Star Fox is a video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, a Japanese game designer, and developed and published by Nintendo. The games feature the Star Fox combat team, a group of anthropomorphic animals led by Fox McCloud. Players complete missions across the Lylat planetary system using the Arwing spacecraft, other vehicles, and sometimes on foot. The first Star Fox game (1993) is a side-scrolling 3D shooter, while later games allow more movement in different directions.

The original Star Fox was made by Nintendo EAD and programmed by Argonaut Software. It used the Super FX Chip, a special chip inside the game cartridge that helped the Super NES console create 3D graphics. This chip was also used in other Super NES games, some with faster processing. A later version, Star Fox 64, was the first Nintendo console game to include vibrations in the controller.

Because of a name conflict with a German company called StarVox, the first two Star Fox games were renamed Starwing and Lylat Wars in PAL region territories. However, starting with Star Fox Adventures, Nintendo used the original name "Star Fox" worldwide.

Games

The first game, Star Fox, also called Starwing in Europe and Australia, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. Nintendo EAD developed the game, and Argonaut Software programmed it. It used the Super FX chip to create 3D graphics, which was rare at the time when most games had 2D graphics. The main characters, Fox McCloud and his team—Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, and Falco Lombardi—fight Andross, who wants to take over the Lylat system. The game’s idea came from a shrine in Japan that honors the fox deity Inari Ōkami, which Shigeru Miyamoto visited often. The shrine’s design, with a series of arches, inspired parts of the game. Some boss battles from Star Fox later appeared as mini-games in WarioWare: Smooth Moves, where players use the Wii Remote to control a ship.

Star Fox 64, also called Lylat Wars in Europe and Australia, was released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64. It included spoken dialogue, new vehicles and characters, multiplayer options, and basic on-foot gameplay in an unlockable mode. The game came with the Rumble Pak, a special controller that vibrates during gameplay. It retells the main story of the original Star Fox but adds new characters and features. New multiplayer modes include free-for-all battles, battle royale, and time trials.

The story has only small changes from the original. This game is known for quotes that became popular online, such as "Do a barrel roll!" and "Use bombs wisely" by Peppy Hare, and "Can't let you do that, Star Fox!" by Wolf O'Donnell.

Star Fox Adventures was released in 2002 for the GameCube. Developed by Rare, it is mostly an action-adventure game where Fox uses a magical staff. Space shooting is only part of the game, appearing in short segments. The game was based on an earlier project called Dinosaur Planet, which Nintendo canceled and later turned into Star Fox Adventures. It introduced new characters, including Prince Tricky and Krystal. The story happens eight years after Star Fox 64, and the main enemy is an army of dinosaurs called the Sharp Claws, led by General Scales. Fox and Krystal become close before the final battle, and Krystal joins the Star Fox team. The gameplay is similar to The Legend of Zelda games.

Star Fox: Assault, developed by Namco, was released in 2005 for the GameCube. It returned to space shooting with the Arwing fighter but also included on-foot missions. The game takes place one year after Adventures, and the new enemy is the Aparoids. The Star Fox team works to stop them. ROB now helps pilot the Great Fox, and Krystal takes Peppy’s place as a pilot.

Star Fox Command, made by Q-Games, was released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS. It was the first Star Fox game on a handheld console and the first to include online multiplayer. Like the original Star Fox, it focuses on flying and uses voice chatter instead of spoken dialogue. It uses a new system where players plan flight paths and fight enemies in an open arena using the DS’s touch screen. Each character has a unique ship with different abilities. For example, Slippy’s ship has weaker locks and boosts but stronger lasers and shields. Fox pilots a redesigned Arwing II. The game happens two to three years after Star Fox: Assault and has nine possible endings based on the player’s choices.

Star Fox 64 3D is a remake of Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo 3DS, released in 2011. It was announced in a trailer for the 3DS at E3 2010. The gameplay is mostly the same as the original, with controls using the circle pad, shoulder buttons, and right-hand buttons. A new "Battle Mode" allows up to four players to compete online or against the computer. During battles, players’ faces appear on opponents’ screens using the console’s camera.

Star Fox Zero, developed by Nintendo and PlatinumGames, was released in 2016 for the Wii U. It was the first Star Fox game on a home console in over 10 years. The game uses the Wii U GamePad’s gyroscope for controls. It was released with a version of Star Fox Guard, a tower defense game.

Star Fox 2 was canceled even though it was completed. Many of its ideas, like the rival team Star Wolf and charge shots, were later used in Star Fox 64. Other features, like choosing characters and map pointing, were added to Star Fox Command. A beta version of a tank (called the Landmaster) also appears in Star Fox 2 as a modified Arwing. A third-party team later fixed the game, making it playable. It was later released as part of the Super NES Classic Edition and added to the SNES Nintendo Classics service for Nintendo Switch Online users.

In 1993, shortly after Star Fox was released, Nelsonic made a promotional LCD game called Star Fox Game Watch, which could be redeemed with a coupon from Kellogg’s Corn Flakes boxes. It has four levels and challenges players to destroy an enemy ship while avoiding obstacles. It includes earphones and a headphone jack but no volume control. Nelsonic later sold it in stores with a different watch design.

Star Fox Guard was first shown at E3 2014 as Project Guard and later named Star Fox Guard in 2016. It was released for the Wii U in April 2016, along with Star Fox Zero. The game is a tower defense title where players protect a base by switching between camera views and shooting enemies. A physical version was bundled with Star Fox Zero, and it is also available digitally.

This game was a technical demo for a Star Fox game that might have been made for the Virtual Boy. The demo used cinematic camera angles, similar to Star Fox 2. It showed an Arwing performing spins and 3D movements. Attendees at E3 1995 and the Winter Consumer Electronics Show 1995 received 3D glasses to view the demo.

Other media

A monthly Star Fox comic strip, drawn by Benimaru Itoh, was printed in issues 45 to 55 of Nintendo Power in 1993. It is based on the events of the original Star Fox game, with some new characters not seen in any of the games before. One such character is Fara Phoenix, a vixen who joins the Star Fox team after they save her from Venomian forces. She becomes close to Fox. The story follows the Star Fox team as they change from outlaws on Papetoon to an elite Arwing fighter squadron. Fox, Falco, and Andross were the only three characters whose backgrounds were fully explained in the story. A sequel, set after the game's events, was made by the same team in Nintendo Power. It continued the story, showing Andross's DNA split between two clones. The clones begin an invasion of the Lylat system, causing destruction. The Star Fox team returns to action, while Fara wears clothing once worn by Fox's deceased mother. During a break, Fara accidentally distracts one of the Andross clones when he sees her on a monitor. The clone says over a loudspeaker that the original Andross was in love with Fox's mother and accidentally killed her with a bomb meant for Fox's father. Thinking he is speaking to Fox's mother, the clone is mistaken for Fara. Fox becomes angry and fights through the clones' forces. One clone kills the other, believing his feelings for Fara are a weakness. The clone then destroys the survivor. The story ends with the Lylat system celebrating the defeat of Andross as his remaining forces flee from Corneria and other worlds in the system.

The official Club Nintendo magazine in Germany released a Star Fox 64 comic drawn in manga style to retell the game's story. The comic includes scenes not in the game, such as Wolf kicking Andrew and Pigma out of Star Wolf for disobeying orders, which helps save Star Fox from their plot. The comic ends with a robotic Andross being defeated.

A one-issue Star Fox comic by Kazumi Sakamoto was printed in the Comic Bonbon 1993 Spring Vacation Jumbo Edition, published in April of that year.

A one-issue Star Fox comic by Takao Aoki was printed in the 1993 Spring Break Edition of Corocoro Comic.

A Star Fox 64 comic by Takahiro Yamashita appeared in the April and June 1997 issues of Bessatsu Corocoro Comic.

Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco is a Japanese manga created by Nintendo and part of the main Star Fox series. It was released on the official Star Fox Adventures website and explains Falco's absence from the team in Star Fox Adventures, bridging the events of Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Adventures.

In the series, Captain Shears runs a base on the sand-dune planet Titania, but he secretly helps resurrect Andross. Katt Monroe returns from Star Fox 64 with a group of roughnecks who claim Shears is evil. Fox is unsure, leading to a sparring match with Falco, which highlights Falco's desire to leave the team. Later, Star Fox learns Shears is truly evil, and Fox stops the resurrection plan. The manga ends with the team learning about Dinosaur Planet's broken state and deciding to investigate, as shown in the opening of Star Fox Adventures.

A 14-minute web video of Star Fox Zero, produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, Production IG, and Wit Studio, shows the Star Fox team in an anime-style battle from the first level of Star Fox Zero: Corneria. The video was later released on the Wii U eShop as part of the Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins + Training demo.

In an interview with The Serf Times, comedian Adam Conover said that in February 2015, he and others from CollegeHumor were working with Shigeru Miyamoto to create a clay-animated show based on Star Fox. However, Nintendo canceled the project a month later after plans for a Zelda series were leaked by Netflix.

In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), Fox McCloud appears as a main character and is voiced by Glen Powell. He plays a significant role, piloting Rosalina's observatory with the Lumas to transport Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Yoshi to Bowser's fortress in the Space Junk Galaxy.

Recurring elements

The Arwing is the main ship used by the Star Fox team in all Star Fox games. It has changed over time, but all versions share a similar design: a central body, two curved, smooth pods on the sides called Gravity Diffusers or G Diffusers, and wings attached to the side pods. Starting with Star Fox 64, the side pods are a bright blue color.

The Arwing appears in the Super Smash Bros. series. In this series, Arwings are shown during Fox and Falco’s on-screen introductions and as obstacles in Sector Z, a stage in the game. Arwings on this stage sometimes fly through and fire lasers at players. While Sector Z was not used in later games, a similar stage called Corneria also includes Arwings. Arwings are also seen flying in the background of stages like Venom, Lylat Cruise, and Orbital Gate Assault. They appear as collectible trophies in some Smash Bros. games. The Arwing is also an easter egg in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but it can only be accessed using a GameShark code. In this game, it appears as an enemy in Kokiri Forest that Link can defeat with a boomerang, fairy bow, or fairy slingshot. After defeating it, the Arwing explodes, and the blast may accidentally harm Link. The Arwing also appears as a piece of furniture in Animal Crossing: Wild World and Animal Crossing: City Folk. When touched by the player, it briefly plays the Star Fox theme music. It also appears as a decoration in Super Mario RPG over a box in Hinopio’s Market. In Bayonetta 2, miniature Arwings replace Bayonetta’s guns when she wears the unlockable Star Fox costume. In the final level of that game, the main enemy plane is also replaced with an Arwing.

Miyamoto explained that the ship is called Arwing “because it was like one big wing shaped like an A.”

The Landmaster M1 tank first appeared in Star Fox 64 (1997, Nintendo 64) as a tracked light tank in two missions and one multiplayer map. It later appeared in Star Fox: Assault (2005, GameCube), with some changes, such as replacing tank treads with tires. The Landmaster appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) as the Final Smash for Fox, Falco, and Wolf. It is also the Final Smash for Fox and Falco in Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U).

The Wolfen is piloted by Wolf O’Donnell. This ship first appeared in Star Fox 2 but was later seen in Star Fox 64 on the planet Fichina (called Fortuna in Star Fox 64, corrected to Fichina in 64 3D) or Bolse. Taking a difficult path to Venom allows players to battle the Wolfen II, which is faster than the Arwing. In Star Fox: Assault, Team Star Wolf uses the original Wolfen against the Star Fox team, and the Wolfen is playable in the game’s multiplayer mode. The Wolfen has appeared in all Super Smash Bros. games.

Reception

The Star Fox series has mostly received positive reviews, with Star Fox 64 being the most highly praised. Star Fox Zero received mixed opinions from critics. Star Fox ranked No. 115 on EGM's list of "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time" and was placed 82nd on Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list for Nintendo systems. It earned a score of 34 out of 40 from Famitsu magazine and a rating of 4.125 out of 5 from Nintendo Power Magazine. Next Gen Magazine noted that Star Fox helped introduce 3-D graphics in video games. The game was also noted for having a set path through each level, similar to older games, even though it used fully polygon designs.

Star Fox Adventures changed the way the series was played, which led some fans to criticize it for being too similar to role-playing adventure games like The Legend of Zelda. Despite this, the game was praised by critics. In an IGN poll where players voted for their favorite Nintendo character from a list of ten, Fox was ranked fourth, after Link, Mario, and Samus.

In October 2009, Shigeru Miyamoto expressed disappointment that sales of the Star Fox series in Japan had decreased during the previous period.

Because of the series' popularity, Google added an Easter egg to its search engine. When users type "do a barrel roll" or "Z or R twice" into the search bar, the screen rotates 360 degrees.