Star Fox Adventures

Star Fox Adventures was a Japanese animated television show produced by Nintendo.

History

In late 1997, after the highly successful release of Star Fox 64, Nintendo announced that an anime based on the series would be released by the end of the year. The show would be created by OLM Incorporated, the same studio that created the Pokemon Anime. Named Star Fox Adventures, it would debut in Japan on April 6, 1998, and run weekly for one season of 23 episodes in total.

Later, from 2004 to 2005, Star Fox Adventures would become part of the Nintendomination block on Cartoon Network. The show would be shown twice a week a few times through before being replaced with another time slot for Pokemon.

The show was eventually released on DVD in 2007 in both Japan and America, in celebration of the ten year anniversary of Star Fox 64. Today, it is available on streaming services such as Netflix.

Concept

Star Fox Adventures was a light hearted action series, with much of the serious elements of the show being in the two-parter opening and finale. The remainder of the episodes typically featured Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy flying off to a planet to complete a mission, fighting enemies and ultimately saving the day. Recurring characters included Team Star Wolf, the Team Star Fox's rivals, ROB, the operator of the team's mother-ship, and Bill, an ace pilot who helps out at several points.

List of Episodes

1. Prologue - Features the original Team Star Fox, James McCloud, Peppy Hare, and Pigma Dengar, on a mission to Planet Venom. There, Pigma betrays the team to the evil Andross, with the help of mercenary Wolf O'Donnell, leading to the death of James McCloud. Peppy Hare brings the news home to Corneria, where a young Fox McCloud vows to avenge his father.
2. Training - This episode focuses on Fox McCloud's time spent training as a pilot. While training, he meets Slippy Toad, a fellow student. Peppy Hare is shown to be Fox's mentor, and gangster Falco Lombardi is encountered for the first time.
3. Corneria - Fox receives news that Corneria is under attack, possibly from Andross, and tells his friends Slippy, Peppy, and Falco that he's going to help fight the invasion. All three decide to go with him, forming the new Team Star Fox. Along the way, Falco and Fox get into an argument, claiming that neither need the other's help. However, over the course of the episode, Fox saves Falco from a trio of enemy fighters, and Falco's intuition allows the team to find the invasion's leader. In the end, the two agree that they must rely upon each other to fight Andross.
4. Meteo - The Star Fox Team leaves Corneria to hunt down the forces of Andross. However, after a suspicious period of quiet, the team is ambushed. Eventually, Fox is confronted by an unnamed pilot commanding a meteor mining ship. However, thanks to his insight and ingenuity, Fox is able to win the day.
5. Sector Y - A new type of Venomian enemy called the "Shogun Warriors" have appeared in Sector Y, and Team Star Fox is called in to help. These new enemies are dangerous, but are ultimately no match for our heroes.
6. Black Hole - Fox returns to the place where his father was betrayed, and reminisces about the good times they had when he was younger. This is a relatively quiet epsidoe, focusing on character development over the usual action adventure. It particularly focuses on both Fox and Peppy Hare.
7. Katina - The friendly planet of Katina is targeted by enemy forces, and Fox and friends must help. However, the enemy is clever, and has disguised their ships to resemble allied fighters. Despite this, Slippy saves the day through cleverly reprogramming and upgrading the team's Arwings mid-battle.
8. Fichina - An allied base on an icy planet has been captured, and the team must help take it back. Although the enemy proved no match to our heroes, two things went terribly wrong. First, a bomb was planted in the base, threatening to destroy it. Second, an evil counterpart of Team Star Fox, Team Star Wolf, appeared just when our heroes could least afford it. Star Wolf consists of mercenary Wolf O'Donnell and Pigma Dengar, two of the people responsible for James McCloud's death, as well as Leon Powalski and Andross's nephew, Andrew Oikonny. Ultimately, the good guys can't prevent the bomb from going off, but at least manage to escape with their lives.
9. Sector X - Responding to reports that Andross was working on a secret project in this mysterious nebula, Team Star Fox heads out to investigate. There, they inevitably find enemy forces, including a malfunctioning robot called the Spyborg. Although the robot is destroyed, Slippy's ship is knocked out in the process, and crashes onto planet Titania.
10. Titania - While Slippy is stranded on Taitania, desperately trying to fix his ship, the rest of the team goes in to find him. Fox uses a Landcruiser, one of the few times in the series he uses a vehicle other than his trademark Arwing. However, it turns out that Andross has been active on this planet too, and is using the genetically engineered Goras as a weapon. After the Goras captures Slipply, Fox fights it on the ground until Slippy manages to get his ship free, before delivering the final blow.
11. Solar - Although Solar is an inhospitable world, General Pepper sends Team Star Fox to investigate reports of Andross's forces acting in the area. There, they discover genetically engineered organisms capable of thriving in extreme heat. It is up to the heroes to destroy the worst of the monsters.
12. Aquas - Similar to the plot of the previous episode, Andross has used a seemingly uninhabitable planet, due to its lack of land, as a site for biological experimentation and weaponization. This episode, however, is slower paced, taking place in deep dark oceans.
13. Space Armada - A major battle is happening in deep space, and Team Star Fox step in to help turn the tides. There, they meet Team Star Wolf once again, with each member of each team developing or cementing a rivalry with a counterpart. The turning point of the battle is when Bill Grey, an old friend of Fox and a Cornerian pilot, enters the fray, leading to an enemy retreat. Fox and Bill remember how they have stuck by each other in the past before parting ways.
14. Zoness - Zoness was a tropical paradise until Andross turned it into a polluted test site for his biological monstrosities. Fox and co come to the planet, only for it to be revealed that this was Falco's home world. The team sneaks under the radar and destroys one of the factories polluting the planet. However, the planet can not be saved until Andross is defeated for good.
15. Fortuna - Although the war is ongoing, the team makes a stop at the uninhabited planet of Fortuna to scout for enemies and make repairs. This episode focuses on Fox's teammates, each of whom have their own minor story that is told through the episode.
16. Sector Z - This episode tells two stories. In the past, the original Team Star Fox fought against enemy space pirates here. In the present, Fox and co are traveling closer and closer to planet Venom, when they are targeted by a number of missiles, which they must dodge and destroy.
17. Macbeth - A major industrial center, Macbeth is a key part of Andross's plans for conquest. Team Star Fox leads an attack on the planet's factories, destroying an seemingly invincible robot by attacking its foundations.
18. Out of This Dimension - Andross has laid a trap, tricking Team Star Fox into entering an alternate dimension. It takes all four team member's skills to return home.
19. Zebes - This episode is a slight crossover with the Metroid series. Before closing in on Andross, the team is sent to the mysterious planet Zebes, which Andross may have taken an interest in. Although no proof of this is found, the planet is soon proven to be very dangerous. Only after fighting off the deadly Space Pirate Ridley can the team escape.
20. Bolse - Bolse is a huge satellite that protects Venom. Team Star Fox must destroy it to get through. However, Team Star Wolf appears for the last time, threatening to defeat our heroes. One by one though, each Star Fox member manages to take down their rival fighter, before destroying the satellite's generators.
21. Area 6 - Area 6 is another satellite, secretly constructed during the war. It is meant to protect Venom's airspace. Although told to wait for backup, Fox leads his team through enemy defenses, defeating swarms of enemies in perhaps the series' most frantic action yet. Even the "Gorgon" weapon is no match for the team.
22. Venom Part 1 - Team Star Fox has finally reached Venom. The team navigates the treacherous surface of the planet, avoiding all enemy attacks. Eventually, the team makes its way to a huge temple leading into the planet's core, where they face a giant mech. Although successful in the fight, Fox is separated from his team. Ignoring their cries, he goes on without them, eager to defeat Andross.
23. Venom Part 2 - Fox McCloud finally encounters Andross, who has turned himself into a huge monster. The two duel furiously, until Fox emerges as the winner. However, Andross creates a huge explosion in his dying breathes, threatening to engulf the interior of Venom. All seems lost, when Fox hears his dead father speak to him. With the help of this supernatural guide, Fox navigates through a maze of tunnels to escape the interior of Venom. Outside the planet, he is reunited with his friends. Exchanging joyous banter, they fly off into the distance.

Reception

Star Fox Adventures was a mildly successful show, both in Japan and abroad, and has a cult following that lasts to this day. Nevertheless, it was never renewed for a second season.