Wolfen
- “What are you doing to my darling Wolfen?!”
- —
The Wolfen is a class of space fighter, manufactured by Andross and used by the Star Wolf team of space pirates and bounty hunters. This starfighter is one of the few ships in the Lylat System that can rival the Star Fox team's Arwings, and quickly became their primary spacecraft and almost the symbol of the team after the Lylat Wars. Like the team itself, the Wolfen makes its first appearance in Star Fox 64, though it was originally supposed to debut in Star Fox 2.
Schematics[]
Andross originally used spacecraft that were inferior to the Arwing, but intelligence reports indicated that he was well on his way to developing a new fighter to rival it. The appearance of the new "Wolfen class" star fighters proved the rumors true. The Wolfen was fast and maneuverable, armed with dual laser cannons for an impressive punch. However, the shield system was weaker than the one found on Arwing starfighters. The two were a close match in capabilities, so in the end the pilot's skill would more often than not determine who won a battle. Although it takes little damage from Charged Lasers and Smart Bombs, by performing a Barrel Roll, the Wolfen could somehow cause an Arwing's locked-on Charged Laser or Bomb to stop following it. Presumably, the Wolfen, at least by the time of the Aparoid Invasion, included an escape pod in the cockpit, as Krystal with her sixth sense mentioned that Wolf and his team had "abandoned ship" in the Asteroid field after the wreckage of their Wolfens were discovered by the team.
In Star Fox Zero, the original design was modified slightly to include twin laser cannons mounted on both sides of the fuselage as well as a transformation ability in the form of the Hunter mode. Each Wolfen was also given a personal sub-weapon befitting of their pilot.
In Star Fox 64, a more advanced version called Wolfen II replaces the Wolfen for the Venom II route battle against the Star Fox team.
History[]
Funded and equipped by Andross, the Star Wolf team always flew the most advanced version of his "Wolfen" class starfighters. These starfighter prototypes might have even been superior to the Star Fox team's Arwings. The original Wolfens were called into action by Andross, during the Lylat Wars, for the purpose of preventing the Star Fox team from reaching Venom. Depending on the choice of flight path, the player will meet Star Wolf at Fichina and may encounter them at Bolse. The Star Wolf team used the new improved Wolfen II in the defence of Andross's palace. After the Lylat Wars, these ships were dropped in favour of the original models.
By the time of the Aparoid uprising, the Wolfen starfighters were upgraded to a new level of superiority and once again faced the restored Arwings in defense of the Sargasso Hideout. For unknown reasons, Star Fox spotted discarded Wolfen ships, which were sighted suspended in the Asteroid Belt while the team were in pursuit of Pigma Dengar. The Star Wolf team disappeared after the events of the Sargasso Region conflict, but emerged surprisingly to temporarily join the Cornerian Federation in their cause against the Aparoid attacks. Fox rode on the wing of Wolf's Wolfen, wielding the Plasma Cannon in the midst of the reluctant battle against General Pepper's flagship as it was infected by Aparoidedation. The Wolfens were put to their full potential when assisting Star Fox in the breach of the Aparoid Homeworld, drawing enemy firepower away from the Arwing's to allow them to reach the Aparoid Queen. Star Wolf vanished after these events, yet Fox was positive of their survival.
Sometime following the Aparoid Invasion, each member of Star Wolf Team upgraded their Wolfen to suit their own preferences. All the members of the Star Wolf had their own ships as did the Star Fox Team. Wolf himself kept a traditional style of Wolfen, closely resembling the Aparoid Invasion era model. Leon converted his into the Rainbow Delta, which gained a wave-beam function enabling continuous charged shots to be fired. Panther converted his into the Black Rose, which could fire a slow but powerful and long-range beam known as a Zapper.
Other Appearances[]
Lylat Wars Comic[]
The Wolfen starfighters make an appearance in the Lylat Wars Comic, arriving at the Meteo Asteroid Belt to ambush the Star Fox Team. They (or a least Andrew's was) were armed with disruptor torpedoes, making an attack on Fox just after he destroys the Meteo Crusher. The following dogfighting sees Star Wolf beaten back, with Fox hot on Pigma's trail in anger of the Pig's treason against James McCloud but Wolf delays him to let Pigma escape. Crash landing at Venom, Andrew and Pigma face Andross's disapproval and they vow to get even with Star Fox.
Later on, Pigma and Andrew make their next assault on the Star Fox Team at Solar, but Wolf surprises everyone and furiously throws Pigma and Andrew off his team for acting against his orders and opens fire on them. This sudden act by Wolf allows the crippled Arwings to return to the Great Fox and continue their fight to Venom.
Trivia[]
- In Super Smash Bros. Melee, during the intro, the Wolfen shoots red lasers like they and other hostile spacecraft do in Star Fox 64. Yet on the Corneria or Venom stage, the Wolfen shoots blue lasers like Arwings, this remains the same in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- Although the Wolfen II is technologically superior to the Wolfen, they share exactly the same boss role subtitle in Star Fox 64 3D.
- Evident from the above quote, should Fox shoot the Wolfen while wing-riding it, Wolf reacts in annoyance, which hints that he seems to care about his ship.
- The American website for Star Fox Command referred to the Wolfen as the "Red Fang", yet this name did not appear in any version of the game.
- In Star Fox 2, Wolf's Wolfen is a larger, seemingly more advanced version of his henchmen's. This itself could be a precursor to the Wolfen II. Unlike the others, his ship does not explode on-screen when defeated.
Names in Other Languages[]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Japanese | (ウルフェン Wolfen) (超高性能全領域戦闘機 Ultrahigh Performance All-Range Fighter) |
References[]
- NINTENDO POWER Star Fox 64: Official Nintendo Player's Guide. Redmond, WA, Nintendo of America. 1997.
- http://f.starfox-online.net/archives/starFox64.comReconstructed/starwolf.html
- Star Fox: Assault; Instruction Booklet
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| Members |        Ruffian
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| Vehicles |   Hunter   
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| Bases | Sargasso Hideout |
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| Characters |                      
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| Supporting Characters | Vivian Hare • General Pepper • Marcus • Slippy's son • Peppy's granddaughter |
| Bosses | ZaZanga 9 • Splitter • Devil Shark • Octopod • Biobrain • Star Wolf (Wolf, Panther and Leon) • Death Crab • Pigma Dengar • Solar Satellite • Killer Bee • Dune Worm • Monarch Dodora • Grunner • Arrow Head • Anglar Emperor |
| Enemies | Anglar Starfish • Elite Fighter • Anglar Missile • Anglar Mothership |
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| Navigation | Plot • Missions • Gallery • Videos • Script |
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| Protagonists |       
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| Antagonists |     
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Arwing • Armoured Arwing • Light Arwing |
| Bosses | Mirage Dragon • Tektron • Hunter Fantron • Space Blade • Algy • Pigma • Leon • Wolf • Andross |
| Enemies | Moth Glider • Planet Missile • Night Fang • Hal Bird • Skull Toad • Sky Kicker • Spread Missile • Brain Spoiler • Spiral Kite • Cannon Bomber • Prison Bow • Turtle Missile • Station Missile • The Spinners • Metal Boomerang |
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Corneria • Satellite Defense Platform • Titania • Meteor • Fortuna • Macbeth • Venom • Eladard • Cannon Betrayer • Secret Base • Astropolis • |
| Navigation | Plot • Missions • Gallery • Videos • Script |