My favorite thing in F-Zero GX was the sign in Mute City that said "GO FAST!"
I am a big F-Zero fan. Huge. Gigantic. And thus I was excited for this game. F-Zero GP Legend is sort of a tie-in to the anime of the same title, which I must admit I have not seen, although I am sure it is either surprisingly above average or delightfully awful. Either one is fine with me. Of all the anime tie-ins I’ve ever played, this is the best. And the good news is F-Zero GP Legend is not the cream of the crap. It is actually a great game, if a little skewed toward beginners.
The first thing I noticed about F-Zero GP was that it didn’t look too good. I wondered why for a while, and then it hit me. I took it out of the GB Player and put it into an actual GBA SP, and the game instantly looked better. Way better. The F-Zero machines that looked a little too pixelated on the big screen now animated smoothly and seamlessly, and the racetrack lost the little bit of choppiness that the GB Player gave. If you have seen the previous F-Zero games on SNES or GBA, chances are you have already seen what this game has to offer graphically.
F-Zero has always been known for unique track designs, and F-Zero GP is absolutely no exception. In fact, as far as Mode-7 F-Zero goes, these are the best tracks in the series. There are four Grand Prix Cups to play from, each with tracks getting more and more complex, save the final Grand Prix Cup, which has eight selected tracks from the original F-Zero. Except for those classic tracks, the other tracks change as the selected difficulty increases. So not only are you going to face more aggressive opponents, you will also face them on more difficult tracks.
Returning from F-Zero GX is the Story mode, which probably has something to do with this cartoon I keep hearing about. It’s pretty wacky, I’ll say. Here are a couple of excerpts from weird moments. Jack Levin is racing to get his confidence back. Samurai Goroh is trying to find out who poisoned him, and the first person he suspects is his WIFE (Lisa Brilliant, a new driver.) Two villains (Blood Falcon and Zoda) pull the old switcheroo on the heroes in the exact same fashion, by hijacking Bio Rex’s machine and switching with him. Really though, the Story Mode is just an excuse to do missions. The aforementioned Samurai Goroh must race while poisoned, which is to say, not controlling his craft very well. Jack Levin’s F-Zero machine gets sabotaged. It’s all good and fun. The bounty money you earn from the missions can unlock more drivers for use in Grand Prix and Time attack. Sorry AX fans, no AX drivers in this game. But four new faces show up:
In addition to the Story Mode, there is also Zero Test. This mode puts forth specific challenges, such as cornering a turn and navigating a series of jumps. It can help you get better at the game, as well as provide an arthritis-inducing challenge, because I believe the lowest times on the Zero Test mode were set by God himself.
All of these new tracks and drivers would not be cool if the game’s control is wonky and unresponsive. Thankfully, the controls are 100% spot on with some minor quibbles. First, the default boost button is still R+L, which is awkward, but you can change the controls to anything you want. And there seems to be a miniscule delay in when you press the boost button and when you get a boost. No real problems though. The game is liquid.
The only other minor gripe is the lack of Master difficulty. As F-Zero fans know, Master difficulty is the white-knuckle mode that usually ends in swearing and broken controllers. Well, it’s not here, and while that doesn’t mean the game is now a walk in the park, I seem to have completed the Grand Prix mode rather easily. But the challenge for me is in the Zero Test, so no worries.
I would be remiss to close this review without mentioning the fantastic music of F-Zero GP Legend. You like classic F-Zero Tunes? They are all here, except Death Wind. Like some of F-Zero X’s music? Some of that is here too. Want to hear new stuff? You’re golden. It is still a pleasure to listen to F-Zero’s music.
All in all, F-Zero GP Legend feels like the perfect marriage of the 3-D and Mode-7 designs. I really enjoyed this game, and all F-Zero fans should give it a shot. Trust me, you’ll like it, at the very least. And if you are not an F-Zero fan? Well, you are a lesser human being anyway. Or a chimp. Or Tommy Tallarico. Or something.
F-Zero Blue Falcon Desitiny
