Shigeru Miyamoto is apparently aware of a fan theory that the Star Fox team all had their lower legs amputated and surgically replaced with robotic limbs. However, on hearing about it for the first time, "the look on his face was a combination of "wait, what?"/"get me out of here"/"are you nuts".
That's according to former NOA PR manager and current presenter of The Kit & Krysta Podcast, Kit Ellis (thanks, Games Radar), who said on X that he was present when the legendary Nintendo designer was asked about Fox and co.'s legs.
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If you're not familiar with the theory, let's back up a little. It all stems from original key art for Star Fox with all the Lylat crew sporting uncomfortable-looking metal footwear. Also seen prominently on the cover of an April 1993 issue of Nintendo Power, observe the North American box art, for example:
The theory postulated online was that Arwing pilots would have their lower legs removed and robotic replacements grafted on. This would supposedly benefit pilots in flight thanks to the brain's blood supply being less affected by G-forces (ie. blood couldn't be pushed down into non-existent legs), reducing the chance of blackout during extreme manoeuvres.
And looking at the evidence in the key art above, it isn't the craziest fan theory we've ever heard, certainly!
However, replying to a tweet examining McCloud's footwear in the recently revealed Super Mario Galaxy Movie poster, Ellis says that Miyamoto-san was perplexed by the whole idea when asked:
To be fair, those metal boots on the original Star Fox puppets do look mighty painful. Falco's scrawny bird claws might squeeze in there, but we're not sure how Fox, Peppy, and Slippy's feet would cope. Fox's footwear on the new poster — with steel knee and toecaps — looks much more comfortable.
For comparison's sake, here's a look at some official art from the Star Fox Zero, the most recent game in the series:
We would google for further fan theories and speculative feet illustrations, but we need to work in public spaces on occasion and, Safe Search On or otherwise, that would wreak absolute havoc with our search history.
So, we can scratch that bogey, it seems. Let us know below if you still subscribe to this idea. Alternatively, let's see your best Star Fox foot puns...