F-Zero GX is extremely fast. Its notable for other reasons – it represents a significant strengthening of the relationship between Nintendo and Sega. It has an arcade counterpart (F-Zero AX) that Gamecube memory cards can interface with. It is also a continuation of a revered franchise. Mostly though, F-Zero GX is extremely fast.
For those unfamiliar with the series, F-Zero GX is a racing game that replaces the clunky wheel-based jalopies of today with jet-powered vehicles that hover an inch above ground level. No wheels means no friction, which ultimately means more speed. Unlike many of its contemporaries, Weapons of Mass Distraction are nowhere to be found. The emphasis here is firmly on racing, normally at very high speeds, on very dangerous racetracks.
Once you’ve completed a lap of a given race, your vehicle’s boost facility will be available. In previous F-Zero titles, you were assigned one timed boost for each completed lap. Activated with a single button tap, it was typically followed with audible prayers or expletives (or both, if you went to St. Sordid’s School for Filthy Little Boys). In GX, the boost button can be pressed at any time after the first lap, and can be held down for greater speeds. There is however, one small snag. Boosting costs energy. Zero energy equals zero boost ability. Worse still – your vehicle is vulnerable to things that would normally be utterly inconsequential. Even a Richard Whiteley pun emanating from Countdown could prove fatal, especially if he’s backed by a partisan Dictionary Corner.
The change seems small and unimportant, as significant as a pebble on a stony bank. Throw that pebble into the centre of a lake, and it’ll cause ripples across the entire body of water. In GX, that pebble ripples across the entire game. For example, your energy reserves are low, but you need to get past that little toerag who’s monopolising first place. Do you boost now and get past while you can’ Or do you wait until you’ve hit an energy recharger’ If you wait, is there enough time (and track) to catch your opponent before the end of the race’ Questions, questions, questions. Get used to them, because thanks to Sega’s sublime implementation of risk vs. reward, you’ll be asking them constantly.
That’s not the only thing Nagoshi’s team have brought to the table. Graphically, the game has got Amusement Vision written all over it, evoking odd memories of Super Monkey Ball. The huge field of competitors from F-Zero X has been retained, looking even better thanks to the fusion of next generation hardware and Sega’s graphical flair.
Sega’s influence in this title is noticeable, rather than invasive. The team have not forsaken the game’s ancestry in a contrived bid to make their mark – an approach illustrated best by the audible aspects of F-Zero GX. Familiar tunes make welcome comebacks in remixed form, while the sound effects admirably underpin the authenticity of the game. Despite changes in developers and dynamics, the sound of gushing jets and last-second recharges leave little room for debate. You’re playing an F-Zero game, not one of the countless imitators that followed.
In addition to the familiar Grand Prix series, GX also features a Story Mode based on Captain Falcon, the human face of F-Zero. Success in either mode will win you credits, the in-game currency. Bizarrely, you’ll need to spend these to access further chapters in the story mode. Despite featuring some vaguely amusing pre-rendered video, it’s not exactly Citizen Kane. Or Citizen Smith, for that matter.
Other applications for the digital dosh veer back onto the conventional. In addition to buying the default vehicles of the game’s colourful characters, you can also buy individual ship components and roll your own concoction. Vehicles in your garage can also be tarted up with custom paint jobs, with a built in image-editor affording racers the ability to decorate as they see fit. Think Changing Rooms at 500kph, and you’re about there. Interestingly, created vehicles can be saved onto a memory card and used in the F-Zero AX arcade cabinet – providing extra incentives for those with an exhibitionist streak.
Despite informing you about numerous positive qualities, the complete experience has so far escaped analysis. F-Zero is a very good racing game, so its ironic that its undermined by one of the key traits of the series. It’s too damn fast. You’ll get used to it eventually, but the speeds involved means that often, success is not determined on racing ability – it’s down to how well you remember the track. Corners arrive with alarming alacrity, often leaving your vehicle smashing into the sides or worse still, into early retirement. You’ll learn the tracks and master them, but the memory-test nature of the experience means that multi-player becomes a predictable procession when playing against players who are less familiar with the title.
The Story Mode never seems engaging enough to warrant the expenditure of credits, while re-racing the same Grand Prix to acquire new ships and parts soon becomes a chore, especially when the initial collection of components are so ineffective. While the out-of-race additions are welcome, they make the races seem like a means to an end, rather than ends in themselves. Personally, I soon found the experience sharing more aspects with work instead of play – a clear case of diminishing returns for the game disc.
Looking at F-Zero GX, I respect it and can see what it does well. Standing head and shoulders above most of its competitors, it certainly isn’t a bad game – and I do like it. The problem is, I feel like I should love it. I loved the first game, and got on pretty well with F-Zero X. Why then, is it not superglued into place in my Cube’ Why haven’t those super-fast visuals graced this reviewer’s screen lately’ Inexplicably, I still feel like I should love it. The truth is, I haven’t felt like playing it for weeks. F-Zero GX is extremely fast – it passed me by in almost every respect.
