Star Fox Command

Released in North America on August 28, 2006, Star Fox Command is a Nintendo DS entry developed by Q-Games and published by Nintendo. It is a handheld, flight-focused Star Fox game built around the DS’s two screens and stylus controls, rather than the series’ usual succession of fixed on-rails stages.

Set a few years after Star Fox: Assault, the story opens with the Star Fox team scattered as the Anglar invasion spreads through the Lylat system. Fox McCloud and ROB 64 answer the threat, while former allies including Falco, Slippy, Peppy and Krystal can enter the conflict from different positions. The Anglar are aquatic creatures linked to Venom, led by the Anglar Emperor.

Between dogfights, Command presents its missions on a strategic map. Players plot the paths of available pilots across the touch screen, moving a limited number of ships turn by turn to intercept enemies, protect the Great Fox and seize or defend positions. Contacts on the map trigger aerial battles, while missiles gathered or earned during play can be launched from the Great Fox to clear threats at range.

The combat is largely free-roaming all-range flight. Pilots fly character-specific craft and complete objectives such as destroying enemy formations, collecting cores or eliminating a target ship; some encounters instead become pursuit-style missions. Drawing routes with the stylus also directs the selected craft in battle, making touchscreen steering central to both the action and the strategic layer.

Conversation choices and completed paths branch the campaign into different missions, character pairings and conclusions. The game contains nine endings, so replaying routes reveals divergent futures for the cast rather than a single fixed finale. It also expands the playable roster with Star Fox, Star Wolf and supporting characters, including newcomers Amanda, Lucy and Dash.

Command supported local wireless multiplayer through DS Download Play for up to six people and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection dogfights for up to four players. The online service was discontinued in 2014, so those original internet features are no longer available. Nintendo later re-released the game for Wii U Virtual Console in 2015; that version does not include the original DS wireless features.