F-Zero GX
What is this? A review up within a couple of weeks since the actual game came out? This is madness! Since many of you haven’t actually had the opportunity to get F-Zero GX yet, this review might actually be somewhat informative to people. I know a lot of people out there are wondering if they should get F-Zero or Soul Caliber 2 for their Gamecube, so perhaps I can help shed a little light on the issue by giving a good account of what you can expect from F-Zero.
For starters, F-Zero is a high-speed racing game. Think along the lines of Extreme G, or even podracing, and you’ll have an idea of what F-Zero feels like. Most will remember the very popular F-Zero games for the Super Nintendo and N64, famous for their futuristic racers, exotic tracks, and breakneck-speeds. And if you don’t happen to be familiar with these earlier F-Zero games (shame on you!), you probably know Captain Falcon, F-Zero’s “mascot,” from the Super Smash Brothers games. What I’m getting at is that F-Zero is a very well established series of racing games for Nintendo, rivaled in popularity probably only by the Mario Kart games. But hopefully you already knew this anyway.
There are five main modes you can play in – Grand Prix, versus, story mode, practice, and time attack. Versus mode allows you to race with up to three other friends, while practice and time attack mode are similarly self-explanatory. Other than when you are playing with your friends, however, it is likely that you will spend most of your time in the Grand Prix and story modes, which is where you can acquire tickets needed to purchase all sorts of goodies, such as additional racers and vehicle parts. Grand Prix is a standard racing mode where you race for first place among 29 other computer racers. There are five tracks in each Grand Prix circuit, and the winner of the circuit is determined by who has the most points at the end of the five tracks, where points are awarded for placing well in individual races. At the start of the game, there are three circuits you can play in – Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald – and three difficulties you can set the game at – Novice, Standard, and Expert – but it is possible to unlock the Diamond circuit and the Master difficulty by placing first enough times in the Grand Prix races. Achieving first place with as many different racers on as many difficulties as possible will also get you plenty of tickets and will unlock new parts you can use to build your very own racer.
One of the things that makes F-Zero really stand out is the story mode. There are a total of nine challenging stages in story mode, all loosely connected by something that resembles a storyline (although it’s a racing game, so I shouldn’t be so picky). These missions will have you racing to disarm bombs, racing to avoid being blown up by explosions, racing to racing to save the galaxy, racing to win old men money, and racing to do pretty much anything else you can think of. By completing a story mode mission, you are awarded both with tickets and the opportunity to buy the next story mission in the item shop. Each level here comes complete with a two beautiful cinematics that set up the story around the mission as well as the option to try the stage on one of three difficulties: Normal, Hard, or Very Hard. These are misnomers, though, as they should in reality be named respectively: Tough, Bitchin’, and Holy Shit!!! You’ve probably already heard people ranting about how hard F-Zero is – this story mode is why. So after you’ve spent a good amount of time trying to beat a mission on Normal, the game rewards you with the opportunity to try the very same mission on Hard mode, which means there is some sort of minor change in the course that makes it 10 times more annoying to complete. And then, after through a combination of luck and practice you’ve managed to complete the level on Hard, the game kindly bestows upon you a third option – to play the level Very Hard difficulty. This is about when you want shoot yourself in the eye due to frustration. I’ve literally spent hours trying to beat missions on this difficulty, without success. There is absolutely no room for error at this stage of difficulty. Of course, the rewards for completing levels on Very Hard are far from insubstantial: loads of tickets, rare and premium racer parts to get, and even a secret racer which can be unlocked.
A very important aspect of F-Zero GX is customization. Under this menu on the main screen you will find much of what makes this game great, namely the options to buy new parts and racers, and built your very own cars to race with in Grand Prix, versus, and time attack modes. Aside from one racer that must be unlocked specially, for the right amount of tickets all the other racers in the game are available for the right number of tickets. You can also buy new parts, the great majority of which are inaccessible until you unlock them by completing Grand Prix races with many different racers or by finishing story mode missions. With these new parts you are then able to go to the garage area with the possibility of constructing a racecar that suits your own personal preferences. Each racer has three main parts that determine its statistics – the cockpit, the chassis, and the boosters. The better quality each of these parts, usually the more expensive and heavier. A heavier car means a better top speed, but also reduced traction and acceleration, so it is important to consider all of these factors when building a car. The system is very well implemented so that it is impossible to construct a single amazing racer that can blow every other racer out of the water. Everything depends on tailoring to a specific player’s strengths and weaknesses. To allow for further customization, the game allows the player before each race to tweak their racer, either foregoing quick acceleration for a faster top speed or sacrificing a rapid top speed for good acceleration and cornering. If you know the track you are about to race on very well, tweaking your racer wisely here can drastically improve your chances of winning a race. In addition to all of this, it is possible to unlock even more racers, parts, and tracks by using your memory card with an F-Zero AX arcade machine.
To expound on the whole idea of giving a story to Captain Falcon in the story mode of the game, Sega included a character biographies section. Here you can learn a bit about each racer as you unlock them. Since every character now has a past and a story, all the characters seem to have histories with one another and it is possible to imagine them interacting with one another outside of the actual races in the game. It is a minor detail, but one that really helps to give the game a third dimension as far as story goes, much more so than any other racing game that I can think of. And speaking of three-dimensional detail, the graphics in the game are mind-blowing. All the levels are visually astounding: there are snaking, twisting, turning, spiraling tracks; several different detailed environments, from deserts with giant leaping sand worms to fire realms with searing flames cascading from the sky; short cinematics before each level to give a feel for the setting of each track; and backgrounds that are so pleasing to the eye that it’s almost a shame that you have to race by them at speeds exceeding 1000 kph.
As a racing game, F-Zero GX is practically flawless. The game rewards players who have the skill and time to attempt its potent challenges (and believe me, it feels damn good after completing these challenges), but it is also entirely accessible to players who aren’t quite so intent on playing for hours on end to beat a single level. The high speeds and futuristic look it tons of fun to watch as well as play. As I’ve said before, the customizability is excellent, which adds immeasurably to the replay value. The only disappointment is that it doesn’t allow for networking with other Gamecubes, so you are limited to sharing the fun of playing this game with only three other people at a time. F-Zero remains a must-have for the Gamecube and is simply an amazing game. If you have even only the slightest interesting the racing genre of video games, I implore you to get this game.
BY THE NUMBERS:
SOUND: 8 -- This is weakest point of the game, and the music is still great. There are different theme songs for each racer, and although all the songs are quality, nothing really stands out. Also, the voice-over work is somewhat lackluster.
GRAPHICS: 10 -- Some of the best stuff I’ve seen on the Gamecube, and this is after just coming off of playing Metroid Prime. The cinematics are of Final Fantasy quality and the environments are beautiful.
GAMEPLAY: 9.5 -- The races are tons of fun, but I’m going to avoid giving F-Zero a perfect 10 here because I think the Very Hard story mode levels rely just a bit too much on luck to complete.
REPLAY VALUE: 10 -- It’s a racing game. It’s meant to be replayed. With almost unlimited customization and versus mode, the replay value is already sky-high. But since playing the levels on all the difficulties will keep you playing for ages, a 10 in this category is practically guaranteed.
ZOOM! FACTOR, DIFFICULTY: 11 -- “What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?”
“Put it up to eleven.”
“Eleven. Exactly. One louder.”
“Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?”
“These go to eleven.”
OVERALL: 9 -- As far as racing games go, this one is one of the best I’ve played. Although frustrating at times, this game succeeds in every way as a video game should – it is excellent for both challenge and fun.
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