Prerelease:Star Fox Adventures

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Star Fox Adventures.

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Star Fox Adventures was originally a completely different and unrelated game called Dinosaur Planet for the Nintendo 64. Rare was very ambitious with making a game that would have impressive graphical elements and a deep storyline, but they ran into problems where it would eventually consume their developmental time to the end of the console's lifespan. It wasn't then until was eventually rebranded into a Star Fox game along with shifted development to the GameCube, where it caused even more development troubles for the team.

Though the game was released to a critically good reception, it became very divided among Star Fox fans due to not feeling like a good Star Fox game.

Developmental Timeline

1997

• November - Dinosaur Planet begins development on the Nintendo 64.

1998

1999

2000

• May - A demo build of Dinosaur Planet is showcased at E3 2000.
• September - Another demo build of Dinosaur Planet is showcased at the European Computer Trade Show.
• Nov/Dec - Dinosaur Planet is rebranded into Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, after Shigeru Miyamato thought that the game would be better suited for that.

2001

• Spring - Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet's development moves over to the Nintendo GameCube due to the Nintendo 64 being close to discontinuation at the time and it wouldn't be a good profitable move to keep development on the Nintendo 64.

2002

• Sep/Nov - Star Fox Adventures comes out on the Nintendo GameCube.

1997

November

Early Development

Dinosaur Planet

Development for Dinosaur Planet started shortly after the release of Diddy Kong Racing' in 1997, where it was a completely original property for the Nintendo 64 and built off the engine of that game. Because of the advanced graphical tricks they would end up taking, it also would have required the Expansion Pak and been released on a 64 MB (512 Mbit) cartridge. The engine was based on that of Diddy Kong Racing, but with additional features such as a more refined particle engine.

The game's two protagonists were Sabre and Krystal, with their respective dinosaur partners being EarthWalker prince Tricky and CloudRunner princess Kyte. Sabre and Krystal had two separate, interlinked adventures, and the player would have to control both characters to complete the game. To swap between the characters, the player would have to go to SwapStone Hollow as Sabre, or SwapStone Circle as Krystal. In the final game, Krystal is only playable for around the first 20 minutes, after which she is trapped in a crystal for the rest of the game. As a result, many of her tasks in the original game were rewritten for Fox.

Many builds of Dinosaur Planet are largely inside Rare's headquarters. However, Rare did release a few MP3s of the game's music, as well as screenshots and concept art prior to the dumped build.

2000

Unknown Date

Story Changes

In mid-2012, character profiles and a document covering much of Dinosaur Planet's original story were leaked to the public.

• SwapStone Hollow's name was changed to Thorntail Hollow. Confusingly, there was a similarly-named area called SwapStone Circle, which was reworked into Lightfoot Village in the final game.
• Drakor was originally to have a speaking role and played a much larger part in the story, but is a simple boss encounter in the final game.

(Source: Rare Thief)

May

Pre-E3 Press Video

A 55-minute video for press members was leaked in September 2012, showing a good chunk of the game's content. The footage appears to predate the E3 2000 version.

• Kyte's voice at 6:25 sounds temporary and different compared to the version hidden in the Star Fox Adventures E3 2002 demo.
• Many locations appear largely unfinished.
• Sabre lacks lip movement when talking to the SharpClaws before the Ice Mountain race.
• The ship that drops Tricky at Ice Mountain appears to be a placeholder.

(Source: Rare Thief)

General Differences

Intro

Press Video Build	E3 2000 to December 1, 2000 Build

• Different Nintendo 64 and Rare logo screens.

The press video build contains this title screen, not found in the December build.

Prologue

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• Krystal's HUD icon was different, appearing to use a pre-render of her rather than a drawing. Health was also displayed as blue bars instead of fruit, and magic using a numerical value, rather than a bar.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• The door that Scales appears from used a different texture, appearing much cruder and using a simple gold palette rather than the more ornate design in the December build.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• Kyte's cage was brighter.
• Kyle's dialogue sounds to've been a placeholder scratch track.
• In the Press Video build, when Scales is struck by lightning, he gets knocked off the ship. In the December build, he simply laughs and teleports away.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• After Scales disappears, the game's title was shown over shots of his ship. This is missing in the December build.

Location Differences

Warlock Mountain

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• The location text for Warlock Mountain was displayed here, but is missing in the December build.
• The exterior of Warlock Mountain is very different, using more blue rocky textures. By the December build, more structures were added around the area.
• The skybox appears to've been locked to a green color, instead of adhering to the time cycle persistent elsewhere in the game.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• A jellyfish-like enemy was added in the December build.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• These stairs were individually modeled in the Press Video build, but have been changed to a simple sloped surface in the December build.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• An early design for the gem pickups was used, appearing to be a grey sphere rather than the bright red gems they would later become.
• Picking one up showed off a HUD element that would end up being scrapped later on, depicting the same artwork as the door before the warp pad.
• A snippet of chanting could be heard when the triceratops died.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• A Sharpclaw enemy was added to this room in the December build.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• In the Press Video build, the player had to knock over a pillar to break a small chunk off, which could then be placed on the switch to open the door. In the December build, this pillar is not present, and the small chunk is already there.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• In the Press Video build, the Warp Crystal could be found on the floor without a need to solve a puzzle. In the December build, the player had to shoot at a panel on the wall to get it, serving as a tutorial for the mechanic.
• Randorn's dialogue also appears to've been a placeholder scratch track.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• The Warp Crystal was called a "Warp Activator" in the Press Video build.
• The collection jingle was also different.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• The door in this area was slightly different.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• Like outside, the Press Video build had individually-modeled stairs for this area, removed in the December build.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• The C-Button menu for abilities was moved from the bottom of the screen to the right.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• Krystal used her hands to fire projectiles in the Press Video build. In the December build, she uses her staff instead.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• When returning to the dock, Scales flies away and the player had to fight some Sharpclaw enemies. This was changed to a proper cutscene in the December build.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• A Sharpclaw enemy was added near the Warp Crystal pedestal in the December build.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• A different camera angle for when placing the Warp Crystal on the pedestal.

Press Video Build	December 1, 2000 Build

• The door to the warp pad used different textures, using a texture similar to the warp pad itself. This was changed to a less specific design.

E3 2000

When Dinosaur Planet was shown off at E3 2000, the demo was bugged to the point where Nintendo's employees had to reset the N64 frequently whenever the game crashed. Dinosaur Planet's impressive visuals also meant it could run no faster than 15 FPS.

This footage shows several things, such as the menus used for previewing the game and a fragment of Krystal's first encounter with the Lightfoots.

This footage shows even more things, such as the E3 Build having the December 1st Build's title screen, and a lot more Sabre footage.

September

ECTS 2000

Dinosaur Planet was shown off for the final time at the European Computer Trade Show 2000 shortly before it was scrapped and redone.

Fall/Winter

Star Fox Adventures Rebrand

When Shigeru Miyamoto saw a build of the game, he decided that it would be better if it was incorporated into the Star Fox universe in some manner. Miyamoto noted the protagonist Sabre looked similar to Fox and suggested that the game should be reworked to fit that. The game's name had been changed to Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet.

(Source: Hugo Peters, Rare's Official Dinosaur Planet subsite, The Making of Star Fox Adventures)

2001

Spring

Move to GameCube

Around 2001, the Nintendo 64 was close to discontinuation due to only a handful of titles being released in that year. Had it continued development for the Nintendo 64, it would not have been a profitable move. Due to drastic hardware changes, the game's code had to be completely rewritten which would later result in a myriad of developmental issues. It was also originally planned to be a GameCube launch title at this point in development, but an assortment of development issues such as reworking the whole game to fit within the Star Fox universe and programming Tricky, caused the game's release to be pushed back to Fall 2002.

During this iteration's development, Rare were in negotiations with Microsoft and planned to drop their deals with Nintendo. Development ended up being rushed to get it out onto the GameCube before Rare eventually moved to Microsoft. The hurried development toward the end caused several things, such as the battle with Scales, to be cut out of the game.

Summer

NGC Magazine VHS

These clips came off an old 2001 VHS from NGC Magazine (UK).

• Thorntail Hollow is very different, with much more pine trees and early models for the Thorntails.
• A completely different HUD is used, which also has an icon for Fox.
• Fur effects have not been implemented yet.
• Snowhorn Wastes looks very unfinished in this trailer.
• Tricky can be seen in Cloudrunner Fortress. In the final game, Tricky doesn't appear in Cloudrunner Fortress at all.
• A minimap can be seen from 0:52 to 1:06, but it's smaller and not within a graphic.
• After that, a very incomplete Arwing stage can be seen.
• In 0:15, the area that looks similar to the Test of Knowledge has enemies that are removed and the items to match the worlds they were from is missing.

• After that, a very incomplete Arwing stage can be seen.

November

IGN Video

This video dates to August 24, 2001 and contains a number of differences:

• The font used in this footage is different.
• Early dialogue is used for the staff retrieval and Queen Earthwalker illness cutscenes.
• The HUD is starting to become similar to the final game, but still has a few other details such as an icon for Fox.
• When using the SharpClaw disguise, a short cutscene will play.
• The skyboxes are slightly brighter than the final version.
• When hitting an enemy, the enemy flashes blue instead of red like in the final game.
• When finding Krystal's staff, the flame effects are missing.

Unincorporated Information

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0cQhr7BrYY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CMqtwNr2hI
• https://rarethief.com/dinosaur-planet/