Great Fox

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This article is about the large aircraft present in most Star Fox games. For its replacement vehicle in Star Fox Command, see Great Fox (Star Fox Command).

The Great Fox is a large aircraft carrier featured in the Star Fox series. It serves as the main headquarters for Fox and the Star Fox team while they travel around the Lylat System. Because of its massive size, the Great Fox can store smaller vehicles within it, most often Arwings, and serves as a carrier and a repair facility in between missions. ROB 64 oversees the operation of the Great Fox, especially while Star Fox is on a mission. The Great Fox first appears in Star Fox 64.

Great Fox has four wings to stabilize it during flight, much like an Arwing, and it is equipped with two giant laser cannons. Despite being a massive spacecraft, the Great Fox is capable of quick travel. At the bottom of it is a hatch where the Arwings are deployed.

History

Star Fox series

Early history

In the Nintendo Power guide for Star Fox 64, it is said that James McCloud placed the order to Space Dynamics to build the Great Fox. He had to take out an eighty-year loan due to the high cost of production. James disappeared at Venom before the Great Fox was finished.

Star Fox 64

In Star Fox 64, the Great Fox serves as a carrier and a repair facility for the Arwings. It also acts in a logistical capacity when ROB 64 decides to send a Supply Crate to the stage.

The Great Fox has a weapon system in the form of two powerful laser cannons that can fire in a limited arc ahead of it. These are powerful enough to blow apart asteroids and heavily damage the massive battleships guarding Area 6. The Great Fox can endure various environments, and is able to enter a planetary atmosphere and land at a planet-side spaceport. Furthermore, the Great Fox has a limited aquatic capability as shown in Aquas, where it drifting partially submerged in the ocean to deploy the Blue-Marine from its hangar. In an opening cutscene for Meteo, the Great Fox is hit by an asteroid but is otherwise unaffected by it. Due to its large size, the Great Fox is poor at maneuverability.

In Sector Z, the Great Fox plays a larger role. It is under attack from various missiles fired out from Venom. Because the Great Fox cannot hit the incoming missiles from the side, Fox and his wingmates are tasked with destroying six missiles headed its way. In this mission, if Fox aligns his Arwing with the rear docking bay of the Great Fox, his Arwing flies in then out of the frontal, lower docking bay, with both wings and shields fully repaired. If Fox fails to destroy a missile, the Great Fox has one of its four wings destroyed, crippling it and rendering it unable to provide cover-fire in Area 6.

Star Fox Adventures

In Star Fox Adventures, the Great Fox has a smaller role, as it mainly appears in the opening and ending cutscenes. The Great Fox is shown to be in a state of repair because the Star Fox team cannot afford to maintain it. The power of the engines have also decreased considerably, and the ship is only able to drift, producing a ring of flames from its boosters as it does so. The command bridge is used mostly for the Star Fox crew to lounge around, with only a small part being dedicated to operating the Great Fox.

Star Fox: Assault

In Star Fox: Assault, the Great Fox has a different appearance than in Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Adventures. It was made to resemble a frigate, with its body being more pointed and its head being elongated. The Great Fox now has a long-range transfer system that can send down Arwings and Landmasters immediately. The command bridge is used specifically for mission briefings, and is not used for leisure like in Star Fox Adventures.

During the final battle over the Aparoid Homeworld, the Great Fox becomes infected by the Aparoids, and it is unable to fight off the Aparoids due to only having a laser cannon in front. This allowed the Aparoids to cling on other parts of the ship. The Great Fox is soon destroyed when Peppy Hare heroically sacrifices the ship (and nearly himself in the process) to destroy the anti-laser shield blocking the main entrance to the core of the Aparoid Homeworld. The bridge is shown to still be intact due to seemingly having an escape pod function.

In Versus Mode, the Great Fox is featured as one of the multiplayer stages, although the characters can only fly outside it for air battles.

Star Fox Command

In Star Fox Command, following the destruction of the original Great Fox, it is replaced with a ship of the same name.

Super Smash Bros. series

In the Super Smash Bros. series, several of the Star Fox-themed stages take place on the Great Fox traveling through an area.

In Super Smash Bros., the stage Sector Z involves the Great Fox traveling through the area of the same name.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the two Star Fox stages are Corneria and Venom, which feature the fighters fighting on the Great Fox as it travels through Corneria and Venom respectively. The Great Fox is also briefly shown in the opening cinematic, where it is shown alongside the Blue Falcon and Gunship. There is also a trophy of the Great Fox, which incorrectly lists its debut appearance as Star Fox instead of Star Fox 64.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, although Lylat Cruise takes place on Pleiades, the Great Fox can be seen in the stage's background. There are two trophies of the Great Fox, one of them using its Star Fox 64 design and the other using its Star Fox: Assault design.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Orbital Gate Assault takes place on the Great Fox, which is designed after its Star Fox: Assault appearance instead of its Star Fox 64 design since the stage itself is based on Star Fox: Assault.