Theory? I thought it was pretty much canon? :x

It's kind of a toss-up because of variations in concept art and Nintendo leaving us in the dark x3

Why would they? But why wouldn't they? Never knew there was an actual theory behind Fox and company having metal legs. But this is a cool depiction of it. :D

The original theory (they had metal legs in the original game) was that the force they felt while flying would be enough to break the bones in your legs - thus anyone that pilots a ship has their legs removed and replaced with metal, robotic legs. :x

I may have taken liberty with the wording, but I believe that was more or less the original 'theory'. :P

I know blood can also flow to pilot's legs and cause them to black out if they make really sharp turns. There was one British fighter ace in the early stages of WW2 who actually had an advantage due to having 2 false legs because he was immune to this.

actually, more related to blood accumulation on the lower legs due of high gravity shifts, causing brain damage or loss of conscious.

You guys are so smart. Leave it to a dragon to know all the facts, while the otter just sorta has a rough idea of there being an some sort of problem or something.. right? Oh hey, look! I found a penny! :D

The G-Diffuser was the signature feature on their fighter and it eliminated G-Forces. Even if it didn't they would be able to wear a G-Suit to counter that. Any more G-Forces would kill blood to the brain before harming the rest of the body. I don't know why this theory is suddenly resurfacing but it's insane. "Hey want to be a pilot? Okay, we're going to need to go ahead and amputate your legs..." That's nuts. I think the original game's art had a mechanical looking ankle on their boots which made them look robotic. I wondered if they were digitgrade and the boot made them walk plantigrade, but it was a weird look. There was probably confusion over that and they immediately changed it for every other game to be a normal looking metal boot.

In all honesty it makes more sense to me x3;
Pretty sweeet

It depends. In the original Star Fox canon (SNES) yes because they could handle the more gforce. It wasnt mentioned in Star Fox 64 (which is a reboot) and in that game they introduced the Gdiffuser which displaces the g-s so no need for amputees. Also in Star Fox Adventures and Assault and every appearance after Star Fox 64 they are wearing boots. so i think with the new games they have their feets. but the originals yes i do believe they are amputees.

Cool work on that.

It too easily explains how they are so fast on the ground and in Smash bros