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Fox McCloud[a] is a fictional character and the chief protagonist of Nintendo's Star Fox series. He is an anthropomorphic fox created and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takaya Imamura. He was introduced as the sole playable character in the original 1993 video game Star Fox. From each game, to varying extents depending on the entry, the player controls Fox in his Arwing. He is the leader of the Star Fox team and is joined by his wingmates during various missions.
| Fox McCloud | |
|---|---|
| Star Fox character | |
 Fox McCloud in Star Fox Zero | |
| First appearance | Star Fox (1993) |
| Last appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) |
| Created by | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Designed by | Takaya Imamura |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Fox |
| Home | Corneria |
Fox is the protagonist of several Star Fox games, comics, and other media. He has featured in several other game franchises, including as a playable character in every installment of the Super Smash Bros. series. Fox has received mostly positive reviews from critics.
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In 1992, Nintendo and Argonaut Software collaborated to produce a 3D space shooter for the Super NES, provisionally titled 'SnesGlider'.[6] The development team, led by Shigeru Miyamoto, redesigned what had been a tech demo into a rail shooter, from Nintendo designing the game and Argonaut handling the programming aspects.[7] However, without a story, it lacked any incentive to play beyond flying and shooting. Miyamoto sketched out a universe but could not decide on a natural hero to convey a sense of an epic space saga. Names under consideration included "Star Wolf", "Star Sheep", "Star Fox", "Star Sparrow", and "Star Hawk".[7] Miyamoto finally settled on having a fox as the main character after visiting Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto, the head shrine of Inari, a Japanese kami associated with foxes.[8] 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.[7][9] His face was modeled after Inari's, and usually wears a "red turtleneck" or "red scarf" around his neck, like the statue.[10] Fox McCloud's personality is heavily based on Shigeru Miyamoto's personality, with the surname 'McCloud' being suggested by Dylan Cuthbert, one of Argonaut's programmers.[6][7]
Fox McCloud is an anthropomorphic fox with orange-brown fur, with golden-brown or white highlights. He has a stereotypical bushy, white-tipped tail which appears to be very short in Star Fox 64 and Command. His eyes are inconsistently shown to be either green or blue. He will occasionally wear large tanker boots over his legs when fighting on the ground.[11] Takaya Imamura from the Star Fox development team noted that the anthropomorphic styling was to help players feel empathy towards the characters in Star Fox.[12] Fox's outfit has changed in every game he appears in, but generally includes an orange or green jumpsuit under a pale gray flight jacket or combat vest and a headset. In Star Fox 64, if the game is played in expert mode, Fox wears a pair of sunglasses similar to what his father wore. Nintendo has never officially cited Fox's age or height in a game manual, but Nintendo Power released a card featuring Fox, which stated that during Star Fox 64 he is 18 years old, his height is 1.73 SM and his weight is 70.31 SK.[13] The SNES Star Fox soundtrack booklet stated that Fox's height is 152 centimetres (4.99 ft) and his weight is 46 kilograms (101 lb).[14] 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 (exactly three years right after the conclusion of Assault).[15]
Unlike the voice actor consistency with other Nintendo characters, such as Mario, several different individuals have contributed their vocals for Fox. He was first voiced by Daniel Owsen in Star Fox, in both the English and Japanese versions of the game. His most consistent English voice actor has been Mike West, who first portrayed the character in the localized release of Star Fox 64. After a hiatus of fourteen years, West reprised the role for Star Fox 64 3D. He has since then consistently voiced Fox, supplying the character with his voice for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Star Fox Zero, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In both the Japanese release of Star Fox 64 and Super Smash Bros., Fox was voiced by Shinobu Satouchi (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 Malpass. In Star Fox: Assault, his voice was done by Jim Walker in the English release[16] and by Kenji Nojima in the Japanese release. Nojima reprised his role for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as did Walker for the English version.[17][16] Nojima reprised his role once again in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.[18][19]
In Star Fox 64 3D, Star Fox Zero, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is voiced by Takashi Ōhara in Japanese.[20][21]
There was a fan theory stating that Fox McCloud, along with other Star Fox members, had his legs amputated and replaced with metal prostheses;[22] Cuthbert stated that the characters' legs were not amputated,[23][24] and Miyamoto stated that the appearance of metal legs was a design choice rather than an indication that the legs were amputated;[25] he wanted the character to appear more human, and was unaware of the issues faced by fighter pilots at the time.[26]
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In Star Fox series
Fox first appears in Star Fox for the Super NES as the leader of Team Star Fox, alongside Falco, Slippy, and Peppy. He and his team face off against Andross and his empire. They also appear in Star Fox 2, a cancelled games released decades later. He and his team later appear in Star Fox 64, fighting against Andross as well as Star Wolf, consisting of Wolf O'Donnell and others. In the game Star Fox Adventures, Fox appears without the rest of the Star Fox team, helping Dinosaur Planet and a woman named Krystal against an attack by a man named General Scales, allying with a triceratops named Prince Tricky.[27] Krystal falls in love with Fox, and the two fight against a resurrected Andross, the true antagonist.
In Star Fox: Assault, Fox is hired to defeat Andross' nephew, Andrew Oikonny, who started a rebellion. They also face off against the Aparoid race, led by the Aparoid Queen, with assistance from Star Wolf.
Once again, the Lylat System falls under peril in Star Fox Command (2006), 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 rest of the team has been disbanded for various reasons (i.e. dismissing Krystal by fearing for her safety). Along the way, other characters will join Fox and the team becomes whole again.[28] As Command has nine different outcomes, it is uncertain which is the true path Fox and crew take, and even whether or not Command is even canon to the series. Despite this, the developers have suggested that any sequel might ignore the endings and instead pick up the story from the middle.[29] Fox's vehicle is called the Arwing II, which boasts a decent amount of health and boost, and can either receive plasma blasters or twin lasers, depending on the storyline. 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.[29]
In other media
Outside of Star Fox series. Fox McCloud has appeared in all five Super Smash Bros. games as a default playable character. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is light, has the third-fastest dashing speed in the game, surpassed only by Captain Falcon and Sonic the Hedgehog, and has fairly weak attacks that allow for a number of combos. His attacks include a blaster, a dash attack, a hexagonal reflector (informally called the "shine"), the "Fire Fox" attack, and the Landmaster Tank as a "Final Smash". Falco Lombardi and Wolf O'Donnell, also from the Star Fox series, have similar movesets. In competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee, Fox is considered to be the character with the most potential and is utilized by numerous top players, such as Adam "Armada" Lindgren and Joseph "Mango" Marquez, although his fast movements make him very difficult to control without practice.[30] Fox also re-appears alongside the rest of the Super Smash Bros. cast in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and is based on his Star Fox Zero design. Fox also has a new Final Smash that makes use of the Arwing vehicle.[31] He also makes a playable appearance in the Nintendo Switch version of Starlink: Battle for Atlas.[32]
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Since the release of the original Star Fox, Fox McCloud has gained a cult following.[33] Nintendo Power listed Fox as their 18th favorite hero, stating that while a few of his games could have been better, he has a long list of accomplishments.[34] Early in the Nintendo 64's lifespan, Fox McCloud ranked fifth in IGN's top five best Nintendo 64 character list.[35] He was included in GameSpot's "All Time Greatest Video Game Hero" contest and reached the "Round 2" before losing to Link.[36] GameDaily named Fox McCloud as the seventh top Nintendo character of all time.[37] IGN praised Fox's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee, saying that he featured some of the best texture work and modeling in the game.[33] In their preview of Star Fox: Assault, IGN editors Juan Castro and Matt Casamassina described Fox's voice as juvenile yet tough.[38] Fox ranked eighth on GameDaily's Top 10 Smash Bros. characters list.[39] In an IGN poll for voting from a list of ten Nintendo characters for favorite Nintendo character of all time, Fox came in fourth, behind Link, Mario, and Samus respectively.[40] Entertainment Weekly elected Fox the twelfth coolest videogame character, adding he is a combination of "the heroism of Luke Skywalker, the bravado of Top Gun's Maverick, and the foxiness of, well, a red fox".[41] In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the 30th best hero in video games.[42] Gus Turner of Complex Networks listed Fox as the best-forgotten video game heroes.[43] In 2021, Chris Morgan for Yardbarker described Fox as one of "the most memorable characters from old school Nintendo games".[44]
In 2018, Fox was noted as the character that was used by the player "ZD", who won the first tournament of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[45] Jeremy Parish of Polygon ranked 73 fighters from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "from garbage to glorious", criticizing and listing Fox as 41st, stating that "Fox (no items/Final Destination) has become an enduring symbol of how far Smash enthusiasts have to bend over backward to bring the series to something resembling acceptable balance by the standards of the fighting game community. That's not really the character's fault. But, it doesn't change the fact that if you pick Fox as your main, you're a cop",[46] while Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek ranked Fox as 60th of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters, criticizing and stated that "it's the guy synonymous with esports Smash, which is the boring kind of Smash, so he's getting this spot on the list".[47]
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