Story-
The year is 2560 and racing has evolved from boring cars that touch the road to hovercrafts that float inches off of the ground and rocket up to speeds around 300 mph. The top 4 racers in F-Zero - Captain Falcon, Dr. Stuart, Pico and Samurai Goroh are all vying for the glory of winning the F-Zero Grand Prix. Fame and riches await the champion but who can survive the hazards while also keeping the pedal to the floor?
Overview-
F-Zero is a high-speed racing game where you control a futuristic hovercraft and navigate closed-circuit courses whilst avoiding other racers and random hazards from starting point to finish line. 2 different game modes include "Grand Prix" which features 3 unique leagues and 5 races/tracks in each against a.i. opponents as well as "Practice" which allows you to race on individual tracks with either 1 or no other opponent present. Blast through 5 laps on each track as fast as possible and avoid finishing beyond the podium to proceed to the next race in Grand Prix mode. Along the way, all of your best times are saved so that you can always go back and attempt to set a new mark on each track.
There are 4 crafts to choose from - The Blue Falcon (good for beginners), The Golden Fox (great acceleration but flimsy structure), The Wild Goose (can take a beating but horrible off the line) and The Fire Stingray (fastest top speed but supremely heavy) all offering a unique playstyle and feel with which to appropriate to players of all varieties. After each lap, a boost is rewarded to your pilot which can be stored and used at any time but beware the many different hazards that litter the 15 different courses such as landmines, ice and jumps that can send you flying off the track. Discover the best line and straddle the delicate balance of risk/reward to conquer each track and become the ultimate F-Zero champion!
Critical Analysis-
- Gameplay: 4/5 (I like it)
While the in-game racing is as-good-as-it-gets with mega high speeds mixed with hazards, the lack of game modes prevents this rating from being even higher. I really wish their was a 2 player split-screen mode or a more in-depth a.i. as many of the head-to-head races in Grand Prix feel rubberbanded to keep the cpu close to you no matter how well your driving. The negativity ends there however as F-Zero brings it in every other way and having a battery backup to save your track data was huge and boosted the replay value ten-fold as it allowed for many prideful records to be set for your friends to attempt to break with their futile efforts (HA HA)! - Controls: 5/5 (I love it)
Man does this game feel good with its perfectly sensitive controls that put you right in the driver's seat. Navigating the many sharp curves and avoiding the obstacles/other drivers while boosting your craft fast enough to stay in contention couldn't possibly feel any more right on the money and having 4 different pilots to choose from only added to the distinctiveness of these awesome handles. Your brain will tickle with pleasure when you turn at just the right time or hit the speed boost arrows and it's beyond satisfying when you nail that "perfect line" in a race which makes you feel like your in the zone! - Music/Sound: 5/5 (I love it)
Whether bopping your head to Big Blue's super catchy theme or cowering in fear to the ominous and bass-heavy tones of the Death Wind stages, the music in F-Zero kicks major ass and should be considered among the best of this entire generation (as well as all time). The sound effects all work fine but I do kind of wish that the different crafts had unique throttle noises but it's not much of a critique at all in the grand scheme. Now time to hit play on that sound bar again... - Graphics: 4/5 (I like it)
While Mode 7 was a cool and unique graphical style that lent itself well to this time period (as it created a pseudo 3-D effect), it has aged some and is the most noticeable whenever observing the flat city or whatever happens to be surrounding the track that you're on. It's totally not bad though as it looks great at fast speeds (which is what you'll be seeing most of the time anyways) and never feels choppy. I also love the many different colors that you'll observe on the tracks and the backgrounds/skylines which are totally rad and always get my imagination flowing. - 'Tude Meter: MAXIMUM (Coolness guaranteed)
This game has 'tude bursting out the seams with its death race premise and crazy fast speeds that would make Sonic the Hedgehog grip the door handle with white knuckles! While the Genesis loved to brag about their Blast Processing and how much faster their games were compared to the Super Nintendo's, it's good to see the SNES clap back with an over-the-top racing affair such as this which not only served to debunk Sega'spropaganda but also provided a badass exclusive racing experience in its own right. Extra points for adding turbo to the crafts as well... WHEN YOUR ALREADY GOING 300 MPH !!!
Final Verdict: 5/5 (Great game)
Dude, what else can I really say other than F-Zero has and will forever be my absolute favorite racing series to date! I mean, you zip blitzing future cars across a multitude of vibrantly trippy-looking planets with excellently responsive controls all while a rip-roaring soundtrack pulses in the background to a rhythmic cadence that corrals your focus into a Zen-like engine of unrelenting mayhem! It reminds me more of racing jets in a way, other than cars, which raises this game's uniqueness from other driving titles of this era foregoing much of the slippery stubbornness that associates itself with those pesky rubber wheels and putting straight-line speed to the top of the priority list where it belongs. ...And from Nintendo no less - the sticklers for 10 and 2 driving?! Yeah Sega, how's that "we're SO much faster than you are" propaganda working out for you again???
There are a few gripes that are inescapable such as the lack of 2 player support, bad hit-detection and a not-so deep Grand Prix but these complaints fade away into the background quickly when you're having too much fun narrowly escaping death at rapid speeds either by yourself or against the computer. As far as F-Zero is concerned, the greatest competition comes from within anyways constantly tantalizing players to set a new bar of excellence on a difficult track for pride and gloating purposes. It's these types of releases that grind gamers into twitchy cyborgs, increasing hand-eye coordination and reflex awareness beyond the status quo synthesizing our collective mindset towards a heightened sense of consciousness and I'm ALL for it (the path to enlightenment starts with a single boost in this universe)! Best way to sum it up - There are many fun racing games in this generation (and beyond) but none of them feel like F-Zero and I simply can't recommend it enough. With as much genuine endorsement as I could possibly muster, strap yourself into the cockpit of one of these hovercrafts as soon as humanly possible if you haven't yet and prepare yourself for a breakneck, city-jumping, turbo-boosting adventure unlike any other!
Parting Thoughts-
- Pros-
*LOVE that soundtrack
*Controls respond with pinpoint precision
*Speed, speed and more speed - Cons-
*Would have been incredible with 2 player split-screen
*Collision detection is too sensitive
*A little lacking in depth
The 'Tude Dude's Bottom Line-
Bucking Nintendo's typical first-party approach of safety nets and training wheels, F-Zero zooms past the competition in record time displaying some the best chops in the racing genre bar none no matter the system or console!
Thanks for reading!
