Now that the explaining is done, here’s the Review, rated from 0 to 4 stars.
Graphics: ***1/2
For the N64, I think these are good graphics. The tracks are beautifully made. In fact, even the ships aren’t as polygonal as some other games. True, there are still some easily seen polygons and cardboard (like the platforms for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place at the end), but to be quite honest, the graphics are beautiful for the Nintendo 64.
Sound: ****
This game ranks among the best in music
on the N64. I have to admit that I always hum along with some of the tunes,
like at Sector A, Mute City, and Big Blue. Of course, there’s that famous
F-Zero finish line music,
and then there’s the voice of the guy
who says everything, like “Pour it on, I’m way out in front!” The sound
of this game is excellent, and no questions asked.
Difficulty: *
Now I must admit, this game really isn’t that hard. Certainly it’s hard on the Master level, and on any level certain tracks are hard. But it’s pretty easy to take out your rival right away, and then gain a whole bunch of points on him when you finish. Plus, if you fall off, although there’s no Lakitu to pick you up and you have to start over, you get a brand new chance at a good place. So if you were in 25th, if you fall off, you get another chance at maybe 5th the next time. You can easily catch up in points, too, as long as you take out your rival, and take out a lot of others as well. Although you do have a limited number of machines, you’ll easily be able to make it through the Grand Prix. Overall, it’s not that hard, as long as you hold R around right turns and Z around left turns.
Characters: ***1/2
The characters from this game look like
they came out of a comic book. Take Zoda and Super Arrow and even Captain
Falcon. You’d think they are part of a comic book series. They are very
interesting characters. A half-point is lost for the fact that most of
the time, you don’t care who you choose. However, with most
characters being equal, you’ve got
a great selection and one of the best groups of crazy characters besides
the Koopalings.
Gameplay: ****
The gameplay, as I explained above,
is easy to learn and simple to follow. The crazy and dangerous tracks
are fun to play on. Just wait until
you unlock the X Cup... It’s fun to be able to run others off the road
and take them out by using a bump-attack (R twice or Z twice). Not many
racing games besides Mario Kart have
everything executed this well.
Controls: ***1/2
I hate putting so many great scores, but the fact is, the controls are so easy to learn and follow, anyone can play this game. A is gas, B is turbo on the 2nd and 3rd laps (make sure you keep holding down the A button while you use turbo), C Down is air brake, and the Control Stick is turning. For more advanced controls, hold R around right turns, hold Z around left turns, hit R twice to bump-attack (and probably take out) an opponent on your right, and Z twice for a bump-attack on an opponent on your left. I think if you hit both R and Z twice and push the Control Stick in a direction, you do a spin-attack, but it makes you lose speed and is very chancy, so I never use it. But that doesn’t take much away from the rest of the controls.
Tracks: ****
These tracks are simply remarkable.
XG3 (GameCube) was supposed to have these type of tracks. But a game on
the N64 outshines all other racing games’ tracks. Half pipes, double somersaults,
upside-down tracks, many loops, a track shaped like a hand, I could go
on for days about these tracks, so it’s better to play them yourself. There’s
even a X Cup, which unlocked, makes random tracks, ones that can never
be duplicated again! So there’s an unlimited number of tracks that can
be played! Although some of these X Cup tracks aren’t that good, and they
are usually short, on a Grand Prix you get random music and six different
ones. It’s simply remarkable. It’s
even more remarkable that this is a N64 game, not a GameCube game.
Grand Prix Mode: ***1/2
I pretty much already explained this mode. The only problem is the easiness of it. I’ve only finished second once, and fifth once. Every other time, first. But it’s still a ton of fun, much more fun than any other one-player vs. computer mode in a racing game.
Time Attack Mode: **1/2
This mode is just you and the track. It’s fun to practice, and also set records. Of course, it is a little boring at times, but how else better to practice before taking on the Big Hand track?
Practice Mode: **1/2
This is just playing a track against
computers over and over, infinitely. You can go for a lap record, and
practice taking out computer machines.
It’s quite fun, but then boring after a while. Note: you must hit the
Start button and exit through that
menu to exit a race in this mode.
Vs. Mode: ***
This is a great mode. Not only is it
the only 3- or 4-player racing mode on the N64 EVER to be able to play
music during the race (try Mario Kart
64 or Diddy Kong Racing), at least to my knowledge, and my collection
of N64 racing games, it also offers
a Slot Machine if you fall off first in a 3- or 4-player game (also if
you fall off second in a 4-player game). You can try the Slot Machine as
many times as you want, and if you get a player’s face three times, or
another symbol three times, you can take out the energy supply of that
character or even someone else. The problem with this mode? No one I know
can ever finish a track. Maybe they’re bad at it, maybe I’m too good, but
they always run out of energy or fall off, which means I can go half a
lap and win. Or, someone in last can sit around and wait for everyone else
to get knocked out (usually on a hard track like the Big Hand), and then
win. That’s not good, but the rest of this mode is.
Death Race Mode: ****
It sounds ominous, but actually this
is a favorite mode of many, including me. You race with 29 other computer-controlled
machines, as always, but your goal is to eliminate every single one of
them from the
track without getting knocked out yourself
in order to win. This requires either using the bump-attack or
running them off the road at the open
parts of the track. There is a “pit stop”, and there is one jump. The rest
of this track is straight, actually being one big loop. One problem: sometimes
a computer ends up half a lap behind you. Then you have to either start
going really fast, using a lot of boosts, or stop your
machine completely. I suggest catching
up to them (actually lapping them), because you’ve already got
the momentum that you need to come
up behind them and knock them out, instead of having to start from being
completely stopped. This is the most fun mode in this game, even though
it is only for one player. My record time is around three and a half minutes.
Replayability: ****
I still play this game to this day, as I have been doing this past week. I don’t pull many N64 games back out, besides the Mario Parties. This is a long-lasting game, especially with the always brand-new X Cup!
Fun Factor!: ****
It’s a shame I had to step to the low
level of giving Luigi’s Mansion four stars here. That game deserves no
stars compared to this game. It’s so
much fun, you don't know how much fun it is unless you play it. I can’t
say anything more than “BUY IT!!!”
OVERALL: ****
You all saw that one coming! This game
is one of my seven all-time favorite games, and is next to Mario Kart as
the best racing game series ever. I only paid $20 for it. Considering I
paid $10 more for my least-favorite game, that’s a great deal. In fact,
I would even pay $50 for it. If you own a N64, or can get one for really
cheap, this is one of the best games available for it. Again, BUY IT!!!
Believe me, it’s a racing experience you’ll never forget!