memory is obtained. After freeing planet Sauria, which is essially Dinosaur Planet, from the Aparoids, Fox then learns that Corneria has been heavily assaulted by the enemy. Star Wolf then comes to their aid when saving Corneria. Fox and crew finally reach the Aparoid homeworld, where the Queen is destroyed along with the home planet itself, once again with help from Star Wolf.
Star Fox Command
Once again, the Lylat System falls under peril in
Star Fox Commandis the fifth game in Nintendo's Star Fox series which was published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in 2006. Released in Japan on August 3, 2006 and in North America on August 28, 2006, it was first announced at the E3 2006 conference, under the name Star Fox DS...
, this time under attack by a new foe known as the Anglars, who originated from Venom's acidic oceans. It is up to Fox McCloud to save the galaxy once more by slowly liberating invaded territory and arriving at Venom to defeat the Anglar Emperor. This time, he begins the battle with only ROB 64 at his side, as the team has been disbanded for various reasons. Along the way, other characters will join Fox and the team becomes whole again.
As
Command has nine different outcomes, it is uncertain which is the true path Fox and crew take; but the developers have suggested that any sequel might ignore the endings and pick up the story from the middle. However, others say ending 1 will be the true ending, where Fox and Krystal make up, get back together and Krystal rejoins Star Fox, which soon after they head to Aquas where they meet Slippy's fiancee Amanda where they make her part of the Star Fox team .
In this game, Takaya Imamura gave Fox a cartoonish appearance, compared to the more realistic look of
Star Fox Adventures and
Star Fox: Assault. According to Imamura, realistic fur was unpopular with players.
Super Smash Bros. series
Fox McCloud has appeared in all three
Super Smash Bros. games as a default playable character. He is light and fast, but has weak attacks. His attacks include a
BlasterRayguns are a type of directed-energy weapon. They are a classic and widespread feature of science fiction. Types of raygun have various names: ray gun, death ray, beam gun, blaster, laser gun, phaser, etc. They supply the general role of guns in the scenarios of many stories...
, a fire recovery move, a dash attack, a hexagonal reflector, and a Landmaster Tank. Falco and Wolf have similar attack sets, with the former jumping higher and the latter clawing more.
Other appearances
Fox has small cameos in other games, notably
Stunt Race FXStunt Race FX, known in Japan as , is a cartoon-style, 3D-racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD with the assistance of Argonaut Software and published by Nintendo for the Super NES. It was the second game to use the 3D-centric Super FX chip.-Gameplay:Stunt Race FX appears to be like a zany...
, where a portrait of him can be found in track-side billboards. Additionally, in one of the tracks, an Arwing will occasionally fly overhead. In
F-Zero X, is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo 64 console. Developed by Nintendo's EAD division, it was released in Japan, Europe and North America, in 1998. In 2000, an expansion of the game was exclusively released in Japan providing numerous extra features not in the original game. F-Zero...
and
GXis a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo GameCube console. Developed by Sega's Amusement Vision department and published by Nintendo, it was released in Japan, Europe and North America in . F-Zero AX, the arcade counterpart of GX, uses hardware conceived from a business alliance between...
, a character named James McCloud is a playable racer, bearing the name of Fox's father. He has a similar appearance to Fox, with his hair looking like ears, and wears sunglasses as well. As if an inside joke, one of the multiple endings in
Star Fox Command, Fox and Falco join a G-Zero space racing team; an obvious reference to the
F-Zero series.
Reception
Since the release of the original
Star FoxStar Fox may refer to one of two video games:*Star Fox , a video game published by Mythicon for the Atari 2600*Star Fox , a video game published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
, Fox McCloud has gained a cult following. Early in the
Nintendo 64The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10,...
's lifespan, Fox McCloud ranked fifth in
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
's top five best Nintendo 64 character list.
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
praised Fox's appearance in
Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
, saying that he featured some of the best texture work and modeling in the game. In their preview of
Star Fox Assault, IGN editors Juan Castro and
Matt CasamassinaMatt Casamassina is a video game journalist working for IGN. He is the author of many reviews and previews of Nintendo games, and the editor-in-chief of the IGN Nintendo Team. He resides in Los Angeles, California, is married to Edie Kissko and has two daughters, Zoey and Fiona Jade...
described Fox's voice as juvenile yet tough. Fox ranked eighth on
GameDailyis a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 with the name Gigex, the site was acquired by AOL on August 16, 2006. The site offers articles on different video game topics, with a lot of lists where games are ranked....
's Top 10 Smash Bros. characters list.