Slippy Toad

"Slippy" redirects here. For Slippery, see Slip.
Slippy Toad
Star Fox character

First game Star Fox (1993)
Created by Shigeru Miyamoto
Takaya Imamura
Designed by Takaya Imamura
Voiced by (English) Lyssa Browne (Star Fox 64, Star Fox 64 3D, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Star Fox Zero, and Star Fox Guard)
Chris Seavor (Star Fox Adventures and Super Smash Bros. Melee)
Mike McAuliffe (Star Fox: Assault and Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
Voiced by (Japanese) Kyōko Tongū (most appearances)
Kei Hayami (Star Fox 64 3D, Star Fox Zero)

Slippy Toad (Japanese: スリッピー・トード Hepburn: Surippī Tōdo) is a player character in the Star Fox series of video games published by Nintendo. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto along with Takaya Imamura, who also designed the character, and was based on the assistant director of the original Star Fox game. Slippy acts as the inventor and mechanic of Star Fox Team as well as the sidekick to Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi.

Slippy first appeared in the 1993 game Star Fox. Since then, he has appeared in multiple Star Fox games. Reception to the character has been generally negative, with video game reviewers criticizing mainly his voice and appearance, which led Slippy to be included in several lists of the most annoying video game characters. On other hand, he was praised for being a "cute character".

Creation and design

The name "Slippy" in his name is a colloquial name to "Slippery" that was chose by Dylan Cuthbert in order to represente his "clumsy nature".[1] The original four members of the Star Fox Team are based on the staff for the first game. Slippy in particular is based on the assistant director, Yamada.[2]

Appearances

Slippy's debut was in the 1993 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) action game Star Fox. After antagonist Andross launches an attack against the planet Corneria, the Star Fox team resolves to stop him. Slippy's design is that of an anthropomorphic green frog (despite his name). He is a member of the Star Fox team of mercenaries. However, as Slippy is relatively unskilled at flying, he is instead serving as the "brains" of the team, developing weapons,[3] and performing mechanic work. Slippy serves as a sidekick to skilled teammates Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi.[4] He designed the "blaster" and "reflector" weapons that they use.[5]

Slippy makes a cameo in the GameCube fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee and in the 2008 Wii fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the "Shadow Moses Island" stage, conversing with Solid Snake about Falco if that character is selected.[5] He also appears on the Lylat Cruise stage conversing with Star Fox and Star Wolf. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Slippy converses with Star Fox in the Orbital Gate Assault stage from Star Fox: Assault.

Reception

Critical opinion of Slippy has been generally negative; criticism has been leveled primarily at his voice. An article from IGN calls Slippy "an annoying croaking pest", also noting his "high-pitched cries for help".[4] In an April Fools article IGN's Levi Buchanan epithetized his voice as "the sound of the earth cracking open just as the four horsemen visit plague and pestilence on humankind."[6] GameSpot writer Glenn Rubenstein noted the excessive use of voice acting in Star Fox 64, highlighting Slippy's voice as androgynous.[7] GameDaily also listed him as a character that make people want to mute their games, commenting that "until Star Fox 64 [sic] arrived, we liked amphibians."[8]

Slippy has also been criticized for his inadequacy as a pilot; IGN stated that "he can never seem to help himself out of any kind of tight situation."[4] The IGN team and Colin Moriarty ranked him third on their list of ten video game characters who should die, rationalizing that "we can't decide what makes him more annoying: his inadequacy in the cockpit or his ear-splitting voice."[9] Slippy was ranked as the sixth video game sidekicks that GamesRadar's staff most hated, while 1UP.com placed him second in a similar list, criticizing the fact that he does not bring any special quality to the Star Fox's cast.[10][11] Cheat Code Central included in their "Top 10 Lamest Video Game Characters".[12] Complex included him among the ten video game characters who look like sex offenders.[13] Slippy was also listed as one of the most annoying characters in video games by sources such Complex, WatchMojo.com, Cracked.com, Cheat Code Central and Den of Geek.[14][15][16][17][18]

In contrast to negative reception, GameSpy journalist Bryn Williams called him "that froggy legend".[19] Slippy was also listed as one of 25th best sidekicks of video games by Maximum PC.[20] Destructoid's Chad Concelmo said his voice is not reason to hate "the cute, sweet, and supportive member of the Star Fox team", listing him as one of "Ten hated videogame characters that I secretly like".[21] UGO Networks also listed him among one of the cutest characters in video games.[22] Similarly, Complex placed him seventh in their article about "cute characters that you wouldn't want to cross paths with in a dark alley if they decided to go bad",[23] also ranking him second on their article about video game characters who look like ugly but are noble.[24] In 2013, GamesRadar included Slippy among their "8 favourite video game mechanics", calling him "an essential part of Star Fox's core team".[25]

References

  1. ↑ "スターフォックス64 3D 開発スタッフインタビュー [Star Fox 64 3D development staff interview]". Nintendo Dream. Tokuma Shoten (209): 12–19. September 2011.
  2. ↑ Cuthbert, Dylan; NGamer staff (January 11, 2007). "Star Fox Command interview". NGamer. Future plc. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Slippy Toad Profile". IGN. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "Slippy Toad Biography". IGN. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Sora Ltd. Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Snake: This is Snake... / Slippy: Copy, Snake! This is Slippy! / Snake: Whaa--! Who is this? What are you, some kind of frog?! / Slippy: Easy there, buddy! Just thought I'd hop on the wireless and give you a holler. Don't get mad! / Snake: Hacked right into my channel, huh... / Slippy: But I'm not there to mess nothin' up. Don't worry. / Snake: (groans) ... / Slippy: Just so ya know, Falco uses a Blaster and Reflector that I designed, just like Fox does. But Falco will kick his Reflector and send it flyin' around. Just showin' off, if you ask me. / Snake: No reason a weapon can't have more than one use. In fact, I'd say it's versatility shows how well you designed it. / Slippy: Hey, maybe so! I feel all fuzzy now! Thanks, Snake! /Snake: Maybe next time we meet, you can design me a weapon...
  6. ↑ Buchanan, Levi (April 1, 2008). "Bottom 10 SNES Games". IGN. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  7. ↑ Rubenstein, Glenn (May 1, 1997). "Star Fox 64 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Characters that Make You Hit Mute". GameDaily. Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ IGN PlayStation Team; Moriarty, Colin. "Wednesday 10: Videogame Characters That Should Die". IGN. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  10. ↑ "The Top 7… Video game sidekicks we hated". GamesRadar. April 15, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  11. ↑ Mackey, Bob. "Top 5 Worst Videogame Sidekicks". 1UP.com. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  12. ↑ M. D'Argenio, Angelo (March 19, 2012). "Top 10 Lamest Video Game Characters". Cheat Code Central. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ "10 Video Game Characters Who Look Like Sex Offenders". Complex. 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  14. ↑ "The 50 Most Annoying Characters In Video Games". Complex. May 24, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  15. ↑ Dan (January 11, 2012). "Top 10: Annoying Video Game Characters". WatchMojo.com. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  16. ↑ Lovett, Tim (February 19, 2008). "The 15 Most Annoying Video Game Characters (From Otherwise Great Games)". Cracked.com. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  17. ↑ Dodd, Adam (May 24, 2012). "Top 10 Most Annoying Video Game Protagonists". Cheat Code Central. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  18. ↑ Cooper, Rory (August 19, 2011). "The top 10 most annoying videogame characters". Den of Geek. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  19. ↑ Williams, Bryn (May 14, 2003). "Star Fox Armada". GameSpy. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Thanks Buddy!: 25 of Gaming's Greatest Sidekicks". Maximum PC. November 22, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  21. ↑ Concelmo, Chad (February 2, 2012). "Ten hated videogame characters that I secretly like". Destructoid. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  22. ↑ "The 50 Cutest Video Game Characters". UGO Networks. October 12, 2010. p. 5. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  23. ↑ Vincent, Britanny (April 23, 2012). "20 Cute Video Game Characters You Don't Want To Mess With". Complex. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  24. ↑ Amirkhani, Justin (September 21, 2011). "10 Really Ugly Good Guys". Complex. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  25. ↑ Hartup, Andy (August 9, 2013). "Our 8 favourite video game mechanics (real ones)". GamesRadar. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
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