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Krystal's Role


Drasiana

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Yes, we all know about the big blue elephant in the room, and since she didn't show up in the demos, it's understandable that people are wondering.

 

Firstly, it's perfectly possible that the only reason she wasn't in the demo was because they were reusing SF643D graphic/voice assets, and, well, she wasn't in that, so there were no assets to transfer. But on the other hand, we really don't know where this game takes place in the timeline. Is it a sequel? An inbetweequel? A reboot entirely? We don't know, and there's been no definitive statement in any which way, so all we're left to do is speculate.

 

Ideally, I want SFU to be a post-64 reboot. Therefore, picking up after 64, and wiping Adventures, Assault and Command from canon. However, this doesn't mean I want Krystal erased by any means. Actually, this would be the best opportunity for her to become the strongly-written, fascinating character she was always meant to be.

 

The current fact of the matter is, she doesn't work as a member of Star Fox. The second Fox shows up, she instantly loses any form of agency, forgets her personal quest entirely, and basically contributes nothing to either the gameplay or the plot, until Command's hamfisted attempt at reversing that. This isn't because the idea of her as a character is entirely and irredeemably broken--it's because the role she was forced into just does not work for her character.

 

Krystal is a mysterious woman from another long-dead planet who may or may not have alien powers, and may or may not be the last of her species. This basically makes her Superman. It also makes her a horrendously shitty lackey wingman, because she was always far better off as the secondary protagonist.

 

This is how she was originally intended, after all. As much as I love Slippy, Peppy and Falco, their roles on the team were fairly concrete. Their backstory revolves around them joining Star Fox, as in, "were good friends with Fox/James and joined the team", and it never got much more complicated than that (though some elaboration would be fun). Krystal is more complicated than that, and stuffing her into a poor man's Peppy role does not do justice to the entire reason the character exists in the series (planetary genocide). Unfortunately, this means Krystal cannot actively fit into this role as a member of Star Fox. Star Fox does what Fox does, and Fox is the primary protagonist. To go back to Krystal's backstory, the current goal of the Star Fox team must be distracted. Then, by making it the Star Fox team's goal, Krystal's discovery of her backstory becomes Fox's story. That's not entirely fair for poor Krystal, is it?

 

So, Krystal needs to go through her story separately, but concurrently. Her and Fox need to have similar intertwining goals that lead them to encounter one another, but wildly different motives. This would, the way I currently see it, land Krystal in a role similar to Katt, Bill, and Star Wolf, but involved in the plot more frequently and overtly. Sometimes helping, sometimes hindering.

 

Example:

 

In a demo stage, Fox and friends fought a kaiju. There is a series precedence for this, in the planetary protectors that are/were the Goras, Dodora, and Baccoon. Say, the plot of SFU involves a bunch of kaiju suddenly crawling out of the depths and attacking Lylat! Of course, Star Fox mobilizes to save the day. One of the first creatures they fight, they can't figure out how to defeat it as it rampages through a city...until a mysterious woman appears and expertly reveals the creature's weak points (by shooting off some of its armour or whatever) and they defeat it! But who is this chick? How did she know what to do? She leaves before she can be questioned.

 

In a later mission, say Pepper directs them towards what they've determined to be a nest of kaiju eggs! They go to destroy it, but there she is again...only this time she stops them! Maybe they fight, maybe she successfully saves the eggs, maybe Fox destroys them, I dunno, whatever. They still don't know what her motive is.

 

Missions go on, they finally converge on one where, in a moment of desperation, Krystal reveals she's (presumably) the last of the Cerinians, an ancient race who were in-tune with the planet guardians. She claims they were always peaceful creatures who would only awaken when Lylat was in peril (like the poor creature who tried and failed to stop Cerinia from being destroyed?), so she doesn't understand what has happened. As Fox and friends have been just trying to stop them, and figure out where they've come from, Krystal's discovered that they're actually being mind-controlled by the remaining Venomians! So at that point they head into the final act working together, to stop Venom (again) and let the creatures return to their peaceful slumber.

 

...this is a really, really loose overview, but I think it does the trick at explaining what I want here. Not only does it build upon worldbuilding aspects that the series has a (rather ignored) precedent for, but it also progresses the story in a way that reveals things about Krystal, and gives her something to do, without instantly relegating her to a subservient role--while, of course, you still get to play through some fun Star Foxy levels.

 

I've also recently become fond of the idea of her as a narrator/mentor type character, but that's a little more in-depth and not quite in line with previous storytelling conventions in the series and I don't know if I can see SFU taking that route. It would be fun, but I think the previous idea is a bit easier to work with.

 

Then, in concurrent games, she would have a similar role. I'm ambivalent towards Fox/Krystal as a pairing, but even if you're gonna go that way, tease it for a while. Make her the Tuxedo Mask of space foxes. Fox represents the narrative of Star Fox, but Krystal could so easily represent the world of Star Fox...and I think she does that best when she's out there in it.

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Jesus Dras. 

 

And that was only four glasses of Wine.

 

For science we should give you 12.

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Six.

 

IT WAS SIX.

 

can you tell I'm procrastinating on the things I actually SHOULD be writing about

 

e: do NOT give me 12 glasses of wine if you value post quality and also the quality of any rug in my immediate vicinity

 

e2: Xort's been lurking this topic for like 20 minutes I am afraid

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We need to start a petition... to have Dras be a writer for the Starfox series forevar.

 

Make it happen.

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Drasiana hit the nail on the head. Krystal never worked as a member of Star Fox. You can tell none of the teams after Adventures knew what to do with her. Especially when you look at her asspulled telepathy in Assault, which was transparently an attempt to let Krystal have an excuse to be part of Star Fox.

If Star Fox Wii U is a reboot, then Krystal needs to be revamped to something that'll be stuck with.

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Agreed. Krystal has potential to be more than a glorified sex object. She can help expand the story in a non-convoluted way, unlike in previous games.

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I don't know. 

 

Who here likes Krystal as a glorified usage for rule 34 and sex appeal for Furries?

 

Anyone? Any takers?

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I don't know. 

 

Who here likes Krystal as a glorified usage for rule 34 and sex appeal for Furries?

 

Anyone? Any takers?

 

a8WNZ11_460sa.gif

 

-----

 

All jokes aside, Krystal certainly requires a role that allows her character to be fleshed out in a sensible way.

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Honestly, if Star Fox Wii U ditches Krystal's magicalness, then I can see her as being SF Wii U's answer to Fara Phoenix from the Itoh comics.

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Fara wasn't actually that much better of a character than Krystal, and I don't know why people think she was. "Doesn't have random psychic powers for no reason" isn't exactly a high bar to jump. Even then, let's not treat them as completely interchangeable characters just because they're female leads. That does nothing to respect individual character potential and reduces their worth to "the female one".

 

I'd like to see Fara back though, she'd be good as something akin to the training mode tanuki guy only more plot involved I guess.

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I don't know. 

 

Who here likes Krystal as a glorified usage for rule 34 and sex appeal for Furries?

 

Anyone? Any takers?

 

zwi5IlX.gif

 

Or, alternatively:

 

eJSuvxw.gif

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Krystal is NOT a sex object, in my opinion. In fact, after she married with Fox in Command, several stories could happen... I see her as a brave vixen, which really wishes for the best, especially after being the sole survivor of the explosion of Cerineria. However, I imagine the bosses and enemies will want to kill her because she is the only one who knows about Cerineria's past, and you know the rest, folks! icon_razz.gif.pagespeed.ce.5P6LdwusxY.gi  :love: xfriends.gif.pagespeed.ic.qAXapnn7pL.png

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Krystal is NOT a sex object

 

Krystal does stuff for a grand total of five minutes in Adventures before being shelved for the rest of the game. Though prior to the scene it is established that Krystal-in-the-crystal is in great pain and possibly dying, Fox is introduced to her through a slow pan up her half-naked comatose body with porn sax playing in the background, immediately followed by a joke about how Fox is turned on (by a kidnapped dying woman). She continues to do nothing but sit there in a perfect position for creeplords to look up her loincloth, until she's finally delivered to the player as a prize for winning the game. I'm pretty sure in a semi-recent interview one of the game's actual developers said that, in hindsight, the way they designed and treated the character was kind of creepy.

 

In Assault she had almost no gameplay function, very little plot function, and only seemed to exist to constantly worry over Fox's safety. Also, look at how "non-sexualized" her promo renders were.

 

And "after she married Fox in Command"? You mean one of the few plotlines in that game where Krystal actually never even shows up, and just waits around Sauria the entire game for Fox to come back to her? Riveting.

 

 

However, I imagine the bosses and enemies will want to kill her because she is the only one who knows about Cerineria's past, and you know the rest, folks!

 

Your headcanon is not canon. Cerinia was never mentioned again after the opening scrawl in Adventures. Her backstory has had absolutely no bearing on the plot at all, ever. She has only ever existed in canonity for wankbait and waifu wish fulfillment. The only exceptions were the Command plotlines where she joined Star Wolf or the CDF.

 

Just because you may not be attracted to her does not mean that was not how she was specifically designed and written.

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I suppose the same can be said of Katt as well. I mean, think about it, she (katt) just kind of appears when for the sake of plot convenience, and maybe to make Falco act like a brat so people can have a reason to dislike him. I for one would like if Katt had more screen time and actually did something relevant to the plot in terms of story progression. Even in Command, with the exception of that Star Falco ending, her purpose was mostly like this: "Hey it looks like you are being out-manned right now, im gonna help shoot down some baddies."

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I suppose the same can be said of Katt as well.

 

No it can't be because Katt has never served a story role similar to Krystal or Fara. "Being female" is not a character role. Katt is more comparable to Bill than she is to Krystal or Fara.

 

 

 I mean, think about it, she (katt) just kind of appears when for the sake of plot convenience,

 

Nothing about Krystal was ever "convenient", so I'm not sure the point of the comparison here either. e: also I think Katt and Bill's appearances can be considered subplots with their own arcs so they work in that sense.

 

 

I for one would like if Katt had more screen time and actually did something relevant to the plot in terms of story progression.

 

SHE SAVED THE GREAT FOX AND FAREWELL BELOVED FALCO IS  CANON

 

 

Even in Command,

 

To be fair nobody in Command really did anything but fly in circles while punching themselves in the face and crying.

 

Like, I seriously don't understand why you're bringing up Katt in the context of this conversation?? She is not a sex object, having been a disembodied head in 64 and a scrapped-up bandit in FBF with absolutely no hypersexualized poses or plot functions. She has never been a love interest for Fox. Her existence in the games has never broken Lylat's worldbuilding or thrown a wrench into previous story points.

 

Katt is actually probably the most developed side character in the series. We know more about her than we know about Wolf.

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Nothing about Krystal was ever "convenient"

 

well, the lack of gag reflex is apparently pretty convenient

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Cerinia was never mentioned again after the opening scrawl in Adventures.

If I remember correctly, Cerinia was never mentioned in the game at all. It was in the manual. The opening scrawl was babbling on about her trying to find out what happened to her parents. Backstory consistency: The game had none.

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If I remember correctly, Cerinia was never mentioned in the game at all. It was in the manual. The opening scrawl was babbling on about her trying to find out what happened to her parents. Backstory consistency: The game had none.

Thanks there, DZ! However, if it appeared somewhere, I usually consider it. But whatever!  ;)

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Oh, you're right. So the game gave even less of a shit about that entire plot than I thought!

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As a reminder, I'd like to ask everyone to remain on topic and generally refrain from posting things that add nothing to the topic.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 8 months later...
 

How can Krystal have any significant role if all she functions as is a Love Interest for Fox.

I dont know why not ask Jenny? She has the same role Krystal does in the series she's in. I'm surprised no one has noticed the connection of this series to Star Fox.

Wait, if Krystal is comparable to Jenny, that means Krystal would be motherly to Slippy because Slippy is comparable to Willy.

Telepathic and a mother in training

I'm aware how old this post is, forgive me.

buckyohare2.png

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You can definitely function as a love interest and still have a significant role.  The problem with Krystal is Nintendo's failure to do anything interesting with her:  in Assault, she's just a generic vixen who happens to be on Star Fox.  The only tribute that's paid at all to her background is in the title screen, where she's referenced as a "telepath."  She has the potential to be a pretty interesting character if she were actually developed, but she's relegated to being just a half-assed source of sexual tension.

I think her story could be really interesting, but portraying it with any semblance of realism would require a much more heavy-handed approach to character development than Nintendo is interested in doing.  Hers is a story that I feel really has to take over the narrative to be interesting.  In that sense, Nintendo sort of screwed themselves.  But if you sort of think about it, it could be an interesting story, yes?  Krystal is a complete stranger who doesn't even speak the common language.  She's forced to adapt to Cornerian culture, and the only person that she trusts (Fox) is one who obviously has ulterior motives.  

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You can definitely function as a love interest and still have a significant role.  The problem with Krystal is Nintendo's failure to do anything interesting with her:  in Assault, she's just a generic vixen who happens to be on Star Fox.  The only tribute that's paid at all to her background is in the title screen, where she's referenced as a "telepath."  She has the potential to be a pretty interesting character if she were actually developed, but she's relegated to being just a half-assed source of sexual tension.

I think her story could be really interesting, but portraying it with any semblance of realism would require a much more heavy-handed approach to character development than Nintendo is interested in doing.  Hers is a story that I feel really has to take over the narrative to be interesting.  In that sense, Nintendo sort of screwed themselves.  But if you sort of think about it, it could be an interesting story, yes?  Krystal is a complete stranger who doesn't even speak the common language.  She's forced to adapt to Cornerian culture, and the only person that she trusts (Fox) is one who obviously has ulterior motives.  

That's where you get Cyberconnect2 involved and also have Platinum in on it for the reason of as much as this game Cyberconnect2 made was great with the 110% effort they put in it, it suffered from being too easy. The reason i'm all over these guys handling it is because they're the only developer studio that actually loves and understands the kemono/furry theme. They'd easily make a good Star Fox game if they got to, not just in how it'd play but by how they'd actually flesh everyone out from their generic one dimensional characteristics, if you would even call blank slates such. Nintendo themselves have proven that other than Zelda and Mario to some degree, they cannot handle any other game.

Also to say Krystal is just there as a Star Fox member sounds wrong as really you can say that about everyone from how Zero especially made them all out.

  • Falco does nothing, is just a generic angry guy
  • Slippy even if shot down or not present still gives you the boss meter, generic screw up
  • Peppy honestly serves no purpose since everyone says the same things he does, he does have a backstory like Krystal so that kinda helps.
  • Fox is really just a generic pilot
  • Overall Fox does everything throughout half or 1/4ths of the entire game while everyone else is just back at the base doing nothing

In 64

  • Falco only does something two times, but otherwise doesnt do anything
  • Slippy despite the boss meter offering does nothing at all
  • Peppy really just tells you the same thing you already know while doing nothing. Again has a backstory like Krystal does.
  • Fox is as generic as ever 
  • Everyone is present throughout the game

I could go as far about the SNES incarnations, but i'm sure everyone knows just how useless everyone in the game is. I will include Miyu and Fay on this as really they share the same stats as a couple others while providing no real significance themselves. My point is it's kind of a cheap thing to say when really no one else has any real significant role themselves.

solatorobo-jpn-boxart.jpg

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Also to say Krystal is just there as a Star Fox member sounds wrong as really you can say that about everyone from how Zero especially made them all out.

  • Falco does nothing, is just a generic angry guy
  • Slippy even if shot down or not present still gives you the boss meter, generic screw up
  • Peppy honestly serves no purpose since everyone says the same things he does, he does have a backstory like Krystal so that kinda helps.
  • Fox is really just a generic pilot
  • Overall Fox does everything throughout half or 1/4ths of the entire game while everyone else is just back at the base doing nothing

    In 64

  • Falco only does something two times, but otherwise doesnt do anything
  • Slippy despite the boss meter offering does nothing at all
  • Peppy really just tells you the same thing you already know while doing nothing. Again has a backstory like Krystal does.
  • Fox is as generic as ever 
  • Everyone is present throughout the game

 

I was referring specifically to Assault, here. And I think it's the only game where you can really have this conversation--it's the most mature one and it had the most freedom.  Star Fox and SF64 suffered from major hardware limitations that precluded too much development. But still, if you look at SF64 in context of other games of the time, the characters were rich and lively and memorable compared to contemporary games. It's not fair at all to say that the characters in SF64 were underdeveloped--sure, they were by modern standards, but the context is important.

In Assault:

  • We see Wolf as a morally gray character rather than a generic evil one.
  • We see the Aparoids attempt to dupe Fox by impersonating his father, and Fox pushing on anyway because his father would "never tell him to give up."
  • We see possession and corruption of both a series villain and a series hero (Pigma, Pepper).
  • We see several villains, each with different motivations, some of which end up on Fox's side (Oikonny, Wolf, Pigma, the Aparoid Queen).
  • We see Slippy grow a backbone and tell Falco to shut the hell up.

Falco has some nice dialogue, especially on Corneria, but no major development. Yet he serves his role as Fox's wingman very well.  Meanwhile, Krysta's air time is:

  • When Aparoids threaten Sauria, which has major significance to Krystal, all she does is joke about "a mission together at last," to which Fox blushes like a schoolgirl. 
  • "I'm sensing strange thought patterns" when Aparoids appear.
  • A few other teasing lines leveled at Fox that just make him squirm (he does not look very much like a ruthless mercenery here...).

I really don't think she contributed much of anything, and though Nintendo made an attempt to give her and Adventures a nod with that mission on Sauria, they missed out on a lot of potential there.  That mission had very nice gameplay, but its place in the story and to the characters was utterly insignificant--the most character development we see probably comes from Slippy snapping back at Falco when Falco tells him not to mess everything up.

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