LogFAQs > #951444144

#4 - F-Zero GX (GCN, my GotY for 2003)


A vast majority of the games in my top 20 are made with the intention of playing through it once, maybe twice to see some extra easter eggs and scenes you missed the first time around, so you can enjoy a nice story. F-Zero GX is most certainly the specialest of exceptions. I could boot up and play this game any time, anywhere, whether with people or just by myself, and have an absolute blast, guaranteed.

Its amazing that this game existed back in the early 2000s, or that its predecessor on the N64 existed even before that. A game that allowed 30 racers all on screen at once was completely unheard of back then, and is still extremely rare today. However, I feel like F-Zero X was more of a test run of what the series could possibly do. Maybe its just a sign that I didn't possess the right skillset back in my early teens for a racer that required the most technical movements and absolute quickest of reflexes, but I could never quite grasp how to succeed at it. Most of my time spent playing it was dedicated to the Death Race, which tasked you with killing every single one of your 29 adversaries as quickly as you could. For having such a grim title, it was a pretty chill mode. It didnt have a time limit, so I just honed my skills over and over. It didnt make me a better racer for the rest of the game, but it sure made me a more sadistic driver.

But I was ready when the series came back in 2003. I was ready to push my skills and patience to its limits.



Just kidding, I still fucking sucked at video games back then and I couldnt beat Chapter 7 of the story mode or the second-to-hardest difficulty Grand Prix. I enjoyed my time with the main game modes, though. F-Zero was going to make a fan of me yet. It actually wasnt until after I graduated high school that I would finally be able to master this game fully. And I dont say those words lightly; you have to master this game in order to beat everything it has to offer.

The longer we go without another F-Zero game, the more I fall in love with this one. I go back to play through it all nowadays every 2 or 3 years. Starting with the default 30 and unlocking all the create-a-ship parts and new drivers is so satisfying. Having to buy new story chapters when the previous chapter didnt give you enough credits to do so is not so satisfying, but whatever. The game controls like an absolute dream and runs at a constant 60 FPS. Every time you fuck up in it can entirely be attributed to something you did wrong. Well, I guess there are times where the course dips in and youre driving too fast and fly off the track, and that might feel a bit unfair, but other than that, its all on you. The hitboxes are great for both the cars and the track. Ive never felt like Ive driven a perfect race and didnt win. Yes, Chapter 7 literally makes you drive a perfect race for 5 whole laps, but it can be done, as evidenced by the time I streamed it last year:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/650447651

There isnt much else to say. Its a racing game where the racing itself feels miles ahead of anything else ever made. If there was one more thing I had to add, its how fucking goofy the story is. It just constantly hams up Captain Falcon being this amazing driver and bounty hunter, and hes trying to save the city from the evil Black Shadow, but he keeps getting wrapped up in these crazy hijinks. And the songs that play in the background are the most cheezy fucking songs Ive ever heard.



These are actual lyrics to the song after you beat the story:
When myopic confusion threatens your lunch
Falcon will be unleashing a Falcon Punch.
Thank heavens hes on the right side
Or else thered be nowhere to hide.
Give it up for the Capitn!
Three cheers for the Falcon!

I dont know what the fuck these lyrics are doing in this game, but I love how dumb they are. And every single one of the 40 racers in the game get their own theme song. They literally never play during the course of the actual game. You have to go to their profile and play them there. Some just feel like throwaway tracks, but a few of them are really good. Its very bizarre to me that theyd put in all the effort to do something like this and never showcase it in-game, but its still a welcome addition.



Can we please get another F-Zero game? Please? Nintendo why have you forsaken us? Just some GX Online would be killer. Actually, maybe not, given their track record with online services. Its already bad enough with 4 players in Smash, I can only imagine how god awful a race with 30 players would be like. But I still want more, dammit!

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Xbox GT/PSN name/Nintendo ID: TatteredUniform
http://www.scuffletown.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/tRBE1.gif