Lucy, Amanda and Dash?

[ArwingFan]

What are your thoughts on these Command-induced characters, and do you want them in the upcoming game? 

[Patch93]

I like Lucy's concept, but her execution was kinda meh in Command. Her character design, much like the artstyle in general with Command was pretty crap. I find it odd how they made her and Amanda pink and gave Krystal a pink outfit, yet made Katt black. It's ridiculous. I wouldn't mind seeing her again if her character was done better though.

 

Amanda and Dash can fuck right off though. Slippy never needed a love interest and it doesn't fit his character. Also we already have Andrew.

[Drasiana]

They could generally work but they'd need some heavy revisions.

 

Lucy

 

Pros: Lucy was good for worldbuilding (showing us careers in Lylat outside of "mercenary") and character-building (showing Peppy had a life outside of moping about James, gave Krystal an actual friend). 

 

Cons: Her personality seemed a little dull--like she was more an avatar of the plot doing things, rather than a character moving within the plot. Her saying she was an astrophysics teacher wasn't really reconciled with the fact that she spends the entire game in a ship shooting people--she gave us an interesting peek towards Lylat academia but wound up behaving like just another mercenary character.

 

Fixes: I think Lucy is the easiest character to bring back. She fits well into the plot already--I can believe Peppy has a daughter, and that we never met her before because her life doesn't revolve around what Star Fox is doing. It's just making her fit into the actual gameplay, which I think would be a matter of turning her into more of a support character and tying her to a new gameplay feature that would rely on her job as a physics teacher (tutorial-teacher for ship upgrades?). Her personality could be un-boringed by a snappy writer, so that's an easy one that could benefit everyone.

 

Amanda

 

Pros: Her weirdly stone-cold attitude was pretty funny.

 

Cons: There was basically no reason for her to be there outside of an endless string of really bland "what do you mean Slippy is ENGAGED?!" jokes. She had no apparent role in the world outside of "Slippy fiancee punchline" or "doting over Slippy". Everything she did was for Slippy, and we're left without knowing a single thing about her aside from who she's going to marry.

 

Fixes: Amanda would need to be changed the most. Being a walking punchline--and not even a very funny one--is not a great justification for giving a character precious screentime. She needs a role that expands the world, aids the gameplay and jives with all the other characters. What that would even be is highly dependent on the sort of roles a game would even have to offer--many of which would be beyond the scope of what we should probably expect from SFU--but suffice to say I think it would be a pretty massive overhaul. My first instinct with her is to make her a biologist that gives you infodumps on the various Lylatian creatures you have to fight. A frog biologist seems like the delightful sort of joke the series would make, anyway. Make her an integral part of the game and party, not just a joke that occasionally helps Slippy.

 

Dash

 

Pros: Andross storyline elaboration is cool

 

Cons: His character made no sense. At all. When did Andross have a child, let alone a grandson? How is the spawn of the literal greatest menace in recent Lylatian history just openly chilling in the Cornerian Army while no one bats an eye, all while he claims that Andross had good intentions? There is literally NO REASON Dash's storyline couldn't have gone to Andrew--at least no reason properly demonstrated in Command. There was totally cool foil potential between Andrew and Dash--in how Andrew's idolization of Andross dehumanized him into a superficial ideal of grandeur for him to blindly persue, while Dash's more grounded approach put him in a better position to separate the flaws from the altruism and know how to approach the latter--but they never even acknowledge that the other exists. 

 

Fixes: Dash could work as a character if he was introduced as a direct competitor to Andrew. A Venomian power struggle would be an interesting storyline to explore without having to fall back on "oh look, evil aliens are invading Lylat, again" once more. It would get at a lot of the meat that shaped the world we grew to know, and for all its flaws, the idea that Andross started with good intentions--and left two heirs with very different ideas on how to pursue those--is really goddamn interesting. Moreso than Andrew inexplicably piloting a giant enemy crab or Dash becoming a member of ~Star Falco~ anyway.

[SF Redd]

Kill them with FIRE!!

I feel like Command was Cuthbert's way of getting back at Nintendo and the Star Fox series for the cancellation of Star Fox 2.

[NovaPhoenyx]

Im going to have to agree with what everyone has been saying about Amanda. I found her design to be a bit odd and unflattering. Her character as a whole wasn't necessarily needed, but nonetheless it was nice of them to think of Slippy! Her character was rather annoying, as it was said she dotes over him all the time and while that is sweet..its too much. Slippy is a mercenary, sure he is a nice fellow but I think even for him it would get on his nerves. But thats me! Her character would need some more development if they were going to keep her around.

 

I liked Lucy's design overall, but again she needs a bit more development. As it was mentioned, it was nice to see someone else having a different career path. 

 

I feel like the addition of Dash was just a way to make a new enemy (for some of the endings anyway). Sorta like recycling Andross as a main Enemy. 

[Pgpaw3]

Amanda can piss off. There is no need for her in the series.

 

Dash could stay with heavy revisions to his character, but I feel like he would have to be in the role of a villian from the get go, maybe trying to finish what Andross started. He could even be working with Andrew, but could then betray him later on. He would also need a different origin story, as his current one makes no sense.

 

Lucy could work with character revisions, but I can live without seeing her again.

[Roonifer]

There's so much I can say, yet it's already been said. These characters were constructed poorly and therefore serve as nothing but unstable and unessary story elements. (Looking at you, Amanda!)

 

Do I want them in the new game? Of course not. Nobody wants bad characters in their favorite video game series. I'd welcome them with open arms if Nintendo fixed them, but there's nothing--at least that I've seen--that gives us reason to expect any changes.

 

I have to admit though, after reading Dras's opinion on Dash, thinking about his potential is a lot of fun. Man, conflict between Andrew and Dash could open so many possibilities for the series.

[NickFox]

 i'd let lucy stay, of the 3, if given a choice. but not Amanda or Dash. they can ditch Krystal being pink and Katt being gray as well while they are at it. Katt is pink, Krystal blue, period. end of Story.

[Roonifer]

Krystal being pink? You mean her space suit thing?

[Giladen]

I don't expect any of them to be anything more than cameos in SF Wii U.