Sector Z

“	Fox's favourite ship, Arwing, flies past and indiscriminately shoots its lasers across the stage.	”
—Super Smash Bros.'s instruction manual

Sector Z
Universe	Star Fox
Appears in	SSB
Located	Lylat System
Home stage to	Fox
Availability	Starter
Tracks available	Track #11
Tournament legal (SSB)
Singles	Banned
Doubles	Banned

Sector Z (セクターＺ, Sector Z) is a default stage appearing in Super Smash Bros. based on the Star Fox 64 level Sector Z. It is called "Sector Z" because of the red ripple in the background which resembles the letter "Z". This stage did not return in any later game, but a similar stage atop the Great Fox, Corneria, appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee and later in in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

This is the largest stage appearing in Super Smash Bros. In 1P Game, the player fights Fox on this stage.

Website description

Players must dangerously balance on the outside of the Great Fox spaceship in this outer-space arena. From the cockpit to the booster engine, the entire vessel is open for fighting. The combatants aren't affected by the lack of gravity or oxygen, but you should always be on the lookout for low-flying Arwings. These miniature spaceships can be used as platforms, but their stray laser beams can turn you into an unwilling deep space explorer.

Stage layout

The Great Fox is the only platform on this stage but it has three different terrain levels. The front two-thirds of the ship are the first terrain with the tip of the wing acting as a good vantage point for projectile throwing. The back third of the ship near the engines and the Arwing bay is another terrain with the left wall being a good place to rack combos on another player. However, unlike the Corneria stage in Melee, the guns on the bottom-left of the ship cannot be used as a platform. For this reason, it is best to avoid this area of the ship as you cannot recover from the guns.

Arwing fighters will occasionally fire at the players, dealing large amounts of damage and knockback. For this reason, coupled with the fact that the stage is too large, Sector Z has been banned in many tournaments. Also, a character standing on an Arwing may be KO'd if the Arwing flies offscreen to the top or side; however, the Arwings do tend to barrel roll or fly upside down, which essentially pushes the character off. Unlike the Arwing fighters, though, the main guns of the Great Fox do not fire.

While the stage reappeared in spirit as Corneria in Melee, Brawl, and SSB3DS, the stage was much smaller than its Super Smash Bros. incarnation, the main guns fire, and players can even camp on the main cannons or destroy them.

In competitive play

The stage is banned throughout almost all rulesets due to the knockback of the lasers disrupting gameplay, and the excessive size of the stage allowing various types of camping and allowing characters to live up to unusually high percentages. The lower area of the stage also allows easy circle camping and wall combos.

Origin

Sector Z as it appeared in Star Fox 64

This stage is from the Star Fox 64 level Sector Z. As mentioned earlier, Sector Z is a level in Star Fox 64, the fifth level when taking the hard path. The level takes place in a nebula en route to Venom when the Star Fox team and the Great Fox are ambushed by Andross' fighters who have a weapon never seen before, missiles. These missiles also appear in the background of the stage. The player must protect the Great Fox in this level from enemy fighters and missiles hits. Sector Z was also a multiplayer level in Star Fox 64. This area was probably chosen for the setting of this stage because it is the only stage where the Great Fox is prominently seen in its normal form and the Great Fox acts as a great platform.

Ever since the first Star Fox, the Star Fox team's main aircraft that they pilot are Arwings. The Arwings have been redesigned in Star Fox 64. In this stage, Arwings can be seen flying over the Great Fox. The Arwing's main weapon consists of laser guns that shoot the player's enemies. There is also an upgrade that lets the player shoot two lasers at once. The design of the Arwing in the Sector Z stage reflects the Star Fox 64 design, carrying the twin lasers.

The music used in this stage is the main theme for Star Fox 64.

Trivia

• Sector Z, alongside Planet Zebes, are the only two stages in Super Smash Bros. that did not return in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

External Links

• Music for Sector Z
• Arwingpedia's article on Sector Z