It’s not often America gets a game last but unbelievably this has been out in Japan and Europe for months – and there we were thinking F-Zero was all about speed… you needn’t worry about the quality of the game though, as Nintendo’s pocket rocket is as fast and furious as ever. ‘More of the same’ is pretty much the mantra Nintendo have applied to the sequel to Maximum Velocity. Graphically it’s very similar, if perhaps slightly more vibrant, and the tracks retain the same style – flat tracks, hairpins, sharp turns and an array of crippling hazards. The one major difference is the boosting system that is similar to the Gamecube version rather than the SNES counterpart. However, the main surprise when going to the menu for the first time is that a Story mode gets top billing over the conventional Grand Prix cups. As the game is based on the spin-off anime, you’ll be introduced to a selection of charmless characters with such inspirational names as Rick Wheeler and Jack Levin. Playing through with each character unlocks an additional tangent to the story and there are eight sets of five levels to race through in all. Rather than a straight race each time, you have an objective per chapter. This varies from reaching the goal before your opponent in a one-on-one showdown through to full-on races, reaching your destination before ‘time expires’ or slaughtering other racers. Unfortunately this mode is a bit lacking in variety in comparison to its Gamecube counterpart. Furthermore, the story itself is actually quite dull and, for hardened F-Zero players, it’s all too easy. The exception to this is the side attack, which is irritatingly awkward to pull off effectively. It would have also been useful to highlight your rival or objective in a race instead of having to memorise the look of their craft. As for the Grand Prix itself, it’s very similar to Maximum Velocity and subsequently it’s a bit underwhelming as well, even though it’s still very good. For the most part you can breeze through the courses, though on occasion the CPU controlled crafts seem to be untouchable and unstoppable, which is infuriating. The courses themselves aren’t particularly memorable either in comparison to previous instalments, though you’ll still have fun blasting your way past 29 other opponents (though only four are ever on screen at once). A final interesting inclusion is that of the Zero Test. This mode is essentially a series of progressively harder missions, with 48 tasks to overcome. Undoubtedly this is the most teeth-gnashingly hard part of the game, as you have to be perfect on the later courses to even scrape a bronze. There’s also a greater dollop of diversity here with one lap time attacks, cornering techniques and blast turns among the moves you need to master. Besides attempting the side attack this is the only part of the game where you’ll be swearing profusely – but usually F-Zero has you cursing and cussing more than Howard Stern and it seems like a backwards step for the series rather than the march forward we were expecting. Overall, F-Zero GP Legend is definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of the series when it hits the shelves on 20th September but even though there is a lot to do and keep you entertained, we just wish there could have been more challenge and innovation. One last note to Nintendo: we’re not that great at Physics but we’re sure a hover car would not slide around on ice or slow down over dirt.
I've always been a fan of the lesser Nintendo franchises. Sure, Mario and Zelda are nice. But I've always been more of a fan of the likes of StarFox and F-Zero. So when I found out about F-Zero GP Legend, I knew I had to... Read Full Review
F-Zero GP Legend follows the show. Each of the eight characters in the game have five races in their story. For example Rick's story has him trying to catch Zoda, while Jody's story has her trying to figure out who kille... Read Full Review
