F-Zero GX is the successor to F-Zero X and continues the series' difficult, high-speed racing style, retaining the basic gameplay and control system from the Nintendo 64 game. A heavy emphasis is placed on track memorization and reflexes. GX introduces a "story mode" element, where the player assumes the role of F-Zero pilot Captain Falcon through nine chapters while completing various missions.
The GX and AX project was the first significant video game collaboration between Nintendo and Sega. GX was well received by critics for its visuals, intense action, high sense of speed, and track design while its high difficulty has been criticized. In the years since its release it has been considered one of the GameCube's best titles, as well as one of the greatest video games ever made.
F-Zero GX is a futuristic racing game where up to thirty competitors race on massive circuits inside plasma-powered machines in an intergalactic Grand Prix.[1] It is the successor to F-Zero X and continues the series' difficult, high-speed racing style, retaining the basic gameplay and control system from the Nintendo 64 game.[2][3] Tracks include enclosed tubes, cylinders, tricky jumps, and rollercoaster-esque paths.[2][4] Some courses are littered with innate obstacles like dirt patches and mines.[4] A heavy emphasis is placed on track memorization and reflexes, which aids in completing the game.[2][3] Each machine handles differently,[5] has its own performance abilities affected by its weight, and a grip, boost, and durability trait graded on an A to E (best to worst) scale.[6] Before a race, the player is able to adjust a vehicle's balance between maximum acceleration and maximum top speed.[3] Every machine has an energy meter, which serves two purposes. First, it is a measurement of the machine's health and is decreased from accidents or attacks from opposing racers.[7] Second, the player is usually given the ability to boost after the first lap,[8] but must sacrifice energy to do so.[7] Pit areas and dash plates are located at various points around the track for vehicles to drive over. The former replenishes energy, while the latter gives a speed boost without using up any energy. The less time spent in the pit area, the less energy will regenerate.[8] Courses may also have jump plates, which launch vehicles into the air enabling them to cut corners.[9][8]
Each racing craft contains air brakes for navigating tight corners by using an analog stick and shoulder buttons.[10] Afterwards, the game's physics modeling give vehicles setup with high acceleration a boost of acceleration. Players can easily exploit this on a wide straight stretch of a circuit to generate serpentinous movements.[11] This technique called "snaking" delivers a massive increase in speed,[3] but it is best used on the easier tracks, when racing alone in Time Trial, and with heavy vehicles with a high grip rating and given high acceleration. According to Nintendo, the snaking technique was an intentional addition to F-Zero GX's gameplay.[12]
Screenshot of F-Zero GX, showing the player's head-up display and racing craft
F-Zero GX features numerous gameplay modes and options.[9] In the Grand Prix mode, the player races against twenty-nine opponents through three laps of each track in a cup.[9] There are four cups available (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Diamond) with five tracks in each.[13][14] Unlocking the AX cup gives the player all six tracks from the arcade game, F-Zero AX.[15][16] Each cup has four selectable difficulty levels: Novice, Standard, Expert, and Master.[15] 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.[9] If the player has a "spare machine"—the equivalent of an extra life—then the race can be restarted even if the player's vehicle is destroyed from losing all energy or falling off the track. A predetermined number of spare machines based on the difficulty level chosen are given to players before starting a cup.[17] Players get an additional spare machine for every five contenders they destroy through vehicular combat,[18][8] with each destroyed and eliminated opponent also granting extra energy.[18]
The Vs. Battle is the multiplayer mode where two to four players can compete simultaneously. Time Attack lets the player choose any track and complete it in the shortest time possible.[19] An Internet ranking system was established where players enter a password on the official F-Zero website and get ranked based on their position in the database. Players receive a password after completing a Time Attack race, which records their time and machine used.[20]Ghost data, transparent re-enactments of the player's Time Attack performances, can be saved on memory cards to later race against. Up to five ghosts can be raced against simultaneously.[21] The Replay mode allows saved Grand Prix and Time Attack gameplay to be replayed with different camera angles and in-game music.[22] The Pilot Profile mode has each character's biography, theme music, information on their machine, and a short full motion video sequence.[23]
Customize mode is divided between the F-Zero Shop, Garage, and Emblem Editor. The shop is where opponent machines, custom parts for vehicle creation, and miscellaneous items such as story mode chapters and staff ghost data can be purchased with tickets. Tickets are acquired as the player progresses through the Grand Prix, Time Attack, and Story mode. In the Garage section, players can create a machine with three custom parts or print emblems on any vehicle. The parts are divided into body, cockpit, and booster categories, and affect the vehicle's overall durability, maximum speed, cornering, and acceleration. The Emblem Editor lets players create decals.[24]
F-Zero GX is the first F-Zero game to feature a story mode.[20] Its story has the player assume the role of F-Zero pilot Captain Falcon in nine chapters of various racing scenarios; such as Falcon's training regiment, a race against a rival through a canyon with falling boulders, attack and eliminate a rival's gang, and escape from a collapsing building through closing blast doors. Each chapter can be completed on a normal, hard, and very hard difficulty setting.[25]Toshihiro Nagoshi, one of the game's co-producers, stated that this mode was included because the development team felt that the F-Zero universe was unique and they wanted to explain some of the characters' motivations and flesh out the game world.[20]
F-Zero AX is a futuristic racing arcade game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega for the Triforcearcade system board.[28] It is the second game by Sega to use Triforce,[26] which was conceived from a business alliance between them, Nintendo and Namco.[29] This hardware allows for connectivity between the GameCube and arcade games.[27]F-Zero AX's arcade cabinet is available for purchase in standard and deluxe versions. The standard version is a regular sit-down model, while the deluxe version is shaped like Captain Falcon's vehicle and has a tilting seat simulating the craft's cockpit.[27][30]IGN demoed the Cycraft version dubbed "F-Zero Monster Ride" at the 2003 JAMMA arcade show. The Cycraft machine, co-developed between Sega and Simuline, is a cabin suspended in midair controlled by three servomotors for an in-depth motion-based simulation.[31]
The game features 14 playable vehicles with their pilots, consisting of ten newcomers and the four returning characters from the original F-Zero, as well as six race tracks.[27] Each track must be completed before time runs out. Time extensions are awarded for reaching multiple checkpoints on a course however, the player will receive time penalties for falling off-course or depleting their energy meter.[32] Two gameplay modes are available: Race mode, in which the player races against twenty-nine opponents; and Time Attack mode, in which the player attempts to complete a track in the fastest time possible.[33] Connecting multiple cabinets opens up "Versus Play" in the race mode, thus enabling up to four players to compete simultaneously.[32]
Data storage devices
F-Zero AX cabinets can dispense magnetic stripe cards called an "F-Zero license card" to keep track of custom machine data, pilot points, and race data. A card was bundled with the Japanese release of F-Zero GX. The card expires after fifty uses, but its data can be transferred to a new card.[27] Once inserted, the game builds a machine with three custom parts which can be upgraded by earning pilot points.[34] Pilot points are acquired as the player progresses through the Race and Time Attack modes.[32] Players can increase point earnings by improving finish place, eliminating opponents, and finishing races with a large amount of energy reserved.[27] A magnetic stripe card is needed to enter the F-Zero AX Internet Ranking system.[35] Similarly to GX,[20] players receive a password after completing a Time Attack race to enter on the official F-Zero website's ranking system.[36]
GameCube memory cards, on which saved games are kept, can be inserted into these arcade units.[37] A memory card is required for players a chance to win the AX-exclusive pilots, their vehicles, and tracks for use in GX.[38] Players can store up to four machines from GX on a memory card, then play them in AX. If a memory card is used with a magnetic stripe card, players have additional options; they can enter stored GX machines into the F-Zero AX Internet ranking system, and transfer custom AX machine parts to GX.[37]F-Zero AX content can also be acquired by completing GX's tougher challenges,[39][40] or through the use of a cheat device.[41]
Development and release
After Sega transited from first to third-party development in 2001,[42] they and Nintendo developed a close relationship.[43] Toshihiro Nagoshi, president of Sega subsidiary Amusement Vision, developed Super Monkey Ball for the GameCube, which opened up the opportunity for a collaboration between the two companies.[44] Nintendo announced on February 18, 2002, that an arcade system board under the name of "Triforce" was being developed in conjunction between Nintendo, Namco, and Sega.[29] The idea for the arcade board originated after discussions between Sega and Namco about the capabilities and cost effectiveness of the GameCube architecture to make arcade games.[45] Sega, having helped to develop Nintendo's Triforce arcade system, wanted to support it with software that would "stand out and draw attention to Nintendo's platform."[44] Nagoshi was suggested to develop a driving game and agreed under the stipulation he could come up with something unique—which was working on the next installment in Nintendo's F-Zero series.[44] Nagoshi contemplated declining the project due to the combined pressure of making a great impression on Nintendo and creating the next installment of an esteemed franchise, but his curiosity about what he and his team could create overcame his hesitation.[46]
"With Nintendo, it comes to a question of letting some other companies work on our franchises. We focus more on specific relationships with talented producers; we look for people who will care, spend a lot of time and energy, on a specific franchise. We also want to allow these producers to work on franchises that they are interested in working on."
— Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo EAD General Manager, The Nintendo/Sega Press Conference on July 7, 2003.[20]
In March 2002, an announcement from Sega and Nintendo revealed that Amusement Vision and Nintendo would collaborate to release F-Zero video game titles for the Triforce arcade board and the GameCube.[28][47][48]F-Zero GX and AX was the first significant software collaboration between Nintendo and Sega,[49] and the announcement that Nintendo had handled development of one of its franchises to former competitor Sega came as a surprise to some critics.[50][51] Nagoshi claimed that 1991's F-Zero "actually taught me what a game should be" and that it served as an influence for him to create Daytona USA and other racing games.[52]F-Zero producer Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Nintendo "gained a lot of fans among current game developers, including famous producers like Mr. Nagoshi who grew up playing Nintendo games and are big fans of some of our titles."[20] and thought the collaboration resulted in a "true evolution of the F-Zero series", enhancing the simulation of racing at high speeds and expanding the "F-Zero world on a grand scale."[53]
While Amusement Vision was responsible for most of the game's development,[44][54] Miyamoto and Takaya Imamura of Nintendo EAD took on the role of producer and supervisor, respectively.[55] Sega handled planning and execution and Nintendo was responsible for supervision of their product.[44] Nagoshi was initially concerned about differences in opinion between the two companies, and mentioned "If Nintendo planned to hold our hands through development, I would have suggested they develop the game themselves. That way we could focus on a project which would reflect our studio's abilities. I figured that would cause a war, but I was told most of the responsibility would be left to us."[44]F-Zero GX runs on an enhanced version of the engine used in Super Monkey Ball.[56] During the game's development, Nagoshi focused on what he called its self-explanatory "interface" and "rhythm" to give the way the tracks are laid out a rhythmic feel.[57] The game's soundtrack features an array of songs from rock and techno musical styles originally composed by the game music staff's Hidenori Shoji and Daiki Kasho.[58] Shojii is known for his musical scores in Daytona USA 2 and Fighting Vipers 2, while Kasho worked on the Gran Turismo series.[58] Kasho composed the character themes and their lyrics were by Alan Brey.[55] Both Shoji and Kasho supervised the soundtrack's audio mastering.[58]
Nintendo revealed the first footage of F-Zero GX at the Pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) press conference on May 21, 2002. While the game was known to exist several months prior, it had remained behind closed doors until that conference.[59] In early March 2003, according to the official Nintendo website, F-Zero was delayed by two months.[60] Via a live video conference call from Japan on July 7, Miyamoto, Nagoshi, and Imamura answered questions about the two F-Zero games. There, Miyamoto announced the Japanese version of the game was finished and would soon be available to the public. Nagoshi mentioned that back at E3 2003, he was hoping that they would have that time to include a local area network (LAN) multiplayer mode, however they chose not to support this mode. The development team focused more on the game's single-player aspects, and a LAN multiplayer mode would distract greatly from it.[20] Imamura commented that even though he worked directly on F-Zero throughout its different incarnations, this time he took a "step back and was involved at kind of a producer level at looking over the game."[20] Imamura added "hav[ing] worked on the F-Zero series, and seeing the results of the collaboration with Sega, I found myself at something of a loss as to how we can take the franchise further past F-Zero GX and AX."[20]
Published by Nintendo,[28]F-Zero GX was released in Japan on July 25, 2003,[61] in North America on August 25,[62] and in Europe on October 31.[63] The Arcade version was released in 2003 alongside its Gamecube counterpart.[41]F-Zero GX/AX Original Soundtracks, a two-CD set composed of BGM soundtracks to the video games GX and its arcade counterpart, was released in Japan under the Scitron Digital Content record label on July 22, 2004.[64][65] The first disc consists of forty-one tracks and the second has forty with an additional track rearranged by Supersweep's AYA (Ayako Sasō) of "Big Blue".[58][65]
When F-Zero GX was released, the game was well-received overall by reviewers; the title holds an average of 89/100 on the aggregate website Metacritic.[66] Some video game journalists consider it as one of the best racers of its time and the greatest racer on the GameCube platform.[70][67] It was listed "Best GameCube Racing Game" in the E3 2003 IGN Awards and "Best Racing Game of 2003" by IGN.[71][72]F-Zero GX was named the best GameCube game of August 2003 and "Best GameCube Driving Game" of 2003 overall by GameSpot, and was nominated for "Console Racing Game of the Year" at the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards held by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.[73][74][75]Official Nintendo Magazine ranked it the 92nd best game available on Nintendo platforms. The staff felt it was best for hardcore fans.[76]Edge ranked the game 66th on their 100 Best Video Games in 2007.[77]
The game has been credited for its visuals,[2][4] arcade/home connectivity, longevity, sharp controls, tough challenge,[78] and fleshed-out single-player modes.[4][67] The game's most common criticism is its difficulty, specifically in the game's story mode.[2][79] It earned fourth place in IGN's and GameTrailers' toughest games to beat.[78]GameTrailers mentioned F-Zero GX demanded players to master the "rollercoaster-style tracks [which] required hairline precision" to avoid falling off-course.[80]Electronic Gaming Monthly criticized GX's sharp increase in difficulty and GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann agreed stating it "will surely turn some people away before they've seen the 20 tracks and unlocked all the story mode chapters".[2][67] Bryn Williams of GameSpy mentioned that "purists may find it too similar to [sic] N64 version" and criticized the lack of LAN play.[4]
1UP.com stated that the F-Zero series is "finally running on hardware that can do it proper justice".[81]Eurogamer's Kristan Reed pointed out that, graphically, "it's hard to imagine how Amusement Vision could have done a better job".[9]Matt Casamassina of IGN praised the developers' work commenting they have "done a fine job of taking Nintendo's dated franchise and updating it for the new generation" and summed up the general opinion by stating that "For some, GX will be the ultimate racer. For others, it will be flat out too difficult."[3] In Japan, F-Zero GX sold 100,981 units[82] and became qualified for the Player's Choice line in both Europe[83] and North America[84] by selling at least 250,000 copies.[85] Nagoshi said in a 2018 Edge interview that F-Zero GX sold over 1.5million copies worldwide.[86]
Related Research Articles
Super Mario Kart is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The first game in the Mario Kart series, it was released in Japan and North America in 1992, and in Europe the following year in 1993. Selling 8.76 million copies worldwide, the game went on to become the fourth best-selling SNES game of all time. Super Mario Kart was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2009, on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2013, and on the New Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in 2016. Nintendo re-released Super Mario Kart in 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition.
F-Zero is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America in August 1991, and in Europe in 1992. F-Zero is the first game in the F-Zero series and was a launch game for the SNES. F-Zero was rereleased for the Virtual Console service on various Nintendo platforms and as part of the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017.
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games. Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.
A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with video games, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize playing the sport, whilst others emphasize strategy and sport management. Some, such as Need for Speed, Arch Rivals and Punch-Out!!, satirize the sport for comic effect. This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is competitive, just like real-world sports. A number of game series feature the names and characteristics of real teams and players, and are updated annually to reflect real-world changes. The sports genre is one of the oldest genres in gaming history.
Sonic Advance, known as SonicN on the N-Gage, is a 2001 platform game developed by Dimps and published by Sega for the Game Boy Advance. It was the first Sonic the Hedgehog game released on a Nintendo console with Sonic Adventure 2: Battle on the GameCube, and was produced in commemoration of the series' tenth anniversary. The story follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy as they journey to stop Doctor Eggman from taking over the world. Controlling a character, players are tasked with completing each level, defeating Eggman and his robot army, and collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds.
Super Monkey Ball is a 2001 platform party video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The game debuted in Japan at the 2001 Amusement Operators Union trade show as Monkey Ball, an arcade cabinet running on Sega's NAOMI hardware and controlled with a distinctive banana-shaped analog stick. Due to the discontinuation of Sega's Dreamcast home console and the company's subsequent restructuring, an enhanced port dubbed Super Monkey Ball was released as a launch title for the GameCube in late 2001, garnering interest as Sega's first game published for a Nintendo home console.
Paperboy is an arcade action game developed and published by Atari Games, and released in 1985. The player takes the role of a paperboy who delivers a fictional newspaper called The Daily Sun along a street on his bicycle. The arcade version of the game featured bike handlebars as the controller.
Sega AM Research & Development No. 2, previously known as SEGA-AM2 Co., Ltd., is a video game development team within the Japanese multinational video game developer Sega. Yu Suzuki, who had previously developed arcade games for Sega including Hang-On and Out Run, was the first manager of the department.
F-Zero is a series of futuristic racing games published by Nintendo, developed by Nintendo EAD and other third-party companies. The first game was released for the Super Famicom in Japan in 1990. Its success prompted Nintendo to create sequels on subsequent consoles.
18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, known in Japan as 18 Wheeler, is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 and distributed by Sega. The game was released in arcades in 2000 and ported to the Dreamcast in 2001. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and GameCube in 2002 by Acclaim Entertainment. Sega followed up on the success of 18 Wheeler with a sequel, The King of Route 66, which was released in the arcades in 2002 and ported to the PlayStation 2. This was one of the final arcade games to be ported to the Dreamcast after its discontinuation, before Sega became a third-party developer.
Mario Kart Arcade GP is sub-series of arcade games from Nintendo's Mario Kart series developed specifically for arcades in collaboration with Namco. To date, four entries have been released - Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005), Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007), Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013), and Mario Kart Arcade GP VR (2017). The first three entries are considered to be relatively rare outside of Japan, with the fourth title not seeing a release outside of Japan at all. The game's have been generally been well-received by critics, who have praised the game's transition of traditional Mario Kart gameplay into an arcade game format, thought to-date, while lamenting that none of the entries have been released outside of the arcade format onto any of Nintendo's home video game consoles.
Beach Spikers is a beach volleyball video game released in Japanese arcades in 2001. The game was developed in-house by Sega AM2 and published by Sega. A GameCube port, renamed Beach Spikers: Virtua Beach Volleyball, was released in 2002 for all regions.
Toshihiro Nagoshi is a Japanese video game producer, director and designer. He was the chief creative officer for Sega until 2021 when he became creative director. He went on to be the general director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and later became a member of the board of directors for Atlus. He joined Sega in 1989. After 30 years in the company, Nagoshi left Sega to join NetEase in late 2021, where he founded the studio Nagoshi Studio.
The GameCube is one of Nintendo's home video game consoles and part of the sixth generation of video game consoles. Although the competing PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles supported substantial amounts of online games, the GameCube had only eight games with internet or local area network (LAN) support. Nintendo never commissioned any servers or internet services to interface with the console, but allowed other publishers to do so and made them responsible for managing the online experiences for their games. Nintendo remained pensive with its online strategy for the duration of the GameCube's lifespan, defiant of growing interest from players and the success of Microsoft's Xbox Live online service. Company leaders including Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata based their stance on concerns with maintaining quality control over their games and doubts that players would want to pay subscription fees.
Sega Bass Fishing, also known as Get Bass, is an arcade fishing video game developed in 1997 by Sega for the Sega Model 3 hardware. The game has since been ported to the Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.
Takaya Imamura is a teacher at the International Professional University of Technology in Osaka and manga artist. He was a Japanese artwork designer for Nintendo for 32 years, starting in 1989, and is known for designing the characters and story of F-Zero, including Captain Falcon, and most of the supporting characters from the Star Fox series of video games. He also played a role in designing games in the Legend of Zelda series, such as The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, invented the character Tingle, and served as supervising producer for F-Zero GX.
Super Monkey Ball is a series of arcade platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game Monkey Ball, which was ported to GameCube as Super Monkey Ball later that year. Several sequels and ports have been released.
This is a list of development studios owned by Sega, a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Tokyo, Japan. Accompanied with the list is their history of game development. Also included are the companies that Sega has acquired over the years. For a full list of games developed and published by Sega, see List of Sega video games, List of Sega mobile games and List of Sega arcade games.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is a video game developer housed within the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 1 division. It is known for developing the games in the Like a Dragon series, which the studio is named after, since Yakuza 5.
1 2 3 Satterfield, Shane (2002-03-28). "Sega and Nintendo form developmental partnership". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2007-06-20. The companies [Sega and Nintendo] are codeveloping two F-Zero games... Nintendo will be handling the publishing duties for the GameCube version while Sega will take on the responsibility of releasing the arcade game.
↑ "Get connected with F-Zero AX". Official F-Zero GX/AX website. Archived from the original on 2003-08-25. Retrieved 2010-06-14. In September, Sega and Nintendo will launch F-Zero AX in arcades throughout the country.
↑ Tom, Bramwell (2003-08-08). "F-Zero GX first impressions". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2010-10-17. [F-Zero GX] got everything you could want, starting with an enhanced version of the Monkey Ball engine...
↑ "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Goes Platinum" (Press release). Midway Games. 2003-10-06. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2008-04-16. The Nintendo GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance sold 250,000 units, which qualified it for the Player's Choice standard.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
