In 1991, Nintendo released its futuristic racer F-Zero on the SNES. At the time of release, F-Zero's graphics were somewhat impressive; Nintendo's 'Mode 7' created the illusion of 3D by scaling and rotation of bit-mapped tiles. Seven years later, the Nintendo 64 sequel brought the series to true 3D. The power of the N64 was utilised to double the amount of racers to 30, resulting in some truly epic races.
Each of these vehicles are playable, although most have to be unlocked by achieving 1st place in the Grand Prix races. Each of the three categories (Speed, Body and Handling) are graded A to E and the many permutations result in many different play-styles, giving you plenty to experiment with to find one that suits you. Before each race, you can adjust a slider to gear you vehicle to have higher acceleration or higher speed.
Graphically, there's a lack of detail, meaning the tracks look a bit bland, and the vehicles are constructed out of a few polygons. It's not the most technical game in terms of looks, but the game handles the 30 racers on screen, driving at high speeds. You do get a great sense of speed and the higher difficulties are very competitive.
In terms of controls, the A button accelerates, the B button activates boost power and the down-C button uses the air brakes. Z and R tilt left and right, and using these whilst turning results in a sharper turn. Pressing one and double tapping the other activates a spin-attack which can be used to destroy the other racers.
Tilting and spin-attack are your two offensive manoeuvres. Tilting can be used as a simple attack to nudge the opponent off the track or into the barriers to deal damage. The spin-attack is much more powerful and can be used to hit multiple opponents in the same manoeuvre. This is particularly useful during narrow passageways or any time you see multiple racers in a small area. There will be occasions where you must take out one of your rivals to have a chance of winning the tournament since destroyed racers will score no points for that track. A 'Rival' marker indicates which vehicle is currently winning the championship, encouraging you to take him out if possible. A 'Check' marker appears when a vehicle is approaching to overtake, giving you some warning of a possible collision/cheap shot from behind.
Much like the SNES version, you have a set of 'spare machines' which means you can restart the race if you explode (either by fully draining your energy, or falling off the track). Losing all your 'spare machines' results in a 'Game Over' so you have to restart the event. The races are no longer elimination style, so you can finish 30th and just move onto the next race.
The boost system has changed. In the original game, you were awarded with one 'super jet' every time you completed a lap. Now, the boost system activates after 1 lap, and you can boost as much as you like; but this drains your energy. Energy is also depleted if you hit the walls or collide with another racer. This means it is a risk vs reward system, so you have to consider the distance to the pit lane and the risk of surviving until then. The pit lane is signified by a pink floor, and you can restore energy simply by driving over it, regardless of speed.
The amount of laps for a race has now been reduced from five to three, mainly to compensate for the longer tracks. The tracks can curve and twist into the sky, and there's plenty of interesting track designs like jumps, half-pipes and cylinders. There's a few variation in surfaces which can slow you down or reduce your grip, but it's used far more sparingly compared to the original game.
There's a large learning curve to do well in F-Zero X. At first, it seems easy to fly off the track, or fully deplete your energy. After a while, you will wonder why you struggled so will work your way through the difficulties. There seems a massive jump between the Standard difficulty and Expert, in which it appears that the AI opponents have faster vehicles than you resulting in a struggle to even make it in the top 10. With enough perseverance, I managed to overcome the challenge, and after the credits roll, you unlock yet another difficulty; Master.
At first, three cups are available to you; Jack, Queen and King, with a fourth (Joker) unlocking after you beat them. After you beat all cups in Expert difficulty, a special cup known as the X-Cup is also unlocked. This cup has 6 randomly generated tracks leading to a unique experience each time. There's plenty of variety in these tracks, so some are very simple and others are devious.
There's a separate mode known as Battle Race where the 30 racers travel around a simple track until only one remains. The other drivers aren't aggressive, so it's a case of taking them all out yourself. As standard for a racing game, Time Trial makes an appearance with the ability to race against your previous Ghosts.
The soundtrack is quite surprising, consisting of a thunderous pseudo-metal soundtrack. There's some really cool tunes, some of which based from the original game, although I'd imagine some people would hate the style of music.
The game is fast and very challenging so you have to be pretty patient and dedicated to beat it on Expert, never mind the Master difficulty setting. There's definitely times where the game will stress you out, either by yourself making a minor mistake or just by having a bit of bad luck. The Expert and Master difficulties are definitely for the hardcore gamer, but casual gamers could have some fun with the Easy and Standard difficulties. F-Zero X has stood the test of time and remains highly playable to this day.