Nintendo Game Cube - F-Zero GX
Title: F-Zero GX / エフゼロジーエックス
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo / Sega / Amusement Vision / Digital Media Lab Inc.
Release date: 25 July 2003
Catalogue Code: DOL-GFZJ-JPN
Genre: Futuristic 3D Arcade Racing
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. It may say Nintendo on the case, but did you know the game was actually programmed by Sega? Some of the team behind Shenmue and Daytona USA 2001 would also make this, alongside some other Game Cube classics like Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 and Virtua Striker 3 ver.2002.
Sega really took what was already a perfect racing game (F-Zero X on the N64, including the N64DD Expansion Kit) and flipped it on its head.
Before there was GX, the best racing game in my life was the Wipeout series (and yes, I did play Wipeout and Wipeout XL on the Saturn). And then GX exploded into my life, and I felt the definition of fast was changed. It really feels as if they assigned Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna to the director's chair and have them rework F-Zero X into what we have here while addicted to "fast" and "like a whirlwind".
The first thing that you notice, before the racing even starts, is the wacky costumes of the racers and the individual backstory and personality that they are given. Then, you will notice the plethora of colors that they can each use, and the funny and amusing animations that they do while you choose those colors.
And lastly, you'll notice the speed. This game is fast. I mean the Sonic definition of "fast". There's a lack of words for how fast this game is. It is the type of racing game to get your blood pumping, your adrenaline running, and force you to have a cigarette after it's all done and said.
That's before you even get into the wonderful customizable aspects of the game, where you can build your own F-Zero machine (up to four in one memory card). The graphics during the race are spectacular, although you will need to be a spectator to really appreciate it. As a racer, you'll be too busy keeping track of the other racers, the turns of the track, and where the super-boosts are coming from.
This game is a game for speed junkies and those who have amazing reflexes. For the rest of us, find a friend who is good at it, and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Even as a bystander, this game is wonderful. In other words, Sega/Amusement Vision has created what may well be the perfect Game Cube title. With its amazingly complex racing model, even experienced gamers are in for a substantial learning curve, and newcomers to the series will be in for quite a shock. Visually stunning and a total blast to play, F-Zero GX is a racing game that no Game Cube owner should be without. It's almost hard to believe that this carries the Nintendo label. While the F-Zero series is all but dead and gone (with the exception of F-Zero 99 on the Nintendo Switch), I argue that this was the working bones to what we know as the Sonic Riders series.
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