Team Star Fox call in Krystal for Smash!

[Guybrush20X6]

I think the best way to bring Krystal back into a Standard Star Fox game would be to have Dinosaur Planet/Sauria as a level and have her debut in it. Either flying a Cloudrunner or in her own ship. Krystal's backstory in the original (well, the post SNES) continuity goes nowhere, beyond the implication that Andross was responsible for her planet being destroyed at least, so either tying her closer to DP/Sauria or giving her an entirely new one wouldn't go amiss. Just as long as they keep her powers and staff fighting intact.

 

[jordansweeto]

I can definitely see where you're coming from about Star Fox 2, cancelled games are a slap in the face too.

Strictly speaking about Krystal and all the new things they have introduced to the series though, if they wanted to reboot them out of the series they should of done so a long time ago I think.
Star Fox fans have had over a DECADE to love and grow attached to the new characters/etc that have been introduced since Adventures.
Almost half of all Star Fox games have included Krystal as a team member (with the other half being mostly made up of remakes).
To cut her at this stage just doesn't feel right at all.

The good thing is that Krystal is a hugely popular character and I'm sure Nintendo are more than aware of this.. let's just hope they acknowledge it and keep her in the series to stay.
In the mean time it's important to keep her support alive and very vocal.

 

[Luminario]

In fairness, those of us who liked the SNES continuity had our faces slapped big-time, twice, with a major game cancellation with poor excuses surrounding it (Star Fox 64 is nothing like Star Fox 2 and retains almost nothing from it, and a 1995 release would never have detracted from the series' debut on the N64) and a reboot, and we just had to live with it - nobody ever speaks up about that.

Still, I agree. Throwing out an established continuity is bad no matter which way it happens. This newest instance of it came after they didn't even try to stabilise and grow things.

In spite of what people say about it, it would've been easy enough to deal with Command's multiple endings - they just had to pick one and stick with it*. Other series that have multiple endings never have this problem with continual reboots, after all!

*My personal favourite is "Fox and Falco's Faulty Victory", incidentally, but there's no way they'd choose that as a point of continuation for the next game.

If we're being completely honest here, I loved the Krystal ending where she becomes the bounty hunter Kursed. Never make that one canon though.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

If we're being completely honest here, I loved the Krystal ending where she becomes the bounty hunter Kursed. Never make that one canon though.

I think several of the ones where we see the what-might-have-beens for certain characters are quite interesting. You certainly wouldn't want to make any of them canonical, though, you're right.

I actually think that one of my least-favourites is the one where Fox and Krystal retired and had a son, though. Reason being, you just end up with a new Star Fox Team, without most of the main characters in it. I found the notion of "Everyone gets replaced and Falco fills Peppy's role" a bit of a let-down for the ostensible "best" ending, because I have no reason to care about Marcus McCloud and his friends.

 

[Delzethin]

If we're being completely honest here, I loved the Krystal ending where she becomes the bounty hunter Kursed. Never make that one canon though.

I think several of the ones where we see the what-might-have-beens for certain characters are quite interesting. You certainly wouldn't want to make any of them canonical, though, you're right.

I actually think that one of my least-favourites is the one where Fox and Krystal retired and had a son, though. Reason being, you just end up with a new Star Fox Team, without most of the main characters in it. I found the notion of "Everyone gets replaced and Falco fills Peppy's role" a bit of a let-down for the ostensible "best" ending, because I have no reason to care about Marcus McCloud and his friends.

Most of Command's alternate endings were...weird. Let's just leave it at that.

 

[Kirbeh]

Can we make the ending where Fox and Falco become racers canon though? Can we actually have them race. You know. In that one game...

Spoiler

I just want a new F-Zero. ;-;

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Can we make the ending where Fox and Falco become racers canon though? Can we actually have them race. You know. In that one game...

Spoiler

I just want a new F-Zero. ;-;

Personally I want Nintendo to drop the pretence from the next Mario Kart game and call it Mario Kart All Stars or something. Even if we stick with First Party only there's loads of Nintendo characters they can add.

Zelda, Ganondorf, Toon Link, Samus, Captain Falcon, all of Team Star Fox, Pit, Palutena, Olimar, ROB (again), Little Mac, Wii Fit Trainer, heck let's throw in the Duck Hunt dog.

 

[Tortilla Noggin]

Can we make the ending where Fox and Falco become racers canon though? Can we actually have them race. You know. In that one game...

Spoiler

I just want a new F-Zero. ;-;

I'm all for it. That's still my favourite ending in the entire game.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Well guess who's the latest fictional character to earn the ire of the queen of ear hoops?

 

[Kirbeh]

Well guess who's the latest fictional character to earn the ire of the queen of ear hoops?

I was confused for a moment, but now I think I know who you mean, and I wish I didn't. She spouts nothing but bs. What's her baseless beef this time?

 

[Luminario]

Well guess who's the latest fictional character to earn the ire of the queen of ear hoops?

Thanks to Kirbeh's post I'm assuming you meant Anita? Krystal was brought up in a video ages ago and she's not wrong, Krystal was dressed in nothing but a bra and a loincloth and gets thrown into the damsel in distress role pretty early on in the game. Even in later games she's still sexualised (The pin-up poses from Assault's artwork come to mind along with the boob cups). The only reason Krystal was mentioned again was because someone said they **** over her and it evolved into a meme.

I'm hoping that if Krystal gets into smash she'll have a redesign where she gets a jacket like Fox and Falco and loses the weird boob cup outfits. She deserves better.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

I was confused for a moment, but now I think I know who you mean, and I wish I didn't. She spouts nothing but bs. What's her baseless beef this time?

A games journo joked about her attractiveness (in less than family friendly language) and that triggered her, or whoever she pays to run her Twitter account, hard.

 

[Luminario]

A games journo joked about her attractiveness (in less than family friendly language) and that triggered her, or whoever she pays to run her Twitter account, hard.

Oh come on, They made like 3 tweets about it and that's it.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Oh come on, They made like 3 tweets about it and that's it.

Well it was enough for someone to get a Knowyourmeme page out of. :shrug:

 

[Kirbeh]

Ok, let's not derail the thread with an argument (I know you guys aren't but let's not risk reaching that point if more people join in) over Anita of all people. I shouldn't have asked, my bad.

Back to Krystal though, what sort of origin would you guys like her to have if they do bring her into the new continuity? Something completely new, or something partly based off of what was established in SFA?

I'd actually like a remake of SFA tbh. Never played any of the SF games as I've said before, but I think it'd be nice for them to make a spin-off out of it where you actually play through the whole thing as Krystal and find a different way of tying it into the SF canon without shoehorning Fox into an Adventure that feels out of place for him.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

As I've said before, I think they should either completely rewrite her or take her SFA origin, but change it so she's been on the planet for some time (which would explain the outfit a bit better.) Her powers are never given a clear explanation as far as I know so we don't know if it's a thing all Cernians could do or if it's her thing. I'm gonna guess, her thing, because there's less "why didn't they see that coming" involved in her backstory.

 

[Luminario]

Ok, let's not derail the thread with an argument (I know you guys aren't but let's not risk reaching that point if more people join in) over Anita of all people. I shouldn't have asked, my bad.

Back to Krystal though, what sort of origin would you guys like her to have if they do bring her into the new continuity? Something completely new, or something partly based off of what was established in SFA?

You're right it's 100% not a good idea to go down that specific rabbit hole.

I'd prefer it if they didn't try to stick with a really strict new timeline. I'd just like them to continue on with the next game with all the gang from Assault saving the Lylat System once again from a new threat, hopefully with new info on Krystal's backstory.

 

[ryuu seika]

Thanks to Kirbeh's post I'm assuming you meant Anita? Krystal was brought up in a video ages ago and she's not wrong, Krystal was dressed in nothing but a bra and a loincloth and gets thrown into the damsel in distress role pretty early on in the game. Even in later games she's still sexualised (The pin-up poses from Assault's artwork come to mind along with the boob cups). The only reason Krystal was mentioned again was because someone said they **** over her and it evolved into a meme.

Krystal is a classic bait and switch. Yes, she starts the game as a damsel in distress combined with your tutorial guide but she ends up proving herself capable of just about everything except accepting help from a stranger. Unfortunately, having asked for that help, this makes her kind of a **** but it does kickstart her development into an actual character and not just a classic videogame princess prize.
As guybrush20X6 points out, though, her most well known outfit looks like it's native to an underdeveloped jungle civilisation like Sauria's, not a spacefaring race. It seems out of place once we learn her backstory and should definitely be changed or given a damn good explanation in any reboot.

Can we make the ending where Fox and Falco become racers canon though? Can we actually have them race. You know. In that one game...

Spoiler

I just want a new F-Zero. ;-;

I'm sorry but that contradicts current F-Zero canon. It's James McCloud who appears, piloting a modified space fighter to earn money and secretly fund his son's entry into the family bounty hunting business.

 

[Luminario]

Krystal is a classic bait and switch. Yes, she starts the game as a damsel in distress combined with your tutorial guide but she ends up proving herself capable of just about everything except accepting help from a stranger. Unfortunately, having asked for that help, this makes her kind of a **** but it does kickstart her development into an actual character and not just a classic videogame princess prize.
As guybrush20X6 points out, though, her most well known outfit looks like it's native to an underdeveloped jungle civilisation like Sauria's, not a spacefaring race. It seems out of place once we learn her backstory and should definitely be changed or given a damn good explanation in any reboot.

Krystal in Adventures is rather comparable to Zelda in most of her recent mainstream titles. They're shown as more than capable of going on adventures and having playable status, but are usually thrown into being unplayable and helpless and require help from the main guys to get out of the situation even when the stories can easily be written to have them both as playable throughout the game. I'm so glad that Assault solidified Krystal's position as a main reoccurring character (besides in Zero for obvious reasons). Let's just hope it doesn't take them too long to either have her in the game again or to reboot her introduction.

 

[jordansweeto]

I honestly don't think Nintendo need to go as far as to re-introduce Krystal into the series.

I think they just need to continue the cannon from where Assault left off. Just give Krystal more instances in the next game where she can prove to be useful.
She's a telepath, a skilled pilot AND a capable fighter (with both magic and a staff no less, super unique!)
Surely with all of these traits they can do a better job of showing that off in the next game.

We know she's heavily implied to be a capable character and her backstory isn't something I think they need to 'fix'.
The backstory of Andross destroying her home planet and killing her parents is as strong a motive as any of the other Star Fox members.

The series just needs to be expanded on, story-wise AND gameplay.

 

[N3ON]

I'm still kinda salty thinking that Platinum developed a Star Fox and it turned out to be Zero.

I wonder if it soured them to tackle one in the future, should the opportunity present itself. Because I can't imagine Zero really aligned with their vision of the IP. Yet they'd be right at the top of the list of devs I'd want making a Star Fox. Plus I imagine they'd probably stick Krystal in it, should they be the ones to helm it.

 

[jordansweeto]

I'm still kinda salty thinking that Platinum developed a Star Fox and it turned out to be Zero.

I wonder if it soured them to tackle one in the future, should the opportunity present itself. Because I can't imagine Zero really aligned with their vision of the IP. Yet they'd be right at the top of the list of devs I'd want making a Star Fox. Plus I imagine they'd probably stick Krystal in it, should they be the ones to helm it.

I've spoken with members of Platinum before on Twitter and they've said that if they get the chance to work on the next entry in the series they would love to include Krystal.
So I think I'd also be fine with them working on the next game too, as long as it tries something new and advances the series unlike Zero.

Who knows how long it will be until the next game though. Let's hope its sooner rather than later and that a team who supports Krystal's inclusion like Platinum will be working on it!

 

[Delzethin]

I honestly don't think Nintendo need to go as far as to re-introduce Krystal into the series.

I think they just need to continue the cannon from where Assault left off. Just give Krystal more instances in the next game where she can prove to be useful.
She's a telepath, a skilled pilot AND a capable fighter (with both magic and a staff no less, super unique!)
Surely with all of these traits they can do a better job of showing that off in the next game.

We know she's heavily implied to be a capable character and her backstory isn't something I think they need to 'fix'.
The backstory of Andross destroying her home planet and killing her parents is as strong a motive as any of the other Star Fox members.

The series just needs to be expanded on, story-wise AND gameplay.

Yeah, it feels like she's been highly underutilized. Just her powers and proficiency with Cerinian magic alone make her the Star Fox equivalent of a jedi! And yet...they haven't done a whole lot with that.

I guess it's a side effect of how the developers haven't really had a good feel for what they want the series to grow into.

 

[RetroGamersGuru]

I wouldn't mind some additional explanations on her backstory if they start suddenly rewriting stuff (even though I don't really want them to considering how SF Zero turned out). As long as they maintain her capability in fighting on her own and continue using her as a main character, I'm good. Besides, I'm an oddball who enjoys Star Fox Assault and Star Fox 2 (at least the prototype) as much as Star Fox 64. That said, I still support her inclusion with her magic alongside Wolf even though they are not my top 5 picks (of course top 10).

 

[jordansweeto]

Yeah, it feels like she's been highly underutilized. Just her powers and proficiency with Cerinian magic alone make her the Star Fox equivalent of a jedi! And yet...they haven't done a whole lot with that.

I guess it's a side effect of how the developers haven't really had a good feel for what they want the series to grow into.

This is one of the many reasons I'd love to see the Star Fox series evolve beyond strictly being a rail-shooter. The Assault ground missions were a fantastic idea, just not implemented as well as they could have been sadly. I think that was still the perfect direction to take the series though.
If they revisit this idea in the next game and have Krystal return there is a lot of potential for Nintendo to showcase how capable of a fighter she is, giving her the staff would also add some more depth to the gameplay.

All of the Star Fox characters are lovable, have great designs and are known to have more skills than just being arwing pilots.
While I agree with many that the focus of a new Star Fox game would be best revolved around areal combat, I really think the series has more potential than Miyamoto's tired and recycled vision of 64.

Just think about all the possibilities that the SF universe could hold for fresh new gameplay ideas!

 

[TheLegendaryFoxFire]

I somehow remembered my login information for this site.
We in here still!

Edit: I saw talk about how to make a new Star Fox game and I agree that they should look into making it an Open World type game. Along with letting us be able to do side quests/missions for Arwing/Great Fox(II?)) customization and either let us play as the other members of Star Fox or allow us to switch the four/five during missions.

 

[TheCynicalCdr]

It's been awhile since I used this place, but I guess if it helps increase numbers.
Needless to say i'm still for her

 

[ryuu seika]

I saw talk about how to make a new Star Fox game and I agree that they should look into making it an Open World type game. Along with letting us be able to do side quests/missions for Arwing/Great Fox(II?)) customization and either let us play as the other members of Star Fox or allow us to switch the four/five during missions.

Like it or not, what Star Fox is known for these days is being one of the last classic rail shooters. We can't take that away from it completely but we can work around it.

My suggestion would be that there be three basic forms of AR-Wing combat. The classic "All Terrain Mode" for boss battles and base missions (defence or assault thereof). A slight twist on "Long Range Mode" for the rest of planets that I'm going to call "Atmospheric Navigation Mode". And finally, a barrierless version of "All Terrain Mode" for space travel that would be referred to as "Long Range Mode" in this new setup.

This would allow for free travel between planets with non-traditional space missions and encounters along the way, while the new "Atmospheric Navigation Mode" would be basically just the tar Fox we all know with a greater degree of divergent paths. Should those paths take us across a boss or a base encounter, we would be locked into that area via "All Terrain Mode" unless we actively disengaged it via the pause menu to go back the way we came.

But then, what happens when we reenter a previously saved or conquered base? Why we land and get to explore it on foot, talking to our allies and just generally wandering around in Adventures style. It is here that we find many of the side quests, some of which will even be ground missions. We may also convince some of these allies to join us in the air, allowing us to alter our squadron roster and rewarding us for visiting unnecessary planets.

Ideally, this is how I see an open world Star Fox working, with Landmaster and sub missions being thrown in here and there with only minor handwavy explanations from Peppy/ROB/General Pepper as to why.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Her's how I think an "open" Star Fox game would begin.


The intro mission is a classic linear stage with all range mode end boss but then the enemy (may or may not be Andross related) use the teleportation tech to scatter Fox, the team and the Great Fox are scattered. Your eventual Goal is to return to Corneria but there's a lot of obstacles in the way. As you complete the levels you can draw the enemy's forces away from Corneria, reunite with the rest Star Fox, make new allies and upgrade your vehicles to give yourselves the best chance.

If the villain is Andross then working in in Dinosaur Planet could explain his resurrection and be worth more than one boss fight. And the pilots from Star Fox 2 could come back with new specialities. Or maybe like Command where you can have a whole roster of Star Fox characters with different ships. Just don't make Fox his own worst enemy this time.

 

[ryuu seika]

A large roster of possible crew members would be great. Also, I forgot to mention, I would like to see 64's rainbow hyperspace return as an intense, highly difficult, procedurally generated but also rather short mission used as the transition method for fast travel.

 

[jordansweeto]

I personally think the 5 member Star Fox team from Assault was the best, with Peppy piloting the Great Fox but I definitely wouldn't say no to some additional characters becoming allies in the story!
Some of SF Assaults best moments were when the Star Fox and Star Wolf teams fought alongside each other.

I'd definitely like Nintendo to focus on giving the existing SF members more depth first though! There's still so much they could do with this series that is literally driven by it's unique characters!

 

[Guybrush20X6]

I personally think the 5 member Star Fox team from Assault was the best, with Peppy piloting the Great Fox but I definitely wouldn't say no to some additional characters becoming allies in the story!
Some of SF Assaults best moments were when the Star Fox and Star Wolf teams fought alongside each other.

I'd definitely like Nintendo to focus on giving the existing SF members more depth first though! There's still so much they could do with this series that is literally driven by it's unique characters!

They could still do that with existing characters too. I'm thinking the only permanent addition would be Krystal but there's also Katt or Bill from SF64 or if we're feeling a little nuts, Star Wolf. l'm thinking of a limited roster size (i.e. you can take Krystal but Slippy stays on the Great Fox) and how missions play out partially depends on who's along for the ride. For example, having Krystal on the roster prevents another wingman getting shot down like Peppy did in Zero as she sees it coming and acts or Bill could bring in more friendly fighters on a mission where you have to take out a large number of fighters.

Just spitballing ideas once again.

 

[TheCynicalCdr]

It's a bit old now, but Nintendo themselves did acknowledge Star Fox, three times

 

[jordansweeto]

Just thought I should link the interview in which Sakurai talks about his thoughts on Krystal joining the Smash Bros roster.
I know it's an old interview but I think it's super interesting and is a must read for any of you Krystal supporters who haven't seen it already!

http://sourcegaming.info/2015/08/17/sakuraibrawlquestions/

I think if Krystal can stay relevant (and return to the Star Fox series in the next game) then she's a shoe-in to become a playable character in a future Smash game.
I know we'll all be doing our best to keep Krystal support at it's highest across all social media platforms, Youtube especially!

 

[TheCynicalCdr]

Those with Twitter, every now and then Nintendo will make posts about something pertaining to an upcoming title. Unless it calls for it, i'd suggest showing some demand for her. More recently, at the time of this post, Nintendo asked about MK8 Deluxe and a comment mentioned a Star Fox themed track along with Fox and Krystal being playable. Any sort of support for this whether it be backing the post up or making similar mentions might help out.

 

[jordansweeto]

Those with Twitter, every now and then Nintendo will make posts about something pertaining to an upcoming title. Unless it calls for it, i'd suggest showing some demand for her. More recently, at the time of this post, Nintendo asked about MK8 Deluxe and a comment mentioned a Star Fox themed track along with Fox and Krystal being playable. Any sort of support for this whether it be backing the post up or making similar mentions might help out.

Great idea Cynical! I just tweeted them about a SF track + Fox and Krystal being playable.
Even though it may be unlikely to make it happen it is a SUPER good idea to keep suggesting things like that. As long as they keep seeing how much support Star Fox and Krystal have. That popularity can't go unnoticed!

 

[Gagnetar]

jordansweeto? I knew that name looked familiar. You're the person who asked Platinum games about Krystal's inclusion. Your tweet was shown on the archive and spread around amongst Krystal fans. I found myself here because sleeping is hard and I like to go around gauging interest in our favorite blue vixen. Truthfully I still think that Palutena (amongst Kid Icarus itself) was the reason she didn't make SSB4, there were rumors that Sakurai attempt to make a starfox game instead. I have asked Alesia Glidewell on her twitter to inform us if she's contacted about work for smash, She for some reason agreed to report on that information. I'm still upset Mr. Krystal convinced me to not macro vote for her during the ballot... I was able to get one of my favorite characters in a gacha game to victory, But alas... that is the past. I'm a tad surprised to see how active and new this is. I figured her fans were finally dying off, Heh heh... how silly of me. If there's any character that can make it despite being irrelevant it's her, I think it stands to reason if we get around 5 or so new characters in the latest Smash that she'll be playable. They seem to have an obsession with using it to advertise franchises, that is my biggest concern as fanservice isn't exactly the name of the game. People keep saying that an Inkling is guaranteed, I feel like that would be ridiculous for 2 reasons. Splatoon is immensely popular and doesn't really need the advertisement, and probably the bigger reason is that they are already in Mario Kart 8, I just feel it's a little obnoxious to put them in both when they could use Smash to revive or advertise something else completely. It also amuses me to know that it's entirely possible to see both Wolf and Krystal make a comeback in the same title. With Namco here I wonder if any of the modelers who worked on Assault are still around, Sakurai mentioned something about not knowing how to model her. In closing she stands an excellent chance for a fan favorite nintendo character, a bit on the lower end due to how the series is used.

 

[Luminario]

I don't think we need to bash Inklings to raise up Krystal. They're extremely popular and people like the game, so people (like me) are gonna want to play them in Smash. Also Villager's in both Mario Kart and Smash.
Krystal can get in on her own merits anyway: having long-term popularity, being unique, and being well requested.

 

[Gagnetar]

He is? weird never noticed. I don't really know where you got bashing from, It's just unfair to me to put them in both games. Never played splatoon as i don't have any friends to play it with, Though that was hardly the point of my comment. No matter we need to wait till e3 for more news on smash switch anyway

 

[Luminario]

He is? weird never noticed. I don't really know where you got bashing from, It's just unfair to me to put them in both games. Never played splatoon as i don't have any friends to play it with, Though that was hardly the point of my comment. No matter we need to wait till e3 for more news on smash switch anyway

Sorry, bashing wasn't really the right word. It's just that Smash and Mario Kart aren't on the same level when it comes to playing characters, as with MK you're just picking a driver which usually limits their character but with Smash their personality and uniqueness really comes across. It was the only part I brought up in your comment cause I pretty much agree on everything else, as Krystal and Wolf are both fan favourite viable contenders that deserve to be in the next Smash, especially our queen Krystal.