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#346

For his first title on GameCube, Fox McCloud embarks on an epic adventure taking him away from the cockpit of his Arwing spacecraft. Developer Rare's final game on the Nintendo console finds the ace pilot traveling to the mysterious Dinosaur Planet on a mission to save it from breaking apart. While the game offers a series of shooting stages patterned after the two previous Star Fox games on the Super NES and Nintendo 64, the main focus of play takes place directly on the planet. Players guide Fox from a third-person perspective while battling enemies with a staff. This staff can be twirled around as a melee weapon and upgraded to shoot projectiles such as fire and ice, which are used to defeat enemies as well as to open doors or solve puzzles. The staff can also be used to trigger small earthquakes and disguise Fox as an enemy soldier. In addition, specially marked areas enable the staff to function like a rocket or portal device. Targeting creatures follows a similar system to the one introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Dinosaur Planet is broken down into numerous areas or lands, each offering distinctive terrain, creatures, and landmarks. Since the inhabitants are in dire need of assistance, players must speak with the creatures to learn which quests must be completed in order to advance. Enemies standing in the way include the dreaded SharpClaw soldiers, led by the evil General Scales, who will try to gang up on Fox at every opportunity. Various mini-games are also found throughout the world, including jet bike races, dinosaur rides, and more. In addition to completing quests on behalf of the peaceful dinosaurs, which generally involve retrieving certain objects or a group of items, players will be able to gather currency in the form of scarabs to purchase helpful equipment or to pay off bribes. Fox will also periodically team up with a small Triceratops named Tricky who can dig for secret items buried underground or reveal hidden passageways with his breath. By purchasing a ball from the local shopkeeper, Fox can help evolve Tricky into a more powerful ally.