Headscratchers / Star Fox 64

• I can understand Fox vs. Wolf and Peppy vs. Pigma, but what exactly is the story behind Falco vs. Leon and Slippy vs. Andrew?
  • Matching types: Falco/Leon are both (in the fluff) considered the best pilots in both teams, and act as highly-competent lancers to their leaders. Slippy/Andrew are both the least skilled pilots in their relative groups and only given a position in Star Fox/Wolf for somewhat suspect reasons (Slippy due to being a better mechanic than a pilot, and Andrew because Andross was paying Wolf to have him in the team).
  • The above post is probably right, it also just makes sense. Slippy and Andrew are portrayed as fairly weak pilots, so naturally they're go after eachother rather than someone more competent. It's probably not hard for full-time mercenary fighter pilots to visually pick out the proverbial weak animal in the herd. It's possible that Falco and Leon either go at it because of the above-explained nature of both being the best or just because everyone else is taken (Fox and Wolf in a leader v. leader fight, Pigma and Peppy in an old blood feud, Andrew and Slippy being the lowest common denominator of their teams)
    • In addition to that, Falco and Leon are directly serving as wingmen. They're both going after the next-biggest threat to their leader. Leon is a close second to Wolf in piloting skill and threat, and Falco is equal to or better than Fox behind the controls of his Arwing. Thus, they would be the biggest threat to the team leaders, and are priority targets.
    • There's a bit of a match-up in their personalities, too. Both of them are somewhat arrogant and the most eager to fight among their teammates.
• Falco, when shot, says "Hey Einstein, I'm on YOUR side!" How does he know who Einstein is?
  • Someone wrote into Nintendo Power asking this. If I recall correctly, their answer was, "Because the people who developed the game know who Einstein is."
  • Alternatively, it could be part of the Translation Convention; Falco didn't actually name-drop Einstein, he used a figure of speech that is equivalent to calling someone "Einstein" sarcastically in English.
    • On THAT note, how does your teammates know it was YOU specifically who shot them? Sure, the computer AI will know, but story-wise, in the heat of battle, how can Falco be so certain that it was you who accidentally shot him? He shouldn't be instantly angry at you, he should think it was the enemy.
    • That depends solely on if they can tell where the ship gets shot, and how their radar works. If it's from behind and their radars don't pick anybody else but their wingmates up, then they would come to that conclusion. And as they don't bring up Fox specifically - they just say "you" which could mean anybody - this could be seen as them only knowing that it was somebody on their team, not necessarily Fox, and calling out to everyone in order to avoid future shooting. But if there are enemies as well... you got me there.
    • Maybe they can also tell which direction specifically the offending shot came from, even if it hit the same spot.
    • Also, IFF transponders. It's quite possible that friendly fire is directly tagged as such by onboard systems and displays a warning.
  • Maybe theres a famous scientist named Einstein in the Star Fox universe that did the same things for animal society that he did for humans. He's probably some kind of shih-tzu.
• It is possible to enter Sector X and then enter a Warp Zone before you get to defeat the "Secret Weapon". Then it's as if they forget that big robot and just go on with their mission. It would have made sense if you atleast got a cutscene "after the end" with them getting interrupted on the journey back, and either letting the computer take care of it or you doing it.
• What is up with Andross's One Wing Angel transformation? Everything we get about him before that is that he's a Mad Scientist-slash-Evil Overlord-slash-monkey. Then.... it turns out not only is he a giant head, but also a giant brain? Normally I would just think "Well, that's a very ego-driven flagship, sort of like the kind Brainiac flies," but then Fox remarks "So, Andross, you show your true form!" Did he transform himself into a giant brain? Was Fox joking? Is there some manga that explains this? It kind of seems like the kind of thing that would pass in an old NES game without anyone blinking an eye, or even a satirical game like No More Heroes, but Star Fox is oddly rooted in realism (anthropomophic animals not withstanding). I'm just confused.
  • Andross had experimented on himself so much that he became a giant brain. His head and arms were mechanical.
• So how does General Pepper feel when Star Fox counts random rocks and asteroids as "enemies", thus raising their income?
  • Given how close in proximity they are to Corneria, he might actually appreciate him cleaning them up so that it's less likely their planet will get hit by one. That or he simply doesn't know that Fox is artificially inflating his count and trusts Fox's data.
  • I was wondering if his thought might be, "Holy crap, these four guys totally defeated a conquering, invading force I couldn't repel with my entire army. I'm just going to give them what they want and not risk either pissing them off or thinking they should go work for someone else."
  • This is the brilliance of Star Fox taking advantage of the Cornerian government's bureaucracy (which has undoubtedly inconvenienced them in the past), cooking the books by counting random rocks as "enemy defenses" or "weapons".
  • Not only that, but all those giant space rocks in orbit around Corneria could be turned into actual enemy weapons very easily. I wonder if Andross ever thought of that...
  • Another possibility is that the asteroid destruction money is coming from some other organization as a civil service fee. The only reason it's not more common is that for most space jockeys, they don't have the means to quickly destroy asteroids (while an Arwing can shred through with the laser cannons, most ships probably would need to either stock shipboard ordinance (which cuts into the profit), or the crew would need to manually blast through with conventional explosives)
• Okay, Cornelia has an entire, trained army; Peppy Hare is an experienced pilot while Falco's an ex-mercenary; and at least once per playthrough, the team encounters Star Wolf, an elite team of mercenaries. And yet, Fox McCloud is the only person who can do easily done flying maneuvers and take down an entire army of ships that can be taken out in a few shots. Oh, also Wolf won't get confused by your maneuvers until after he gets cybernetic parts.
  • I think it's because Fox's considered the greatest among every good guys as you're controlling him (Well, you can do anything that he's supposed to do,) while most of Cornelia army are filled with Red Shirt Army who get frighten easily when someone's on their tails. For Star Fox team, the whole "crew rescuing'' stuff that happens during linear mode is supposed to be some sort of obstacle to test if you can fully control your ship in a tight situation. They probably do fine offscreen since their shield rarely drop unless they're asking for a help. In All Range mode, however, you can blame their AI for their stupidity. Wolf's "What the heck?" only appears on easy route, so you may count it as a signal for "Get ready to attack" or something for beginners.
  • Do you remember how pathetic all the Cornerian ships besides Bill's were on Katina?
  • One possibility is that Fox has the ideal combination of ship and capability. Bill and Katt have the skill and level-headedness to be skilled pilots, but are hampered by ships that aren't capable of pulling off the same maneuvers as an Arwing (neither the Cornerian Fighter nor Katt's ship seem to have the bigger G-Diffusers, for one). Meanwhile, team Star Fox is hampered by their own personalities (Falco's cockiness and ego tends to lead to him pushing too far and getting in trouble, Slippy's relative inexperience in combat leads to him panicking if he's in an unexpected situation, Peppy's age likely has dulled his reflexes and reaction time, and Krystal is still unfamiliar with the Arwing).
• Why did Andross feel the need to put a bunch of bioweapons on the sun? It's way too hazardous to consider building a garrison or something there, very few people are willing to even go there and it's a waste of resources. (Yes, I am aware that some sources say that Solar is not the sun, but I think my point still stands.)
  • He might've just been hiding the bioweapon on Solar. If I remember right, Command says that Andross had quite a few bioweapons on several planets (including Titania). He might have been developing a bioweapon as an ace in the hole against the Cornerian army and decided that no one would think to check on Solar, so it would be a pretty good place to hide a weapon capable of surviving its temperatures.
  • Alternatively, that bio-weapon could've somehow had the power to manipulate how the Solas functioned and could've caused it to go nova or something if so commanded. Maybe if Andross was killed it was programmed to do so as a way of getting revenge on the ones who did it.
  • Another few possibilities include that it was a test- after all, if something is strong and powerful enough to survive and thrive on the surface of the sun, that's good information to know, which could probably be used to increase the strength of other bioweapons. Or, perhaps Andross' ego is so massive, that someone once told him "No life can live on the sun!" and he responded "I'LL F***ING SHOW YOU!"
• Why does the team make so many stops on the way to Venom in Star Fox 64? Yes, if they didn't, there wouldn't be much of a game, but why don't they just go straight to Venom in the Great Fox? Really, the only levels that are strictly necessary are Area 6 (as it takes place in Venom airspace and has Andross throwing everything at you to stop you from reaching the planet) or Area 6 (as it seems to be some sort of defense system protecting Venom) and then Venom (where you have to go to take out Andross). Corneria might be justifiable, as Fox would probably want to protect his homeworld, but there doesn't seem to be much sense in stopping at, say, Solar or Zoness, considering that the only threats there are the bioweapons, which don't exactly seem like they'd be going to attack any time soon. They could just go to Venom, blow Andross up, then double back through the other planets to clean up the remaining threats.
  • Personally, I assumed that the Arwings needed regular maintenence and refueling. And as proven by Sector Z, Venom's Armies are perfectly capable of intercepting Star Fox. Also, they probably don't head straight for Venom for the same reason that in war, we don't have our first battle in the enemy capital: there's a lot of other stuff in the way that needs to be taken out first. Also also, as demonstrated by the beginning of Assault, Venom's armies can be a decent threat by themselves.
  • General Pepper hires the Star Fox team not only to zip along and kill Andross, but also complete several other objectives along the way (depending on which route you take, of course). While the team attacks specific locations, the Cornerian Army is presumably fighting a bigger war off-screen, and every mission you complete strengthens their position by either freeing up ally resources or breaking up the enemy's organization and logistics. Note that, at the start of most missions, Fox reports to General Pepper for a new mission (Titania probably being the only exception, which you would have to go to to save Slippy). Killing Andross isn't going to do a whole lot if his army is left to run rampant across the system. He even pays the team by kills! (Including asteroids)
  • To elaborate on the above, each of the missions, regardless of path, has a specific military objective.
    • Sector Y and and the Asteroid Thicket seem to be Cornerian Airspace, and the battles there are breaking through a "blockade" of the planet, and/or destroying another Attack-fleet En-route to Corneria - Failure to complete those missions result in Corneria getting destroyed behind you.
    • Katina/Katinara and Fichina/Fortuna are both critical Cornerian assets - even disregarding civilian population centers on each, the former seems to be a major Cornerian Fleet "Harbor", and Fortuna's a Supply Depot. Losing either would put the Cornerian Military at a severe disadvantage.
    • Aquas, Solar, and Sector X house extremely powerful Superweapons that have enough firepower to destroy the Cornerian Fleet.
    • Zoness and Macbeth are logistically critical to Andross' war effort.
    • Sector Z is an unavoidable ambush.
    • Bolse and Area 6 are Venom's last line of defense.
  • We could also take a hint from the Star Wars expanded universe- once the Emperor died in "Return of the Jedi," his massive armies and fleets practically self-destructed, with various officers turning into warlords, grabbing as much power as possible for themselves and causing massive collateral damage. Now, given how many superweapons and the numbers and tech avaliable to Andross' forces, and how we've seen the kind of horrible damage that can be done to the environment with Andross' forces already (Corneria in Flames, Venom's atmosphere is toxic, Zoness and Macbeth are environmental disaster areas), would you really want to risk an Andross-Empire Civil War?
    • Also, there's the matter of "Not wanting an enemy fleet showing up behind you and frying your butt."
• Why did they Bowdlerize Falco's "Hey Einstein, I'm on your side" line in Star Fox 64 3D to "Hey genius, I'm on your side?"
  • I seem to recall Nintendo Power getting a letter asking how a falcon in a distant galaxy could possibly know who Einstein was. Weird, but might be that.
  • Einstein is from the Lylat system?
    • As a Cornerian scientist, before being exiled to another planet, much like Andross.
• Why is it that, in Star Fox 64/3D, if you get less than 100 hits/kills at Sector Y, you're sent to Katina/Kakinara (unless you restart the level and try getting at least 100 hits/kills)? Is it (still) suppose to be a test to see if you are capable of taking on the red path levels, like the dialogue you hear during the level?
  • On a Meta Level most likely but in universe the enemies you fight at Sector Y are for sure not only sent to Corneria but as well to Katina as both Planets neighbour Sector Y. In this Tropers eyes meeting 100 kills means that you weakend Andross forces enough to ease things a bit for Bill and his guys. If you don't hit that (psychologically important) mark of 100 kills, General Pepper thinks that Katina needs help ans Asks fox to go there, as saving Katina is more important then the Bioweapon on Aquas.
• There's those two warp zones that serve as alternate routes that you can take. However, what sort of space pilot interested in their own self-preservation would knowingly fly into one of these anomalies? What if it's a gravitic singularity that rips your ship to shreds instantly? What if you come into contact with antimatter and get vaporized? What if you end up trapped in a pocket dimension and are forced to fight a giant slot machine for all eternity?
  • Warps are known in the Star Fox universe, even before Zero. In the SNES comic, the idea to use the Black Hole to warp to Venom is only opposed due to heavy gravitational pressure, something easily remedied with modifications to the G-Diffuser. Furthermore, lore on the official site for 64 has orders from Pepper that Star Fox is to investigate these warps in case Andross is using them in his attack. Strictly in-game, however, there's this line from Falco in Sector X in 64.
    Falco: I found the gate! Looks like a warp!
• Why doesn't Star Fox just fly "above" or "below" Area 6 on the way to Venom? I guess it could be that the entire planet is surrounded by spaceships and robots like the area they go through, but there's nothing in-universe to suggest this.
  • Bypassing Area 6 leaves their flank vulnerable. If they cripple the main defensive line, then there's less chance of the Venomian army coming in behind them and dealing major blows (say, shooting down Great Fox or launching a pincer attack)
• During the training portion there's a weird fox character who gives you tips and instructions. Who is this character, and why does it talk like a typewriter? Is it a robot?