F-Zero GX
| F-Zero GX | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | SEGA / Amusement Vision |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto (Producer) Toshihiro Nagoshi (Producer) Takaya Imamura (Supervisor) |
| Engine | Heavily modified Super Monkey Ball engine.,[1] |
| Platform(s) | Arcade (Triforce Board), Nintendo GameCube |
| Release |  July 25, 2003 August 29, 2003 October 31, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Futuristic Racing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
F-Zero GX (エフゼロ ジーエックス, F-ZERO GX) a video game for the Nintendo GameCube console. It was released for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan on 25 July 2003, in Canada and the United States on 29 August 2003, and in Europe on 31 October 2003. Despite being ranked as one of the best futuristic racing games to date,[2] F-Zero GX suffered in sales. When games release too close together, one cannibalize another or each others sales. F-Zero GX and Soul Calibur 2 are perfect examples. They were essentially released at the same time. [3] It is believed F-Zero X was in a similiar situation with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
F-Zero GX is the fourth installment in the F-Zero series, which began with F-Zero in 1990. It is the first home console version to be developed as a second party game and the third game to feature 3D graphics in the series. It is also the first game in the series to feature a storyline. F-Zero GX features faster gameplay than its prequel, F-Zero X. The previous installments have been fast, but not this fast. Compared with the backgrounds in N64's F-Zero X, GX's are composed of much more than colored fog. The circuits themselves are in much greater detail with a framerate that doesn't stutter. GMR stated that the series is "finally running on hardware that can do it proper justice."[4] There are only a few instances of graphical draw-in, most notably with the surrounding foliage of the Green Plant courses.
The Amusement Vision department - the same studio that developed Daytona USA for the Dreamcast, Yakuza, and the Super Monkey Ball series of games. In fact, F-Zero GX/AX runs on a heavily modified version of the engine that powered Super Monkey Ball. Graphically, it is one of the more technically advanced games available for GameCube, along with others including the Metroid Prime series, Resident Evil 4 and the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series.
Gameplay
As with all F-Zero games, GX is about futuristic racing: pilots race plasma-powered hovercars in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds that can exceed over 2000 km/h. The emphasis is on speed and creative racetrack design, with tracks looping through all three dimensions like roller-coasters. The game's visuals as well as the level layouts convey well the immense speed of the game, and GX is notable for its intense action and high level of difficulty. Modes include the following:
- Grand Prix: Race against twenty-nine other opponents through the tracks of a Grand Prix tour. The player need to select a difficulty level, the higher the level, the tougher the opponents: Novice, Standard or Expert. Master, once unlocked can be played with any character to then unlock their mini-movies if the player manages to get 1st place overall, depending on what character used. However, a custom machine cannot be used.
- Vs. Battle (multiplayer): Two to four players can play simultaneously.
- Time Attack: Choose a track and complete it in the shortest time possible. Ghost data to a Memory Card can be saved, racing against a staff ghost or an transparent re-enactment of a players best run is possible.
- Story: A new Story mode allows the player to follow Captain Falcon as he races through missions and completes a wide array of challenges.
- Replay: Where saved replays can be viewed under different camera angles and music.
- Customize: This section is where pilots and machine parts can be bought, build machines and produce emblems to place on them.
- Practice: Practice any track with an adjustable amount of laps and opponents.
- Pilot Profiles: Information on each character can be viewed here, along with there machine, mini-movie and theme music.
- Options: For controller, memory card and screen funtions.
The game's controls are fairly sensitive, so players may have to practice with a given machine before diving right into the Grand Prix. Each of the machines have their own handling characteristics, with varying top speeds, armor values and traction values. All of the machines in the game have an energy meter – this energy powers not only the machine's protective shields, but a boost which can provide a burst of speed. If a machine loses all of its energy, it will explode on contact, causing the player to lose a life or the match. However, energy can be regained by driving over special recharge strips in the road. Players can also fall off the tracks, which are shown to be several miles up in the air.
Story mode
The new "story mode" provides a scripted adventure as Captain Falcon in the form of various non-standard racing scenarios. There are nine chapters (missions), each has "Normal", "Hard" and "Very Hard" difficulty levels. Normal unlocks the next chapter, while completing the last two can unlock new parts and driver-specific vehicles from the arcade version, respectively.
The player will go though missions such as Falcon's training regiment, battling it out at speeds that can range anywhere from 1000 to 3000 kilometers per hour against rivals and facing 29 other veteran pilots to win the F-Zero GX Grand Prix.
Customize mode
The new "customize mode" allows the player to use a variety of parts to customize a machine, ranging from extremely heavy to extremely light ones. The game also has unlockable "staff ghosts" that players can try to beat - these ghosts do particularly fast runs on tracks, and are exceedingly difficult. All of these things, once unlocked, are purchased using "tickets", which the player wins by completing one of the five Grand Prix Cups (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond,and AX) or story missions, or by achieving specific minimum times in time trial mode (which also unlocks that track's Staff Ghost).
Snaking
A curious aspect of the game's physics modeling is that, after properly navigating out of banked turns, F-Zero machines can get a boost of acceleration if it has high grip, high acceleration and/or heavy weight. Players can exploit this easily on a wide straight stretch of a circuit to generate movements likened to actual snakes, by bank-turning back and forth at a high rate of oscillation, achieving speeds of over 3,000 km/h. This controversial technique, called "dakou" or "snaking", has been known to reduce race times by a factor of three or more. Most, if not all, of the quickest Time Trial records in F-Zero GX were accomplished using the snaking technique. It is an extremely challenging technique to employ (the constant back-and-forth motion wreaks utter havoc with traditional steering), not to mention a painful one; players can find their hands aching after just a few minutes of snaking.
Because this gives the user a distinct speed advantage over other, "non-snaking" opponents, players regard snaking as anything from legitimate and advanced racing strategy, to an unfair tactic, or even outright cheating. Snaking can also be compared to a similar snaking technique called "wavedashing" in Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well as other phenomena such as bunny hopping in first-person shooter games.
| Publication | Score | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Compilations of multiple reviews | ||
Development and history
On March 2002, Nintendo announced that it was creating an arcade board under the name of Triforce. The arcade board was being developed in conjunction between Nintendo, Namco, and SEGA. The first game announced for the hardware was none other than the long awaited sequel F-Zero AX-GX. Development was taking place at SEGA subsidiary Amusement Visions with cooperation from Nintendo. The game was split up into 2 different versions; F-Zero AX and F-Zero GX. F-Zero AX was the arcade exclusive version which featured its own 6 tracks and exclusive 10 pilots. F-Zero GX, the home console version would not feature the moving cabinet that F-Zero AX did, but it featured a greater set of pilots and tracks.[8]
Nintendo revealed the first footage of F-Zero GX at the Pre-E3 press conference on the 21st May 2002. The title was in development by Sega's Amusement Vision development firm for both the Nintendo home console and the upcoming arcade Triforce hardware. Despite the fact the game's existence has been known for several months prior, it has remained behind closed doors until that conference.[9]
Critical response
F-Zero GX has been credited for its amazing visuals; arcade/home connectivity; plenty of longevity; sharp controls; tough challenge; fleshed-out single-player modes. The game has even been considered being the best racing game made for GameCube. Moreover, it was ranked as to be the one of the best futuristic racing games to date. The editors of GameRankings.com have declared F-Zero GX the highest-ranking futuristic racing game of all time by compiling every major numeric review given to the game upon its release. [2] The game's most common criticisms is its difficulty, it "gets really, really tough; purists may find it too similar to N64 version; too frustrating for casual gamers; should have LAN play;".[10]
F-Zero AX connectivity
The game's memory cards, on which saved games are kept, can be taken to an arcade with F-Zero AX, the game's arcade counterpart, to download special data. Players are meant to use the AX arcade cabinets to unlock permanent access to the fifth, Arcade or AX, Cup; a number of new custom machine parts; and nine new vehicles. This is easier said than done, as AX cabinets are extremely rare; according to the fan-maintained F-Zero AX Locations database, less than twenty are available in the North America region. However, more can be located. Thankfully, the AX Cup can instead be unlocked by completing all other cups (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald and Diamond) on Master difficulty, its vehicles by completing story mode missions on Very Hard difficulty, and its custom parts can by completing Story Mode on Hard difficulty. Otherwise players can unlock all of these by using an Action Replay with one simple code.
Circuits
Though GX has more tracks than its predecessor F-Zero X, there is no longer a code to unlock them all, which means that some will never see more than the first 15 tracks. Furthermore, the "X Cup" (which randomly generates tracks) was removed in GX. Initially only the Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Cups can be played. Diamond Cup can be unlocked by coming first in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Cup on standard difficulty in the Grand Prix. Individual AX tracks can be unlocked by placing first on the tracks in the arcade (F-Zero AX) version of the game and saving progress to a memory card. Placing first in the other four cups on the Master difficulty setting also unlocks five of the six AX Cup tracks for purchase using tickets. The sixth, Mute City: Sonic Oval, can be unlocked by placing first in the AX Cup on any difficulty level.
Ruby Cup
Sapphire Cup
Emerald Cup
|
Diamond Cup
AX Cup
|
1 Sometimes called "Vegas Palace", possibly a direct translation of the Japanese.
References
- ^ “[Mat Allen. "F-Zero GX review". ntsc-uk.com. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
- ^ a b “The Rankings.” Game Rankings. Retrieved October 14, 2006.
- ^ Nuyens, Jason (November 25, 1998). "N-Bits Volume 4". n-Sider.com. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
- ^ Williams, Bryn (August 28, 2003). "F-Zero GX (GCN)". GameSpy.com. Retrieved 2006-10-15.
- ^ "GameSpot's 2003 Best GameCube Driving Game". gamespot.com. Retrieved 2006-03-10.
- ^ "F-Zero GX Reviews". gamerankings.com. Retrieved 2006-10-15.
- ^ "F-Zero GX Reviews". metacritic.com. Retrieved 2006-10-15.
- ^ "F-Zero GX". N-Sider.com. Retrieved 2006-10-16.
- ^ "F-Zero GCN First details and movies". IGN.com. Retrieved 2006-10-19.
- ^ Williams, Bryn (August 28, 2003). "F-Zero GX (GCN)". GameSpy.com. Retrieved 2006-10-15.
