Star Fox franchise strategy guide/Characters/Krystal

Krystal (クリスタル, Kurisutaru) is a female anthropomorphic humanoid vixen from the Star Fox series of video games. She first appeared in Star Fox Adventures as a playable character at the beginning of the game, and was quickly reduced to a damsel in distress. She is now the newest member of the Star Fox team, and is also a playable character in the multiplayer mode of Star Fox: Assault. Her voice is provided by Aya Hara in the Japanese version of Star Fox: Assault. In the English versions, she was voiced by Estelle Ellis in Star Fox Adventures, and Alesia Glidewell in Assault.

History

Dinosaur Planet

File:Krystaldinosaurplanet1.jpg

Krystal's previous look in Dinosaur Planet.

Krystal first appeared in the unfinished game Dinosaur Planet, being developed at the time by Rare. The only known details about her design are that she was to be a 16-year-old feline character, an orphan, and that she was raised by a wizard named Randorn. She was also meant to be playable throughout the entire game.

While Dinosaur Planet was in development, Nintendo was working on a new Star Fox game set on an unspecified planet in the Lylat System (the main setting of the Star Fox series). Nintendo had originally wanted to have this game ready as a launch title for the GameCube console, but the project was behind schedule, and the company began searching for other, more complete projects that could be adapted to the Star Fox universe. Nintendo and Rare eventually agreed to combine the two projects, so Rare converted their game into a Star Fox title.

Large portions of the game had to be rewritten to accommodate Fox McCloud and the new Arwing-based levels. Because Fox became the main character of the game, Krystal's status was reduced to that of damsel in distress.

Star Fox Adventures

File:Sfa krystal2.jpg

Krystal and her CloudRunner in Star Fox Adventures.

At the beginning of the game, we learn that Krystal's home planet, Cerinia, was destroyed, and her parents as well as everyone else on the planet were killed. Although when and how this happened have not been revealed, it is hinted that Andross was responsible. On her quest to find answers, she picks up a distress call and lands on Dinosaur Planet, where she teams up with a Cloudrunner (although unnamed, some speculate this Cloudrunner to be Kyte from Dinosaur Planet). The two soon encounter General Scales and his airship, which causes Krystal to lose her staff.

The Cloudrunner later takes her to the Krazoa Palace where she finds several wounded Earthwalkers. Following their instructions, Krystal walks into the palace and, after completing the Test of Observation, takes a Krazoa spirit into her body. She brings the spirit to a central platform, but as she releases it, a stranger sneaks up behind her. She turns and apparently recognizes this stranger (who does appear to be Andross, seeing fit that the player sees through his eyes again later. The color of Andross's eyesight is identical, as well), but before she can react, she is suddenly frozen in a giant crystal, which is then placed atop the Krazoa Palace.

Later in the game, Fox McCloud investigates the disaster on Dinosaur Planet, and in the process he discovers Krystal's staff. Krystal communicates telepathically with Fox and teaches him how to use the staff, then pleads for his help in bringing the remaining Krazoa spirits back to the palace. For the rest of the game, Krystal is left frozen atop the palace. After releasing the first spirit, Fox discovers Krystal and is immediately taken with her beauty. When he releases the final spirit, the crystal prison shatters and Krystal is freed.

After defeating Andross (disguised as a Krazoa head), Fox returns to the palace to find Krystal missing. He returns to the Great Fox, where she first sends him a message of thanks, then arrives in person. As ROB senses, Fox and Krystal start to fall in love, marking the end of Star Fox Adventures. Shortly after the events of the game, she joins the Star Fox team.

Some evidence suggests that the relationship between Fox and Krystal was originally intended to be deeper and more expressly romantic. Fans have found several clips of unused audio that were cut from the final version of the game. These clips include Krystal's instructions (spoken in English rather than the Saurian language used in the game), Fox's refusal to leave the planet without rescuing Krystal first, and several lines spoken by Krystal directed toward Fox. Of these, the most compelling is a line she speaks after Fox asks her to join the Star Fox team: "I'll only join... if you'll kiss me."

As noted above, the transition from Dinosaur Planet to Star Fox Adventures resulted in Krystal's role in the game being severely reduced; She is only playable for a short time before being imprisoned, and she remains captive until Fox releases her at the end of the game. Also, being recast as Fox's love interest resulted in Krystal's redesign: While she retained the blue fur of her Dinosaur Planet design, she was changed from a cat to a fox and was made several years older (age 19, vs. Fox's 26).

Star Fox: Assault

In Star Fox: Assault, Krystal's role is fairly limited. She is playable only in multiplayer, but is otherwise a secondary character throughout the game. She flies an Arwing and occasionally uses her telepathy skill to sense an enemy's presence and weak point. This skill is usually only mentioned in passing (for example, when fighting the final boss, she detects that the enemy is afraid of its attackers). She and Fox are affectionate toward each other, mainly in cutscenes. She is 20 years old in this game.

Star Fox Command

In the opening of Star Fox Command, it is revealed that Fox and Krystal fell in love and decided to pursue a relationship; however, Fox knew the dangers of their profession, and asked Krystal to step down from the team. Heartbroken, Krystal left Star Fox, and her whereabouts soon became unknown to Fox himself. It is later revealed in the game that Krystal joined the Cornerian army as a pilot, and became somewhat smitten with Star Wolf's Panther Caruso in order to get back at Fox. During the course of the Anglar War, she teams up with Star Wolf to launch an attack on Venom; she also, in some paths, demonstrates a much colder personality than in previous games, especially towards Fox.

In the game, Krystal is a playable character, and returns to fight the Anglar threat in Lylat. She is the only character in the game that flies two different ships. While flying with Star Fox, she pilots a ship called the Cloud Runner, named after (and closely resembling) the pterodactyl-like tribe of Sauria; during missions in which she flies as part of Star Wolf, she pilots a Cornerian fighter and wears a Cornerian pilot's outfit.

Two of the game's endings show Krystal joining Star Wolf; and another ending shows her joining Star Wolf, then leaving to become a bounty hunter. In two endings, Krystal reconciles with Fox and rejoins the Star Fox team; while another shows Fox retiring as a pilot to patch things up with Krystal, and they have a son named Marcus, who goes on to form a new Star Fox team. The other three endings do not mention Krystal's fate.

Abilities

Krystal's abilities are generally downplayed in the Star Fox games, and the origins of these abilities are still a mystery.

It is suggested that she is skilled in hand-to-hand combat and that she uses a magical staff to help her fight, but she only gets to demonstrate this briefly at the beginning of Adventures before she is trapped for the rest of the game. Krystal also has various psychic powers, including extra-sensory perception and telepathy. Again, these powers are not actively used in any of the games thus far, and have been included merely as a minor plot point. Her most prominent use of this ability occurs in Assault, where she detects enemy weaknesses provided she is not removed from battle.

Krystal is an accomplished pilot. She is seen flying a Cloudrunner at the beginning of Adventures, and she later takes up an Arwing in Assault. Later, in Command, she flies both the Cloud Runner (a ship designed after the Saurian tribe) and a Cornerian fighter. In the instruction manual for Assault, she is given stats similar to those of Slippy, and like Slippy and Falco, she occasionally needs Fox to get her out of trouble in Assault. (Of all of Fox's teammates, Krystal needs the least assistance, but this is because she does not have as many flying missions as Falco or Slippy.) She also appears to be reasonably skilled with firearms, as seen in two on-foot levels in Assault where she assists Fox by destroying enemies in a small area. Although she can take damage, her life bar never fully depletes in these levels, and she cannot be harmed by friendly fire.

Love interest

Upon their meeting, Krystal and Fox shared a mutual respect for each other, which soon developed into love. Fox allowed Krystal to become a full-time member of the Star Fox team, and the two later pledged that they would never be without each other. Because Fox feared for her safety, he asked her to step down from the team in Command. The game's alternate endings featured various fates for their relationship:

• Ending 1: Fox and Krystal - Fox rekindles his relationship with Krystal and reinstates her in the team again.
• Ending 2: Goodbye, Fox - Fox rekindles his relationship with Krystal and disbands the Star Fox team. They marry and have a son, Marcus McCloud, who later reforms the Star Fox team.
• Ending 3: Emperor Anglar - Fox rekindles his relationship with Krystal, but she leaves him two months later and joins the Star Wolf team to start a relationship with Panther Caroso.
• Ending 4: Star Wolf Returns! - Fox permanently ends his relationship with Krystal, who becomes a bounty hunter, adopting the name Kursed. They later meet on the planet Kew, but Fox doesn't recognize her.
• Ending 5: Lucy and Krystal - Fox rekindles his relationship with Krystal and reinstates her in the Star Fox team.

Game appearances

• Star Fox Adventures (Adventure game, 2002, GameCube)
• Star Fox: Assault (Action/adventure game, Action game|Action, 2005, GameCube)
• Star Fox Command (Scrolling shooter, 2006, Nintendo DS)

External links

• The Krystal Archive - Contains comprehensive information on everything Krystal-related, including biography, Dinosaur Planet info, audio clips, and video cutscenes from both Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox: Assault.