F-Zero X

GX is better in every way. Sega always has and always will be better at making racing games.

Oh I didn't mention the music, getting everything in 64 words is hard but kind of fun.

hmm, I am unable to post my review... maybe you guys think I am a bot or something? I admit it's all Caps...

Yep, it was because of all caps. Best 64 review I ever made. Oh, go grab your free F-Zero X EP right now: https://shiryu.bandcamp.com/album/f-zero-go-fast-volume-2-age-of-n64

One of my favorite N64 games!

I had a dream once about a 3DS remake of this with overhauled graphics. That would be the second best thing ever after a handheld Smash Bros.

Oh well...at least that one is actually happening!

Edit: Actually, the second best thing ever would be a brand new F-Zero on 3DS or Wii U (preferably 3DS in my opinion).

@Shiryu Reading your review....did you alsways quit after finishing the first round of a track ?

@unrandomsam Id say that both are more on less on equal terms really. GX obviously looks and feels better, but its difficulty and balancing is seriously flawed and the story mode is sometimes simply broken. X on the other hand is challenging but overall fair and well ballanced.So, both have its destinctive pros and cons.

@Einherjar Always leave on a highest point of ones carrer methinks.

Man, this game! I bought my N64 back in the day with Golden Eye, Mario 64, Banjo & Kazooie and F-Zero X. 30 cars on screen all at once and 60fps! how many games can claim that, even today. As soon as you boot this game up, you hear the guitar whine in and the title music explode into awesomeness and you know from that moment on that this game is going to be amazing. The sense of speed is still phenomenal and I remember going so fast sometimes that your car would lift off the track and you'd fly off and explode into the landscape below. Once again, another series that goes untouched for years by Nintendo and it's crying out for an update, amazing game!

@Shiryu 10/10 for you sir xD THAT made my day.

@Topic: Am i the only one thinking, that this 64x64 Review line is a freaking brilliant idea ? A short, boiled down "professional" Review, followed by user reviews ? Absolutel fantastic !

So much better than GX.

Sure, GX looks better and has the mission mode, but X just plays so infinitely better and isn't even half as broken as GX is.

@KeeperBvK @antdickens You guys just didn't master GX trust me it is the best hands down.

Unfortunately I never played this until the virtual console. I had both F-Zero and F-Zero GX but somehow missed this one.

@unrandomsam the music in GX isn't as good as in X

Dang, writing that review was way harder than I thought it would be. Spend way too much time on it. Took a while to get about 78 words down to 64, might have been a few more words too. An HD remake of this for Wii U would be amazing!

I prefer GX, but this game was still pretty damn special. So sad that this and Wipeout now appear to be dead franchises.

GX is much, much better.

A frame rate and speed that even WipeOut couldn't match.

@Shiryu That review is genius. Congratulations you won the internet.

@placidcasual EVERYBODY GOT BOOST POWA!

A balls to the wall 60fps racer with 30 racers on track, going at speeds exceeding 1000kmph while insane metal guitars wail and keep you pumped.
Modern day Nintendo blows, these articles remind me more each day...

The wife and I come back to F-Zero X more than any other N64 racer. It's spectacular. If we get a new F-Zero game and it doesn't have a rippin' rock soundtrack or comic book-style artwork, I'm going to be gutted.

I'm more a fan of GX. Looks like I'm the only one who gave it 8/10, but hey, that's a score for great game in Nintendolife.

Absolutely loved this! I remember the first time I played it and I was wizzing along at hundreds of miles per hour with 30 other racers on the track. I just remember thinking 'wow, this is amazing', I couldn't believe my eyes.

@unrandomsam I also think GX was better. However, that's not to say F Zero X isn't a classic. Up until the release of GX, F Zero X was my all time favorite game on any system. The fact GX is even better is a testament to the pedigree of the GameCube racer.

I think the original is the most pure and flawless (still plays absolutely perfectly even today), followed by X next (which did do a few things better than the original to be fair) and then GX after that.

The slightly OTT sliding out of your tail end when turning at high speeds on X, unless you press some shoulder buttons or whatever (can't quite remember), and the obviously VERY dated looking graphics (even at the time) with some bland patterned textures, a lack of geometry in the backgrounds and a bit of pop up, is about the only real complaints I have with this game. I can let the graphics off however because that was pretty much the only way you could get a fully 3D racing game with 30 vehicles on the track running at 60fps back in those days, which was a very impressive feat.

GX didn't have as good music as the first two main games imo (not quite a catchy and a bit too rocky/heavy-metal at that point, straying too far from the original's very cool and slightly futuristic sound). The tracks were often slightly badly designed with blind corners and drops etc as well as just being hard to read visually at times to the point you'd often drive straight into track obstacles because they were hard to see until you were right on them. There was those TERRIBLE rendered cgi cutscenes for each character (sooo bad and cheesy). The menus were over designed and very tacky looking imo with the brushed heavy metal look all over the place; once again straying a bit too far from the more sci-fi futuristic look that I think makes more sense with the series. Itw as a solid game at it's core but I think those things really detracted from it.

X would probably get a 9 from me.

I think GX was better but both are really great games. I just rpefered the control style of GX. The music was different. At first i was expecting some rock music like X and was a bit disapointed but overall, i really liked it ! REally hope we get something new and fresh soon !

I could play Death Race forever.

@Yellowtails

Oh it's a whole order of magnitude better than Mario Kart 64 imo.

Unless it's all just about messing around in half luck based races with your mates of course and then MK64 could be considered the better game I guess.

GX is superior.

One of my favorite racing franchises of all time. There is not an F-Zero game I haven't played multiple times and loved every minute of. FZX is probably my personal best of the series. The detail for the machines were very well done, the sense of speed and gut wrenching curves and loops were intense to traverse. That music though… It rocked so hard! The 64DD's Re-Arranged soundtrack was even better. This is definitely a franchise I'd kill to see another game from.

@Pigeon no. There just were that many games on N64 that were that good and proved it was a generation to itself. Way beyond any playstation or Saturn could offer.
It almost seems that because of the generational leap the N64 made, that's what's resulted in nintendo always being in a limbo generation and wii u somewhere between a ps3 and ps4 as the N64 was between a ps1 and ps2

An absolutely perfect racer. I always go back and forth whether I prefer this or GX. They're both phenomenal in their unique way. But overall, I find this slightly more fun.

GX was fun but in the end I preferred X music and control. If only GX had the shoulder attack.... it had nice graphics though.

so smooth and fast with all those vehicles on screen, i was amazed at the time. didnt care that the backgrounds were sparse, had too much fun on the actual tracks. great game, 9/10.

What a game! Going at way over 1000 Km/h on Silence, always fearing the bump before the regen area. Winning by a slight energy margin knowing that you still have a lap to go and that every touch will be fatal. Between this, Mario Kart 64, F1 Grand Prix and Wave Race, there was some great fun to have. Pity that I can't get this one on the Wii U Virtual console though. But still happy that I cold get my hands on GX for 5 € some years ago, that one is a blast too!

Amazing game, really loved it. A lot of people talk about the 60fps and the speed but the character and car designs were great as well, loved the artwork on this.

I wanted to love GX, it is in many ways superior, but the controls were just too off for me. I sold it for that reason. X will always be my favourite F-Zero. It had the best soundtrack too. Non-stop heavy metal shredding.

I was afraid my review had broke the database. ~_~

It is fun, but I prefer GX and the SNES/GBA editions. Probably a 7 for me.

It's interesting to see love and passion for a game that I considered extremely average and disappointing at time of release. It's fun to compare opinions. Here's a more detailed review I wrote 7 years ago when I was more bothered by the fact that some people liked F-Zero X more than F-Zero GX (now I believe that EVERYBODY's opinion is valid for their personal taste in games and my 64 word review above does a better job of pointing out more good things):

This game was average when it was first released. If you can get your hands on F-Zero GX, there is absolutely no reason to turn on the game.

During the N64 era, I played the game a lot just like I did with every other first party game. I beat the game on Master on everything except X Cup, got 1'24'' for Death Race, and played through a lot of the cups repeatedly to get the trophy symbols next to a lot of the drivers' names (perhaps a little more than 100 trophies total). I hadn't played the game in more than five years until before this review. I spent an hour with the game to refresh my memory. I played through Jack Cup on Standard, played Big Hand in Practice, played Death Race, and beat the X Cup on Master for the first time and on the first try. I find it unlikely that I hadn't bothered trying several times to beat it before, so I'm guessing that my time with F-Zero GX has improved my skills immensely.

At the time, it was my least favorite first party N64 game, and I considered it inferior to the original. I'm a pretty big fan of that one, but my first true love for a F-Zero game occured when F-Zero GX came out.

Aspects that stand out:
1. Slamming into the contenders that have the most points, thus eliminating competiton, plus being rewarded extra lives and health for doing so.
2. precise controls compared to games such as Mario Kart 64, which I realized had horrible controls when I went back to it.

This is the least visually appealing first party title for the N64. The courses use very repetitive textures, the backgrounds are less detailed than Super Mario Kart for the SNES, each track only has a select few low polygon decorations, and you are driving into a sea of fog. On the plus side however, you have a constant framerate that's as fast as a TV can handle, and you're racing against 30 other cars. Despite the ugliness, I'm glad they decided to choose number of simulatenous cars over decent graphics. Otherwise my favorite part of the game, crashing other vehicles, would be much more difficult.

However, the poor graphics also hurt the signature appeal of the F-Zero series, the sense of speed. Though it plays at a fast framerate, the bland textures and sparsely detailed environment make this pale in comparison to the feeling of rocketing through F-Zero GX.

As for the multiplayer, it isn't the F-Zero series strong point, since it's hard to physically interact with other drivers when there are only three others, unless you have items like in Mario Kart.

F-Zero GX however blew me away. It took all the good aspects of F-Zero X, added huge amounts of graphical polish, added tons of modes and customization, improved the track design, and made the Master difficulty worthy of it's name. The Story Mode at the hardest difficulty is one of the aspects that is constantly mentioned as being perfect for the hardcore. If you aren't that good, you still have the lesser difficulties. In F-Zero X, if you're any good at racing games you'll chew through the game.

Oh, and the X Cup isn't random as advertised. I played that the most since I thought the whole randomly generated thing was cool but then I eventually realized that it was approximately 12 fixed courses that use mirror modes and backwards in order to increase variety. I suppose if they really had randomly generated courses, you'd have the chance of one being impossible. Though there is one cool one that has a section where nearly all of the CPUs die! Anyway, the track design as a whole in this game isn't that inspired except for the 360 degree tunnel and tube ideas. F-Zero GX takes those ideas for it's tracks and improves on it! Sorry to go on and on about that game, but it seriously is a diamond in the rough that needs to be recognized!

@Giygas_95 Just curious, why a 3DS version over a WiiU version?

@FalconDensetsu No reason other than that I prefer handheld games. I'd love either one really. I would love to see them do more 3D remakes of N64 games (like this and Majora's Mask).

Plus, the F-Zero 3DS game that I played in my dreams was amazing. If only they'd make one.

Wait, random track generator? I don't recall that at all.

I still think the original F-Zero is the best followed by GX, & then the N64 title.

@reali-tglitch That was the 'X' Cup that you could unlock

@Pigeon there were plenty of great games on Saturn and PsOne. Most have aged appallingly. Final fantasy is nearly unplayable. Metal gear would have been infinitely better if developed for n64, FACT, as would resident evil, but resident evil 2 proved that point.

The hardware and capabilities were way above PsOne. They were 32 bit, 64 was 64 bit, ps2 was 128 bit. Just a fact that shows what I'm talking about. The loading times rubbished anything on PsOne enough to make CD based gaming seem like a backward step.
N64 was for games, PsOne was for good games developed on inferior hardware hiding behind the shine of CD music and pre rendered cut scenes and marketing to distract from the disgusting graphics compared to the 3D world's and models the N64 could achieve with ease.

@electrolite77 yes it was.
There is the same comparative between the ps3, wii u and ps4 as there was between PsOne, n64 and ps2.
The N64 fell into exactly the same generational slot then as the wii u does today. Wii u was the most powerful console available till ps4 came out, justice n64 was until ps2 came out.
I never said The N64 was on a par with ps2 I said it fell between PsOne and ps2

@Blue-Thunder, why do you say it's obvious I never played F-Zero X? I mentioned the following:
"During the N64 era, I played the game a lot just like I did with every other first party game. I beat the game on Master on everything except X Cup, got 1'24'' for Death Race, and played through a lot of the cups repeatedly to get the trophy symbols next to a lot of the drivers' names (perhaps a little more than 100 trophies total)."

I wrote that long review back when I was rubbed the wrong way by people claiming that F-Zero X was better than F-Zero GX. Now I realize it's a matter of opinion. Just because somebody has a different tastes from you doesn't mean they obviously didn't play the same game you love.

@Blue-Thunder, in my review scale, 5/10 means average. I think most other people have 8/10 represent that, which means a lot of 9's and 10's for almost every game that people feel nostalgia for. I also try to consider the game as if I played it for the first time in today's age with today's options, because we all tend to wear rose-tinted glasses for games we grew up on. 6/10 is a score that personally reflects my opinion of the game. All reviews are biased because they are based on personal opinion and tastes.

You say I must be a graphics junkie. I love the aesthetic of a lot of retro games, but in my mind the bland textures and sparse environments in F-Zero X reduced the sensation of speed and putting me in the mindset that I'm actually racing through a futuristic landscape. So in this case, the minimalist art style that was due to technical limitations actually hurt the game for me.

You say that X is a thoroughbred and GX isn't. To me, X feels like a prototype and GX refines almost everything about it. On top of polish, GX has more features. It adds a story mode, more tracks (including tracks from the arcade version if you are good enough), more characters, an online leaderboard at time of release, and a vehicle editor (too bad the N64DD never came out). The only feature I feel is missing is the X Cup. Even if it wasn't as random as advertised, it was a cool feature. The tracks didn't leave an impression on me in X because of the minimalist aesthetic and they didn't seem to have as much variety. But if I were to ignore that, maybe they are as well designed as how I feel about GX's tracks. The controls in GX are very sensitive and precise, they are really good in my opinion, but I can see why some people may think they are too sensitive (again, another personal choice).

Objectively speaking, neither game is better than the other because they both offer different experiences. But I am allowed to offer my opinion of the game much like you are. It's true that X is better to you and many others. Just realize that it is equally valid for GX to be a better game to me and many others.

When scrolling I thought this was F-Zero news, only to be very saddened a moment later.

@electrolite77 can't copy and paste your lengthy message using my phone to disect and reference what you've said, but in summary, you are just completely wrong on every single point you've attempted to make.