According to time The Adventures of Star Fox Launched on the GameCube in 2002, it already carried a strange anomaly: it was an action-adventure title in the rail shooter franchise, developed by a studio that was on the verge of being acquired by Microsoft. But the real surprise is that this title started life as something completely different. Before Fox McCloud and long before the game moved to the GameCube, Rare was developing an ambitious dinosaur-themed RPG for the Nintendo 64.
What followed was one of the most fascinating pivot points in gaming history: a genre-changing evolution, merging IPs and platform-hopping that turned an original new world into the final first-party collaboration between Rare and Nintendo. It is shown below development story, starting with the RPG Rare that was created, the circumstances that shaped it, and how The Adventures of Star Fox eventually emerged from the transformation.
What was Rare's Dinosaur RPG, Dinosaur Planet?
Rare's original concept, Dinosaur planetstarted as a standalone Nintendo 64 project that had no connection Star Fox. The studio split into teams after the release Diddy Kong Racingwith one tasked with building a new, expansive adventure at the end of the N64's life. The team went through several genres before settling on something they were heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: a story adventure game set in a prehistoric world inhabited by anthropomorphic heroes.
RPG based on dual protagonists
The central characters were Saber, a wolf warrior, and Krystal, a fox adventurer: two main roles with intersecting storylines designed to be swapped using a mechanic called “SwapStone”. Both characters had accompanying animal companions: Tricky and Kyte, who survived largely intact until the final game. Rare even planned a complex family dynamic involving Randorn, a wizard who served as Saber's father and Krystal's adoptive father. Still, Randorn didn't make it into the final iterations of the game. Apparently, Dinosaur planet was going to be Rare's last and possibly greatest N64 release, but a seemingly random moment before E3 2000 would change everything.
Timeline of the transformation of the dinosaur planet to the Fox star
- 1999: Development continues Dinosaur planet picks up shortly after Rare ended Diddy Kong Racing. During the early stages of conception, Timber (from Diddy Kong Racing) is deployed as the main character before being replaced by Saber and Krystal. Rare shapes Dinosaur planet into an open action adventure with two protagonists and N64 Expansion Pak support.
- 1999–2000: Nintendo is starting work on a standalone soon The Adventures of Star Fox a concept originally planned for the N64.
- E3 2000: Rare was preparing a Dinosaur planet presentation for the now defunct E3 convention. Nintendo proposes a merger Star Fox and Dinosaur planet.
- 2000–2001: Development moves from N64 to GameCube as the teams integrate Fox, redesign Krystal and restructure the story.
- 2002: The Adventures of Star Fox released as Rare's first and last GameCube title. In September Rare was bought by Microsoft.
- 2021: Almost final N64 build Dinosaur planet leaked online, revealing that Fox McCloud had already been inserted before the platform switch.
- 2025: The leaked build version gets the recompilation treatment.
How Nintendo's interest and internal projects redirected development
While Rare was developing Dinosaur planetNintendo experimented with a very different project: an action-adventure reimagining Star Fox for Nintendo 64. Takaya Imamura, Star Fox creator, personally asked to work on the sequel. Soon The Adventures of Star Fox Under Shigeru Miyamoto's direction, the concept moved away from rail shooters and towards on-foot exploration, but progress stalled as the staff was diverted to titles like Mario and The Legend of Zelda for GameCube.
The E3 demo that changed everything
The turning point came when Miyamoto observed Rare's Dinosaur planet demo. There was a question of whether Rare should accept the new project Star Fox characters. Before E3 2000, Nintendo asked Rare to keep quiet about the demo and held meetings to explore merging the two concepts. Both teams saw an opportunity. Dinosaur planet had strong world and character building; Nintendo had an established, recognizable franchise that needed a bold reinvention. Simply put, a combo game could benefit from both.
Merging universes and reworking characters
The deal led to a new one Star Fox a game that would be called Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet. Rare developers traveled to Japan to work with Nintendo to integrate the characters, adjust the art direction, and reconfigure the narrative and lore. Fox replaced Saber as the main protagonist, but Krystal and Tricky remained. The Saber was eventually dropped entirely, although Saber-like elements persisted in the early Fox N64.
Nintendo's involvement went beyond story integration. Imamura worked closely with Rare to redesign Krystal, leaning towards a more mature, sex-appeal interpretation inspired by the comic book character Vampirella. Miyamoto reportedly wanted a more “adult” tone Star Fox series, and Krystal's redesign also became part of this shift.
Platform jump
While the original plan was still based on the N64, the timing proved problematic. The console was dwindling and the GameCube was rapidly advancing. Realizing the scope of the project and seeing the potential to strengthen the lineup of titles for the GameCube launch, the teams agreed to move development to the new hardware.
Star Fox Adventures eventually grew out of Rare's RPG
When development moved to the GameCube, Rare reworked the project into full form Star Fox title, by omitting the “Dinosaur planet” subtitles and a restructuring of the narrative from Fox's perspective. Still, large chunks of the original world survived: its characters, regions, and tone carried over, even as the plot became increasingly intertwined with Star Fox universe. Composer David Wise edited the soundtrack mid-development and added Star Fox musical callbacks only in later stages: another sign of how long the project has existed as a separate entity.
When The Adventures of Star Fox which launched in 2002, became Rare's only GameCube title and its last major collaboration with Nintendo. Microsoft bought Rare shortly after release, ending the era and cementing it The Adventures of Star Fox as the final chapter: a hybrid of two ambitious projects and two companies whose creative partnership defined the franchise.
