Plenty of Nintendo fan ire has been drawn by the lack of an F-Zero game for the Wii, and with Wipeout exclusive to Sony consoles there's a huge gap in the market for sleek-looking futuristic racers. WiiWare developer Shin'en Multimedia is hoping to fill that with its upcoming WiiWare title FAST – Racing League, due to reach Europe on 27th May.
On the surface, the game shares much in common with Nintendo's renowned high-speed racing franchise: its rollercoaster-style tracks fly by at high speed, though it intentionally stays below the same kind of eye-melting pace that GameCube achieved with F-Zero GX, and with good reason: it has a trick up its sleeve.
Your ship can be "phased" between black and white in a neat nod to Ikaruga. Passing over an energy strip of the same colour as your ship will grant you a huge speed boost, with colour-coded ramps letting you hit big jumps and strips on the ceiling pulling you upward for alternate routes. If you're not in the right phase, you'll slow down if you pass over a strip, and passing over a jump pad or under a ceiling strip of the wrong colour does nothing, so judicious use of phases is the order of the day.
In the demo version we played only four of the 12 tracks were available, varying from a rocky canyon to a metallic raceway, with that trademark Shin'en sheen that made Jett Rocket one of the best-looking games on the service. The frame rate is smooth throughout, and will no doubt earn Shin'en many more well-deserved graphical plaudits.
It's only a week until the finished version of FAST — Racing League hits WiiWare, and from our brief hands-on playtime it's looking like Shin'en will have a considerable hit on its hands. The addition of phasing has plenty of potential for interesting course design, and the full game also includes unlockable content not available in our preview. We'll have a full review not long after FAST — Racing League is released on WiiWare, but in the meantime check out the first video footage of the game in action:
Comments 41
This looks great. Might take a look at this when it launches
Looks pretty sweet!
This looks absolutely stunning. Can't believe (again) that this is a WiiWare game.
The article self is not really much to go on. How does it control, what gameplay modes does it have, does it have a multiplayer option (online/offline)?
Very nice.
That looks tremendous!
Interest +1.
This is one Wii Ware game I've been looking forward too. I love Shinen's Wii Ware games.
Day 1 purchase! And hope the future brings this to classic retail. Maybe even 3DS.
Since you've played a demo version it seems likely that there will be one on the WiiShop. Why not put it up the day the game releases ?
0:21 - "Captain F.", huh?
Looks completely awesome. Can't wait for this to hit the service.
@LTD This was a preview version created exclusively for us here at Nintendo Life. Not sure it'll go up on the Wii Shop Channel, though of course I hope so!
@Sneaker13 Split-screen multiplayer for four players (as in the video), tournaments available and controls like Mario Kart meets Wipeout
Been waiting for this game for a while, this looks solid, I never played an F-zero game, but have play several of the wipeouts and I love that series, I do hope this gets a demo on the same day of release, I definitely think this is a day one purchase Need for speed Nitro & mario kart say hello to fast.
Me want!
I'm not a fan of the genre and won't buy it. But it looks absolutely fantastic and I'm sure that fans of the Racing genre will like it very much. It's so sad this is, by now, one of the few quality WiiWare games that see the light of day.
Looks great and will buy day 1.
However, the phasing thing has always concerned me. As the 'impressions' have started to show up in various places there are a few more things that are concerning to me:
Regardless I'm sure this will be a step up from Speed Racer, which similarly tried the F-Zero thing on the Wii (to mixed results). I think Fast Racing League is immediately better looking from the videos. Can't wait to try it out and prove all my fears wrong!
It looks like a combination of F-Zero and WipeOut, this would be awesome online!
There's more detailed impressions of FAST-racing league @ nintendoworldreport.com this game sounds sweet
Shin'en ought to be put in charge of teaching required classes for all licensed WiiWare developers.
Looks good... still wish it was online, but I'll still look forward to it. I like how the vehicles came out in the "color order" as the original F-Zero's Blue Falcon, Golden Fox, and Wild Goose
@warioswoods - seriously.
There's a part of me that wants to see what they'd be capable of developing for PS3/360/PC...but at any rate, it's nice to have one consistently excellent, Nintendo-only third party.
Oh Shin'en,how much I love thy games
Is there an option to steer using a control stick?
Hope there are a lot of cool car-things.
This game looks great, I want it!
It looks a lot like Wipeout 2097, which is a good thing as it was my favorite in the series.
We wanted F-Zero on Wii - we got it...sort of XD Looks really really nice.
I want F-Zero. Wipeout is a complete rip-off.
Looks sweet. Can't wait to see them show their stuff on 3DSWare.
They may be High Speed Racing but F-Zero goes to 1000 MPH
Finally a trailer, and I have to say that this looks great! But makes me wonder if Nintendo will ever release a Wii F-Zero :/
Wow! 4 player split screen too...WOW!!!
So, this looks like it´s going to be THE definitive racing game on WiiWare, looks a lot like Wipeout HD, which is a good thing, i can´t wait to see the game by myself, just a while ago i played the Jett Rocket demo and it was beautiful
Can't compare to wipeout hd which is one of the reasons I got a ps3 but still looks like it will be a good game on its own. I like the water on one of the tracks, the flipping on one part of the video, the 4 player split screen, and some of the long jumps. Those guys do do work on wiiware and this is one wiiware that easily looks like retail quality.
I would love to get a soundtrack for "The Art of Balance"
Online, please!
I hope it really is a mix of f-zero wipeout. Wipeout: the looks (check), f-zero playabilty/controlls (we will see). Since I'm a racing freak this is an instant buy as long as it doesnt completly fail.
But there have to be new F-Zeros for 3DS and that new home console!
The Jett Rocket engine is A MONSTER. At least, when it comes to Gamecube/Wii/3DS era tech.
I hope Shin'en puts out some 3DS games. They need to have a retail presence. Too many gamers overlook the DLGs on Nintendo platforms. Even just porting games like Jett Rocket and FAST to 3DS, at a budget price, would be a VERY WELCOME THING right now for that system, since it's hurtin' for some rad games to play like this.
imagine this for 3ds... whoa
Cool... I never really got interest for any game in WiiWare until I read this. Since I love F-Zero series, this one will be good for me. And talking 'bout F-Zero, I really want it comes to the upcoming Nintendo console and the 3DS, it'd be awesome!
Epic. I so want this.
Nintendo needs more VG developers like Shin'en. I hope we can see a sequel for this on 3DS and/or Project Cafe.
Looks awesome and faaast. Looking forward to the review!
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