Guide Index Course 1 Course 2 Other Tricks


Course Three

Corneria - The Base
Briefing: You've chosen course 3...a good choice to take Venom by surprise!!
Enemies/Obstacles: Towers, small fighters, ground-based ion-launchers, smaller walker vehicles, large construction robots.

Stage:

Rise up just a bit when you start off to easily strike the first enemy fighter. The next two will appear to the upper right and left sides of the corridor. As with the other Corneria stages, you want to fly through every arch to make the twin blaster powerup appear. The first archway has satellite dishes in front of it, so be careful either to avoid them or shoot them. After the arch three more fighters will cross over the upper middle part of the corridor, then move to the sides. Once they're taken out you'll be faced with the next two arches, which are at angles with respect to the corridor. Try to "turn" your arwing into the arches to avoid hitting them.

Save a wingman after flying through the final arch and when you approach two doors you'll have your choice of either a nova bomb (right door) or the twin blaster powerup (left door). Use the brake before the desired door to pass through it without being hit as it opens and closes.

Next you'll face an ion launcher, two fighters, and another ion launcher before a series of falling towers. Aim for the middle towers and try to shoot them down in advance so they don't take you by surprise as you fly past them. While you're doing this you might be able to shoot two fighters in the distance among the towers. If you do so they'll smolder and fall to the ground before making one last attempt to ram you. Take them out and fly low to avoid the last of the towers in this part of the stage.

Next a formation of five fighters will bear down on you and afterwards you'll fly through part of a city. Just avoid the buildings. An enemy should fly into your path, which makes it easy to shoot it. Save a wingman as he flies from left to right.

If you shoot the tower-carrying robot don't forget to avoid the falling tower! One way to do this is just to fly straight up as it falls. You should be able to just avoid the next robot (carrying a communications tower). The ion launchers and small walker robots you encounter next should be pretty easy to take out, but use the brake when two robots walk past with another communications tower. When they're gone you can target another ion launcher on the ground and it'll reveal a nova bomb.

Next comes one of the harder stunts in the game. You can just steer clear of the buildings if you want, but if you're up to the challenge you can pick up a nova bomb if you hold a 90 degree roll and steer around the middle skyscraper and in between the other two. It's hard to get it perfectly without practice, but it's possible, so don't give up!

Avoid more buildings. At about this point Falco will fly ahead and say "The Attack Carrier will be mine." Little does he know the main boss is something else this time, but there are robots carrying pieces of an Attack Carrier ahead. First, though, you'll have to contend with a tunnel of arches. If you follow the tunnel to the right you'll pick up another nova bomb, but if you fly to the left you'll find the:

Midway Ring

Avoid the robots carrying the Attack Carrier parts (or shoot them, carefully avoiding the falling parts as you do so). Get to the middle of the flight corridor and stay low to avoid falling towers among the buildings. Briefly rise up and then go back down to avoid a block on the ground (you need to go up and over it, but then fall back down to avoid the last of the falling towers).

BOSS: Destructor

The Destructor is one of Andross' advance force's most powerful weapons, and the instruction manual is right to call it a "ground supremacy vehicle." It's a well-defended tank; the pods that cover the ion-launching gun turrets protect it from damage and are themselves only vulnerable when they angle to face you as they hover. Ultimately you need to destroy each of the three pods while they're hovering, and after they've been destroyed you can then target the gun turrets while they're facing away from you. They won't take damage while they're firing at you, so you'll have to dodge the ion blasts (and an occasional missile) until they turn away from you.

As an aside, when the tank approaches you its sound effects can be turned off by pausing and unpausing the game, leaving only the chanting in the background before the battle begins. Strange!


Asteroid Belt
Briefing: Use the L or R button to escape the tractor beam of the enemy battleship!! You can do it, Fox!!
Enemies/Obstacles: Asteroids, asteroid tugs, ion-launching pods, standard fighters, hopping walker-style robots, triangle-formation ion-launchers, centipedes.

Stage:

By now you're no doubt used to flying between asteroids, but this level is a bit more furious. A formation of 5 bogeys will greet you at the beginning as they rise from the bottom of the flight corridor, followed by two ion pods. Save a wingman as he flies from left to right and shoot more ion pods. Eventually you'll find two very large gray asteroids. The second one of these (on the right side) holds the secret for entering the hidden stage, "Out of This Dimension" (see below for reaching it). The blue pods up ahead take two hits to destroy and you'll also have to save a wingman as he arcs upward to the left.

As with the other asteroid belt stage, fly through the triangle asteroid formation to make a twin blaster powerup appear, but you'll also have to deal with an ion-launching pod and bogeys that appear around it. Continue on and take out more pods, asteroids, a triangle-formation fighter, and centipedes. Save a wingman and as you fly through a wrecked space station you'll have a chance at collecting a one-up. There's another pod and another triangle-formation fighter before a series of gray asteroids.

Asteroid tugs will latch on to many of the gray asteroids in this area. Although you can't destroy the gray asteroids, if you aim at them you'll still hit the tugs. Just be careful to get out of the way of the asteroid as you destroy the tugs or else they may hit you! Pick up a nova bomb and as a wingman chases after some enemies you might find it useful to fly to an extreme side of the flight corridor. Up ahead is a "laughing asteroid" which will try to steer into you, so "luring" it to an extreme side of the corridor first will give you an easier time avoiding it. This part of the stage is loaded with asteroids, more asteroid tugs, and laughing asteroids.

BOSS: Blade Barrier

The most important thing to remember when facing the Blade Barrier is to avoid getting caught in its web attack (If you DO get caught, take the General's advice and use barrel rolls to get out!). Your targets are the six ports behind its blades, only three of which are vulnerable at any one time when the blades have stopped spinning.

When the Blade Barrier has been defeated, it will still try to take you down with it by launching its blade section at the screen, so make sure to veer off to one side of the flight corridor to avoid it!


The Planet Fortuna
Briefing: Andross has taken control of the huge creatures who live on Fortuna!! Take care, Fox!!
Enemies/Obstacles: Large plants, giant hornets, dragonflies, ion-launching pods, sea serpents, giant birds, aquatic enemies.

Stage:

Fortuna is a varied stage with multiple "biomes" you'll pass through. You'll start off in the jungle, fly over a water body, and soar over a desert (I like to think of the Fortuna stage in StarFox 64 as being yet another biome--the tundra region--instead of making it out to be an "icy world devoid of vegetation" as stated on page 41 of the StarFox 64 Player's Guide. What better place to build a base, too, if you want to avoid the huge creatures in the other biomes?).

You'll start your mission over the jungles. Insect life, ion-launchers, and large plants are your biggest worry here. Rise up when you start off the stage to avoid the blooming flowers on the ground and move right to aim at the first hornet. They'll take multiple hits. Another hornet will appear to the left, followed by the first dragonfly. Shoot the dragonflies repeatedly until they give up and turn around. Save a wingman and aim for two more hornets and another three dragonflies. Just as a side note, if you see a dragonfly feeding on nectar from a large flower and it doesn't move to hit you, you'll be safe. Sometimes you can pass by safely without them "noticing" your presence! Fly low to avoid more vegetation and target the next hornet and some ground-based ion-launchers, one of which reveals a nova bomb.

Midway Ring

The watery part of this stage is for many people one of the hardest areas of the game. It starts off okay--jumping fish, flying pods that launch from the water, and three birds. Save a wingman and look out for three more birds.

It's the sea serpents that appear next which give plenty of grief. Some of them appear in predictable locations, arcing their long bodies through the water, but many of them appear at random locations. The only way to defeat them is to shoot their heads repeatedly, but since many will breathe tremendously powerful fireballs at you, that can be dangerous! You can pick up an extra shield after the second sea serpent, and odds are you'll need it, especially if this is your first time through this stage! Using nova bombs can help clear a path for you, and Nintendo Power suggested flying to one side of the corridor to avoid most of them. Either way you'll still have to do some quick thinking and maneuvering to avoid the fireballs, but be on the lookout for a one-up, too. After you pass by the sea serpents you'll face more birds and save a wingman as he flies from left to right. Only a few more jumping dophins and flying pods stand between you and the:

Midway Ring #2

The desert biome isn't home to very many large creatures, at least in this stage, but you'll have to navigate around plenty of large plants while shooting at ground-based ion-launchers. If you need a twin blaster powerup there is one to be had to the right.

BOSS: Monarch Dodora

The Monarch Dodora is a strange, fire-breathing, dragon-like behemoth. The beast is indeed powerful and is feared throughout Lylat, especially now that it's under Andross' control.

Its two heads (on long necks) and its long tail are strong and can flail at your arwing unpredictably, so as it nears you be sure to try to dodge them as best as you can while using the brake. Its heads breathe fire at you and its tail will launch eggs that hatch into giant attacking birds! It'll even try to flap its wings and hover during the battle!

Firing at the heads or the tip of the tail will cause the necks or tail to shrink, and if you succeed in shrinking them enough, the body will change colors. That's when it'll take damage from your lasers! Hit the body continuously while its like this to defeat it and repeat the process when the necks or tail extend again.


Sector Z
Briefing: Your team is doing well, Fox!! I hope you're taking good care of my arwings!! Go for Macbeth!!
Enemies/Obstacles: Fighters, ion-launching pods, giant girders, insect-like robots.

Stage:

I never really have a hard time blasting everything in this stage, but the enemies and obstacles are strong, numerous, and come one after another in rapid succession, so this stage has my vote as one of the most stressful in the game.

Try to take each bogey as it comes. Three enemies, two large blue ships, and three of the larger ion-pods will be your first foes, followed by more pods and fighters. Another thing to look out for in this stage is a plethora of girders, some of which are transparent. Fly through a girder-denoted rectangle to make a nova bomb appear.

Next you'll see a series of horizontal girders, then vertical ones, with alternating girders that spin around. Don't panic when you see this; one technique for avoiding them safely is to fly back and forth, then up and down, carefully flying through the space "opened up" as the girder spins. For example, if you're flying over the horizontal girders and one is spinning clockwise, you'll be safe if you fly over the horizontal girder and to the left of the spinning one. There's also a twin blaster powerup in this part of the stage if you need it.

Save a wingman and aim for the insect-like robots and pods while flying through the girder-bounded rectangles. Be sure to pick up the extra shield if you need it.

Midway Ring

The next part of the stage is unbelievably stressful at first glance--giant wireframe/transparent girders rotating wildly in every imaginable direction! However, there is an easy way around them. Immediately after the midway ring, fly to the extreme upper right of the corridor, using the boost every time you can. If you do it right, you won't get hit by any girders, but you'll still need to look out for ion-blasting pods that "fall" from top to bottom. You'll also be called to save a wingman near the end of this part of the stage. He'll fly from right to left, so get to the bottom right of the corridor to help him out and take out other bogeys that appear. Try to avoid the last few girders, too.

Another of Andross' motherships looms in the distance behind a field of rotating girders. If you use the brake it's possible to pick up the nova bomb that floats temptingly among the girders, but if you don't need it you can just fly to either side of the girders and avoid them all.

Inside the Mothership

Hold a 90 degree roll as you enter the ship and fly left or right just enough to avoid the pillar right in the middle of the hallway. Fly up or down to avoid a horizontal girder and you'll face another insect-like robot. Open a door and hold a 90 degree roll again to fly through the narrow passage ahead, aiming for more insect robots in the distance.

Once they're gone, stay as far down to the floor as you can to avoid the oscillating beam that rises and falls, aiming for the doors ahead which open sideways. When you get to the final tunnel be sure to use the brake or else there's a chance you might accidentally bump the core of Atomic Base II.

BOSS: Atomic Base II

Fighting Atomic Base II is very similar to fighting the first Atomic Base in course 1. The only difference is that the large pods on the walls don't explode when you hit them. They only temporarily deactivate. This makes the battle more unpredictable. Sometimes as soon as you hit all three pods, they suddenly reactivate and the core closes up, which can be frustrating! Patience is important here.


The Planet Macbeth
Briefing: The hollow interior of Macbeth is ideal for a base!! Prevent Andross from building here!!
Enemies/Obstacles: Walker robots, small tanks, tall ion-launching stations, missile launchers, lava balls.

Stage:

In StarFox 64 you fight a train on the surface of Macbeth, but in this game you'll actually fly INSIDE the planet's interior! When you start off you'll be in a rocky canyon of sorts. Rise up to pick up a nova bomb and then stay low to the ground to target a walker, tall ion-launcher, and two more walkers.

You can fly to either side of the large boulder ahead, but if you want another nova bomb be sure to fly on the left side. Take out the two roving tanks in the distance and save a wingman as he flies from left to right. Next you'll face the fourth walker and three ion-launchers, followed by a series of missile launchers on the ground. Three more tanks and missile-like spikes will appear, and it's at about this point where another enemy on the ceiling will explode spontaneously.

There's a tall ion-launcher on the right side of the large blocks and walkers behind others. Look for a twin blaster powerup between two of these blocks if you need it, but you'll probably have to use the brake to collect it.

Stay low to the ground to aim at the small ion-launchers in the distance, but dodge the lava balls which drop from the ceiling. When a volcano appears, rise up and shoot the lava balls erupting from it as you approach so they don't rain down on you as you collect the extra shields on its right side. You'll next encounter tall ion launchers and spike-like missiles, followed by two small ion launchers and more lava balls dropping from the ceiling.

Midway Ring

As you fly through the ring you'll see a field of spike-like missiles ahead on the floor and ceiling. Fire continuously in a triangle motion to hit them all. Two tanks will rove around on the ceiling and then you'll be called to save a wingman.

There's a field of tall ion-launchers ahead followed by another volcano and two more tanks on the ceiling.

BOSS: Spinning Core

The Spinning Core appears in the distance behind a cloud of smoke, but right away you can see the ion blasts it fires at you. The gun ports on its sides are your first target. Since the Core rotates slowly, it's not too hard to quickly finish off each port one at a time, especially if you have powered up lasers. Once you start destroying them, though, the Core begins to open up and fire missiles at you. If you're really patient and don't mind dodging one or two ion blasts every time a port turns to face you, you can hit each port only once or twice at a time to spread your damage evenly over all of them. That way when the Core opens up and starts firing missiles, the other ports are already very weak and can be easily finished off, leaving the Core only enough time to fire one or two missiles at you.

When the ports are gone, the Spinning Core launches into the air. Keep an eye on its shadow to know when it's ready to land near you and hit the brake. The Core's bottom will open up and it'll fire a barrage of lasers your way, so use barrel rolls to avoid taking much damage. Also keep an eye out for the large balls that orbit around the base. Use the brake to avoid them when you need to, and if you can get between them and inside the radius of their orbit you'll be in a good position to finish off the laser port at the Core's bottom.


Venom - The Final Goal
Briefing: You've made it this far... It's your fate to destroy Andross!! We're counting on you, Fox!!
Enemies/Obstacles: Fighters, missile-launching pods, triangle-formation ion-launchers.

Stage:

You'll face the usual fare in orbit above Venom. Five missile pods, more fighters, large blue ships, and a group of five fighters will harass you before your call to save a wingman. You'll see a triangle-formation fighter followed by a missile pod that spontaneously opens up its missile payload.

Fly through the ring of pods to pick up a nova bomb, extra shields, and twin blasters before you save a wingman.

Midway Ring

Look for ships which "uncloak" after the midway ring as well as a triangle-formation fighter and three enemies which are only vulnerable when they turn around.

BOSS: Great Commander

The perspective suddenly shifts to outside your ship as the components of the Great Commander slowly find their way into the scene. Stay near the upper half of the screen and fly continuously left and right to avoid the lasers from the first component. When the other two appear on the screen, they will merge together into a battleship. The music changes and you just KNOW you're in for an epic battle!

Your targets in this encounter with the Great Commander are the open gun ports. They take several hits and all of them need to be destroyed to continue your quest. As the Great Commander approaches you, you're in a good position to fire on them, but it's sometimes hard to hit them accurately on account of the angle you're at and the size of the ports. Once the Great Commander passes underneath you it'll pull you in a circle to face you again and do the same thing (of course when it's off in the distance it's firing at you, too).

If you have at least two nova bombs, this can be a good place to use them. When the Great Commander is off in the distance it's not easy to see how many ports are open, but look for red pixels on the screen to get an idea. When it looks like several are open use a bomb if you'd like to, followed by another as others open up. That can cut down the length of the battle considerably, often leaving only a few more ports for you to hit. If you don't have bombs, of course, you have to take out each port manually. In either case, be careful with how you fire at the ports. It helps to be close to the Great Commander's surface when you do it, but you need to be careful not to hit the surface as well.


Andross is up to his usual telekinetic games on Venom's surface. Rise straight up as far as you can so you can avoid the towers which cascade left and right as they fall. However, watch out for the last tower--it won't fall, so you have to get out of its way!

More telekinetic tricks ahead--a field of slabs and blocks is floating above the ground. Stay low to pick up the extra shields but try not to stay under any object. Some will shake a bit, which is your cue that they're ready to fall!

The red-orange towers ahead are much like those you faced on Venom, course one, only some of them fall as you fly near them. Shoot at them while they're in the distance to make them fall early. Specifically, aim for the first towers you see in the middle and any towers that are already there (the others that fly out ahead of you you can either shoot or just avoid).

You'll be called to save a wingman between destroying tanks. Shoot a fighter that appears high in the sky and fly under the archway that appears to shoot at the next tank on the ground.

The triangle blocks behave similarly to those on Venom, course one, but some of them flip back and forth on their own. Shoot these to make them stop flipping and fly past them on the safe side. You can also pick up a twin blaster powerup if you need it.

Midway Ring

You'll face more tanks and see insect-like robots on top of some of the ruins. Fly through arches to make more powerups appear, too, and take out walkers, fighters, and ion launchers that appear. When white blocks (more telekinetic activity!) appear out of nowhere, fly to the right of the flight corridor to avoid them and save a wingman as he flies from left to right.

The next obstacle is an array of floating white slabs which flip as you near them. The easiest way to avoid them is to stay low to the ground and fly through the empty spaces they leave behind.

There are only two more walker robots and three fighters (the highest of which you can't seem to hit with your lasers?) before the Great Commander.

BOSS: Great Commander

Just when you thought you had defeated the Great Commander, it comes back for more! More than a few StarFox aces out there think these battles are some of the toughest in the game. This time the Great Commander transforms into a giant robot whose only weak point is a small opening in its base. It starts out a bit docile, moving back and forth and only occasionally firing an iron ball at you (avoid them!). Hopefully you can take out most of its shield energy while it's still "calm" because after too much time passes it relentlessly fires a barrage of iron balls at you. It's hard to dodge them while firing at your target.

The battle isn't over yet, though. Once the robot's base has been defeated, the Great Commander's final section has to be destroyed. It orbits the rest of the components and is a fairly easy target, but it takes several hits and meanwhile the rest of the Commander tries to spin around and hit you. It'll also occasionally drop a homing drone which will fly toward you. Once you take out this final section, the Great Commander is finally destroyed and you can make your way to the final confrontation with Andross' telekinetic attacks!


The Final Battle
Andross' telekinetic amplifier is at its toughest when you come through Course Three, and this time you'll have to face a more powerful attack at the end. Be patient and careful, and don't give up now. Just relax and "out-fox" the boss. The same strategies you used in the other courses apply, except this time there's an added twist. The face warps into a demonic one that constantly launches telekinetic slabs and ion blasts at you. Simply dodge them and hit the eyes as before. Don't give up!


Guide Index Course 1 Course 2 Other Tricks