Star Fox: Assault
スターフォックス アサルト
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Cory… and those who see my PPT waifu meet — ICE STORM!!
Star Fox: Assault is a 3D scrolling shooter and third-person shooter video game developed by Bandai Namco (Namco at the time of the game’s production and release) and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the fourth released title in the Star Fox series. It was released on November 29, 2004 in North America, on December 16, 2004 in Japan, on April 29, 2005 in Europe and on June 16, 2005 in Australia.
Just to let you know: my brother rented the game from the now-closed Blockbuster, then I attempted to purchase the game at Target but he didn’t want it, so I returned it. Upsetting!
The game marks the playable debut of Krystal, a blue vixen who is the sole survivor of her doomed home planet, Cerinia — who last appeared in Star Fox Adventures — now wearing less skimpy clothing such as a blue catsuit, blue knee-high boots, a silver chain belt, two silver rings on her tail, white beads in her hair, and a silver diadem which has a turquoise jewel.
The game’s composers are Yoshie Arakawa and Yoshinori Kawamoto. Yoshihiko Arawi is the game’s artist; Toshiyuki Nakanishi, Hideki Okazaki, and Yutaka Yoshida are the game’s directors; Tsuyoshi Kobayashi, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Takaya Imamura are the game’s producers, and Yoshihiko Arawi, Ayumu Shindo, Kazuya Hatazawa are the game’s writers.
The game stars the members of Star Fox, a team of spacefaring mercenaries: Fox McCloud (Kenji Nojima/Jim Walker), Falco Lombardi (Hisao Egawa/Mike Madeoy), Slippy Toad (Kyōko Tongū/Mike McAuliffe), and their newest member Krystal (Aya Hara, today Teiya Ichiryusai/Alésia Glidewell) participate in combat missions, while Peppy Hare (Tomohisa Asō/Henry Dardenne) and ROB 64 (Yusuke Numata; NUS 64/Dex Manley) provide tactical support from their mothership, the Great Fox. Star Fox frequently clash with rival mercenary group Star Wolf, made up of Wolf O’Donnell (Mahito Ōba/Grant Goodeve), Leon Powalski (Shinobu Satouchi/David Scully) and new recruit Panther Caroso (Tetsu Inada/David Scully); former members Pigma Dengar (the late Daisuke Gōri — deceased 2010/Lev Liberman) and Andrew Oikonny (Yūsuke Numata/John Hugil) have since been kicked out of the team. Other supporting characters include Cornerian commanding officer General Pepper (Michihiro Ikemizu/Gray Eubank) and Slippy’s scientist father, Beltino Toad (Hirohiko Kakegawa/Scott Burns).
The gameplay of Star Fox: Assault is divided into three distinctive types. The player can either fly an Arwing spacecraft, drive a Landmaster tank or perform certain tasks on foot. All three play types are available for use in the game’s multiplayer mode, though the available gameplay types are restricted based on the chosen map.
Arwing missions 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, main character Fox’s wingmates occasionally call for help when chased by enemies, requiring the player to save them. 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 run over enemies and assist their wing mates when necessary. Playing on foot essentially turns the game into a 3D third-person run ’n’ gun shooter; the player starts armed with a standard blaster 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.
The game has memorable quotes, such as Krystal’s “Hey, stop joking around!” when you attempt to friendly-fire one of your allies. Also, this:
“I mean… I mean… This isn’t a conversation for children!”
The game supports 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 many more can be unlocked by either playing a certain number of multiplayer games or achieving certain accomplishments in-game. 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 (including Peppy and Wolf).
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 Launchers on/off.
The game’s official website, formerly located at http://www.starfox.com/assault (North America), is no longer available and can only be accessed through the Wayback Machine (Flash is sadly discontinued, so the site may not work when the Wayback Machine is used).
Star Fox: Assault was not given a re-release, possibly due to the license between Nintendo and Bandai Namco were expired as Xevious is a third-party IP owned by Bandai Namco. If you have a GameCube in your attic, you can obtain the video game on eBay.
That’s it for Star Fox: Assault. Cory out. Hope you stay healthy…
