I went ahead and produced a video about this some time ago, but I thought I would revisit the idea on my blog to better organize my thoughts. I’m not a video editor and never have been, so making a video that gets across such difficult topics was somewhat difficult for me. I’ve realized since I made that video that my theory was widely disliked by a lot of people, but the more I look into this matter the more I become certain that it is true.
In the final release of Star Fox Adventures the Krazoa were the real antagonists, not Andross. It was the Krazoa who lured Krystal to their Palace to use her powers to revive Andross so that they could conquer the galaxy by using him as a vessel. Scales, Andross, Krystal, and Fox were all puppets that the Krazoa were using for their own ends.
This may sound outlandish- but it’s actually how the game was supposed to go in the N64 version, when it was still called Dinosaur Planet. In that game, Drakkor warns Sabre that the Krazoa are not to be trusted and that they’re simply using him. Sabre, believing this to be a lie meant to justify his actions, refuses to heed his warning. However, it is true. The Krazoa fully intend to conquer the Galaxy once they are assembled, and become the antagonists for the third act.
It is my belief that this specific aspect of the plot was NOT CHANGED during the change over from Star Fox Adventures. The simple reality is that due to the rushed release because of Rareware’s acquisition of Microsoft, a lot of lore was cut and changed. However, there is nothing to suggest that the Krazoa’s lore was changed. Although Andross is the final boss, it always felt oddly rushed and similar to the Nintendo 64 game. Almost as if it was not ended to be the final encounter in the game. And that isn’t even getting to the fact that it doesn’t make any sense.
So let us break down what we know Andross does in the game: He uses Scales to break into the Krazoa Palace, lures Krystal there, encases her in the Krystal, and then waits in the Palace for Fox to assemble the Krazoa Spirits so that he could be properly revived. Okay. That’s all well and good- but how did Andross DIE, and then revive himself using powers that he clearly didn’t know anything about or understand? You’re telling me he was able to come back as a ghost, somehow end up on Dinosaur Planet, somehow hook up with Scales, and then somehow end up right where he needed to be to revive himself?
None of that makes any sense. We accepted it, even if we thought it was dumb, because that’s what the game told us happened. And everything the game says goes… right?
Not necessarily. The Krazoa’s entire thing in Dinosaur Planet is withholding essential information to get their pawns to do what they want. In Dinosaur Planet Sabre was led to believe the Krazoa were benevolent, and would put a stop to the war. In Star Fox Adventures, Fox is told by the Krazoa Spirit that Krystal freed that assembling all of the Spirits will free Krystal.
Now, this is the critical point: This is absolutely true. It does indeed work. But Fox realizes immediately that something is wrong. The machine explodes, Krystal falls into the pit and Fox has to catch her… and then Andross is revived. The Krazoa deliberately told Fox to do something that not only put Krystal in immediate danger, but led to the revival of his worst enemy.
You see? The Krazoa manipulate people by having them do their bidding by acting as a higher power, when in reality they don’t have the slightest concern for what their actions may cause. The Krazoa Spirit tells Fox that only ‘the pure of heart’ can take in a Krazoa Spirit… but General Scales has one. The information that the Krazoa Spirit gives in that scene is very misleading, and the full context of what you are about to do.
Now, eagle eyed fans noticed this back in the day, and it was even stated in official guidebooks that this particular Krazoa Spirt was Andross trying to manipulate you. This CANNOT be the case. Andross never leaves the Palace, and the statue that he is hiding behind remains static for the entire run time, sitting right near Krystal. You can even see him there from the back, if you look hard enough.
However, Andross DOES indeed pose as a Krazoa in the game. It’s that side of his head that attacks Krystal right at that beginning. That’s why she says ‘ah, it’s you!” in Saurian, just before being attacked. She even acknowledges this, with how angry she is with him after she’s revived. (“We will never kneel to you!”)
Now what’s interesting about this is the context of how and why this happens. We are told by the Earthwalkers stationed in Krazoa Palace at the beginning of the game that Scales brought ‘a Great Evil’ into the Palace. They are clearly referring to Andross, but do not refer to him as a Krazoa. When Scales is confronted in the end of the game, however, he had no idea about Andross’ presence and is shocked and bewildered that such a thing can exist.
So that begs the question: Why did the Earthwalkers see Andross, but Scales couldn’t? What makes Scales different from them? The answer is, of course, the fact that Scales possessed a Krazoa spirit. It was that spirit that blinded him to the truth of what he was bringing to the Palace. It was that attack that led Krystal to the Palace to be captured and to await the Ritual. And it was all this happening that led to Fox coming to the planet to finish what she started.
In essence, the Krazoa blinded Scales to the truth of what was happening to give him the impression that he was in complete control of the Planet and what was happening, when in reality they had already found a far better conqueror- Andross, who had already almost destroyed the Lylat system once. He served their purpose of universal conquest much better than Scales did, and used Andross just as they used Scales and Krystal.
Now obviously a lot of this is conjecture based on dummied out content and the original N64 version of Dinosaur Planet, but I find the idea a lot more interesting than what ‘supposedly’ happened. I think it’s a perfectly valid interpretation that really puts the events of the game into an interesting context, and quite a lot better than ‘It was Andross the entire time, ah!”
It’s crazy to me to think that until Star Fox Zero came out, that Adventures was the last time we say Andross in any original Star Fox game. At one point he was one of my all time favorite Nintendo villains, and since then in most sequels he’s been killed off for real. Adventures is such a horrible misrepresentation of the character, and I believe it’s led to this weird fan culture that considers Wolf to be more of a nemesis for Fox than Andross himself. I mean, think about it. When have you ever seen anyone demand Andross to be in Smash?
Hopefully, with the remake of Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 we may start to see that mindset change. I really dislike this notion among Star Fox fans that the series should have an established continuity, because in my mind that’s been a major reason why games like Assault and Command suffered the way they did. Instead of creating new, interesting experiences you had weird nostalgia levels and character turns that made no sense. (The sooner I forget about Kursed, the better) Zero, I think, was a step in the right direction where it no real ties to classic games, and was allowed to go in its own unique direction and style.
Although the future of Star Fox currently is very bright, there’s definitely a question in the air regarding what they’re going to do next. Are they going to remake Adventures yet? Or make an entirely new game? I’m inclined to expect a new game, personally, but it would be a very interesting surprise if they instead decide to do a full on remake of Adventures. I think it would be very interesting to make a game where the Krazoa are explicitly the antagonists, and Star Fox has to stop them in the Krazoa Wars. I feel like that would be a nice deviation from what we’re seen out of the franchise lately.
But of course this is all just fans speculation. I think it’s safe to say that Nintendo has massive plans for Star Fox that are way better than anything I could come up. It’s frustrating how characters like the Krazoa tend to be forgotten about over time, but I suppose that’s just the natural state of a creative industry. Not every character is going to be a hit, or be remembered. I’ve said this many times before- but I think Star Fox Adventures would have been a much more fondly remembered game if it had launched in its original form, with its original story intact. Only then, perhaps, would people listen to me as I explain how the Krazoa are EVIL.