#Landmaster Parts

[alln64games]

Star Fox 64 / Lylat Wars

JP release: 27th April 1997

NA release: 30th June 1997

PAL release: 4th October 1997

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

N64 Magazine Score: 91%

Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars as I knew it as a kid) is a fast-paced on-rails shooter made by Nintendo. The gameplay is extremely solid. Fox’s Awring has lasers that you can charge up for a lock-on, along with limited bombs. Movement is fast and precise and you can perform loops and barrel rolls – the latter reflects bullets.

If you complete levels normally, you’ll go through a really fun route through the game. On top of the on-rails levels, you’ll also encounter “all range mode” where you can fly in 3D. These typically aren’t as “cinematic” as the on-rails levels, but still a lot of fun.

Slippy will get attacked by one of the bosses and will crash land on a planet, here you get to use the Landmaster, a tank that is also really fun to use. You can hover temporally and barrel rolls will now move you across most of the screen.

To get to the credits for the first time, Star Fox 64 is a very short game, but that’s because it’s made to be replayed for a high score, and because it’s so much fun, you don’t mind doing so, trying to get a higher score than last time – but that’s not all of it.

Most missions in the game has a secret objective, complete this and you’ll get “Mission Accomplished” and to a different mission, the “hard route” will take you across some more challenging missions, although personally this is my least favourite route of the games – while all missions but one of the missions in Star Fox 64 are good, I do think these are some of the weaker ones, plus the one bad mission is in this route.

The underwater level. It’s slow, plodding and is rather boring. The bombs are replaced with infinite torpedoes which also light up the way, because the level is also dark and dreary. This is easily the worst part of the game, but at least it’s just the one mission.

Some of my favourite missions are in the middle, including the best all-range mission as you fight an Independence Day-style UFO and the second Landmaster tank mission as you chase a train.

Once you’ve played all the levels, there are also gold medals to unlock, which are extremely difficult. A level select at this point would be nice so you wouldn’t have to work through previous levels, but it does provide something to work towards.

Star Fox 64 is a incredibly fun game, and one you can just have a quick blast through every now and then.

It’s action packed. It’s technically eye-boggling. It works on a number of levels, being easy enough to be fun but with taxing bits if you search for them. It’s got exciting music. It’s unpredictable. It’s imaginative. It’s got massive explosions. It builds up steadily to a spectacular ending. It’s got everything, in other words, that you look for in a good movie – but in a game. It’s brilliant.

- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #3

Remake or Remaster?

A new console remaster would be great – have options to toggle between N64 and 3DS graphics, music and voices (using the higher quality original recordings for the N64 version), some level select options, (perhaps with separate leaderboards for doing induvial levels), widescreen and things like that.

Official ways to get the game

There is no way to buy a new copy of Star Fox 64, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pak.

Other Versions

Star Fox 64 3D

The 3DS got a remake of Star Fox 64, with various enhancements. I personally think the graphic lack the charm of the original (especially the water on Corneria), and the new voice acting and music aren’t quite the same.

Re-releases

2003: iQue

2007: Wii Virtual Console

2016: Wii U Virtual Console

2011: Star Fox 64 3D (remake, 3DS)

2021: Nintendo Switch Online (subscription only)

[toku-explained]

Guide to Gridman Universe Part 3h: Diaclone Vs Gridman

TakaraTomy returned to the Gridman Universe after over 25 years, producing 3 Gridman figures as part of the revived Diaclone line. As promotion a 4 part web novel was produced, in a similar way to the story pages in toy catalogs that told the story of the original Diaclone toyline, and the web story that told the story of Diaclone's 2016 revival, though this story has a specific focus character, unlike Diaclone. The story is also a deliberate midquel for both series, set between Diaclone and Diaclone 2016 for the world of Diaclone, and between Denkou Chojin Gridman and SSSS.Gridman for Gridman.

The first chapter sees Gridman materialise in the Diaclone universe, taken as a new threat like the Waruders, he is attacked by the Dia-Nauts using their Dia-Tector suits and other weaponry. Losing his body, he merges with Dia-Naut Kaizaki Hikari, a researcher who longs for a hero after her brother was killed in the war against the Waruders. She and her brother had invented a hero called Silver Kration to give themselves hope during that time. Gridman warns her that Planet Waruder's remains have become a Kaiju and are coming to destroy earth, so he grants her an Acceptor.

With Giganter appearing, Gridman request Hikari get him an audience with the Landmaster, the computer consciousness that rules the Macro Zones on earth, in producing Assist Weapons, Hikari against orders takes a Dia-Wing from the moon back to earth. Giganter's destruction also brings smaller Kaiju attacking people. After crashing, and with Gridman not strong enough to materialise, Hikari commandeers a Powered Suit, using the Freezon power from it Gridman is able to engineer a partial manifestation, converting it into the Grid Suit to fight and help the Diaclone forces. With external access to the Landmaster cut off, they have to physically reach the computer.

Reaching an old terminal connected to Landmaster, Gridman travels into his Computer World. After determining it cannot replicate Gridman's abilities, it decides on cooperation, using Freezon Energy to restore Gridman, and adapts the data of Dia-Battles V1 to create an Assist Weapon in the Battle Hanger. An additional weapon designed is the Thunder Crash Caliber, which will require a special gem found only on Europa, though Hikari has one as a keepsake from her brother and father. Work continues, so they can launch Operation Grand Omega Cross before Giganter absorbs all Freezon in Japan.

Gridman uses the image of Silver Kration to develop a new form, so when Hikari Access Flashes he becomes Primal Fighter, fighting Giganter. On completion of the Battle Hanger, Landmaster pilots it into the real world via Gridman's Passroute, and then combines the Battle Hanger with Gridman to form Battles Gridman. The battle rages, Battles Gridman holding on with support from the Diaclone team, until the Thunder Crash Caliber is completed, and they defeat Giganter. Gridman leaves Hikari behind.

Hikari is able to recall the experience as part of her preparing new technologies.

The first release consisted of Primal Fighter Gridman, the Thunder Crash Caliber, Battle Hanger and a Dia-Naut representing a virtual avatar of the Landmaster. The Thunder Crash Caliber can divide into the Thunder Sword and Thunder Shield, and can be mounted on the Battle Hanger, and Gridman can ride atop the Battle Hanger.

When Battles Gridman forms the cockpit of Battles Hanger detaches and forms a Bullet Fighter. Battles Gridman has 3 modes, A Mode, Full Attack Mode where the Power Vice activates and the guns flip forwards, and B Mode, where the wings and guns are detached, and can be attached to the Bullet Fighter to form the Combat Support Aircraft.

The 2nd release is a metallic paint Gridman, with Thunder Crash Caliber, a Dia-Naut representing Hikari, and a Diaclone Road Viper bike.

The 3rd release is of the Grid Suit, equipped with FZ Beam Gun, Launcher Cannons, and Emulate Thunder Axe, as well as a 1/60 Primal Fighter Gridman.

[dailycharacteroption]

Conversion Corner: Star Fox Starships part 2

The Great Fox

 Yesterday, we covered the iconic fighters used by the Star Fox team, but they wouldn’t get anywhere without the use of their carrier and home base, the Great Fox!

The Great Fox is another Space Dynamics design, one that was also commissioned alongside the Arwings by James McCloud for use by Star Fox, albeit one that took a massive loan in order to do so. While the debt does remain, Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team have been doing their best to pay it off when they can with lucrative mercenary jobs.

The Great Fox itself is a massive vessel, easily within the gargantuan size category, and while lightly armed compared to other ships of it’s weight class, serves as the nerve center and support network for the Star Fox team while on away missions, sporting a dual heavy laser weapon, and mostly relies upon the pilots of it’s arwing cargo to defend it from major threats. Most of the piloting is taken care of by the integrated A.I., ROB 64, who handles most tasks aboard the craft.

Despite it’s size, the Great Fox is actually designed to go into atmosphere, though it cannot land except in specialize hanger bays, and can even partially submerge itself, fulfilling it’s function for deploying the Star Fox team’s other vehicles, such as the surprisingly agile Landmaster tank and Blue Marine submersible.

The Great Fox has proven a reliable craft, though its base form remains a bit vulnerable due to a lack of weaponry (no doubt due to the fact it hasn’t fully been paid off), but it does boast some durable armor and shields, preventing it from being crippled by all but the most powerful weaponry.

 Space Dynamics Great Fox – Tier 14

Gargantuan carrier Speed 6; Maneuverability poor (turn 3); Drift — AC 24; TL 23 HP 330; DT 10; CT 48 Shields Heavy 280 (front 70, port 70, starboard 70, aft 70) Attack (Front) twin super plasma cannons 6d6 x 10 Power Core Gateway Ultra (500 PCU) Drift Engine Signal Basic; Systems advanced medium-range sensors, data net, extra capital weapon mount, mk 4 armor mk 3 defensive countermeasures, mk 2 trinode computer, mk 14 virtual intelligence (+19 gunnery, +24 other skills) ; Expansion Bays cargo holds (2), HAC recreation suite, hanger bay (4 Arwings and assorted other vehicles), life boats, medical bay, tech workshop; Modifiers +4 Computers (sensors only); Complement 5 (Special)

 Build points 445

 The actual Great Fox, with it’s singular weapons system, is a bit lackluster for a ship of its size, and could be easily a higher-tier ship if more weapons were bolted on to take advantage of just over 100 PCU that isn’t being used in this build. Something to consider if you use this ship and upgrade it later. Even still, twin super plasma cannons are no joke to be hit with from across the battlefield as this ship lends fire support to it’s squadron. I haven’t been designating crews for these builds (and sadly the idea of four crewmates and one VI running a ship of this size does not mesh well with how Starfinder is designed, but Paizo developers have also said that those are just arbitrary numbers), but Rob 64 as a virtual intelligence makes sense and provides the superior AC and TL compared to my Arwing build for that reason.

Beyond that, I figured that having life boats would represent the fact that the cockpit can detach from the rest of the vessel as a large escape pod, and added a tech workshop and medical bay so that independent ship repair and crew first aid.

 The Great Fox is a bit underpowered for it’s weight class, but it’s a sight more powerful than an “HQ ship” that is suggested under the squadron combat rules, which is what I was initially going to build it as, but it didn’t mesh with the statline of what the Great Fox was capable of. Even still, it serves as an impressive vessel to back up your squadron campaign.

[kwame-qme]

As a gift to myself before 2019 ends, I finally managed to complete the remaining images from this years Inktober. It may be about 2 months late, but here are the drawings for Days 21 - 31:

•Day 21: Wind-Elemented Mimick from Mobile Game “Summoner Wars”

*Theme: Treasure

•Day 22: Duskull Evolution Line

*Theme: Ghost

•Day 23: Medusa (Design from “Kid Icarus Uprising)

*Theme: Ancient

•Day 24: Spinda

*Theme: Dizzy

•Day 25: Yoshi Story Super Happy Tree

*Theme: Tasty

•Day 26: Dark Pit and Viridi

*Theme: Dark

•Day 27: My Q-Me Cast X Splatoon

*Theme: Coat

•Day 28: Star Fox Vehicles (Arwing, Landmaster, Blue Marine, Gyrowing)

*Theme: Ride

•Day 29: Un-named Original Character with an Beaten Design

*Theme: Injured

•Day 30: Lucas Playing Fetch with Boney

*Theme: Catch

•Day 31: Original Character - Orange Q-Me Resting with Appletun

*Theme: Ripe

At this point, I feel like most people would have dropped of Inktober and moved onto something else. Although for me, I chose to persist due to some weird mixture of pride, care, and stupidity inside of my head. Also this was only the second time I tried to participate, and I really enjoyed taking part in the event the first time around. I tried my best to keep up with the commitment, and I glad I saw it all the way through to the end.

Now because I was so far past the initial end of Inktober, I tried to push myself artistically by forcing on creating more detailed and expansive images in comparison to the usual drawings I was doing. This lead to images like the Kid Icarus ones where the tinier details were a bit tedious to portray on paper, but pretty rewarding to complete.

I also dabbled with a background in the splatoon image just to see how well I could recreate the game’s setting. Drawing more inanimate objects was also a bit different for me as I enjoy drawing characters a lot more. It’s was overall nice practice for me.

I felt like I struggled a lot with coloring images with ink as I’d worry the image would lose the line art and lose some of the details in the process. Once I committed to the fact that I was okay with using color pencils in the art as well, I did feel a bit more comfortable coloring. When comparing this year’s art with the ones from 2018, my line art was definitely my main priority with color only exists if I had the color as a pen. It became mostly limited to adding extra highlights to the images. This year’s pieces seemed to be created with a reversed mentality when color was a higher priority over the line art.

The only other factor I feel I need more practice on is transitioning from my sketching phase into my inking phase as certain area may become unnecessarily dirty from stray marking. Otherwise, I can definitely see a major improvement in my art in comparison to when I try posting for Inktober in 2018 as well as when I started posing in general. I look forward to trying this again next year, but for now it’s going to be real nice to draw something non-Inktober related for a change again~

[duscarasheddinn]

You know how the Star Fox characters in Smash Ultimate call upon their teams in their Final Smashes?

Am I the only one who thinks that that doesn't really solve the problem they had in Brawl? Back then, all three of them had Landmasters despite Star Wolf never using one in canon. People made fun of three characters having the same Final Smash by making the roster nothing but Landmasters.

But even though the Landmasters aren't part of their movesets anymore, their Final Smashes are all still too similar to each other... and Wolf's is the only one with a unique name! Fox and Falco's have the same name!

[edvonstein]

Hell all you smashing people, less than 62 days remain until the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!

Today’s stage is Port Town Aero Dive ( ポートタウン エアロダイブ, “Port Town Aero Dive”) from the F-Zero Universe and specifically referencing F-Zero GX. This stage returns in Wii U and Ultimate.

The initial stage layout is very bare bones. A single semi soft main platform, that’s it. But it is a traveling stage, and the fighters will be dropped off on different parts of the track constantly, changing the layout with extra soft platforms and gaps and walls and whatnot.

Also while flying around, the action does get close to the track, so it is possible to get hit by a very fast race track and get launched by it this way. (Technically you’re moving fast and the track is standing still, but details.)

The track however is not just a backdrop for the fight, it’s still a racetrack and F-Zero vehicles are racing along it all the time, and it is possible for them to run over the fighters, and unlike in Melee’s Mute City Track or Brawl’s Mario Circuit Track, the racers cannot be knocked out of the race. So good luck dodging!

As for the match:

Characters: Wolf, Bowser, Peach, Luigi 

KOs: 12, 9, 13, 13

Points: -1, -2, 1, 2

Luigi takes home a victory for Player 4! Special recognition goes to Wolf for taking his Landmaster and driving it straight off the track. Good job, Wolf.

That’s all for today, thank you all. Please to join me next time when we visit a castle, say hi to the Black Knight, and then go straight to hell. Ciao!

[phgq]

Cebu Landmasters to launch economic housing brand in VisMin

#PHnews: Cebu Landmasters to launch economic housing brand in VisMin

MANILA – Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) has announced the 2021 rollout of its flagship economic housing brand Casa Mira to four more key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao (VIsMin) regions as the response to the massive demand for safe and secure value housing heightened by the pandemic.

 CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said the housing backlog in the VisMin region became “very apparent” last year as infections from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) surged highlighting a need for economic housing in secure and well-planned communities.

 “Many new residential seekers met that need by purchasing Casa Mira homes. As demand in other parts of the region continues to be largely unmet, we’ve made it our mission to roll out more Casa Mira projects in more VisMin cities to fill that gap,” he said in a statement Friday.

 A study from Leechiu Property Consultants disclosed that the housing backlog is estimated to reach 6.8 million housing units by 2022.

 Ten Casa Mira communities with a development cost of PHP10.24 billion and a total of over 10,000 housing units are currently in five VisMin locations: Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and Sibulan, Negros Oriental.

 New developments will be launched in Dumaguete this month and in other key cities in VisMin in the next few months particularly in Ormoc, Puerto Princesa, and Davao City.

 At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Vismin residents purchased in record numbers CLI’s Casa Mira housing units priced from PHP1.6 million. 

 They all together accounted for 69 percent of CLI’s reservation sales of PHP14.23 billion, the firm’s highest to date. 

 “We believe that an expansive mood and lessons learned from the pandemic–where homes in well-planned communities provided a safe haven–will drive Casa Mira forward for the balance of the year,” Soberano said.

 Through Casa Mira, CLI has maintained the largest residential market share in Visayas and Mindanao by upgrading the lifestyle of its residents with generous community amenities usually packaged with higher-priced developments. (PR)

   ***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Cebu Landmasters to launch economic housing brand in VisMin." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1132680 (accessed March 05, 2021 at 09:41PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Cebu Landmasters to launch economic housing brand in VisMin." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1132680 (archived).

[joshuaschaferhund94]

Hot take: Star Fox Assault is an infinitely more overrated game than Star Fox 64 could ever possibly be, and this is no longer limited to just the fandom itself anymore. This baffling ideation of Assault seemingly being the best Star Fox game since the original trilogy made by Nintendo EAD and Argonaut Software for the SNES and Nintendo 64 in the 90′s has become increasingly more common in the gaming community. The game’s popularity has undeservingly skyrocketed after Zero disappointed people and they only latched onto it because it was the only thing that was the closest to a successor to the first three titles developed in the series that didn’t have motion controls and wasn’t another retelling of SF1 and SF64′s events despite having no where near the same amount of polish and quality game design that made those three games as great as they were to begin with.

I’ve already written an entire essay on reddit as to why Assault is an objectively fundamentally flawed game in virtually every aspect of game design, but to keep this short and to the point; all of the game’s TPS levels are gutted out of multiplayer assets with enemy spawners haphazardly tossed around them, causing the level design to have no solid flow or direction to them whatsoever. The gunplay is exceptionally uninspired and dull with the enemy AI providing no real challenge like any good TPS or FPS actually would, the weapons provide no solid impact (most of the time you only need the blaster’s charge shot and machine gun, the rocket launcher is only useful against hatchers or transfer devices, and grenades and trip mines might as well not exist) and do not feel like they were designed around the enemy encounters. Despite being lauded as one of the game’s strong points, the vehicle switching is poorly executed. There’s no reason to go outside of the hideout in Sargasso if you destroy the transfer devices fast enough, and the only reason to use the Arwing and Landmaster on Sauria is to shoot stuff flying around in the air or shoot targets that are unreachable on-foot. The aerial combat itself is an absolute joke and is in no way, shape, or form an improvement over the games that came before it. The physics are sluggish and do not feel tight and responsive, smart bombs are now completely useless, and the level design, obstacle avoidance, combat challenges and boss fights are laughable. Most of the enemies *barely* engage the player at all, as they often fly slowly forward and shoot a couple shots, lacking the challenging behaviors and unique designs they had in the older games. Rather than using points to reward the player for overcoming challenges like SF64 did, the game has tons of enemies that seemingly are only placed into the stages for the sake of grinding for points. It seriously feels like the developers didn’t really study how the mechanics in the previous games worked despite Assault marketing itself as a sequel to SF64 after Adventures’ genre shift.

I think the reason why most fans of Adventures and Assault call SF64 overrated is because the genre of game it is simply do not appeal to their own personal tastes despite the game itself otherwise clearly being an overall well designed and polished game. Let’s be brutally honest: the only group of people that are calling SF64 overrated are fans of the *GCN games*. Most people in the gaming community have unanimously agreed that it is at least a good game. Yes, the game does have flaws and is not perfect. As a fan of SF1-64, I will tell you right away that while I love SF64 and often go back and forth whether or not I like it or SF1 more, it is not my favorite out of the trilogy and I do personally prefer SF2 over it. I think the levels as a whole do feel rather mixed and some of them bog down the game’s pacing like Aquas and Katina, but for the most part, SF64 does excel at what it does best as an arcadey rail shooter with plenty of replayability to be had, and for that it is deserving of the praise it has recieved. I just personally wish Star Fox 1 and 2 could have the same love 64 enjoys despite them facing stricter hardware limitations. (Sure wish Nintendo would get Q-Games to make upscaled 60 FPS remasters of all three of them for the Switch. Yes I know SF 1 and 2 are on the Switch online service and there’s 64 3D, but that’s really not good enough. I want to play the most definitive version of these games in 16:9 and 60 FPS on a bigger monitor with extra content and features.) By comparison, the same simply cannot be said for Star Fox Assault as there are too many annoying problems both technically and in it’s overall core design that are far too difficult to overlook for it to be considered a good game, and rest assured, none of it has anything to do with the belief that TPS mechanics outside of vehicles have no place in Star Fox.

I think that Star Fox 64 is overrated, do you?

Haaaahahahahaha.

Ahahahaha.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

You’re shitting me, right? Like, you must know how I feel about the IP, if you looked even a little into my post history.

But ok, sure, I’ll humor you, I can’t expect everyone to background check me just to ask a question.

Short answer: No.

Somewhat less short answer: Hell fucking no.

Actual answer: Starfox 64 is legitimately the best designed game in the IP next to perhaps only Starfox 2 and that is an objective fact of game design examination; you don’t have to like it the most, or even at all - not all games are for everyone - but calling it OVERRATED?

Actually, yeah, 64 is overrated, because its a goddamn 11/10. It’s a work of art how well paced, packed, and presented it is as a piece of entertainment media. It’s not without flaws, for sure - but a game’s virtue isn’t defined by how many or little flaws it has, but by how well it does what it sets out to do, and by how well it presents that.

SF64 is the perfect home arcade action experience of its time. Not perfect because its flawless, as I said, but perfect in what it does. Quick to complete, long to master. Tons of level variety both visually and mechanically. More classic scifi movie and anime references than you can shake a stick at. Snappy, purposeful writing that sticks to the pop culture consciousness because of how smartly its used (hell, you ever see anyone quoting the other games?) Solid difficulty curve that makes it easy enough for anyone to playthrough but provides plenty of challenge for the hardcore going for highest scores. The replayability! The criss-crossing paths! Sixteen missions, 25 possible routes, and tons of little variables in most missions. Its so goddamn simple in its presentation, but so INVOLVING in its experience, its really comparable to Super Mario Brothers in this regard for me. There are more complex arcade games out there. More challenging ones, more unique ones, more involved, deeper designed ones - and I love many of them. But none have matched that lightning in a bottle perfection of Starfox 64.

Yes, the game shows its age. All media does. Nothing is “timeless” in the sense that what was considered “advanced” one day will remain so the next. But for its time, what it did, how well it did it.... have you ever wondered WHY 64 has never really had a direct competitor even in its own generation? Plenty of games out there challenged Nintendo’s IPs, the 90s were a grueling battlefield. Sonic to Mario, and then later Crash. Final Fantasy going to PS1 becoming Sony’s answer to the Legend of Zelda. But Starfox never had a competitor or a rival - at least, never had one worth mentioning. There’s other arcade fighter plane games for sure, Ace Combat, or classic shmups like Gradius and R-Type, but they aren’t Starfox. There will never be another Starfox 64.

There’s a reason why its 64 that’s always quoted, always memed on, always the first game people think of when you mention the series, even now. Looked at as just parts, it may seem to be just a simple basic arcade shooter from the 90s, but what it embodies and represents is far greater than the sum of its parts.

So again. You don’t have to like it. It’s not for everyone! But it does deserve your goddamn respect. Overrated? Kiss my fat ass with that shit. Understand why a game has a legacy instead of being hung up on your own personal interests and biases.

[mysmashplaythroughs]

Star Fox 64 aka Lylat Wars Playthrough

Fighter: Fox McCloud

Game: Lylat Wars (aka Star Fox 64), Wii U virtual console (N64). First Released on April 27th 1997.

Fighter Bio.

The son of James McCloud, an expert pilot and leader of the Star Fox team, Fox grew up idolising his Father and wanting to follow in his footsteps. When James and his team were sent to the planet Venom, the planet the evil scientist Andross was banished to in order to investigate reports of bio weapon activities, he was betrayed by a member of his team and went missing. Peppy Hare the only remaining member of Star Fox returned to tell Fox of his Father’s fate. Born on the planet Papetoon but raised on Corneria, Fox had trained at the Cornerian Flight Academy with his best friend Slippy Toad and Bill Grey, showing a gift for flying. Learning of his Father’s disappearance from Peppy, Fox dropped out of the Cornerian Flight Academy with grief, however he was persuaded and mentored by Peppy to become the new leader of the Star Fox team. Fox recruited his friend Slippy, as well as a hotshot pilot, Falco Lombardi to form a new Star Fox team. Sometime after, the team received a distress call from General Pepper of Corneria, informing them Andross had declared war and invaded the Lylat System, reaching Corneria. Team Star Fox went into action taking on Andross’s forces and eventually taking down the Scientist Emperor himself.

There are three different timelines for the Star Fox series, the original SNES era timeline which officially only had one game before the unreleased Star Fox 2 finally saw a release in 2017. The current timeline which arguably has three games (Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard and possibly Starlink Battle for Atlas.) and finally the most well-known incarnation, the Starfox 64 timeline which covers four games (64, Adventures, Assault and Command.) The history of Fox in the first paragraph can apply to all three timelines, however following these events the next events differ a lot between each timeline. Since it is the version of Fox represented the most in the Smash Bros series, I will be covering the Star Fox 64 timeline in this entry, however down the line for some alts I will be discussing events in the other two timelines.

Following the defeat of Andross, the Star Fox team underwent some hardships finding that despite their hefty reward for their work they were unable to find many new assignments. During this time, Falco left the Star Fox team looking for more interesting thrills, Peppy was finding himself growing too old to really fly missions anymore and Slippy had always been more interested in mechanics than flying, leaving Fox in a rut. On top of this, their home ship the Great Fox was in a bad state requiring maintenance they couldn’t afford. It was in this period of time that General Pepper contacted the Star Fox Team once again with another mission, this time to a planet known as Sauria, the Dinosaur Planet. This planet was in a bad state due to large parts of it being ripped apart and could explode if something wasn’t done, possibly causing untold destruction to the entire Lylat System. Fox jumped into action.

Fox is a strong leader of his team, often listening to the advice others will give him before making his decisions. Fox is extremely loyal to his teammates doing all he can to protect them in battle, although sometimes this can make him somewhat overbearing which has strained some of his relationships such as with Krystal. Although he’s not at the level of Falco, Fox still can be cocky which results in a strong rivalry between the two. Fox is a mercenary at heart and although he won’t fight for those he deems wrong, he won’t hesitate to charge for his heroics, not to mention point out when he feels he’s not being paid enough. Fox’s flight skill is arguably the best on the team, however this may be due to Falco’s propensity to let his ego get the better of him which Fox tends to be better at keeping in check. Fox can deal with stealthier approaches, but he’ll always prefer to simply blast his way out of trouble where possible, showing skills at air combat, land combat, sea combat and on foot.

Fox has a personal affinity for the Arwing, and although he’s willing to use other craft, in games where there are a variety of craft Fox will always go for a standard Arwing or in one case the successor the Arwing II. Due to this, Fox’s stats in comparison to others tend to be all-around, not being particularly strong in one aspect nor weak in any other aspect. Fox is also the only character in Star Fox Command who’s able to upgrade his ship through the story making it more powerful. Fox can fight on foot well, however he’s better when in vehicles.

Friends:  Fox is close friends with Slippy Toad and Falco Lombardi and has a strong respect for Peppy Hare. The four of them form the second incarnation of the Star Fox team and work well together with each member offering a different skill to the team. Slippy with his mechanical knowledge works on the equipment the Star Fox team uses, building a lot of the vehicles such as the Blue Marine and Landmaster as well as analysing the boss’s shields allowing the rest of the team to see how much shielding they have left. Peppy would use his years of experience to advise Fox on what to do against various bosses as well as tricks to use when flying such as the barrel roll. Falco being on par with Fox in flying skill would be effective in fighting many of the smaller enemies whilst Fox focuses on the boss of each stage. Falco’s temperament could cause him to get bored and go off sometimes, but he’d often show up to help Fox when he felt he needed it. Slippy on the other hand often stays the most loyal to Fox, only leaving once in the series when he falls in love and gets engaged to Amanda, although even then he’s usually the first in most paths to return to help Fox. Peppy eventually retires from the Star Fox team, for a time taking a role giving advice from the Great Fox, before being appointed the new General of the Cornerian army after General Pepper retires. General Pepper is very trusting of Star Fox and is willing to pay them for the work they do as well as trusting Fox to take him down when he’s infected and mind controlled by aparoids. A new addition to the team is Krystal, the lone survivor of planet Cerinia who travels to Sauria to answer a distress call but gets captured. Fox saves her and following from this she joins team Star Fox filling Peppy’s role of giving advice on how to defeat bosses, however rather than basing it on years of experience, Krystal uses telepathy powers to find the enemy’s weakness. Krystal and Fox get along very well, however Fox can get too overprotective which has caused issues between them before, which can lead to a lot of different paths in Star Fox Command, with them either getting together again, staying apart or in one case Krystal becoming a bounty hunter on the outskirts of the Lylat System called Kursed who Fox doesn’t even recognise years later.

The final member of the Star Fox team is ROB 64, a robot who can control the Great Fox and was inherited along with it by Fox after being commissioned for his Father. ROB fell into disrepair similar to the Great Fox during the mission to Sauria, however following that he saw the same level of upgrades the Great Fox had during the Aparoid invasion. ROB is the team member who has been with Fox the longest, being the only remaining member of the team with Fox at the start of Star Fox Command. Due to the original Great Fox being destroyed and him being put into the new Great Fox he underwent somewhat of a personality change, becoming more sarcastic towards Fox, but he still did his duties as required and throughout his time on the team got along well with them. One of Fox’s other friends from the Flight Academy is Bill Grey who remained part of the Cornerian army. The two are always pleased to meet and work together when given the chance and Bill will often turn up to give Fox a helping hand as thanks. During his adventures on Sauria Fox makes friends with Tricky, an Earthwalker who is heir to the throne of his tribe who Fox can find annoying but also grows fond of. There are others who join team Star Fox in some cases that are more involved with other members of the team, such as Katt Monroe who was part of Falco’s old gang, Lucy Hare Peppy’s daughter and Amanda, Slippy’s fiancé.

Enemies/Rivals: Fox’s archenemy is Andross, the one who’s responsible for the disappearance of his Father and whose army his team’s first major mission is against. Despite being Fox’s archenemy, in the 64 timeline Andross is only ever the antagonist for two of the games, however his legacy goes on far longer, with most threats Fox faces after being influenced by or the results of Andross’s actions. Fox has also faced many other enemies over the years, with him battling against General Scales on Sauria, Aparoids in Star Fox Assault and finally the Anglar Empire in Star Fox Command, with only the Aparoids being a threat not somehow caused or resulting from Andross’s actions. The Aparoids were likely the largest threat Fox faced as they would take control of other characters and make Fox have to fight them, such as General Pepper and the Cornerian ground forces as well as using Fox’s memory of his Father against him, which if anything just made his drive to destroy them even stronger. Also of note in the Anglar Forces is a specific character, Octoman who often fights Slippy in various routes and sometimes is able to mind control him.

Probably the foe most hated by Fox even more than Andross however is Pigma Dengar, an ex-member of the Star Fox team who betrayed James McCloud and joined Andross due to his greed. Pigma is part of Star Wolf, a group of mercenaries who are seen as the closest in skill to the Star Fox team and led by Wolf O’donnell. Pigma’s piloting skills aren’t on Fox or Falco’s level, however he is cunning and can still put up a fight, often targeting Peppy. Wolf is Fox’s main rival in the series both due to being in the same position as Fox as the leader of Star Wolf as well as being almost on Fox’s level when it comes to piloting skill. Wolf is driven to defeat Fox and seems to have had a fierce rivalry with James McCloud, sometimes mentioning him to Fox, and if he defeats Fox sometimes telling him he doesn’t live up to his Father implying some respect. It has in some cases been suggested that Pigma influenced Wolf with regards to forming his own team and going against Fox, which is supported by Wolf on some occasions allying with Fox after having kicked Pigma out of the team, however he often justifies this by saying it’s because he’s the one who’s going to take Fox out, rather than the threat they’re facing. Leon Powalski is another member of Star Wolf and probably the loyalist to Wolf since he is the only one who remained in all it’s incarnations. He seems to love to torture and kill his enemies and revels in being a deadly assassin, which it seems is why he feels staying with Wolf is the best use of his skills as his missions allow him to do what he loves. When it comes to Fox, Leon isn’t overly interested as he prefers to take on Falco, with them both being similarly close to Fox and Wolf’s level of skill. He has however engaged Fox in dogfights many times. Andrew Oikonny is the nephew of Andross and believes himself therefore a very important person. It seems Andrew is part of Star Wolf simply due to being related to Andross and he is arguably the worst pilot of the team, which is why he tends to go after Slippy who’s often seen as the worst Arwing pilot in the Star Fox team. Despite his bluster and lack of piloting skills, Andrew has shown he is capable of some cunning and tactics. Following him leaving the Star Wolf team he rallies Andross’s remaining forces to stage a rebellion and is able to give the Cornerian army trouble until Star Fox arrives to help them. Andrew still often ends up being just a sideshow to other villains however, despite his ego leading him to believe he’s the successor to Andross. Finally following Pigma being kicked out of the team due to his greed and Andrew seemingly due to Wolf getting sick of his boasting despite his poor pilot skills, as well as perhaps in order to attempt to create his own empire, the Star Wolf team got a new team member called Panther Caroso. Panther is conceited and considers himself a ladies man, flirting often with Krystal during their encounters, however he also seems to be more of a skilled pilot than Andrew and possibly Pigma which is a good thing for the team as there are only three of them remaining when he joins. Due to his constant flirting with Krystal Panther is arguably the only Star Wolf member besides Wolf who has a specific rivalry with Fox, although Fox tends to see him more as an irritation than anything.

Crossovers with other Smash characters: Fox himself has not really appeared in other series which are in Smash Bros, with only one specific appearance from him being cut in Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga where he would have appeared to try a Starbeans Coffee that was brewed before having to rush off when contacted by Slippy who’s in trouble. Fox would give the Mario Bros a Gold Ring from his series as payment for the coffee. One other unused cameo is that in Ocarina of Time there exists an Arwing as an unused enemy in the files, which will fly around and shoot at Link. Whilst this is not specifically Fox, the Arwing is most heavily associated with him. It’s believed this was a placeholder for the boss Volvagia due to their similar movements in the air.  The Star Fox series has made references to the F-Zero series, to the point it’s possible the two might be connected with them using similar technology such as the G-Diffuser, as well as one of the endings of Star Fox Command having Fox and Falco retire from being mercenaries and becoming G-Zero racers. One other notable appearance in Star Fox Command is Octoman, a member of the Anglar Empire who is possibly the same character as the Octoman in the F-Zero series, with them looking very similar and having the same name. Finally, whilst this is not Fox specifically, there is a character in the F-Zero series called James McCloud who is very clearly a reference to the Star Fox series, although he is a human who wears an outfit similar to the Star Fox uniform and sunglasses similarly to James McCloud as well as piloting an F-Zero racer that looks similar to an Arwing.

Why this game?

It’s rather simple in this case, although I personally like the majority of the games in the series despite their clear flaws, this game is simply the best in the series as well as the most definitive. It is the start of the longest timeline, the Starfox 64 timeline as well as being considered the best version of the main Star Fox story of Fox battling Andross’s forces, with more characters than the SNES timeline’s version of the story and generally considered better gameplay than it and Star Fox Zero. The only issue with the game when it comes to it representing Fox McCloud in Smash Bros is that it’s not a game where you can play as Fox on foot (apart from the multiplayer but that’s another matter) however despite that, this is the game that I feel represents Fox McCloud best.

There is one other matter, as to why I picked the N64 version rather than the 3DS remake. I think the 3DS remake is a really great update of the game, to the point that I really thought they could reboot the franchise with it as a starting point rather than what they ended up doing with Zero being another reboot of Star Fox 64 (which of course was a reboot of the SNES Star Fox) Honestly, I’d played the remake on 3DS a lot, which is why I decided for this playthrough, I wanted to stick with the original version instead. Also, the voices were all redone in the 3DS remake, and whilst I don’t think they’re bad, the original version is so well known as well as a big part of my childhood at this point, which is why it’s what I wanted to go with.

My past with this game.

So this game is another case where I didn’t own it myself for a fair bit in my childhood but would play it at my Cousin’s house. This was probably one of the best games for this sort of thing as it’s not very long and had multiple pathways you could take through it, meaning we could often do a full playthrough during my visit and play the game again another time without it being a repeat of the same game. Due to playing the game with others a lot of the lines became what they are still to this day online which is now usually referred to as memes. We’d love quoting the bosses, Star Fox, Star Wolf and Andross repeatedly, with it being one of the few games I’d played at the time with voice acting beyond grunts and the occasional word. Eventually I got the game myself and played it a lot, although I didn’t complete every pathway for a long time. There was one mission which would always give me trouble when it came to the alternate path to the point that I don’t think I ever managed to play through that pathway until many years later.

I do have a memory of another strange train of thought I had regarding this series where I was mistaken. This was the second Star Fox game I’d played as I owned the first on the SNES. Due to a copyright issue in Europe, the first Star Fox game was called Star Wing in the UK and Star Fox 64 was called Lylat Wars, which personally I actually prefer to Star Fox 64, maybe because of Nostalgia, but really, I just find it a more interesting name. Since Star Fox 64 was the second game I played in the series, and I didn’t really have the concept of remakes in my mind at that time, I believed Lylat Wars was a sequel to Star Wing, and due to the plot of Lylat Wars, it led me to believe for a long time that Star Wing actually starred James McCloud. I’d never gotten very far at all in Star Wing so I believed that that game ended with the character you played as (Fox, who I thought was James) being captured as is the backstory of Lylat Wars. It’s odd as I knew the original Star Fox team was meant to be made up of James, Peppy and Pigma, but that part for some reason I never really thought about. Perhaps when I think about it even though I didn’t know the term, I believed that that was a retcon and James was still meant to be based on the SNES version of Fox for some reason. There were also secrets in the game I never unlocked and found out about in gaming magazines which my friends would say were just fakes as they were sure they’d beaten all that was in the game, things such as Fox wearing sunglasses and being able to play on-foot in multiplayer. To this day I haven’t actually unlocked the on-foot option in multiplayer or Fox with sunglasses, although as I don’t have anyone who’d play Star Fox 64 multiplayer with me it’s not really something I’ve wanted to get anyway at this point. Beyond this, when it comes to my history with the game, I suppose the only other thing is the remake on 3DS which I’ve mentioned earlier. I remember being really excited for it as the short gameplay with multiple routes was ideal for a handheld, and it turned out to be a really great version which I’d personally recommend.

My Smash Playthrough.

This was a fairly short playthrough compared to a fair few others. I cannot remember clearly what routes I played through, although I believe I did the easy route the first time, taking on Meteo, Fichina, Sector X, Titania, Bolse and finally Venom 1. Of these stages I don’t remember having any real issues and as they’re easy I find them fairly fun missions to blast through, with my personal favourite being the battle against Star Wolf on Bolse as it’s harder than the first battle with them, but not to the level of another encounter with them in another route, so it’s not overly frustrating. Titania is probably the most notable stage in this route as it’s the only one where Fox uses another vehicle, being the Landmaster. Of the two Landmaster stages, this one is the one I find more dull, with the boss not being very interesting. My second route I believe was Meteo, Katina, Solar, Macbeth, Bolse and Venom 1 again. This is probably my favourite run overall with the highlights being Katina where you take part in a large-scale battle with Cornerian forces against Venomian fighters, as well as meeting with Bill, with the stage being full of a lot of memorable quotes. Macbeth is another highlight of this route due to it being the best Landmaster stage, with the Forever Train that you gradually have to reach the front of making for an interesting stage element, as well as it’s driver being full of more great quotes. Solar is probably the worst stage in this route, mostly due to the gimmick where flying too low causes the Arwing to take constant damage due to the heat. With that said, Solar does provide an interesting idea and if you’re able to shoot down the various rocks being thrown all over the place you can replenish health very often, so it’s not that bad of a stage.

The final and of course most difficult of the routes is the one I left for last, Sector Y, Aquas, Zoness, Sector Z, Area 6 and finally Venom 2. Sector Y is a fun stage and I’ve always personally liked the Space Armada type of stages in Star Fox, so flying past various giant battleships is a highlight to me, along with the Gundam inspired enemies you battle. Aquas I always used to dislike, but now I feel it’s not really as difficult as I used to believe so I don’t mind it as much. It’s the only stage in the series that uses the Blue Marine, Star Fox’s submarine, which acts fairly similarly to the Arwing, just with torpedoes replacing the bombs and being a key requirement of the stage due to lighting up the way. Zoness I have mixed feelings on. I actually like the stage quite a bit, but the requirement in order to carry on the hardest route and not end up going to Macbeth is one which kept me from fully beating the game for a very long time. There are searchlights that you have to take out and if you miss one, you’ll not be able to go to Sector Z. It’s probably the toughest optional path to get in my experience. Sector Z due to this was a stage that was always enigmatic to me, mostly as I’d seen every other stage, it felt like the only content I’d not seen for a long time. The mission is the only one heavily featuring the Great Fox, with you having to take down missiles that are approaching the ship. It’s definitely a unique mission and it’s fun having the Great Fox appear outside of a cutscene, it can be quite difficult though and I did slip up once or twice. Area 6 is one of my favourite stages in the game, but at the same time the boss is one of my least favourites. The stage is a lot of fun with you fighting your way through the defences set up in Venom airspace, with a lot of great quotes from the enemies as they go from believing you don’t stand a chance to gradually losing their cool as you break through more and more of their defences. It’s a really great adrenaline rush of a stage. Finally, there’s Venom 2 which features a really difficult dogfight with Star Wolf, using their new ships the Wolfen II which interestingly only appear in this battle in the whole series. I’ll go more into this when it comes to the bosses, but the battle with them was probably more frustrating for me than the final boss, with it taking me quite a few attempts to finally take them down.

The bosses are very memorable in this game, definitely helped by a lot of them being voiced and having memorable quotes as you battle them. Due to this, some of the few bosses that don’t have a voice tend to not stick in my mind as much, such as the bio weapon bosses of Solar, Aquas and Titania. Other than that every other boss I’d say is memorable and a lot of fun to fight, with my personal favourite being the Forever Train, especially due to the alternate method of defeating him which involves setting the train to the wrong track, with the boss suddenly realising he can’t stop himself from speeding into the weapons factory resulting in a massive explosion. The boss I mentioned earlier of Area 6 is another one which isn’t voiced, and can be very frustrating to battle due to a lot of the methods of causing damage to it being slightly down to luck with the battle against it sometimes lasting quite a while if you mess up too much. I had quite a difficult time with it and always have done, although it’s definitely not an ridiculously hard fight. Star Wolf’s battle on the hard route at Venom is probably the most difficult in the game as they have very good shielding which prevents your lock on attacks as well as bombs from being able to damage them. They are also a lot more manoeuvrable and harder to hit, with you having to hit them with standard laser shots to be able to do any real damage to them, which when you add on their habit of doing somersaults a lot more than before, it can be difficult to track them down and hit them with constant fire. Wolf or any other members of the team who are gunning for you specifically are relentless on this stage.

One last thing I’d like to note before going on to the final boss is the music. There are a lot of great tracks in this game, which when I played when I was younger I didn’t really appreciate, and it wasn’t until a lot of them were remixed in Star Fox Assault that I realised just how good a lot of them were. My personal favourites are the boss themes, Star Wolf’s theme, Aquas, Area 6 and my absolute favourite is Zoness, which is probably why I like that stage overall, despite the irritating searchlight challenge. I also quite like the victory theme for each stage, it’s actually probably one of my favourite victory themes in videogames with its triumphant atmosphere.

When it comes to Andross, there’s two versions. They both start off similarly, with Andross’s giant head appearing from the shadows laughing, then his hands appear with them being the first things you need to take out. Following this he starts inhaling you which can either be avoided by pulling as hard to the side as you can, or firing a bomb into his mouth which causes it to blow up in there. Once Andross takes enough damage from shots to his eyes, his face will explode, in the easy path this reveals a robotic form for his head, which is frantic but not too difficult to defeat, with the ending of the game revealing it was a decoy and Andross is still alive. The hard path ends with a different result following Andross’s first form, with the reveal of his brain, with his eyeballs attached through some sort of electric field. Unlike the easy path boss, this now becomes an all-range mode boss, with Fox having to target the eyes first and following their destruction, he must target the brain’s medulla. Andross’s brain will teleport if the other parts of the brain are hit, and move around the area. If Fox flies into the Brain’s tentacles, they’ll capture him and start ripping the Arwing apart, losing its wings and damaging it’s shielding. Overall this is definitely the harder of the Andross bosses, but other than some annoyances with the brain’s movements and managing to hit it, he’s not the hardest boss in the game. It appears based on other bosses Andross is responsible for such as the various bio-weapons that this isn’t a robotic form but is actually what Andross’s physical form has become, so with his destruction Andross is truly dead it would seem, which is the canon ending for the game. With his last breath Andross tells Fox he’s going to take him down with him, but then Fox hears a voice. This part of the game is probably one of the most iconic in gaming and I always enjoy playing through it, with James McCloud telling Fox not to give up and leading him through the exploding base. Fox reaches the surface victorious, with James seeming to have disappeared, leaving it unclear if it was his ghost, he’s actually alive or Fox simply imagined him. Following this comes the ending sequence, with a great music track and many nice shots of the Great Fox travelling back to and arriving at Corneria, then the team running as the sun sets and the Great Fox rises in the background before flying off. The final shot of the game is of the bill owed to the Star Fox Team by the Conerian Army, with General Pepper commenting on the amount, which changes based on your performance. Overall it was a blast to play through this, and because of how this game works it’s one I always have an probably always will come back to do a playthrough of from time to time.

Specific aspects about the game relating to Fox in Smash.

When it comes to Fox’s portrayal in the Super Smash Bros series, it’s important to note that he was one of the original roster who had a moveset entirely invented for him, since he had made no playable appearance outside of his vehicles at the time, except for in Lylat Wars multiplayer. In Lylat Wars Multiplayer he carries a large over the shoulder laser cannon or rocket launcher of some kind and controls sort of like the Landmaster, so there really wasn’t much to draw from. A fair few of Fox’s moves did draw upon aspects of the Star Fox series however, with his reflector playing a similar role to the Arwing’s barrel roll, which can deflect shots taken at it. Fox’s blaster is drawn from artwork for Star Fox 64 where Fox holds one, although the only shot of a character holding one in-game is James McCloud during the backstory told in the introduction of the game. Fox’s other moves aren’t really based on anything from the Star Fox series and are original to Super Smash Bros. When it comes to Final Smashes Fox has had throughout the series, this is probably the closest Fox has to any moves that are based upon Star Fox 64, with his original Final Smash calling a Landmaster, which can shoot and roll similarly to in the series. His most recent Final Smash, Team Star Fox, has Fox call in his wing mates and a targeting reticule will appear before him with three Arwings flying at it. If an enemy gets hit by it, Fox will jump into his own Arwing and tell his group to open fire, with all four Arwings firing upon the foe with double green lasers. Falco shares this Final Smash, but Fox’s version has the team firing with synchronisation, which reflects his status as the team leader. What is important to note regarding Star Fox 64 however, are the designs of the vehicles used in these Final Smashes. The Landmaster’s design in its appearances as a Final Smash is not the design it has in Star Fox 64, but the design it used in Star Fox Assault, which is a lot more advanced looking than the original. The Arwing’s appearance in Fox’s Final Smash is also not the one from Star Fox 64, although it is similar, but it is in fact the Arwing from Star Fox Zero. Finally Fox’s only appearances on-foot have him with a fairly different design in both cases to the ones he uses in Super Smash Bros, and in the case of Star Fox Adventures have him fighting with Krystal’s Staff rather than his blaster and other gear. I guess all that can really be said in conclusion here is that there’s not really a setup of any kind that fits closely with Fox’s portrayal in Super Smash Bros in Lylat Wars.

Credits.

For information on this game including dates of releases I must give credit to Arwingpedia.

The screenshots in this post are taken by me using Miiverse before it shut down.

[echoeternally]

Birthday Gift! (Falco/Fox)

Hello matsutzu & readers! By following this story, from the index here, you’re agreeing that you ship Fox with Falco above all else. Because, let’s be real, that’s the biggest gay ship of the series.

Anyway, continue on ahead if you want some Falox romance! And enjoy! 

[HANGAR/FALCO]

 Taking the door to the hangar, Fox stepped in, and gazed around. He glanced at the docked Landmaster, a tank that was covered with a sheet and due for upgrades. A board was across from it, usually used for blueprints and schematics, though it was currently switched off.

 Further along, toward the hangar gates, a quartet of Arwings rested. Between them, a blue-feathered bird ambled by, squinting at a computer behind them and nodding.

 “Falco!”

 Raising his head, the bird glanced up and waved to Fox.

 “Yo, Fox! Come on down, let’s have a race!”

 “Pass. I mean I’m coming down, but not to race.”

 Taking a lift that lowered to the base level for the hangar, Fox walked across the hangar and to the Arwings. Falco stepped from between them and folded his arms, wearing a smirk on his face.

 “Ah, why no race?” Falco rolled his eyes. “It’s not like we have anything better to do now, do we?”

 “Well, no, but—”

 “So what’s the problem?” He nudged Fox and beckoned him back. “Come on, I’m fixing for a flight, and I’m looking to whoop your butt again.”

 “It’s late,” reminded Fox, “we don’t need to tear through the night sky at blazing speeds for fun.”

 “Under all the stars, over Corneria’s open waters? That’s the kind of stuff folks find romantic.” He blinked and jerked his head back. “Not that I would, I just wanna fly, but, ah, you know what I mean.”

 “Falco Lombardi, are you getting softer these days?” Fox mockingly gasped and touched his chest. “Goodness, it’s almost like you’re interested in other things besides just proving how great you are at flying!”

 “Ok, ok, you can take it easy on the insults there, Foxie,” grumbled Falco. “Sheesh, I try to talk about a nice time just once, and you go to town on me for it.”

 “Ha, I’m sorry Falco. I couldn’t resist.” Fox patted his friend’s shoulder. “You never really loosen up, or open up, and it’s nice to see and hear that from you now and again.”

 “Hey, I’m plenty open!” Falco folded his arms as Fox lowered his eyes. “…When I, ah, want to be, that is.” Falco smirked and shrugged. “Whatever, Fox, you want to sit up in the Great Fox tonight, be my guest. I’m sure you can fool around with Slippy or Peppy, right?”

 “They’re both busy.” Fox smirked. “You, on the other hand—”

 “Ouch. Fox, it’s almost like your insults are getting as sharp as mine.” Falco rolled his eyes. “Maybe it’s better if we’re not hanging out, then.”

 “Or…?”

 Fox folded his arms and waited as Falco blinked. He shifted his eyes around the room, and shrugged.

 “Uh…you wanna finish that thought?”

 “And here I thought you were getting good at opening up,” mocked Fox. “I was waiting for you to suggest something else.”

 “Me? Geez, just spit out, Fox!”

 “You could too, you know.”

 “Huh? W-what?”

 “Suggest something else for us to do, Falco.”

 “Oh. Yeah! I knew that!” Falco paused and tapped on his head. “Uh…gimme a sec.”

 “Take your time.” Fox grinned and opened his mouth to continue, but had a wing press against his lips.

 “Yeah, no, don’t need that next part, thanks.” Falco sighed and tapped his foot. “…You know what? We are flying tonight!”

 “Again, I’m not in the mood—”

 “To race, sure you’re not. But how about you let me do the flying, and you just come along for a ride?”

 “Uh, sure, I guess.” Fox shrugged. “You know, I could just follow in another Arwing.”

 “Yeah, but uh, I don’t have anywhere in particular to go,” admitted Falco. “So, it’s better to, um, just take out one ship and we won’t go far. Just…around a few times in the air. Sound good?”

 “Why do I get the feeling that you have some, I don’t know, ulterior motives?”

 “Me? Nah, you’re crazy, Fox,” insisted Falco. “Just wanna get some fresh air, and I’m kidnapping you for fun too. How about it?”

 “Ah…well, sure,” relented Fox. “Let’s just not stay out all night.”

 “Foxie, I’d never!” He grinned as Fox rolled his eyes. “I promise I’ll be good tonight, honest.”

 “If you insist.”

 Unfolding his arms, Fox followed Falco to one of the Arwings. He paused and scratched his head as Falco opened the fighter’s cockpit.

 “Uh…Falco, the Arwings aren’t exactly roomy.”

 “What’s wrong? You got a problem sitting on my lap?” Falco winked. “I won’t tell the others much if you enjoy it.”

 “Wow, that’s not even…fine, your lap’s funeral, then.”

 Laughing, Falco climbed into the Arwing, followed by a hesitant Fox. He slid in as Falco scooted back in the seat, slowly lowering himself against his teammate, and then blushed as the bird reached around his waist for the controls.

 “Ooh, Fox, you sure know how to make a move,” teased Falco. “Must have been your plan all along.”

 “What are you talking about? This was your idea!”

 “Sure, that’s what you’d want me to think.”

 “Just shut up and fly.”

 With another fit of snickers, Falco closed the ship and readied it for launch. The pair stared out of the hangar gate, and the Arwing rocketed off.

 Fox gazed from the window and watched the night sky whip past him, as Falco took the ship onward. He watched as it lowered toward Corneria’s open waters, and observed the buildings in the distance.

 “It really does look beautiful,” admitted Fox.

 “Yeah…sure does.”

 “Can you even see that well?” Fox’s ears twitched. “I feel like I’m in the way.”

 “What? No way, I’m taller than you.” Falco chuckled. “Plus, I’ve got a perfect view, so I don’t know what you’re going on about.”

 “…Uh…if you’re sure.”

 “Of course.” He leaned forward against Fox. “Now hang on. We’re gonna have some fun.”

 The Arwing rolled around as Falco had the ship flip. He brought it closer to the water, as Fox grabbed at the sides of the ship, clutching tightly against it. Spiraling around again, Falco let the wings dip against the water’s surface, and boosted back into the air.

 “Ha, see that?” Falco grinned. “Now that’s how to really enjoy a flight!”

 “Falco, you’re insane.”

 “Maybe a little bit.” He forced the ship to climb upward. “Come on, let’s get a nice view of the sky, huh?”

 “Geez, Falco, cool it!”

 “Come on, you’re enjoying yourself, right?” Falco leaned in again. “You liked what you saw before, didn’t you?”

 “Well, yeah—”

 “Then trust me a little.”

 Sighing, Fox eased back against Falco, relenting. Blushing a bit, Falco brought the ship up further into the sky, before leveling it out. Slowing the pace, he and Fox gazed outside of the cockpit, admiring the dark clouds and studying their shapes.

 “There’s no way to travel like flying,” claimed Falco. “This kind of view is everything right…”

 “Yeah, it’s pretty great up here.” Fox smiled. “It’s been fun, Falco.”

 “Aw, you’re not bored already, are you?”

 “No, but, we should get back soon.”

 “Ah, fine, you do need your beauty sleep.” Falco brought the ship down in a nosedive. “Although…let’s pass back this way, so we can catch one more great view.”

 Though Fox opened his mouth to protest, he slowly closed it and let Falco guide them forward. He brought the Arwing back up, and it burst from a sea of clouds, emerging near Corneria City.

 Fox gawked and gazed at the city lights, enjoying the night view of skyscrapers and small buildings alike. Falco guided them around Corneria Command, soaring past the tower and back around, zipping away from the city once more.

 “Bet you hardly ever take the time to enjoy that view,” wagered Falco.

 “Well, I’ll admit that I don’t get to fly around like that, and…not as often as I’d like, no,” confessed Fox.

 “Thought so.” Falco nodded. “So, how about we make this more of a regular thing? Let me take you out when you’re done with being cooped up all night, and we can just fly off, enjoy the air, and take time to relax in Corneria’s skies.”

 “That sounds great, Falco, but…I don’t know.”

 “Figured you’d give me that answer.” Falco scoffed. “Never can let Fox out to relax for too long, huh?”

 “Look, it’s not—”

 “Nah, I get it. Let’s get back to the Great Fox.”

 Flying the ship onward once more, Falco guided the Arwing back to the flagship. He slowed the ship’s descent as they reached the hangar, and carefully landed it inside. Once it stopped, he sighed and released the controls, opening the pilot’s seat.

 “Safe and sound,” announced Falco. “Please watch your arms and legs as you exit the Arwing. Thank you for flying Air Falco, have a nice night.”

 “Adorable, thanks,” teased Fox, as he climbed from the cockpit. He waited on the ship’s edge, and turned back to Falco. “Are you coming?”

 “Uh, yeah, in a bit.” He smirked at Fox. “Ladies first, you know?”

 “Slippy’s right, you know how to ruin a good moment.”

 “Knew that twerp talked behind my back,” grumbled Falco. “Whatever, just hop down, and I’ll be out in a sec.”

 “No you won’t, I know this act.” Fox folded his arms. “You’re going to take off and go somewhere on your own, sulking about whatever has you in a mood right now, rather than coming out and talking to me about it instead.”

 “…Nothing gets past our great Fox, huh?” Falco scoffed. “Fine, yeah, maybe I wanted to go for a personal cruise next. Is that an issue? We don’t have anything else to do tomorrow.”

 “We don’t know that.”

 “Doesn’t matter, I’d be fine.” Falco shrugged. “It’s not like anyone can doubt my flying.”

 “That’s not the point,” argued Fox. “My issue is that you’re running off, again, rather than just talking about whatever it is that’s got you worked up.”

 “It’s you,” snapped Falco. “You’re the one that’s got me so ticked, ok?”

 “Why?” Fox swayed his tail as he watched Falco seethe. “What did I do?”

 “Just leave it be, Fox.” Falco groaned and dragged his wing over his face. “You go get some rest, I’ll go fly, and we’ll be good by morning.”

 “Falco, please!” Fox slid back into the ship. “I don’t like arguing with you, honest! Just tell me what’s wrong. What did I do, why did I make you angry?”

 “Look, I’m not really angry, or I wasn’t until right now!”

 “Then what is it?”

 “You’re not happy!” Falco through his arms in the air and flailed. “Fox, I took you out for a nice ride on a great night, and you just…I don’t know, had such a controlled reaction. It seemed like you enjoyed it, and I thought you’d let yourself go a little, but you just…I don’t know, you never cut loose!” Falco shook his head. “You’re so uptight, you have to stick to schedules, and you never…you never just enjoy a moment for what it is.”

 “…Falco, I’m sorry.” Fox dropped his head. “I did really have a nice time. It was something that I needed and I really appreciated you taking me out.” He sighed. “But I’m leading a team, and I have to be able to keep up with it. I’d love to stay out all night with you, but…I guess you’re right. I can’t shirk on my work.”

 “Fox—”

 “Look, if you want to go flying to clear your air, you can.” Fox spun around, sliding from the Arwing. “I’m sorry that I always bring out this sour side of you…”

 “Aw, don’t give me that. Fox.” Falco hopped up from his seat. “Hey, Fox!”

 Jumping from the Arwing, Falco chased after Fox, stopping him before he left the other Arwings. He tugged him back around and the two gazed quietly at one another for a moment. Falco pulled back, and glanced away, as Fox exhaled.

 “If you want to go—”

 “You already talked me out of it.”

 “Fine, sorry for that too.” Fox shrugged. “If you’re sure that you can handle it—”

 “No, no, you ruined it.” Falco flopped his wings, a few feathers flying off. “Look, I can’t leave you, because now I’m going to feel even worse after that guilt trip.”

 “Now you’re making me feel worse.”

 “But I’m not trying to!” Falco clasped his wings on Fox’s shoulders. “Look, I’m sorry too, ok? I just want you to be happy too, and then I got all huffy because I thought you weren’t enjoying yourself. You’re right, you do need to be at the top of your game, no matter what.” Falco exhaled and shook his head. “I’m selfish, ok? I want to go out and have a good time when we get a minute. That’s just…that’s me.”

 “That’s not you at all,” countered Fox. “You changed whatever plans you had the second I came down here. You went from going alone for a flight to taking me out for the night. Falco, that’s literally the opposite of selfish, that’s selfless.”

 “Yeah, but…I don’t know, I wanted to keep having a nice night with you.” Falco shrugged. “We never get to bond that much, and…I don’t know, I’m kind of jealous.”

 “Jealous? Of what?”

 “The others,” admitted Falco. “Both of them have had more history with you. Slippy’s been your buddy since you were kids, Peppy’s been in your life for pretty much the same amount of time or longer, and I…I don’t know, I wasn’t always.” Falco rubbed his beak. “I just, I don’t know, I want to fly solo a lot of times, but I…I like flying around with you too, Fox.” He huffed and turned away. “Now we know I’ve gone soft.”

 “Definitely.” Fox chuckled. “But, that…means a lot to me. You’re a valuable member of this team, Falco, regardless of history. And you mean a lot to me.” Fox blushed and smiled. “You’re more than just a pilot and teammate; you’ve become a great friend to me. And I’m hoping that goes beyond Star Fox.”

 “If it does for you, and it does for me, then it will.” Falco smirked. “This the part where we confess our feelings for each other, admit that we make each other’s hearts throb, and all of that mushy junk?”

 “…I, uh…well, I…”

 “I’m teasing, Fox.” Falco chuckled, but stopped as Fox rubbed his shoulder. “…Fox?”

 “Well, I doubt you’d be the one to make a first move,” determined Fox. “So, I might as well do it.”

 “What are you talking about?”

 “That mushy junk you mentioned, it’s…well, I guess I do feel some of that around you, sometimes,” confessed Fox. “Um…maybe more often than some of the time. Maybe a lot of times, but, it’s…if you’re not really—”

 “Whoa, whoa, back up, you’re not fooling around, are you?”

 “…No.” Fox shrugged. “I don’t know if that’s, or if I’m…to your interests, but…”

 “Wow, wait, y-yeah.” Falco’s face burned into a blush as he grinned to Fox. “You are definitely someone that I’m interested in Fox. And yes, in that way! I’m…w-well, I’m, y-you know…I play for that team?”

 “Smooth.”

 “Shut it, I’m trying to open up just for you.”

 “Then, go on.”

 “Look, I…ok, I-I admit it, I really wanted to make swoon and go crazy from tonight,” admitted Falco. “Me snapping before and, ah, and getting so worked up, I…I wanted you to tell m-me that you loved our night out, that you did want to do it more often, and that…that we could be…”

 “You’re adorable when you stammer, you know?”

 “Quit teasing me, Fox.”

 “Just spit it out, then, Falco.”

 “Fox, you make my heart throb, I’ve got the most ridiculous feelings for you, and I want to share all kinds of mushy junk and tender moments with you, even more nights like tonight, and I want to be yours, ok?” Falco threw his wings out. “There, that’s everything. You happy?”

 “You know, I did go first.”

 “First is the worst, second’s the best.” Falco smirked as Fox rolled his eyes. “So, uh, h-how about that one, Fox?”

 “Hmm. Well, I did have a nice night, and you did finally talk it out with me,” surmised Fox. “So…I think you earned this next part.”

 “What next—?”

 Falco choked on his next words, as Fox pressed his lips against his beak. He froze for a moment, and then wrapped his wings against Fox’s back, moving into the kiss. They pressed into one another for a minute or two before parting, just slightly.

 “…So that’s what it is.”

 “Like it?”

 “Almost as much as sliding your butt around on my lap,” teased Falco. “So, how often can I get my leader back into the Arwing, huh?”

 “Just for that, not often at all,” fired back Fox.

 “What?! You can’t be serious.” Falco pushed back into Fox, who smirked and chuckled. “Don’t do that to me!”

 “Come on, you asked for it.”

 “All I asked for was you.”

 “And you got me.”

 “…Yeah, I did.” Falco beamed. “And you got me, too.”

 They rested in one another’s arms for a little while longer, teasing and flirting with each other. After a little while, though, Fox yawned, and prompted Falco to guide him back into the ship, heading in together for the night.

[micromanclub]

DIACLONE STORY (via: http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/diaclone/story/) ACT 4: LandMaster’s Critical Moment! Previous: ACT 3

The news of both the renewed Waruder invasion and the annihilation of the Mars Zone shook all of the Zones to their very core.

The observation post at Space Station CX-1, orbiting 100,000 km above the Earth, detected the sub-spatial reaction of the Waruder space fortress materializing in the Earth’s sky.  Directly below was MetraZone Tokyo City.  It was clear their target was LandMaster, the great central electronic “brain” that managed all of the Macro Zones.

Sirens blared throughout Tokyo City.  The Zone City’s maximum level attack warning “Signal 11” was officially declared.

Tokyo City engaged its defenses, and a gravitational deflector shield was instantly deployed from the outer wall of the main facilities, as all transportation halted and citizens were evacuated into bomb shelters.

“The Waruder force is approaching!  All hands prepare for combat!”

The Diaclone capital defense corps converged around the city’s central dome which housed LandMaster, and helped with the evacuation of the citizens while preparing for the Waruders’ attack from above.

◇　◇　◇

In a terrible flash of light, the beams of destruction rained down upon Tokyo City.  The Waruders had started their operation to destroy LandMaster.  The ominous form of the space fortress could be seen through breaks in the clouds up in the stratosphere, bristling with the strange and myriad gun turrets that radiated from every part of its hull bombarding the city with their barrage of lethal rays.

LandMaster shifted into defensive mode, and the central dome retracted immediately down a large shaft to the evacuation area concealed 1000 meters below the city surface, as massive battle vehicles emerged on the ground one after another in sequence.  The trump card of the capital defense, a battalion of twelve great Robot Bases! While the bombardment from the sky intensified and shook the ground, the twelve massive machines reconfigured from tank to battle mode, with cannons equipped on both arms.  

“Defend LandMaster with your lives!”

The Robot Base battalion opened fire with their Freezon Beam Cannons from 24 barrels in unison as the Diaclone Corps intercepted the space fortress!

◇　◇　◇

The continuous gunfire of the super-dreadnought cannons, which could each take out a mountain in a single shot, gradually whittled away the gun emplacements on the space fortress, finally putting an end to the bombardment.  Seizing the chance for a victory, all the Diaclone machines of the metropolitan defense line switched to full-on attack mode and started to converge upon the Waruder fortress, which had remained silent.

But it had been a cunning trap by the Waruder forces.

A gate spiraled open underneath the fortress as if welcoming the the charge of the Diaclone Corps and from it all the Waruder war machines descended upon them all at once.

The invading Waruder forces entered firing range of the newly developed laser blasters of the Diaclone mecha and were gunned down one after another by the fearsome and overpowering strength of the mobilized Robot Base battalion.

However, the continuous rapid firing of the Freezon Beam Cannon had consumed vast amounts of energy and the Robot Bases’ rapidly deteriorating combative power posed little threat to the Waruder attackers.  The relentless blasters of clusters of attacking Waruder Machines assaulted them with waves, and even fighting back with Freezon Missiles and Maser cannon-fire, the massive figures gradually were covered in gaping wounds.  

At last, the machines of the invading Waruder raiders penetrated the heart of Tokyo City, surrounding the evacuation gate to LandMaster’s dome to menace its defending walls.  The walls melted in an instant under the concentrated fire of the laser blasters, exposing LandMaster and putting the entire MacroZone into the most desparate situation imaginable!  ….Yet at this moment, a Waruder Machine suddenly exploded, and the surrounding forces scrambled as yet more machines exploded again and again in rapid succession, scattering them as their siege broke up and dissolved.

The strafing fire came from a mysterious battle machine which dove from the sky at incredible speed.

The fighter craft with wings of steel pulled up at the last second, nearly grazing the ground with its nose, blasting the wreckage of the the Waruder Machines as it hurled by in a great arc and soared back upward.

A mysterious group of fighters engaged the Waruder saucers in aerial combat, while on the ground more of the aircraft changed to humanoid and less familiar combat forms and engaged the Waruder forces as a platoon. With both solid armor repelling the fierce barrage of laser blasters and stronger armament than the enemy’s, the mysterious fighters downed one Waruder Machine after another, and the Waruder forces were swept away instantly.

The tide of battle turned completely, in preparation for the second wave of Waruder attacks, the unidentified war machines transformed into flight mode and began to engage the space fortress above in the sky, assembling into a V-shaped formation.  However, after slowly rising to the edge of the stratosphere, the fortress activated their sub-space drive and vanished from known space.

◇　◇　◇

Tokyo City’s crisis had ended.  Signal 11 was rescinded and as LandMaster resurfaced and the fortresses withdrew, an interstellar signal was intercepted from the region of the dark nebula.

The giant space fortress which had failed was only the advance guard sent to determine the Earth’s war potential--the main body of the force was still stationed in the large dark nebula deep in the unknown far side of the galaxy, well beyond the reach of the human race for now! (To be continued in ACT 5!)

[grinbrothers]

Star Fox 0 Part 10: My Screen Went Black! - Grin Brothers

The Grin Brothers play Star Fox Zero. Souldin doesn't watch Steven Universe (but talks about it), Raphaham loves game art-books.

Date Made: 27/3/2018

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCFgLZmjBeMCt-QbSoDhVA Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrinBrothers

[phgq]

Property developer exec hopeful on hitting 10% revenue goal

#PHnews: Property developer exec hopeful on hitting 10% revenue goal

MANILA – An official of Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) remains optimistic about a 10-percent revenue jump this 2020 amidst the pandemic, saying construction works in its various projects continued even during the quarantine period.

 In a virtual briefing Monday, CLI executive vice president and chief operating officer Jose Franco Soberano said the company turned over several projects in recent months as they resumed construction works by about 90 to 100 percent after quarantine measures were eased.

 “We are on-track to hit our year-end guidance, which we provided in the second quarter, of plus or minus 10 percent versus last year’s performance,” he said.

 Last year, the Cebu-based real estate developer reported a 21-percent rise in net income to PHP2.01 billion, surpassing its PHP2-billion target.

 As of end-September this year, the company reported a net income of PHP1.5 billion.

 Total revenues reached PHP5.709 billion, lower than the PHP5.947 billion in the same period last year, which Soberano said is “not unique” for the company given the impact of the pandemic.

 He said they have remaining projects to be launched this quarter and these are already in the final part of regulatory compliance.

 For 2021, Soberano said they plan to launch about 13 to 15 projects since most of their current projects are already 90 to 100 percent sold.

 “Real estate is in a position to bounce back strongly,” he said, citing CLI’s capacity to hit record sales in the first nine months this year despite the pandemic.

 During the same event, CLI  director Beauregard Grant Cheng said the company is still faring well amidst the challenging environment.

 “While Cebu Landmasters was affected just like everyone else in the industry during the pandemic, in terms of the slowdown in our performance, you can see that we still performed relatively well,” he said, attributing this to the company’s ability to “navigate the local regulatory environment.”

 Based on market segment, the company’s mid-market projects accounted for the bulk of the sales in the third quarter at 40 percent, followed by the economic sector, high-end, and the socialized housing projects.

 By location, projects in Cebu remain the major driver with a share of 50 percent followed by those from Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, and Bohol.

 Cheng said reservation sales gave a big boost on the company’s revenues, especially those coming from the Casa Mira Iloilo, Velmiro Greens Bohol, and Casa Mira Towers Mandaue.

 He is optimistic about surpassing their 2019 reservation sales given the robust business this year.

 The company’s total assets as of end-September this year amounted to PHP48.18 billion, higher than the PHP38.28 billion in end-December 2019.

 Liabilities increased to PHP34.01 billion from end-2019’s PHP24.54 billion. (PNA)

   ***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Property developer exec hopeful on hitting 10% revenue goal." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122018 (accessed November 17, 2020 at 04:27AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Property developer exec hopeful on hitting 10% revenue goal." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122018 (archived).