Ten years ago today, Star Fox Assault was released for the GameCube in America (February 14, 2005). Ten days after that, it would be released in Japan (February 24, 2005). The rest of the world followed in April 2005. Released almost two and a half years after Star Fox Adventures, the game represented a return to earlier Star Fox game mechanics. Fox returned to his Arwing and Landmaster, with some levels being on foot. However, the game focused exclusively on shooting mechanics unlike Star Fox Adventure's action-RPG style exploration, item-collecting, and melee combat mechanics. The game would be Krystal's second outing in a Star Fox game.

Character-wise, Peppy retired officially from his Arwing piloting days to take on a more advisory role in his old age. Slippy retained his mechanical ability, and we got to see his predecessor, Beltino Toad, for the first time. Falco had rejoined the team as Fox's wingman as if his long absence prior to Star Fox Adventures had never happened. Krystal had joined the Star Fox team and shown herself a quick study when it came to piloting and modern combat tactics. Her expertise with extrasensory perception gave the team advanced warning of danger on multiple occasions. Finally, Star Fox Assault would mark the first time that Andross was not in a Star Fox game. The Aparoids, a hive-mind controlled species of bio-mechanical insects took the stage as the villain.

During this game, we saw Fox and Krystal's developing relationship, such as it was, with much romantic banter between them. This would later allow the strange relationship troubles discussed in the opening of Star Fox Command.

Graphically, Star Fox Assault, felt sharp and modern thanks to a distinct visual style that emphasized the futuristic nature of the vehicles and locations. In spite of this, the game was graphically inferior to Star Fox Adventures on many counts. Mechanically, the game played well, but was less polished than earlier Star Fox games. The audio, however, was quite good, some scores being done orchestrally. Star Fox Assault was a collaboration between Nintendo, who published the game, and Namco, who developed it.

The schedule has officially been posted for Furry Fiesta 2015. Stop by 6PM Central Time, February 20th in Panel Room 2 (F2 : Spectrum). Panel Page

Ayano sent me an email last night to confirm that Krystal will be in attendance at the panel at Furry Fiesta with her gatling gun. There was some question about whether the gun would be allowed through the airport security.

Included were some photos that I'm allowed to share with you. They show off a sneak-peak appearance at Wonder Festival 2015. This is the almost complete Star Fox Assault suit (the belt is missing). Check them out below.

Sorry the audio version took so long. Time and troubles conspired against me. Namely, the audio solution I use for editing podcasts (GarageBand) has removed the features I need to actually edit said podcasts. I will have to research new software packages. Any recommendations?

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Show Notes

Furry Fiesta (Dallas furry convention) is just 15 days away! As mentioned in earlier posts, I will be hosting a panel where I will do a live recording of Episode 35 of the Krystal Archive Podcast with high resolution video. I've been very hard at work on some special surprises!

When I was initially trying to figure out what to show at the panel, I had a pipe-dream of a bunch of stuff I could reveal. I knew it would be a ton of work and probably impossible, but I tried anyway. I'm proud to announce that I have already achieved about 90% of that pipe-dream. The hour-long podcast panel is going to be almost completely full of brand new stuff! I'm super-excited to show you guys, you don't even know!

Juggling this many projects has been difficult and kept me from updating the site very much lately, sorry about that. Once you see what I have in store for you, I think you'll understand where all my time has been going. For now, I need to make what I already have presentable. Maybe I'll even have time to work on the other 10%.

In addition to all the new stuff, Ayano plans to drop by in the Assault Krystal cosplay with the gatling gun and everything. I'll also have a lot to say about recent developments with Star Fox: Event Horizon, Star Fox for the Wii U, and the 10th anniversary of Star Fox Assault.

The schedule for Furry Fiesta is still up in the air, but it looks fairly certain that my panel will be on Friday night at 6PM, February 20th. It could change, but probably not.

I have already received word that at least one of the site readers will be present at the panel. You're going to want to try and make it if you can. I don't know how well I will be able to broadcast the panel live over the internet, if at all. At the very least, I don't think you will be able to see the same thing the audience will see, which will have a significant detrimental impact on the quality. But don't worry, I will be recording the show with a high resolution camera from the audience's perspective and edit it together keynote-style after the fact.

Lastly, I already have a hotel room at the convention hotel. If you were considering splitting the hotel room with someone, I may be able to help. If you are interested in splitting a two-bed hotel room at the InterContinental Dallas, please get in contact with me.

With much rejoicing, UndyingNephalim has released the second demo of Star Fox: Event Horizon. This version comes complete with a narrated tutorial level to learn the controls, as well as numerous new characters, playable levels, and vehicles.

• Download from ModDB!
• Download from Krystal Archive
  Out of date download removed. Check the Star Fox: Event Horizon Page for the latest version download.

I think I know why people don't usually do video podcasts. They take forever to edit! Anyway, here's the edited (slightly nicer) version of episode 34. I even put in a hastily made intro video. Perhaps I'll reserve future video podcasts for special occasions. Anyway, I'll post the audio version soon for those of you who like to listen on your phones and iPods.

Continuing with our theme of posting news a few days late, UndyingNephalim posted video of his tutorial level for Star Fox: Event Horizon in which James McCloud teaches a young Fox how to pilot his Arwing. This is the first view I've seen of the game with full voice acting. It also confirms just how much stuff there is to learn for the game!

UndyingNephalim mentioned in the description that a new playable demo is coming soon. I'll try to host it when it becomes available (with his permission of course).

Mr. Miyamoto stopped by Smosh Games to play a round of Mario Kart 8 and do a short interview. Mr. Miyamoto spoke about Star Fox on a couple occasions during the video.

6:24 - Takaya Imamura (Artwork Designer at Nintendo) is working closely with Mr. Miyamoto on the new Star Fox game. They worked together on the original Star Fox and F-Zero games for the SNES. Jokingly, Mr. Miyamoto explained the reason he did not win the Mario Kart races was because he has been spending all his time playing the new Star Fox.

13:34 - Star Fox Wii U will be playable at E3 2015. Having the two screens really works well for the gameplay. They plan to make the TV's image be more cinematic and cutscene-like, yet retaining full control of the action with the gamepad screen. (It's implied that looking around the cockpit is done by physically moving the gamepad, which is how many current Wii U games handle camera controls.)

Thanks to Kevin and GoNintendo for the heads up.

On this day in 2006, the Krystal Archive launched. Many adventures have been had, many lessons have been learned, and many new things are just around the corner. Thank you all for coming with me on this journey. I hope you will continue to ride with me as we approach our next major milestone: the 10 year anniversary of the Krystal Archive.

Pardon Our Dust