Is it safe to say that when it comes to sci-fi racing games, players are usually in one of two camps? Those who swear their allegiance to Wipeout (wipE'out"?) and those who follow F-Zero? Sorry to all the fans of XGIII there...
If it is safe to say that, then I am - as you might have read in this blog before - firmly grounded in an anti-gravity craft belonging to the Wipeout series. Nintendo consoles weren't my thing back in those formative years, so it doesn't matter how good F-Zero X was claimed to be because I just wasn't there to know it at the time.
Even in the decades since, I know only of F-Zero games as 'like Wipeout but with more, smaller ships'. That's what I've got going into this game. Many small ships, kinda like Wipeout. I think it's time to educate myself.
Fun Times
Do you see that pathetic 30km/h readout in the bottom right corner? F-Zero X is a racing game where you can add 1000km/h to that figure and it'll still make sense because F-Zero X is quick. It's a constant 60 frames per second quick, and the ships you're able to pilot are all kinds of quick too.
There are a few racing modes to get yourself stuck into, but a novice cup was where I was heading. There aren't too many racers available, to begin with, but each is tunable, to a degree, once you've chosen the one with the best looks/weirdest name.
Going with the Red Gazelle on account of it looking the most practical (or, come to think of it, looking the most like your starting ship in No Man's Sky), I find out that I am going to be piloting it as a comic book robot man known as Mighty Gazelle. It may be one word, even. Mightygazelle. That'd make sense in a sci-fi future.
Anyway, names aside, each ship has a few stats to give you an idea as to how it handles. I don't actually know how the scaling works, but I am assuming that I'm pretty fast, when I've not exploded for any particular reason. With that strategy in mind, I start the Jack Cup and see where I end up.
Clearly focusing more on making my way through 29 other racers than on taking screenshots, I emerge onto the home straight with a few thoughts in mind, notably involving speed. It doesn't necessarily look fast, but F-Zero X tends to feel fast, and that's thanks to a few things.
Firstly, the controls are as barebones as you could want. There's a go button, and a go faster button unlocks after the first lap, and some analogue stick wiggling will fill in the rest. That's all you need. The skill comes with how you use those buttons to navigate 29 other racers who want to drive all over the track, often into each other, and when to use the go faster button, knowing that the more you use it, the less health your ship has - something your rivals will be sure to keep an eye out for, and drive into you whenever they can, damaging you further.
With those controls, your focus is shifted onto making your laps count. There are no weapons here, and no fancy tricks to eke out some little advantages over the competition. There are speed pads on the floor, and a kind of pit-stop towards the end of the lap to regain some energy, but that's it. It's down to you to find the racing line and time your boosts to perfection.
You can do that because the framerate is so high, and it's kept high by rendering only what you need to know about. If you can't see it, the Nintendo doesn't care about showing it to you. If a racer is too far ahead, it's a triangle. Then a vague ship shape as you get closer. Then a shape or two. Then an actual model you can pick out details from. Then it's a triangle again because you've mistimed your turn and are heading into the wall.
Frustrations
As the Cup went on, problems with twitchy controls and unexpected results of button inputs give this game a little note of caution, for want of a better phrase. It's really good to play, let's make that clear, but let's also note that sometimes you'll not go where you intended to go, and sometimes you'll find yourself with very little energy in seconds, and sometimes you'll be in 2nd place despite clearly being in front of everything on screen.
That last one was a little picky, but the point is that for all this game does well, there are a few little hiccups that may just put people off. The difficulty is supposedly higher than you might expect, both in terms of control and A.I. It doesn't seem like there's any rubber banding going on, which is good, as races often finish with ships spaced no more than a second apart. But there are 30 racers on the track at once, and the graphics can't keep up with that, which is noticeable, be it for the lack of detail or for the emptiness on display.
The tracks, from what I've seen so far, are rather featureless as a consequence of hitting the frame rate target. It allows for players to concentrate on the race, certainly, but it looks a bit off for any spectators. Even reviewers at the time noted that the tracks were wide and twisting so that you saw as little of the background as possible because there was nothing there to see in the first place.
Further Fun Times
The tracks are the important bit, though, not the background, and when they start doing some next-level Mobius strips... woo, what a ride. It's like Wipeout meets Super Mario Galaxy in here sometimes. One race you're inside pipes, the next you're outside them, all the while endlessly drifting around them trying to find the racing line.
It's awesome. It's something that is hinted at in other sci-fi racers, but rarely seen, certainly to this degree. The mini-map was of no help to me in trying to work out where I was most of the time - I was just in for the ride, pedal to the metal, gunning it for the finish line.
Final Word
I've only scratched the surface of F-Zero X and I can see myself digging into it some more. There are modes I've yet to touch, including the ominous 'Death Race', which has you try to survive the carnage that is 30 racers smashing into each other.
Sometimes you just wish you had some rockets or something, but you quickly realise that that is what Wipeout is for, and that this is F-Zero X, which is different, and that you've just lost another 3 places for who knows what reason, but one more boost should see you reclaim them, should you survive long enough to finish in anything but a fireball.
You can easily pick up this game and have a good time, on your own or in a multiplayer setting. With multiple modes to choose from and a truckload of ships to unlock and test out, there's depth for those who want to perfect their skills too, honing the controls into something more manageable.
I think I'll still be sticking with Wipeout, but now I can see why the F-Zero series has its fans, and can't really blame them for enjoying it at all.
Fun Facts
The North American release was delayed because Nintendo wanted their releases to be spread out over the year. It was a case of players having to import the game from Japan and living with Japanese menus, or waiting for a localised version a few months down the line.
F-Zero X, developed by Nintendo EAD, first released in 1998.
Version played: Nintendo 64, 1998, via emulation.