Star Fox Adventures is an action-adventure game released in 2002. It was created by Rare and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The story takes place eight years after the events of Star Fox 64 (1997). Players control Fox McCloud, who travels to a planet in the Lylat System to stop its destruction. The game has two main modes: Adventure Mode, where players explore, fight enemies, solve puzzles, and collect items, and Arwing Mode, which includes shooting segments.
The game began as two separate projects for the Nintendo 64. One was a planned sequel to Star Fox 64 being developed by Nintendo EAD in Kyoto. The other was Dinosaur Planet, an original game idea by Rare that started in 1997. Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto encouraged Rare to combine the two projects. Star Fox characters and gameplay were added to the world of Dinosaur Planet. Development was moved to the GameCube, and work on the Nintendo 64 version stopped. A version of the canceled Dinosaur Planet game was found online in 2021.
Star Fox Adventures was released on September 23, 2002. It was Rare’s only GameCube game and the last game the company made for a Nintendo home console before being bought by Microsoft the day after its U.S. release. The game was successful and received mostly positive reviews for its detailed graphics, new character designs, and dynamic environments. However, some critics noted issues with the voice acting and changes to the traditional Star Fox gameplay style.
Gameplay
Star Fox Adventures is played from a third-person perspective, meaning players see the character on the screen. Most areas allow players to move the camera freely, and some parts let players switch to a first-person view to look around. The game can use a wide screen if the console is connected to a television that supports it. The story includes two different ways to play, and players switch between them at different times in the game.
The first way to play is called Adventure Mode, which is the main part of the game. It works similarly to games like The Legend of Zelda, especially Ocarina of Time. In this mode, players control the main character and explore thirteen different areas on foot. Each area becomes available after completing a task or learning a new skill. Some parts of the game are like Zelda games: players use a type of money called Scarabs to buy healing items, equipment, and maps. The character’s health is shown as hearts made up of four parts, with each heart looking like a fox’s head. Players start with three hearts and gain a new one after completing key parts of the story. The character can climb ladders, swim, and jump between platforms but cannot jump freely. Some areas require solving puzzles to move forward. The game also has day and night times, but the change is slower than in Zelda games.
The main character gets a staff early in the game. The staff is used as a weapon and to solve puzzles. In battles, players get close to enemies and lock on to them. An enemy’s health is shown as a heart above their head. Players can move side to side and roll to avoid attacks while using the staff to block or strike. The staff can also open containers, operate machines, or lift stones to find hidden items. As the story progresses, the staff can be upgraded with special powers, such as firing projectiles or jumping to high places. These upgrades need magic energy, which players collect by finding special crystals. A sidekick joins the player later in the story and helps by finding items and using special moves called tricks. Each trick requires a mushroom, and the sidekick can use up to six tricks before needing more mushrooms. The game’s inventory system includes three sections: collectibles, staff upgrades, and tricks. Players can use three tools: a map of the area, a scanner to learn about nearby objects, and a radar to find fuel cells.
The second way to play is called Arwing Mode, which is similar to other Star Fox games. In this mode, players choose where to go on Dinosaur Planet. At first, players can only move around the planet’s surface, but after completing parts of Adventure Mode, they can fly to new areas using a spaceship called the Arwing. When flying, players follow a fixed path, dodging obstacles and shooting enemies. Flying through silver rings gives health, and using super-bombs destroys groups of enemies. To reach a new area, players must fly through a certain number of gold rings—each area has about 10. Players may need to repeat a section to collect more rings to reach farther places. To use the Arwing, players must collect fuel cells during Adventure Mode. Once a place is visited, fuel cells are no longer needed to return there.
Story
In this game, players mainly control Fox McCloud, the leader of the Star Fox team, who is sent on a mission by General Pepper of the Cornerian army. Fox is helped by his team members: Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, and ROB 64. A former team member, Falco Lombardi, is no longer part of the team. The game also allows players to control Krystal, a blue fox who is searching for revenge after her parents died.
The game takes place on the planet Dinosaur Planet (called "Sauria" in later games) and on pieces of the planet that float in space around it. The planet is home to dinosaurs and other ancient animals, such as pterosaurs and mammoths. Two tribes live on the planet: the EarthWalker tribe, which looks like ceratopsians, and the CloudRunner tribe, which resembles pterosaurs and birds. These tribes are opposed by the SharpClaw tribe, a group of villainous theropods led by General Scales, who wants to take control of the planet. EarthWalker prince Tricky helps Fox during his journey.
Eight years after Fox defeats Andross, Krystal investigates the destruction of her home planet, Cerinia, and the deaths of her parents. She receives a call for help from Krazoa Palace, where she learns it was attacked by General Scales and the SharpClaw army. A wounded EarthWalker in the palace asks Krystal to find the Krazoa Spirits and return them to the palace, which might help the dinosaurs win the battle. After releasing the first spirit, Krystal is trapped in a floating crystal until all spirits are returned.
At the same time, General Pepper asks the Star Fox team to investigate the invasion of Dinosaur Planet. The team agrees because they need money and repairs. Fox arrives unarmed to avoid causing trouble. On the planet, Fox finds a magic staff that Krystal lost earlier. He learns from the EarthWalker queen that General Scales stole four Spellstones from two temples on the planet. Fox decides to retrieve the stones and return them to the temples with help from Prince Tricky. He also learns he must find the five Krazoa Spirits to fix the planet and save Krystal.
When Fox finds the last spirit, he battles General Scales. A mysterious voice tells Scales to surrender the spirit, which he does. Fox returns the spirit to the Krazoa Shrine and frees Krystal. The spirits are placed into a Krazoa statue, which is revealed to be the resurrected Andross, who plans to destroy the Lylat System again. Falco Lombardi arrives and helps Fox defeat Andross. The spirits are released, restoring the planet. Falco joins the Star Fox team again, and Krystal becomes part of the team, starting a relationship with Fox.
Development
Star Fox Adventures began as two separate projects. One of these was Dinosaur Planet, a Nintendo 64 game not connected to the Star Fox series. Phil Tossell, a lead engineer, said development of Dinosaur Planet started after the release of Diddy Kong Racing in 1997. Two teams worked on Dinosaur Planet and Jet Force Gemini near the end of the Nintendo 64's lifespan. The game's genre changed many times during early development. Rare, the company making the game, eventually decided to create an open world adventure game with two connected stories. Kevin Bayliss, a lead developer at Rare, said Dinosaur Planet was originally meant to include Timber, a tiger from Diddy Kong Racing. However, Nintendo suggested incorporating Timber into the Donkey Kong intellectual property. Timber was made a time-traveler in a prehistoric world, with gameplay similar to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Later, Rare decided to use two main characters, Sabre the wolf and Krystal the fox, instead of Timber. The game's story followed Sabre, Krystal, and their sidekicks Tricky and Kyte. A wizard named Randorn, who was Sabre's father and Krystal's adoptive father, was later removed from the story. The game included a feature called "SwapStone," which let players switch between Krystal and Sabre. Dinosaur Planet was Rare's last game for the Nintendo 64 and had gameplay and cinematics inspired by Ocarina of Time. The game used the Nintendo 64's Expansion Pak and was stored on a 64-megabyte cartridge, the largest size supported by the console.
Star Fox Adventures began in Kyoto, Japan. A developer said they asked Shigeru Miyamoto, a Nintendo producer, to let them create an adventure-style game instead of a shooting game. Takaya Imamura, the creator of Star Fox, also asked Miyamoto to make a sequel. Miyamoto agreed but wanted the game to be an action adventure instead of a 3D rail shooter. Imamura and programmer Kazuaki Morita explored ideas, such as having Fox run and shoot enemies. However, progress slowed because the project was late in the Nintendo 64's development cycle, and many staff members were working on other projects like Mario and The Legend of Zelda for the GameCube.
Kevin Bayliss said Rare worked hard on Dinosaur Planet, including preparing a large E3 2000 demonstration, without knowing Nintendo already had the Star Fox property. Miyamoto noticed similarities between Rare's character Sabre and Nintendo's Fox McCloud. Before E3 2000, Nintendo asked Rare to keep Dinosaur Planet quiet and arranged a meeting to combine it with Star Fox Adventures. The companies agreed to make Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, keeping most of Rare's work. Later, Rare met with Nintendo in Japan to discuss merging the properties, such as adding Fox McCloud and other Star Fox characters, adjusting character designs, and creating a story that fit the Star Fox universe.
In February 2021, a version of Dinosaur Planet from December 2000 was found online. It included a model of Fox instead of Sabre, showing Nintendo's influence before the game moved to the GameCube. A recompiled version was announced in May 2025.
Rare was slightly disappointed to change Dinosaur Planet but saw the potential of using the Star Fox license. Miyamoto wanted to add more mature elements to Star Fox, such as a slightly sexy character. For Star Fox 64, he felt the game should not be too childish. The team later decided to use the Star Fox license to increase awareness and moved the game to the GameCube, targeting it as a launch title. Sabre was replaced by Fox McCloud, but Krystal and Tricky remained. Nintendo wanted Krystal to stay in the game, and Takaya Imamura helped design her final look, which was more revealing than her original appearance. Imamura said Krystal's design was inspired by Vampirella, a comic character known for bold outfits. No content rating systems reported significant sexual content in the final game. The "Dinosaur Planet" subtitle was removed from the title. IGN called this one of the biggest changes from Nintendo 64, noting its improved graphics on the GameCube.
After the Star Fox theme was set, Rare reworked the game for the GameCube with little interference from Nintendo. The team met with Nintendo in Kyoto, and Imamura stayed at Rare's studio to oversee development. Phil Tossell said Nintendo strengthened their relationship through trust and respect, even though Nintendo only owned 49% of Rare at the time.
David Wise used Peter Siedleczek's Advanced Orchestra library to create the music for Star Fox Adventures. He said the music from earlier Star Fox games was added late in development after the game was rebranded.
Star Fox Adventures is the only Rare game released for the GameCube. After its release, Microsoft bought Rare for £375 million, ending most of Rare's work with Nintendo. Rare continued making games for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS after the acquisition.
Reception
Star Fox Adventures received "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic, a website that collects video game reviews. It sold more than 200,000 copies in Japan after its release and was the fastest-selling GameCube game at that time. By July 2006, it had sold 800,000 copies in the United States and earned $30 million (about $44.8 million in 2024). Next Generation ranked it as the 73rd highest-selling game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in the United States. Combined sales of Star Fox games released during the 2000s reached 1.2 million units in the United States by July 2006. Star Fox Adventures was later labeled a Player's Choice game by Nintendo, which means it sold more than 250,000 copies and was sold at a lower price in stores.
The game’s visuals were widely praised, especially the redesigned character model of Fox. Edge magazine said the game’s visuals were "visually stunning," and IGN’s Matt Casamassina called it a "perfect companion" to The Legend of Zelda series, which it is often compared to. Casamassina noted that the game’s graphics were advanced for its time, particularly the realistic rendering of characters’ fur movement. Geoff Keighley of Entertainment Weekly praised the game’s "beautifully rendered environments" and "rewarding exploration." NGC Magazine highlighted the game’s vibrant atmosphere and detailed textures. The combat system received mixed feedback: GameSpot called it simple but "good looking" and not frustrating, while Casamassina also praised it. NGC Magazine noted that the combat was easy to play but eventually felt "dull." The voice acting was criticized, with Casamassina saying it was "over the top" in some parts. NGC Magazine pointed out that the characters’ accents did not match the Star Fox universe, especially the Scottish accent used for the Warpstone Master, which they called "awful."
Although most reviews were positive, Star Fox Adventures is often criticized for its gameplay and setting being very different from other Star Fox games, focusing more on "Zelda-style" gameplay. Casamassina said fans expecting a traditional Star Fox experience might be disappointed, as the game felt "out of place" within the Star Fox universe. He also suggested that Fox’s inclusion in the game was due to Nintendo’s request, not because it fit naturally. NGC Magazine shared similar concerns, noting that Fox might not have wanted to be in the game and speculating that Nintendo added the Star Fox license to prevent the game from being released on the Xbox.
GameSpot named Star Fox Adventures the second-best GameCube game of September 2002. It was nominated for GameSpot’s annual awards for "Best Action Adventure Game," "Best Music," "Best Graphics (Technical)," and "Best Graphics (Artistic)" among GameCube games.