[played on real hardware via FXPAK Pro]
Like most people, I’m fairly sure my introduction to the F-Zero series was through Super Smash Bros, as Captain Falcon’s consistently been a fighter in every game in the franchise. I learned a bit about the series through there, mostly in regards to the music, characters and general atmosphere.
Although, it wasn’t until I began hearing about how great F-Zero GX was that I really got interested - I wasn’t even planning on checking out the SNES original until a recent ROM hack caught my eye, that being BS F-Zero Deluxe. It added the 10 exclusive tracks from the Satellaview releases into the base game, and in order to prepare myself for those, I thought it’d be a good idea to acclimate myself by playing the base game first. And like so many times before, I ended up being surprised by how much fun I had!
The main thing that surprised me about F-Zero was how it still felt incredibly good to play, even over 30 years later! Each vehicle controls like an absolute dream, which makes drifting around corners and maintaining your lead effortlessly satisfying. There’s also a fair bit of nuance that makes mastering the game even more rewarding, like figuring out the best time to use the boosts you receive in each lap, or utilizing more advanced maneuvers to get even better at cutting corners and keeping ahead of the pack.
This wouldn’t mean anything if the tracks weren’t up to snuff, but they absolutely are! There’s 15 in total, split up into three leagues, and the difficulty curve’s extremely solid: the Knight League starts things off with easy courses that let you get adjusted to the gameplay, the Queen League ramps things up with some more daring design, and the King League ends it off with some of the toughest tracks in the game. They’re all incredibly well-designed, and manage to remain distinct from each other despite their flat appearances. My personal favourites are Big Blue, Port Town 1, Sand Canyon 2 and Fire Field, if you want to know.
Having such tough courses as well as harsh CPUs in the higher difficulties means F-Zero can get very challenging… but for me, that’s a good thing! It helps to enhance the sense of exhilaration and thrill I get from hitting ramps and cutting corners in order to stay ahead, and it really pushed me to get good at the tracks, which eventually paid off.
Alongside having such excellent gameplay, F-Zero also excels in the presentation department! While the Mode-7 rendering of the tracks looks a little dated, I still think it’s very charming, and the developers use a lot of cool tricks that help sell the immense speeds you’re traveling at. The background details are also gorgeous, with the purple skies of Silence and Port Town in particular looking beautiful, and really help to give the game some atmosphere.
I also really enjoyed the soundtrack; Mute City and Big Blue are the iconic ones, and they’re great, but everything else is solid too! Silence, Fire Field, Port Town and even the title screen theme are some of my other favourites, and they really take full advantage of the SNES’ sound chip.
In terms of criticisms… I guess the controls can be a bit slippery sometimes? Your vehicle can also occasionally go bouncing around the walls of the track if you’re not careful, which is a little annoying, but easy enough to recover from.
To say I was simply surprised by F-Zero would be an understatement. I went in expecting an interesting little relic that didn’t have much staying power, but what I found was an incredibly challenging, exhilarating and pure fun racing game! The fact Nintendo was able to make a game that showed off the SNES’ capabilities so early into the system’s life makes it even more impressive.
And quite frankly, I’m even more excited to check out the rest of the series now! Because if the first instalment was this good, I can only imagine that the sequels are going to be even better!
Like most people, I’m fairly sure my introduction to the F-Zero series was through Super Smash Bros, as Captain Falcon’s consistently been a fighter in every game in the franchise. I learned a bit about the series through there, mostly in regards to the music, characters and general atmosphere.
Although, it wasn’t until I began hearing about how great F-Zero GX was that I really got interested - I wasn’t even planning on checking out the SNES original until a recent ROM hack caught my eye, that being BS F-Zero Deluxe. It added the 10 exclusive tracks from the Satellaview releases into the base game, and in order to prepare myself for those, I thought it’d be a good idea to acclimate myself by playing the base game first. And like so many times before, I ended up being surprised by how much fun I had!
The main thing that surprised me about F-Zero was how it still felt incredibly good to play, even over 30 years later! Each vehicle controls like an absolute dream, which makes drifting around corners and maintaining your lead effortlessly satisfying. There’s also a fair bit of nuance that makes mastering the game even more rewarding, like figuring out the best time to use the boosts you receive in each lap, or utilizing more advanced maneuvers to get even better at cutting corners and keeping ahead of the pack.
This wouldn’t mean anything if the tracks weren’t up to snuff, but they absolutely are! There’s 15 in total, split up into three leagues, and the difficulty curve’s extremely solid: the Knight League starts things off with easy courses that let you get adjusted to the gameplay, the Queen League ramps things up with some more daring design, and the King League ends it off with some of the toughest tracks in the game. They’re all incredibly well-designed, and manage to remain distinct from each other despite their flat appearances. My personal favourites are Big Blue, Port Town 1, Sand Canyon 2 and Fire Field, if you want to know.
Having such tough courses as well as harsh CPUs in the higher difficulties means F-Zero can get very challenging… but for me, that’s a good thing! It helps to enhance the sense of exhilaration and thrill I get from hitting ramps and cutting corners in order to stay ahead, and it really pushed me to get good at the tracks, which eventually paid off.
Alongside having such excellent gameplay, F-Zero also excels in the presentation department! While the Mode-7 rendering of the tracks looks a little dated, I still think it’s very charming, and the developers use a lot of cool tricks that help sell the immense speeds you’re traveling at. The background details are also gorgeous, with the purple skies of Silence and Port Town in particular looking beautiful, and really help to give the game some atmosphere.
I also really enjoyed the soundtrack; Mute City and Big Blue are the iconic ones, and they’re great, but everything else is solid too! Silence, Fire Field, Port Town and even the title screen theme are some of my other favourites, and they really take full advantage of the SNES’ sound chip.
In terms of criticisms… I guess the controls can be a bit slippery sometimes? Your vehicle can also occasionally go bouncing around the walls of the track if you’re not careful, which is a little annoying, but easy enough to recover from.
To say I was simply surprised by F-Zero would be an understatement. I went in expecting an interesting little relic that didn’t have much staying power, but what I found was an incredibly challenging, exhilarating and pure fun racing game! The fact Nintendo was able to make a game that showed off the SNES’ capabilities so early into the system’s life makes it even more impressive.
And quite frankly, I’m even more excited to check out the rest of the series now! Because if the first instalment was this good, I can only imagine that the sequels are going to be even better!