The protagonist of the story and the player character is Fox McCloud, a red fox and leader of the Star Fox team, who defends the Lylat system.
Andross' henchmen include the Star Wolf mercenary team, consisting of: Wolf O'Donnell; Leon Powalski; Pigma Dengar, a former member of the Star Fox team with James McCloud; and Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew.