Krystal
"My name is Krystal, and I've come for the princess!" - Krystal
Overview
Krystal is a 16 year-old "Vixon" from the Vixon Tribe on the planet Animus, and one of the two playable protagonists in Dinosaur Planet.
She was adopted and raised by Randorn of the Wolven Tribe for most of her young life, and believes that he rescued her when a disaster took the lives of her true parents. Randorn's son, Sabre, is her adoptive brother because of this part of Krystal's life.
Krystal is a gentle, courageous and mature character around everyone she considers an ally or friend. On the contrary, though, she gets tough and shows no fear around those who dare to threaten Dinosaur Planet's peace.
Her "dino sidekick" is Kyte, a pterodactyl and princess of the CloudRunner tribe, whom she rescues from the clutches of General Scales early-on in the game. She assists Krystal in her journey with several useful Commands, which allow her to do things that Krystal cannot.
Early Story (From Character Bio)
On a moonlit night deep in the Northwood Forest on Animus, the six year-old vixen is woken up by a Wolven warrior entering her clan’s territory. The warrior began to attack her clan and Krystal’s father urged her to run and to not turn back in order to hide.
She spent the night hidden by the roots of a giant tree, and as soon as day broke out she traced by her steps to find her family, but was found by a Wolven male, Randorn, who explained to her that her family had been killed by someone.
The child, now an orphan, is reassured by the adult Wolven who wants to take care of her. It was he who gave her the name Krystal.
Story Resume (From Rare's Website)
Transcript : Orphaned at the age of six, Krystal found herself adopted by the wandering Randorn and has accompanied him in his travels for then long years. But now, with the discovery of an ancient temple, a new chapter of their livees - and Sabre's, too - is about to begin.
Character Bio
Characteristics
Name : Krystal
Age : 16 years old
Height : 5ft 8”
Likes : Learning new skills and has a crush on Sabre
Dislikes : People who underestimate her for being a girl and SharpClaws’s stinky breath!
Weapon : Staff
Combat style : Malikendo (Ancient art of staff, fighting perfected by Wolven Leaders)
Favorite spell : The illusion spell (Krystal loves getting the better of dumb Sharpclaws!)
Favorite food : Randorn’s Berry Pie
Special abilities : She is very acrobatic.
Questions / Answers
- What does Krystal want to do when Dinosaur Planet has been saved?
Despite the hard-girl image, Krystal really needs a week’s relaxation at a Health Spa. Her nails are filthy!
- Personality
Her turbulent upbringing has given her a cool and mature head for her age, which has often proven invaluable in some difficult situations.
A skilled fighter, Krystal uses her staff as her main form of attack and defense. Her years spent growing up with Randorn have allowed her to hone her combat techniques to a level that is just right for bashing SharpClaws.
- Role within the game
Krystal’s relationship with her sidekick Kyte grows as the game progresses. The alliance that forms between the two will see both characters rely on each other for support during many difficult situations and experiences.
Concept Art and Early Representations
This is Nick Southam's piece on his artstation. In this piece (Combining DP and SFA concept art and illustration for the boxart), we can see Krystal sporting strangely an outfit closer to the one she will eventually wear in Star Fox Adventures. (Two piece, drapes and jewel on her tail.) This was made during the switch to the Gamecube (Since the piece is dated for 2001).
The first piece was made as a tryout for Krystal was a Cheetah, which would have made a lot of sense with Timber (a tiger) as the second protagonist. On the second concept, we can see Krystal much more close to her in-game appearance except for the boots which looks more close to armor Sabre wears.
Renders and Models
"Promotional" Render
This first render clearly predates the character model seen in-game. A lot more details are present on the face such as stripes, more fur in general and her staff appears to be different from it's appearance in-game. This was apparently made for promotional use and was indeed used as such on E3 vertical displays.
"Character Bio" Render
This render is much closer to Krystal's in-game appearance. (Besides the missing gem on her neck and glove on her left arm.) This render was linked to her character biography.
In-Game Model
Krystal's in-game model, as it appears in the December 2000 Build of Dinosaur Planet. Note the small differences between it and the "Character Bio" render : Neck jewel, arm glove on her left and no border on the bottom of the dress. The hint of blue on her fur is also slightly different.
(ℹ️) Turn around reference by Discord member LazyJenny.
Promotional material
Krystal's E3 banner, using the early fur render. On the right, Sabre's side with this early render.
Promotional statue of Sabre, Krystal and their mount. Krystal model has her early yellow gloves that goes up right under her shoulders, just like her E3 banner. She also has stripes on her blue fur on her face and a more prononced eye line. Since they were presented together as promotional material at E3, it makes sense they based the statue on the early render of the characters.
Worth noting that Sabre is pretty close to his appearence in-game, and didn't have much changes (Except his necklace jewel).
Story in-game
Krystal's story starts on a Cloudrunner as she's making her way to Warlock Mountain after receiving a call from the wizard Randorn. They encounter Scales' Galleon that holds in hostage Kyte, the Cloud Runner princess.
Voice lines
Cutscenes & gameplay
Screenshots in-game
Early screenshots
All these pictures that had been released for years seems to be pretty close on the most recent Krystal render and her appearance in the prototype, except for one :
This screenshot seems to have an earlier Krystal in-game model, her fur color is a tad darker and seems to have stripes (The ears inwards seems to be white as well), appearing to closely match the promotional render. Of course, this is pure speculation since there are no more screenshots of the supposed second model in-game but this is interesting and worth noting.
Screenshots from the prototype
Endgame story (Spoiler)
References
Profile
Name | Krystal |
---|---|
Age | 16 |
Height | 5ft 8” |
Species | Fox |
Home planet | Animus (Northwood Forest) |
Gender | Female |
Clan | Fox Tribe |
Relatives | Randorn (Adoptive father), Sabre (Sibling) |
Image | Credits |