page_title: Fox McCloud
section_title: Concept and design
hierarchical_section_title: Fox McCloud / Concept and design
caption_attribution_description: Statue of Kitsune (fox) holding a key in its mouth, at the main gate to the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine near Kyoto. (Photo September 7, 2007 by Geoffrey A. Landis)
context_page_description: Fox McCloud is a video game character and the chief protagonist of Nintendo's Star Fox series. He is an anthropomorphic fox created and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takaya Imamura. In each game, to varying extents, the player controls Fox in his Arwing. He is the leader of the Star Fox team, and is joined by his wingmates on various missions.
context_section_description: In 1992, Nintendo and Argonaut Software collaborated to produce a 3D space shooter for the Super NES, provisionally titled 'SnesGlider'. The development team, led by Shigeru Miyamoto, redesigned what had been a tech demo into a rail shooter, with Nintendo designing the game and Argonaut handling the programming aspects. However, without a story, it lacked any incentive to play beyond flying and shooting. Miyamoto sketched out a universe, but could not decide on a natural hero to convey a sense of an epic space saga. Names under consideration included "Star Wolf", "Star Sheep", "Star Fox", "Star Sparrow", and "Star Hawk". Miyamoto finally settled on having a fox as the main character after visiting Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto, the head shrine of Inari, a Japanese kami associated with foxes. Inari is portrayed as being able to fly, and its shrines, particularly the one in Kyoto, are surrounded by red arches (torii), giving Miyamoto the idea of a fox that could fly through arches. Fox's face was modeled after Inari's, and usually wears a "red turtleneck" or "red scarf" around his neck, like the statue. Fox McCloud's personality is heavily based on Shigeru Miyamoto's own personality, with the surname 'McCloud' being suggested by Dylan Cuthbert, one of Argonaut's programmers. Cuthbert stated on a Reddit Ask me Anything that the name is a reference to Connor MacLeod of Highlander with a different "spacey" spelling used.
  Fox McCloud is an anthropomorphic fox with orange-brown fur, with golden-brown or white highlights. He has a stereotypical bushy white-tipped tail which appears to be very short in Star Fox 64 and Command. His eyes are inconsistently shown to be either green or blue. He will occasionally wear large tanker boots over his legs when fighting on the ground.
  Fox's outfit has changed in every game he appears in, but generally includes an orange or green jumpsuit under a pale gray flight jacket or combat vest and a headset. In Star Fox 64, if the game is played in expert mode, Fox wears a pair of sunglasses similar to what his father wore. Nintendo has never officially cited Fox's age or height in a game manual, however, Nintendo Power released a card featuring Fox, which stated that during Star Fox 64 he is 18 years old, his height is 1.73 SM and his weight is 70.31 SK. The SNES Star Fox soundtrack booklet stated that Fox's height is 152 centimetres (4.99 ft) and his weight is 46 kilograms (101 lb). Fox would be 26 in Adventures (as Adventures takes place just 8 years after the events of Star Fox 64), 27 in Assault (the game manual stated 1 year had passed since the conclusion of Adventures), and 29 to 30 in Command.
  Unlike the consistency with other Nintendo characters, such as Mario, several different individuals have voiced Fox. He was first voiced by Daniel Owsen in Star Fox, in both the English and Japanese versions of the game. His most consistent English voice actor has been Mike West, who first portrayed the character in the localized release of Star Fox 64. After a hiatus of fourteen years, West reprised the role for Star Fox 64 3D. He has since then consistently voiced Fox, supplying the character with his voice for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Star Fox Zero, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In both the Japanese release of Star Fox 64 and Super Smash Bros., Fox was voiced by Shinobu Satouchi (speaking in English with a Japanese accent for the English version). For English dialogue of Super Smash Bros. Melee and Star Fox Adventures, Fox's voice was done by Rare's Steve Malpass. In Star Fox: Assault, his voice was done by Jim Walker in the English release, and by Kenji Nojima in the Japanese release. Nojima reprised his role for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as did Walker for the English version. Nojima reprised his role once again in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. In Star Fox 64 3D, Star Fox Zero, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is voiced by Takashi Ōhara in Japanese.
  There is a fan theory stating t
caption: A fox holding a key in its mouth, at the main gate of the Fushimi Inari shrine
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