Star Fox Command

Following the release of Star Fox: Assault (Assault) on the GameCube, a new Star Fox game, Star Fox Command (Command), was developed for Nintendo’s then-new DS system and released early in the system’s life cycle. Admittedly, I didn’t have much interest in this game at first, but I ended up investing in a physical copy, partly to fill the unsightly gap in my Star Fox collection after realizing it was the only game I didn’t own in any capacity and partly to complete my experience with the timeline started by Star Fox 64 (64). Rather notably, said timeline represents a more experimental era in Star Fox history, with each subsequent game after 64 attempting to bring something new to the table to stand out. In the case of Command, its most notable feature is its use of multiple endings, as well as a unique control scheme based around the DS touchscreen, making it stand out from even the radically different Star Fox Adventures (Adventures) and Assault. While these are interesting ideas in theory, the end result unfortunately falls a little short in practice.

Following the defeat of Andross by Star Fox, the planet Venom was placed under quarantine by Cornerian forces. Despite this, the Anglar forces of Venom, led by the Anglar Emperor, launched a counterattack on Corneria. However, the members of Star Fox disbanded in the interim, leaving Fox McCloud to reassemble his team as best he can as he takes on the Anglar forces alone.

Beyond this, the game boasts nine different endings determined by your choices, the idea being that you as the player get to choose what you think is the best ending. However, accessing this feature requires playing the game more than once, as the first playthrough locks you out of selecting story options and railroads you into one of the endings, known as “The Anglar Emperor”, after which you unlock the Key of Destiny that allows you to finally decide for yourself. This approach arguably brings the intent of the multiple endings feature into question, not helped by a Star Fox timeline in Nintendo Power magazine #261 at least implying that this ending is canon. While I was only able to handle one playthrough for reasons I will go into later, I did look into what these other endings were before and after completing said playthrough and personally find the ending “Goodbye, Fox” to make the most sense, not only due to it being the arguable “best” ending, but also because it feels like the most logical conclusion to Fox and Krystal’s relationship, even following up on dialogue in one cutscene in Assault, as well as presenting some interesting potential for a sequel story.

The core gameplay is similar to the more non-linear style of previous Star Fox Missions, but with a unique spin. As mentioned previously, the control scheme makes heavy use of the DS touchscreen. Not only do you steer and aim your ship using the stylus, you can roll the stylus across the touchscreen to perform a barrel roll, which also magnetizes nearby cores and powerups to your location. Additionally, speeding and braking are done by respectfully tapping the upper and lower edges of the touchscreen. Aerial maneuvers can also be done by tapping a button on the screen, and bombs work by dragging them from your supply onto a desired spot on the map, but each playable character has different limits on how many bombs they can carry. As for firing, this can be done by pressing any button on the system itself.

 

The gameplay is very touchscreen-heavy.

On paper, this is a clever way of circumventing the DS’ limitations, chiefly the lack of any sticks, but in practice, this can quickly lead to wrist pain or discomfort depending on how you position your arm while holding the device. I’m not sure how much of it was me playing the game on a New Nintendo 3DS XL, which makes the touchscreen-heavy control scheme feel even more awkward, but this quickly led to wrist pain that limited my play sessions, and thus I felt I could only handle a single playthrough of the game as of this writing. This also made me consider whether the game might feel more comfortable to play using an older model 3DS and a Circle Pad Pro attachment, but I do not currently have the means to test that hypothesis for myself.

Outside of combat, Command stands out from other Star Fox games by framing it through elements of a strategy game. Each Mission has a set number of turns in which you must complete your objective, as well as a time limit shared between combat encounters, running out of either of which results in failure. Before declaring your turn, you can plan your attack by drawing the flight path of each of your ships, with unlimited redraws before you commit, however you only have a limited amount of fuel, which can be extended by hitting bases along the way. You can also clear away the literal fog of war by drawing on it with the stylus, but you have a limited amount you can clear away each turn that doesn’t reset. Clearing away fog can be useful for revealing enemy units or bases, as well as items you can pick up along your flight path. Destroying enemy motherships also grants additional time and turns, and every 5 (cumulative) extra turns grants you an extra life at the end of a mission.

 

The most accurate screencap of this portion that I could find.

A major part of your strategy is also making sure enemies and missiles don’t reach the Great Fox, which also results in failure. You can pick up missiles that can be used to shut down enemies that get too close, the mechanics of which involve aiming with the stylus, but these come in short supply, so you have to use them wisely.

For an early DS game, the graphics hold up pretty nicely, with every ship, enemy and item having unique silhouettes to help them stand out even on a smaller screen. The turn-planning portion of each mission also has a very clean UI that encourages a great amount of interactivity and strategy. In a nice detail, each playable character’s touchscreen UI also has a unique appearance that reflects their personality and ship. Notably, unlike most other games in the Star Fox 64 timeline, Command has the characters speak in gibberish rather than full voice acting, even including the option to have said gibberish be based on a recording of your own voice (a feature I did not try), which is executed in a way that doesn’t sound annoying.

Even in the more experimental phase of the Star Fox franchise, Star Fox Command is one of the most unique entries with its gameplay and choice-based narrative styles. Although I would still recommend it to those looking to complete their Star Fox experience, caution should be taken while playing it due to potential physical strain on the arms.