[9] Some of the gameplay mechanics are similar in fashion to those in the Zelda games: Adventures has a form of currency called Scarabs, that can be used to purchase healing items, new equipment, and maps of the various locations; the main character's health is divided into hearts consisting of four segments and vaguely resembling fox heads, with the player beginning with three hearts and earning a new one after completing key stages of the story; the character can climb ladders and ledges, swim, and jump between platforms, but cannot freely jump themselves; some areas require the player to solve a puzzle to acquire something or move on; and the game features a day-and-night phase, though this is more gradual than in Zelda games.

[6] As a tool, the staff can be used to open containers, operate mechanisms, or lift up stones to uncover hidden caves and boulders to find items.

Eight years after Fox McCloud defeat Andross, Krystal investigates the destruction of her home planet, Cerinia, and the death of her parents.

Meanwhile, on the edge of the Lylat System, General Pepper contacts the Star Fox Team, asking them to investigate the invasion of the Dinosaur Planet.

[2] The game was changed many times during early development before Rare settled on the eventual idea of an open world adventure-game based around two interwoven stories.

As they developed the game, they found it better to shift the main character to two separate ones, Sabre the wolf and Krystal the fox, forgoing Timber's appearance.

[16] Dinosaur Planet initially utilised the Nintendo 64's Expansion Pak and was housed in a 512-megabit (64 megabyte) cartridge, which is the largest size the console would have.

[16]Star Fox Adventures originated here in Kyoto: personally, I’ve been working on the series for a long time and am quite attached to it, so I went to Miyamoto like, “let me do it!

In the meantime, at Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto, Star Fox creator Takaya Imamura, feeling attachment to the series, had requested Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto to let him produce a sequel; he obliged, but requested the game to instead be an action adventure title, forgoing the series' usual 3D rail shooter gameplay.

[3] Bayliss said that Rare developed Dinosaur Planet in earnest, including preparation of a large E3 2000 demonstration, without considering that Nintendo already had the Star Fox property.

[17] In February 2021, a late development version of Dinosaur Planet for the Nintendo 64 dated December 2000 was leaked online, having been acquired from a collector in Sweden.

The build features a unique model for Fox instead of Sabre, indicating that Miyamoto's intervention happened before the decision was made to transition the game to GameCube.

I think somewhere in his mind, Miyamoto’s always pictured Star Fox as somewhat mature, and he’s been saying things like “wouldn’t it be good to add a slightly sexy character?” since the beginning.

Likewise, for Star Fox 64, although the game certainly appeals to children somewhat, I think Miyamoto felt that leaning fully into that would be going too far, and he wanted to add some more mature touches where possible.

The team later realised the potential of using the Star Fox licence in hopes of boosting awareness, and switch development from the Nintendo 64 to the then-upcoming GameCube console as a launch game.

[2][19] Sabre was dropped in favor of Fox McCloud as the lead, but the game retains certain original Dinosaur Planet characters such as Krystal and Tricky.

[17] Rare staff had originally considered removing Krystal in the transition from Dinosaur Planet,[22] but Nintendo, specifically Takaya Imamura, who had been brought on as a supervisor and producer for the project, requested for her to remain in the game, feeling it'd be a waste to scrap her[23][3] and even assisted illustrating her final design during his visits at Rare, which was much more sexualized and revealing than the original Dinosaur Planet appearance.

[24] Of all games converted away from Nintendo 64 in its late market span, IGN called this possibly the biggest departure, having expected it to be one of the platform's killer apps, and side-by-side comparing its "amazing graphical upgrades" on GameCube.

[25] With the Star Fox theme established, Rare begun re-working the game for the then-upcoming GameCube and was subsequently met with little interference from Nintendo.

[38] Star Fox Adventures was eventually designated a Player's Choice game by Nintendo, signifying over 250,000 copies sold, and was thus available at a reduced retail price.

Edge wrote that the "visual splendour is immense",[30] whilst in a similar fashion Matt Casamassina of IGN noted that the game is a "perfect companion" to The Legend of Zelda series, to which Adventures is often compared.

[6] NGC Magazine similarly praised the use of the combat system, but they noted that the battles did not require any skill and eventually "felt like a dull chore".