Star Fox Command

Image:Star Fox Command gameplay.jpg

The game has two types of single-player gameplay including a strategic map and battle mode.{{cite book | year=2006 | editor=Q-Games | title=Star Fox Command Instruction Booklet | pages=06, 20, 27, 28, 43, 37, 44–47 | publisher=Nintendo of America}} The overworld-like map mode is where the player takes command of several ships. The mode is used to get ships into the battle mode and is essentially a simple turn-based strategy game. Up to four ships can be maneuvered at a time. The object of the mode is to prevent the enemy ones from reaching the Great Fox. It also allows players to fire missiles from the Great Fox that they have picked up from exploring in this mode, or from meeting certain conditions in the battle mode (usually destroying all enemies). When a craft that is controlled by the player encounters an enemy group or missile in this mode, the gameplay switches to the battle mode.

Battle mode is similar to the "all-range mode" employed in Star Fox 64 for some bosses and levels. Like the cancelled Star Fox 2 the game is completely all-range, as opposed to the "on-rails" levels featured in most other Star Fox games (however, the game will sometimes force the player to engage in classic "chase" missions in order to complete an objective). The usual objectives are to destroy a base ship, destroy all enemies, or collect a number of cores to complete the battle mode. Once the battle mode is completed, the game returns to the map mode. As players progress through the game, they are able to choose to go different routes upon completing certain levels. Each route has its own character dialogue to accompany it, and players are able to visit differing planets depending on what routes they choose. The game features 9 different endings altogether, and gamers can access all of them by playing the game multiple times, selecting different routes each time. Instead of merely giving different perspectives on what happens to the Star Fox team, each ending is unique — the characters go in various directions depending on what ending is watched. Star Fox Command does not feature traditional voice acting. Instead it outputs gibberish akin to the "voices" in Star Fox for the SNES, or the "Lylat speech" present in Lylat Wars. Players can also record their own voices into the game's "gibberish generator" using the built-in DS microphone where it is converted into the garbled speech of the various characters.

Star Fox Command supports six players in local wireless multiplayer matches{{cite web | author=Slagle, Matt | year=2006 | url=http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/192460/3/ | title=Star Fox Command brings sci-fi series to DS | work=Daily Herald | access-date=8 October 2006 | archive-date=28 September 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928041853/http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/192460/3/ | url-status=live }} via DS Download Play and up to three players on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. In Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection matches, only the Arwing II is available. Players score not by killing opponents, but by collecting stars from them when they have been destroyed. It is also possible to collect a star from an opponent not killed by the player. This is a modified version of the mode from Star Fox 64/Lylat Wars. Nintendo Wi-Fi uses a ranking system based on rankings of the alphabet with Z being the lowest and A being the highest. Players work their way up from Z by collecting wins (they could be based on points). For every win a player gains a certain amount of percentage and once they reach 100% they move to the next letter. The highest rank a player can get is 100% of the A rank.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

{{Main|List of Star Fox characters}}

The game is set in the Lylat system, using a similar map as Star Fox 64 to switch between each areas. The majority of planets from Star Fox 64 return, with the exception of Fortuna, Macbeth, and Zoness. Command has the largest number of playable characters in any Star Fox game, with a total of fourteen, consisting of Star Fox team members Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Krystal, Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare; Star Wolf team members Wolf O'Donnell, Panther Caroso, and Leon Powalski, Star Fox 64 supporting characters Bill Grey and Katt Monroe; Fox's father James McCloud; and three new characters created for Command: Slippy's fiancée Amanda, Peppy's daughter Lucy, and Andross's grandson Dash Bowman.

Other characters make non-playable appearances in the game's story. ROB 64 pilots the Great Fox when on the map screen, while Slippy's father Beltino Toad makes an appearance during a mission briefing. In addition to primary antagonist the Anglar Emperor, Andrew Oikonny, Pigma Dengar, the ghost of Andross,Andross: I am the ghost of Andross...I protect this place with my bioweapon! (Star Fox Command) and F-Zero series racer Octoman can all appear as bosses depending on the player's route in gameplay.

A few years after the events of Star Fox Assault (2005),{{Cite web |title=Interview: Star Fox Command |url=https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/News/2007/Interview-Star-Fox-Command-249670.html |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Nintendo of Europe AG |language=en-GB}} the Star Fox team has disbanded. Peppy has succeeded General Pepper as commander of the Cornerian army; Falco has become an independent mercenary; Slippy has retired from active flying to spend time with his fiancée Amanda; and Krystal has joined the Star Wolf team after breaking up with Fox. While patrolling the galaxy with ROB 64, Fox learns of the appearance of the Anglars, a race of aquatic beings that had been bioengineered by Andross and living beneath the acidic seas on the planet Venom. Led by the Anglar Emperor, the Anglar army has begun waging war across the Lylat system, taking control of most of its planets. Learning that the Anglars are now attacking Corneria, Fox rushes in alone to battle the invaders.

From this point, there are multiple paths the story can take. While the player is initially forced to follow a specific linear progression, reaching the game's ending for the first time will unlock the ability to access alternate routes when replaying the game. The player is able to select Fox's actions through dialogue choices, which affect the progression of stages, the characters that appear, and the events of the story itself. There are nine possible endings, each of which reveals a possible future for the characters, such as Fox's son Marcus forming a new Star Fox team, Krystal becoming a bounty hunter, or Dash leading efforts to revitalize Venom.

Dylan Cuthbert and Takaya Imamura stated in an interview with IGN in 2006 that if this storyline was continued, it would "start in the middle", not relying on any of the game's endings.{{cite web|author=Harris, Craig|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/09/07/star-fox-command-interview|title=Star Fox Command Interview|work=IGN|date=2006-09-07|access-date=2019-11-03|quote=[...]IGN: Which do you consider to be the one definite ending? Cuthbert:[...]I think if the game continues it won't pick up where the game ends, but start more in the middle. Imamura: This storyline, ends here, and if there's a continuation it would start from the middle, so it wouldn't depend on any of the endings.|archive-date=2023-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526193953/https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/09/07/star-fox-command-interview|url-status=live}} - Updated May 17, 2012 Imamura expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with Nintendo Dream in 2011, expressing a personal desire to end Fox's story with Command, leaving the true ending up to the player's interpretation and instead exploring other periods in the timeline for future installments, such as a prequel to Star Fox 64 or even a direct sequel set between it and Star Fox Adventures.{{cite web | title=スリッピーは子供の頃オタマジャクシだった！ 『スターフォックス』シリーズの世界観を開発者に直撃 | website=Nintendo DREAM | date=February 17, 2023 | url=https://www.ndw.jp/starfox-game-230221/ | language=ja | access-date=January 7, 2025}} In a 2018 Reddit post, Cuthbert stated that "canon is something the fans like to try to follow but Command was meant to be an alternate timeline kind of game, hence the choices you make. It let us have a lot more fun with the characters".{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/8mu1pp/im_dylan_cuthbert_and_i_worked_on_four_versions/dzqkhn8/|title=I'm Dylan Cuthbert and I worked on four versions of Star Fox and our new game PixelJunk Monsters 2 is out NOW! I'm old and wise :) AMA|date=29 May 2018|access-date=3 November 2019|archive-date=26 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326115338/https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/8mu1pp/im_dylan_cuthbert_and_i_worked_on_four_versions/dzqkhn8/|url-status=live}} - Dylan Cuthbert's Reddit username is dckyoto

Star Fox Command was co-developed by Q-Games and directed by its founder, Dylan Cuthbert, who previously served as a lead programmer of the original Star Fox duology. Q-Games was working on a puzzle game called Digidrive for Nintendo when they were approached by Shigeru Miyamoto, who suggested that they'd do a concept demo for Star Fox for the then-coming Nintendo DS, which lead to the team spending a couple of months creating a "space elevator" demo styled after the original Star Fox. They also had massively revamped the look of the Star Fox characters and team, but this direction was dropped when the game entered full production and series character artist Takaya Imamura was assigned to produce the title.{{Cite web |last=McFerran |first=Daniel |date=2023-09-27 |title=The Making Of: Star Fox Command, Fox McCloud's Nintendo DS Test Flight |url=https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-making-of-star-fox-command-fox-mcclouds-nintendo-ds-test-flight |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Time Extension |language=en-GB |archive-date=2024-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240730122842/https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-making-of-star-fox-command-fox-mcclouds-nintendo-ds-test-flight |url-status=live }}

According to Cuthbert, Miyamoto approached him and his company because he wanted to see more of the ideas from the then-unreleased Star Fox 2 (who Cuthbert was heavily involved with during its development), such as its strategy game elements, explored and applied to the Nintendo DS with its two screens, as he viewed the Star Fox IP as an avenue to explore new ideas in 3D gaming as opposed to relying on a consistent formula, and thus encouraged the team to try out various new ideas and see what happened; for example, Cuthbert wanted to include more traditional rail-shooter stages in the game design, similar to stages present in previous games such as Star Fox and Star Fox 64, but Miyamoto was amendment that the team stuck with free-range stages, desiring to take the project "elsewhere" as opposed to just copying the original games.{{Cite web |last=dckyoto |date=2017-04-06 |title=That was a ton of fu… |url=http://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/63w1lw/im_dylan_cuthbert_ive_been_making_games_since/dfxgctt/ |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=r/nintendo |archive-date=2024-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817173721/https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/63w1lw/comment/dfxgctt/ |url-status=live }} The team had also originally experimented with incorporating the Arwing transformations from Star Fox 2, but this would ultimately be scrapped.{{Cite web |title=Interview: Star Fox Command |url=https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/News/2007/Interview-Star-Fox-Command-249670.html |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Nintendo of Europe AG |language=en-GB}}

Nintendo EAD was heavily involved in the general direction the game was taking during pre-production, providing feedback on the many control scheme prototypes the team were experimenting with; Miyamoto in particular was responsible for some of the final control ideas with the DS' stylus. Once Command's direction was decided upon and the main development began, Q-Games would handle the main game design, but the music, sound, story and characters were handled in-house by Nintendo EAD, with Hajima Wakai (who previously composed Star Fox 64's soundtrack) returning as the composer, and Imamura being responsible for the characters, enemies and storylines, and their respective endings.

Imamura had originally intended on creating a single, linear narrative somewhat similar to the one presented in Command's predecessor, Star Fox: Assault, but Cuthbert would ultimately convince him to turn it into a larger, branching storyline with multiple pathways and endings,{{Cite web |last=rawmeatcowboy |date=2006-09-07 |title=GoNintendo Feature - StarFox Command Producer, Director interview |url=https://gonintendo.com/archives/5244-gonintendo-feature-starfox-command-producer-director-interview |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=GoNintendo |language=en |archive-date=2024-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817173730/https://gonintendo.com/archives/5244-gonintendo-feature-starfox-command-producer-director-interview |url-status=live }} inspired by choose your own adventure gamebooks such as the Fighting Fantasy series. According to Imamura, when approaching the multiple story arcs in Command, he was influenced by the TV drama show 24, with its focus on character development and intertwining plot-lines.

Star Fox Command is the first Star Fox title to incorporate online multiplayer. While the team investigated the possibility of utilizing the game's strategy gameplay elements in the Wi-Fi mode, it was ultimately decided early on to incorporate only dog-fighting, as they were looking for something that simple and easy to play, and also because of the positive reception towards the dogfights in Star Fox 64. As online was new territory for the team, this part of the game's development reportedly took a bit longer than expected, having to deal with issues such as keeping all players in sync. The game was re-released for Wii U Virtual Console worldwide in June and August 2015.{{cite web |date=27 April 2022 |title=Star Fox Command (DS) Game Profile | News, Reviews, Videos & Screenshots |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/games/ds/star_fox_command |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103014747/https://www.nintendolife.com/games/ds/star_fox_command |archive-date=November 3, 2022 |access-date=November 4, 2022 |website=Nintendo Life}}

{{Video game reviews

| GR = 76%{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/933009-star-fox-command/index.html|title=Star Fox Command|website=GameRankings|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=November 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012175814/http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/933009-star-fox-command/index.html|archive-date=October 12, 2014}}

| MC = 76/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/star-fox-command/critic-reviews/?platform=ds|title=Star Fox Command Critic Reviews|website=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=November 13, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820080217/http://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/star-fox-command/critic-reviews|archive-date=August 20, 2013}}

| EGM = 6.5/10{{cite magazine|author=Unknown|title=Star Fox Command Review|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|publisher=Ziff Davis Media|date=October 2006|page=117}}

| Fam = 32/40{{cite web | author = Timo K.|title=Star Fox Command - New Screens | publisher=QJ.net | date = August 2, 2006 | url=http://ds.qj.net/star-fox-command-new-screens/pg/49/aid/60550 | access-date=September 26, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831075037/http://ds.qj.net/star-fox-command-new-screens/pg/49/aid/60550 | archive-date=August 31, 2006}}

| GI = 8/10{{cite web|title=Star Fox Command |author=Andrew Reiner |publisher=Game Informer |date=October 2006 |url=http://gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/EDABA7BA-EF12-476F-BBEE-B749684BAD9A.htm |access-date=April 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313235401/http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/EDABA7BA-EF12-476F-BBEE-B749684BAD9A.htm |archive-date=March 13, 2008 |url-status=dead}}

| IGN = 8/10{{cite web | author=Craig Harris | title=IGN: Star Fox Command Review | publisher=IGN | date=August 25, 2006 | url=http://ds.ign.com/articles/728/728375p1.html | access-date=August 30, 2006 | archive-date=May 16, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516141853/http://ds.ign.com/articles/728/728375p1.html | url-status=dead}}

| XPlay = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1263/Star_Fox_Command.html | title =Star Fox Command|last=Leeper |first=Justin | date = September 21, 2006 |publisher = G4TV.com | access-date=September 21, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070730025036/http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1263/Star_Fox_Command.html|archive-date=July 30, 2007}}

| award1Pub = IGN

| award1 = August 2006 DS Game of the Month{{cite web|title=Nintendo DS Game of the Month: August 2006|author=Craig Harris|publisher=IGN.com|date=August 31, 2006|url=http://ds.ign.com/articles/729/729842p1.html|access-date=2006-09-17|archive-date=2006-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007024813/http://ds.ign.com/articles/729/729842p1.html|url-status=dead}}

}}

Star Fox Command debuted on the Japanese best seller list as number 14, selling over 20,000 copies on the first day.{{cite web| author=Maricar V.| title=Star Fox Command Sells Like Hotcakes| publisher=QJ.net| date=August 7, 2006| url=http://ds.qj.net/index.php?pg=49&aid=60993| access-date=2017-07-29| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014225003/http://ds.qj.net/index.php?pg=49&aid=60993| archive-date=October 14, 2007}}{{cite web| author=Walt Wyman| title=Japan game charts: July 31-August 6| publisher=Gamespot.com| date=August 11, 2006| url=http://www.gamespot.com/ds/action/supermariobrosds/news.html?sid=6155660| access-date=2006-09-26| archive-date=2012-11-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102223329/http://www.gamespot.com/news/japan-game-charts-july-31-august-6-6155660| url-status=dead}} In the United States, it was the 5th best seller in the first week.{{cite web| author=Tim Surette| title=US console charts: August 28-September 4| publisher=Gamespot.com| date=September 6, 2006| url=http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/saintsrow/news.html?sid=6157157| access-date=2006-09-26| archive-date=2012-01-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102190342/http://www.gamespot.com/news/us-console-charts-august-28-september-4-6157157| url-status=live}} Star Fox Command has received mostly positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 76/100 and a GameRankings score of 76%. IGN gave it an 8 out of 10, or "Impressive", calling it a "surprisingly rich and faithful action game" that had similar game play to Star Fox and Star Fox 64. Star Fox Command received IGN DS's August 2006 Game of the Month Award for capturing the fun and essence that made the series significant. Famitsu gave a 32/40, and was cited as an influence for the game's large initial sales. It received a 4 out of 5 star rating on G4's X-Play, praising the stylus control and the strategy elements. The Associated Press noted the game for having developed the game to work well with the DS controls, but had mixed feelings about the turn-based sections of gameplay.{{cite web |author=Matt Slagle| title =Nintendo's 'Star Fox' for adults and children |publisher = The Associated Press| date = September 21, 2006|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14591647|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002161121/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14591647/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 2, 2013| access-date=2006-09-21}} Electronic Gaming Monthly claimed that while the game has its own charm, it lacks the original gameplay from Star Fox and Star Fox 64 and becomes repetitive. UK website Mansized gave Command a three out of five stars.{{cite web | title =Star Fox Command|author=Chris Pickering|publisher =Mansized.co.uk | date = January 21, 2007|url=http://www.mansized.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/480| access-date=August 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121191434/http://www.mansized.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/480 |archive-date=November 21, 2008}} Command was nominated in three categories in Nintendo Power's annual vote-in awards, although it did not win in any of them. Star Fox Command has also received an 8 from Game Informer magazine. Although it was criticized for its brevity, the game was lauded for its solid gameplay mechanics.

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{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book | publisher=Nintendo | title=Star Fox Command instruction booklet | location=USA | url=https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/DS_Star_Fox_Command.pdf | access-date=2007-12-14}}

{{Portal|Video games|Japan}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://f.starfox-online.net/archives/starfox.com/command/ Star Fox Command] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710054506/http://f.starfox-online.net/archives/starfox.com/command/ |date=2010-07-10}}
• [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/asfj/ Star Fox Command] {{in lang|ja}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/oEP0uQm8Lx4vir8Zw3jfJ7GEnnjLlmAJ|title=StarFox Command|publisher=Nintendo.com|access-date=2017-07-10|archive-date=2017-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115175500/http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/oEP0uQm8Lx4vir8Zw3jfJ7GEnnjLlmAJ|url-status=dead}}
• {{moby game|id=/star-fox-command}}

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Category:2006 video games

Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games

Category:Multiplayer online games

Category:Nintendo DS games

Category:Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games

Category:Q-Games games

Command

Category:Turn-based strategy video games

Category:Video games about animals

Category:Video games developed in Japan

Category:Virtual Console games for Wii U

Category:Virtual Console games