Together Retro: F-Zero

[dsheinem]

I dumped my GX to Dolphin. Never played before. Looking forward to jumping in.

[Super Jamie]

I've given F-Zero a try a few times, but never really gotten into it hugely.

Reading more about it, the depth of the game world is amazing! There's a storyline and characters and canon and everything. Games with this much depth behind the scenes tend to be great, so I'm excited to get to know this series better. I've just read the Wikipedia pages, I should try find a copy of the original manual.

I spent last night playing the SNES version, mostly driving round and round Mute City in practice mode, getting to know the track and the vehicles. It's quite hard to beat the computer player, you need to drive an almost perfect race, 2'15" or under. I managed a 2'15"03 and the CPU was right on my tail as I crossed the finish line for a win. Passing is the hardest part, you seem to suffer a much greater penalty from bumps than the computer player does.

I didn't see much advantage from using the shoulder buttons to get around corners, you just scrape, slow down, and lose control compared to either lifting off the accelerator or using brakes. The shoulders do seem to be useful for passing when racing in the grand prix mode with other competitors.

One thing I do know very well about F-Zero is the soundtrack. I am a big fan of listening to good game soundtracks as regular music, and F-Zero is in my regular rotation. It's got a great funky 90s sound which really embodies the whole dystopian cyberpunkish feel of the game. You can download the original SPC files on the snesmusic.org page (I play these with deadbeef on Android), or you can download MP3s on KH Insider. There's also an arranged version called F-Zero: The Transmitter by Magical Trick Society, a Japanese group who have done arranges for a lot of Nintendo games.

[MyNameIsVince]

Hmmm.....I've never been a part of one of these before, but since right now I'm kind of aimless in my video gaming playing endeavors at the moment, participating in something specific like this might be a good idea to keep me focused and fresh.


OK, I'll do it.


I have all 5 F-Zero games released in North America. However I'm not going to play all of them to completion (or in general), because I'm a sane human being, and anybody trying to complete F-Zero GX is a sadist of the highest degree.

So here's what I'm doing:

F-Zero (SNES) - A casual run-through of all the courses in the 3 leagues on beginner, possibly standard as well. This one I'll focus on first.

F-Zero X (N64) - It has been a while since I played this last, mainly due to my N64 stationed in my living room, so I will probably do a run through of a couple of leagues on novice. Whether I complete any more or not will probably be due to time and/or interest.

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (GBA) - This one will vary. I'm either going to attempt higher difficulty run throughs of the leagues (Knight and Bishop on expert), OR.....I may attempt to race the championship course 255 times to unlock Jet Vermilion the honest way (I have it unlocked the cheater's way via a cheat code/password but I want it officially). This one is the game most likely to change goals due to how I'm doing in the game.

F-Zero: GP Legend (GBA) - I will leave this one alone. I've spent enough time unlocking stuff in this game. It's fun but I want to give others love this time out.

F-Zero GX (GCN) - I'm not even going to touch this one. I posted a rant somewhere on here explaining why.

I may go ahead and start this tonight and continue this week with the original, but if I don't, I'll resume next week because I will be in Arizona on Friday and coming back Sunday. After that I'll resume F-Zero and the others.

[Nyukki]

Still one of my favourite SNES games, one of my go-to games anyway so will definitely be playing. Had the N64 version as a kid, but definitely want to try the Gamecube version as I've heard it's amazing.

There are some cool hacks available for SNES F-Zero including fan made tracks, and this one which lets you play all tracks that would otherwise only be available in grand prix mode in practice mode.

I didn't see much advantage from using the shoulder buttons to get around corners, you just scrape, slow down, and lose control compared to either lifting off the accelerator or using brakes. The shoulders do seem to be useful for passing when racing in the grand prix mode with other competitors.

I didn't get the shoulder buttons at first, but the way I use them is similar to strafing in FPSs, if that makes sense.

Two situations it comes in handy:
1, You've just crossed the finish line and need to recharge energy, you can hold the shoulder button to cruise into the pit lane without turning and slowing down or risk hitting the wall;
2, when going round a long bend, you can hold down the opposite shoulder button to the direction you are turning, i.e. hold down the right shoulder button when going round a left turn, that way you turn less sharp, kind of like drifting in games like Outrun 2006 C2C.

One thing I do know very well about F-Zero is the soundtrack.

Definitely some of my favourite VGM is from SNES F-Zero.

[Super Jamie]

I didn't get the shoulder buttons at first, but the way I use them is similar to strafing in FPSs, if that makes sense.

Two situations it comes in handy:
1, You've just crossed the finish line and need to recharge energy, you can hold the shoulder button to cruise into the pit lane without turning and slowing down or risk hitting the wall;

This has been a great tip, many thanks.

I too noticed you don't lose speed when strafing, but you do lose speed when cornering. When going through chicane sections I've been using the shoulder buttons to clear the edges and maintain a high speed.

It's so unfair how good the Fire Stingray is, highest top speed and by far the best cornering in the game. Its linear power delivery causes it to take a bigger penalty when you lose speed so it's quite risky in GP, but for time trials it just can't be beat.

The SNES manual is on replacementdocs. A good tip in there is to pull back when you jump, this points your nose up so it doesn't bang on the ground as you land, which causes you to lose speed. One of the entries on GameFAQs says this also makes you fly higher and further. You get a big speed boost in the air so this helps you maintain those 500+km/h runs for longer.

Pretty much everything about this game is maintaining as high a speed as possible. The same can be said for all racing games, but F-Zero seems to encourage it by making you do absolutely perfect laps every time at almost constant full throttle. Compare this to other racing games where you have to use the brakes. Maybe I need to stop playing the easy cup to find harder levels.

I tried Maximum Velocity on the GBA, but the controls feel so cramped compared to the SNES controller. I'll try emulating it on the computer and using a SNES-to-USB adaptor.

[Nyukki]

pull back when you jump

Forgot about that, thanks!

Queen cup isn't too difficult apart that annoying long jump in white land 2. King is hard as balls. Plus I hate those windy levels.

Also, another time the shoulder buttons come in handy is if you lose control after bumping off the wall or another racer, pressing the shoulder buttons can help you regain control.

[chupon]

Love the Music on SNES! Won't be joining but F-Zero is a fantastic series!

[noiseredux]

Remind me again why SNES games arent on the 3DS eshop?

[Sload Soap]

Remind me again why SNES games arent on the 3DS eshop?

Either stupidity or Nintendo are waiting until the reveal of F-Zero U to release the entire series including the BS games to hype us up!

I think we know which scenario is most likely.

[ExedExes]

F-Zero GX.

Looks great with the component cables. Sega's touch and influence are all over the place. Difficult. Vehicles to unlock I may never see. But I am on Chapter 5 of Story Mode now, so some progress was being made.