StarFox Rumors
Rumor: There will be a Fox McCloud action figure.
Thank goodness that this one is absolutely true! I first confirmed this when I saw Fox in ToyFare #33 (May 2000). I am not a reader of this magazine, but one of my friends was nice enough to point it out. According to the article, a company called Toysite is manufacturing a line of Nintendo action figures called "Mario's World". I emailed Toysite about this, and here is the response I got:
You cannot buy anything directly from our web site. The Fox McCloud action figure has not been produced yet. Look for him to hit stores sometime next year. Thanks for your interest in ToySite.Toysite doesn't sell products directly from its web site, and I have no concrete list of its distributors. I have seen Toysite products in Toys R' Us, Babbages (or Software Etc.), Best Buy, and a used video game store that is only in my area. Keep checking the toy stores, and especially the specialty stores, like game shops. The moment I find one, I'll write about it for Fox's Den. And if you find one first, please tell me about it!
Rumor: A slightly different Star Fox comic was published in Japan.
Probably true. It has been said that the version published in Japan has Fox getting engaged (or married) to Fara, and that NOA thought American kids would rather see more explosions. I don't agree with that idea, but I think that it is realistic that some executive types would. Here are some reasons:
The speech balloons have a lot of space in them, most likely to accomodate longer Japanese text.
The comic printed in Nintendo Power was obviously translated (I don't have an original to compare it to, but if SF64 taught me anything, it's that there's a lot of potential for really BAD translation).
Some parts of the story don't seem to match up logically; if Fox had decided to become engaged to Fara, the ending might have made more sense.
I still think it's a beautiful comic. I like Howard and Nester and Mario's Adventures, but Star Fox is the best Nintendo comic ever made, IMHO.
Rumor: Bean bag toys of the Star Fox crew, including Fara, were sold in Japan.
StarFox the game has always amazed me technically, graphically, and emotionally. The universe surrounding it is equally amazing! Just when I think there's nothing new to discover, something is discovered. Look at what I wrote about the beanbag rumor back in February 2000:
Probably not true. But who really knows anyway? I was delightfully surprised to find that a development version of Star Fox 2 included Fara; if these toys ever were produced, I think they would have shown up in Japan first. Japan, after all, got a soundtrack that was never released in the U.S. market.While browsing eBay one day I proved myself wrong! I didn't win the auction (it was $45 - quite pricey for such a toy) and I have no info about the company or anything. But just take a look at the pictures, courtesy of the guy who sold it.
picture 1 ; picture 2
