F-Zero
System: SNES
Release Date: August 23rd, 1991
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Racing
Hop into some super speed futuristic racing crafts in F-Zero! In the year 2560, Earthlings have been interstellar creatures for some time. The rich have become richer and are yearning for some new entertainment. A new sport modeled after ancient Earth F-1 style racing was created and you get to be one of the drivers. There are no wheels here, but the turns and the danger are all present. Can you master fifteen tracks across nine planets to be the champion of F-Zero?
There are four different vehicles you can choose from in practice mode or the grand prix. Captain Falcon is the hero and pilot of the Blue Falcon. He’s also my Super Smash Bros. main, so my default choice here. The Blue Falcon is the balanced choice good for anyone to play with. Dr. Robert Stuart is the pilot of the Golden Fox, which is a fast accelerating rig. It’s doesn’t stand up well to crashing with it’s light frame though. Pico pilots the Wild Goose. This heavily armored machine goes fast, and is strong, allowing for an aggressive play style. Samurai Goroh is a brigand leader and pilot of the Fire Stingray. This is the fastest vehicle, but the slowest to accelerate up to speed.
The manual has a neat little comic about intergalactically renowned bounty hunter Captain Falcon and his rivalry with Samurai Goroh. This doesn’t come up at all in gameplay, but is a fun little backstory. The B Button is the velocitator and keeps you going fast. The X and Y Buttons are your brakes and while you probably won’t touch them in lower levels, managing your speed becomes more important at higher difficulties. After every lap, you earn an S-Jet, which is a turbo boost activated with the A Button. The L and R Buttons shift the weight of your vehicle in that direction and are helpful for correcting your position on the track without having to turn your heading.
Races are very straightforward. There are five laps on each track and you have to meet a certain position requirement on each lap to keep going. By the time the final lap rolls around, you have to finish in the top 3 to move to the next race. You do have a few lives, but they go quick if you run your power down or fly off the track. The opposing racers never really seem to veer off the best line and have an easy time keeping up with you, even if you’re running a flawless race. They even get to change velocity in mid air if they’re heading for the terrain below. There are three different leagues for you to master over three difficulties (with a fourth opening if you can beat expert).
Courses are full of turns that you can sometimes corner at speed, but also hairpin turns that you need to hold off the gas and shift your weight into to make without hitting the walls. You also have to be careful to avoid the occasional landmine or magnets, but if you are running low on power, there are pit areas that will replenish your life. There are also a lot of jumps that can be hit. These help you gain speed, as you accelerate more quickly in the air. Hold down on the d-pad to stay up there longer. There’s one particularly annoying jump that you have to be at speed to even have a chance at making. Good luck if you’re in the Fire Stingray…
Graphics: 3.0
Using Mode 7 is a really cool idea and there’s a lot of potential, but it hasn’t been realized here, yet.
Sound: 3.0
Some music is really good, while others feel a bit tinny to me. The sound effect of the whooshing engines bug me after awhile.
Gameplay: 2.5
The racing has a bit of depth to it, but not too much, you’ll be ruing the flashing opponents who get in your way.
Difficulty: 3.0
The courses are mainly laid out well, but there is some weird feeling catch up AI present in the harder difficulties that irritated me.
Fun Factor: 3.0
This is a solid way to set the bar for racing games to have to meet.
Overall Rating: 2.9
F-Zero earns a B. I think this a good game, but it’s not really my favorite. You should still check it out, though.