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A normal race in ''F-Zero X'' consists of three laps around the track. Each machine has an energy meter, which serves two purposes. It is a measurement of the machine's health and is decreased, for example, when the machine hits another racer or the side of the track.<ref name="IGNreview"/> If the player has a [[1-up#Extra life|"spare machine"]] then falls off a track or runs out of energy, the race will be restarted. The game introduces the ability to attack the other racers by either utilizing a side or spin attack.<ref name="IGNreview"/> Also, this is the first ''F-Zero'' game in which the player can boost after the first lap which greatly increases the racer's speed, but also drains their energy. Energy can be replenished by driving over recharge strips that are placed on the track.<ref name="IGNreview"/> There are also dash plates located at various points around the track that give a speed boost without using up any energy.<ref name="GSreview" />
A normal race in ''F-Zero X'' consists of three laps around the track. Each machine has an energy meter, which serves two purposes. It is a measurement of the machine's health and is decreased, for example, when the machine hits another racer or the side of the track.<ref name="IGNreview"/> If the player has a [[1-up#Extra life|"spare machine"]] then falls off a track or runs out of energy, the race will be restarted. The game introduces the ability to attack the other racers by either utilizing a side or spin attack.<ref name="IGNreview"/> Also, this is the first ''F-Zero'' game in which the player can boost after the first lap which greatly increases the racer's speed, but also drains their energy. Energy can be replenished by driving over recharge strips that are placed on the track.<ref name="IGNreview"/> There are also dash plates located at various points around the track that give a speed boost without using up any energy.<ref name="GSreview" />


''F-Zero X'' includes five different modes. In the Grand Prix mode, the player chooses a cup and races against twenty-nine opponents through each track in that cup. Players get a certain amount of points for finishing a track depending on where they placed, and the winner of the circuit is the character who receives the most total points. There are three difficulty levels available at the start: Novice, Standard, and Expert. The higher the difficulty level, the tougher the opponents and less opportunities the player gets to retry. However, there is a Practice mode which allows the player to practice any track with 29 opponents.<ref name="preview"/><ref name="IGNreview"/>
''F-Zero X'' includes five different modes. In the Grand Prix mode, the player chooses a cup and races against twenty-nine opponents through each track in that cup. Players get a certain number of points for finishing a track depending on where they placed, and the winner of the circuit is the character who receives the most total points. There are three difficulty levels available at the start: Novice, Standard, and Expert. The higher the difficulty level, the tougher the opponents and less opportunities the player gets to retry. However, there is a Practice mode which allows the player to practice any track with 29 opponents.<ref name="preview"/><ref name="IGNreview"/>


Time Attack lets the player choose a track and complete it in the shortest time possible.<ref name="preview"/> Racing against a staff ghost or transparent re-enactments of the player's best three-lap performances is possible.<ref name="IGNreview"/> There are no rewards for beating them, but a red 'X' appears next to the track on the course selection screen to show the ghost has been defeated.
Time Attack lets the player choose a track and complete it in the shortest time possible.<ref name="preview"/> Racing against a staff ghost or transparent re-enactments of the player's best three-lap performances is possible.<ref name="IGNreview"/> There are no rewards for beating them, but a red 'X' appears next to the track on the course selection screen to show the ghost has been defeated.

Revision as of 23:41, 15 September 2007

F-Zero X
F-Zero X box cover
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Shigeru Miyamoto (producer)[1]
Tadashi Sugiyama (director)[1] Keizo Ohta (chief programmer)[1]
SeriesF-Zero series
Platform(s)Nintendo 64, iQue, Virtual Console
ReleaseNintendo 64



iQue


Virtual Console



Genre(s)Futuristic racing game
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

F-Zero X (エフゼロ エックス, Efu Zero Ekkusu, F-ZERO X), is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo 64 console. Developed by Nintendo's EAD division, it was released in Japan, Europe and North America, in 1998.[2] The title can be used with a Rumble Pak, which allows for force feedback. F-Zero X has been re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan,[3] in Europe as the 100th VC title,[4] and in North America,[5] in 2007. The F-Zero X Expansion Kit was exclusively released in Japan, in 2000. While the Expansion provided extra features not in the original game, it will only operate in conjunction with the cartridge.[6]

F-Zero X is the third installment in the F-Zero series and the successor to BS F-Zero Grand Prix. It is the first video game in the series to feature 3D graphics. The game has a steep learning curve and its gameplay experience is similar to that of the original F-Zero title.[7] However, the title does introduce a "death race" mode and a random track generator called the "X Cup". In the death race, the player's objective is to annihilate the 29 other racers as speedily as possible, while the X-Cup "creates" a different set of tracks each time played.[7]

Gameplay

F-Zero X is a futuristic racing game where thirty pilots race on circuits inside plasma-powered hovercars in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds that can exceed 1000 km/h. The game is noteworthy for its fast gameplay, abundance of courses and vehicles and keeping a high framerate even though there can be up to 30 racers on screen at the same time.[8] Tracks include hills, loops, tunnels, corkscrews, and pipes.[9] Some courses have innate obstacles like dirt patches, tricky jumps, and tubes to navigate. The game introduces 26 vehicles, and brings back the four from the original F-Zero game.[10] Before a race, the player is able to adjust a vehicle's balance between maximum acceleration and maximum top speed.[8] Each has its own characteristics and performance abilities, including and limited to varying levels of grip, boost, body and each is driven by a different character.

A normal race in F-Zero X consists of three laps around the track. Each machine has an energy meter, which serves two purposes. It is a measurement of the machine's health and is decreased, for example, when the machine hits another racer or the side of the track.[7] If the player has a "spare machine" then falls off a track or runs out of energy, the race will be restarted. The game introduces the ability to attack the other racers by either utilizing a side or spin attack.[7] Also, this is the first F-Zero game in which the player can boost after the first lap which greatly increases the racer's speed, but also drains their energy. Energy can be replenished by driving over recharge strips that are placed on the track.[7] There are also dash plates located at various points around the track that give a speed boost without using up any energy.[11]

F-Zero X includes five different modes. In the Grand Prix mode, the player chooses a cup and races against twenty-nine opponents through each track in that cup. Players get a certain number of points for finishing a track depending on where they placed, and the winner of the circuit is the character who receives the most total points. There are three difficulty levels available at the start: Novice, Standard, and Expert. The higher the difficulty level, the tougher the opponents and less opportunities the player gets to retry. However, there is a Practice mode which allows the player to practice any track with 29 opponents.[8][7]

Time Attack lets the player choose a track and complete it in the shortest time possible.[8] Racing against a staff ghost or transparent re-enactments of the player's best three-lap performances is possible.[7] There are no rewards for beating them, but a red 'X' appears next to the track on the course selection screen to show the ghost has been defeated.

Graphical detail was one of the sacrifices that had to be made in order to keep the game at 60 frames per second.[7][12]

In Death Race the player objective is to annihilate the 29 other racers as speedily as possible on the only course,[8] which is a perpetual straightaway. A star is earned for each of the rival machines that's actually destroyed by the player and best times will be saved to memory. There is no multiple difficulty levels to choose from, nor is there a limit to the number of laps but the boost can be used right away. However, if the player depletes their energy meter, or falls off the track, the whole race must be restarted.

The Vs. Battle is the multiplayer mode where two to four players can play simultaneously. Those not is use by players can be operated by the computer. If a person ends up retiring before the other players, that person will enter the "VS Slot" if the option is on. A slot machine will appear and depending on what three identical pictures the player manage to match will adversely affect the competitors.[7][8] There is also a "VS Handicap" option that will reduce the amount of energy a boost will consume by the machines not in the lead.

Story

F-Zero X takes place after the original F-Zero Grand Prix was discontinued for several years then is brought back with the rules and regulations revised under the name "F-Zero X". Due to the extreme danger of the sport, the original competition ended. In a catastrophic event called the "Huge Accident" none of the pilots were killed, thanks in part to the efforts of Dr. Stewart, but many were injured, including Captain Falcon.[13]

Circuits

There are five Cups in total, with four of them containing six courses each and names based on face cards. Initially, only the Jack, Queen, and King Cups are available to choose from and each vary in difficulty from beginner, intermediate and expert respectively.[7] The Joker Cup can be unlocked by coming first overall in Jack, Queen, and King Cups on expert in the Grand Prix. Beating these four cups on Expert unlocks the Master class difficulty level and the X Cup.[14] The "X Cup" is actually a track generator that "creates" a different set of tracks every time when played. The randomized track elements can vary from simplistic and straightforward to highly complex and intricate.[7]

The first course in the Joker Cup, Rainbow Road (subtitled "Psychedelic Experience"), is the very same Rainbow Road track featured in Mario Kart 64, only with a different ambiance to match the whole F-Zero setting (so much so, some points have no guard-rails, which are present all along the track in MK64). In addition, when played with the F-Zero X Expansion Kit, the background music will change to an alt-rock remaster of the same song heard in this track in Mario Kart 64.

Releases and history

Development

Initially titled F-Zero 64, Famitsu magazine revealed the project in mid-1997.[15] The game made its debut at the Nintendo Space World event in late November 1997 where the public was able to play it for the first time.[16][8] Several key Wave Race 64 programmers including the lead programmer made up the in-house F-Zero X development team.[7][17] F-Zero X became the first racing game to run at 60 frames per second with up to 30 vehicles on screen at the same time, but in order to keep the frame rate, polygon counts on the vehicles, textures and track detail are sacrificed.[11] The North American release of F-Zero X suffered from a three month delay due to Nintendo of America's then release policy of spacing the release of first-party games out evenly. Features from the Nintendo 64DD are included in F-Zero X which allow for add-on disks such as track editors or course updates,[17][7] however none of these were utilized outside of Japan[6] due to the 64DD's commercial failure.[7]

Audio

Another setback in order for F-Zero X to run well at its frame rate is the quality of its audio. Due to compression, the game only features monaural sound.[7][12] Two soundtracks were released featuring music from this game. F-Zero X Original Soundtrack was released on September 18, 1998. A "Guitar Arrange Edition" was released on January 27, 1999 called F-Zero X Guitar Arrange Edition. It features live electric guitar arrangements of ten of the game's music tracks. Both the game soundtrack and the "Guitar Arrange Edition" are composed and performed by Taro Bando & Hajime Wakai.

Critical reception

Reviews
Publication Score Comment
EGM
9 of 10[18]
GameSpot
7.5 of 10[11]
GamePro
4.5 of 5[19]
Editors' Choice
Gaming Age
96 of 100[20]
IGN
9.1 of 10[7]
Editors' Choice

Though reviews have been favorable in regards to gameplay, especially course design, F-Zero X has been criticized for its lack of graphical detail.[18] GameSpot thought "the tracks are cleverly designed" but the low polygon counts gave the vehicles "a particularly uninspiring look" and that the "track detail is also very limited, giving the track a spartan feel to it". Their final comment was while the game is "practically flawless from a technical standpoint, the biggest thing missing from F-Zero X is that it lacks a soul".[11] IGN mentioned "unlike the original, F-Zero X is not about showing off graphics or sound capabilities -- it's all about gameplay".[7]

The game sold 56,457 copies during its first week of sale in Japan,[17] but sold nearly five times less the following week.[21]

Disk drive release

Main article: F-Zero X Expansion Kit
File:F-zero x exp box.JPG
The front cover of the Expansion Kit case.

The F-Zero X Expansion Kit was released in Japan on April 21, 2000 for the Nintendo 64DD. It was 64DD's very first add-on disk[6] that plugged into the bottom of the N64. This disk included all of F-Zero X's regular features plus twelve new tracks, a car editor and a track editor.[22] In addition to the two new cups, it is also possible to to create custom cups. The disk can save up to a hundred tracks and up to three ghost racers on each course.[6]

The Car Editor lets the player create a vehicle using a set of pre-existing parts that then combine to assemble the machine. The player can first select a body style, pick a spoiler and a cockpit shape for the vehicle. Next the player determine its color scheme, choose pre-existing decals, balance and determine the car's settings and performance abilities before the vehicle is finished and named.[6]

The Track Editor is a detailed track creator that allows the player design their own racing circuits. Using a cursor, the player first create a basic circuit, then add points to it to create curves and hills and determine the basic track layout. Next, is the assignment of numerous different properties to the track elements, such as basic road, road with walls, half pipe, cylinder, loop and tunnel as well as road surfaces ranging from slip zones to the recharge stripes that replenish the vehicle's energy. The player can test their creation at any time and run practice laps.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "F-Zero X - Credits". N-Sider.com. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  2. ^ "F-Zero X". IGN. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  3. ^ "Virtual Console" (in Japanese). Nintendo Company, Limited. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
  4. ^ Boyes, Emma (2007-06-15). "F-Zero X races onto Euro VC". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2007-06-25). "VC Monday: 06/25/07". IGN. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Schneider, Peer (2000-07-18). "F-Zero X Expansion Kit (Import)". IGN.com. Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Schneider, Peer (1998-10-27). "F-Zero X". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "IGNreview" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c d e f g IGN Staff (1998-07-14). "F-Zero X". IGN. Retrieved 2007-06-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Schneider, Peer (2003-08-25). "F-Zero History". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "F-Zero X". Nintendo Power. Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  11. ^ a b c d Mielke, James (1998-08-13). "F-Zero X review". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-05-22. F-Zero X is a stunning achievement in that it's truly the first racing game that runs at a brisk 60 frames per second, even in multiplayer. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b White, Nick (2007-06-25). "Nintendo's Eight Famous Franchises #5 - F-Zero". Aussie-Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-08-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "F-Zero X manual". World of Video Games. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  14. ^ "F-Zero X Hints & Cheats". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
  15. ^ IGN Staff (1997-06-16). "First look at F-Zero 64". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ IGN Staff (1997-11-21). "F-Zero X Marks the Spot". IGN. Retrieved 2007-06-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ a b c "F-Zero X - Development". N-Sider. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
  18. ^ a b "F-Zero X". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  19. ^ "F-Zero X". Game Pro. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  20. ^ Sewart, Greg. "F-Zero X". Gaming Age. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  21. ^ IGN Staff (1998-08-07). "F-Zero X Sales Plummet In Japan". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "F-Zero X Expansion Kit". IGN. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
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