Screenshots :.
F-Zero X
N64
Matt
10-05-2007
"Well the score says it all, but these games were about the fun weren't they?"
"Argh the tragic red blob of death type thing...remember it well..."
Who here remembers sitting down in front of their televisions back in the tail end of the 1990s and spending obscene amounts of time playing on their Nintendo 64s? Thought there would be quite a few of you. Zelda? Check. Mario? Check. Banjo Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Donkey Kong? Check. F-Zero X?
Possibly not. Arriving as it did during the winter of 1998, F-Zero X inevitably ended up getting swallowed whole by the buzz surrounding Ocarina Of Time and hence became something of a cult game amongst steadfast gamers. Offering what to the detached observer seemed to be an update to a classic Nintendo series in order to give the ’64 its own Wipeout game, the title ended up becoming one of the simplest yet most hellishly addictive games ever packed into a game cartridge.
Yes, it looked sparse. Yes, it combined horrific Japanese thrash metal tunes with basic sound effects. In terms of visuals and sound F-Zero X was about as underwhelming as games got at the time and this certainly did Nintendo no favours when it came to selling the game based on reviews and box shots. The game was indeed a prime example of a game that a player had to sit down with and experience to fully understand the appeal. For those who did give it the benefit of the doubt, the rewards were bountiful.
This was due to there being an absolute belter of a game buried underneath all the artistic simplicity, and once given time it became obvious exactly why Nintendo had kept the game looking so plain. The premise was simple, with the player controlling a craft in a race against 29 other opponents around a variety of looping circuits in the sky. Not content with jostling for position, racers were able to slam into each other to either slice large chunks of energy off or to knock them off the edge of the circuit completely. Despite having to cope with huge amounts of craft swarming around numerous different bends the action was always a silky smooth 60 frames per second and blindly quick.
Divided between 4 standard cups, an additional tournament unlocked upon completing the others and a Death Race mode which saw you racing around a simple oval loop trying to be the last man standing, the game didn’t instantly strike you as being one which would offer great deals of longevity. Each cup allowed you to partake in four difficulty classes, and the harder of these were insanely tricky with opponents constantly hounding you and giving you no quarter in the slightest.
Where F-Zero X really bore fruit, however, was when it was played with a friend. Although the maximum amount of competitors dropped from 30 down to 4, the races were always as epic and exciting as the single player mode. This mainly came from the fact that each circuit was easy to learn but difficult to truly master, so players of any level could race against each other and have some nail-bitingly close finishes. Adding to the fun was the fifth and final cup mode, the X Cup, which offered a selection of over 70 circuits that would be mixed up at random for the players to navigate. Some were more inspired than others, but the added random edge kept players coming back for more races and acted as a leveller for people who hadn’t spent much time getting used to the ‘proper’ single player circuits.
Whilst probably not a game that would be mentioned in too many people’s Nintendo 64 hit lists, F-Zero X truly did offer one of the most addictive and outright fun experiences the console had to offer. Despite lacking visual shine and although it featured a soundtrack seemingly designed to make your ears bleed, the nature of the racing was enough to fuel many a gamer’s urges and assured it a place as one of the period’s true cult classics.
Possibly not. Arriving as it did during the winter of 1998, F-Zero X inevitably ended up getting swallowed whole by the buzz surrounding Ocarina Of Time and hence became something of a cult game amongst steadfast gamers. Offering what to the detached observer seemed to be an update to a classic Nintendo series in order to give the ’64 its own Wipeout game, the title ended up becoming one of the simplest yet most hellishly addictive games ever packed into a game cartridge.
Yes, it looked sparse. Yes, it combined horrific Japanese thrash metal tunes with basic sound effects. In terms of visuals and sound F-Zero X was about as underwhelming as games got at the time and this certainly did Nintendo no favours when it came to selling the game based on reviews and box shots. The game was indeed a prime example of a game that a player had to sit down with and experience to fully understand the appeal. For those who did give it the benefit of the doubt, the rewards were bountiful.
This was due to there being an absolute belter of a game buried underneath all the artistic simplicity, and once given time it became obvious exactly why Nintendo had kept the game looking so plain. The premise was simple, with the player controlling a craft in a race against 29 other opponents around a variety of looping circuits in the sky. Not content with jostling for position, racers were able to slam into each other to either slice large chunks of energy off or to knock them off the edge of the circuit completely. Despite having to cope with huge amounts of craft swarming around numerous different bends the action was always a silky smooth 60 frames per second and blindly quick.
Divided between 4 standard cups, an additional tournament unlocked upon completing the others and a Death Race mode which saw you racing around a simple oval loop trying to be the last man standing, the game didn’t instantly strike you as being one which would offer great deals of longevity. Each cup allowed you to partake in four difficulty classes, and the harder of these were insanely tricky with opponents constantly hounding you and giving you no quarter in the slightest.
Where F-Zero X really bore fruit, however, was when it was played with a friend. Although the maximum amount of competitors dropped from 30 down to 4, the races were always as epic and exciting as the single player mode. This mainly came from the fact that each circuit was easy to learn but difficult to truly master, so players of any level could race against each other and have some nail-bitingly close finishes. Adding to the fun was the fifth and final cup mode, the X Cup, which offered a selection of over 70 circuits that would be mixed up at random for the players to navigate. Some were more inspired than others, but the added random edge kept players coming back for more races and acted as a leveller for people who hadn’t spent much time getting used to the ‘proper’ single player circuits.
Whilst probably not a game that would be mentioned in too many people’s Nintendo 64 hit lists, F-Zero X truly did offer one of the most addictive and outright fun experiences the console had to offer. Despite lacking visual shine and although it featured a soundtrack seemingly designed to make your ears bleed, the nature of the racing was enough to fuel many a gamer’s urges and assured it a place as one of the period’s true cult classics.
8/10
