F-Zero GX

F-Zero GX is a 2003 racing game developed by Amusement Vision, a division of Sega, and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It was released in Japan on July 25, 2003, North America on August 25, Australia on October 24, and Europe on October 31. Sega also released an arcade version, F-Zero AX, which uses the Triforce arcade system board.

F-Zero GX retains the high-speed gameplay of the previous F-Zero games, with an emphasis on track memorization and reflexes, and introduces a "story mode", in which the player completes missions as Captain Falcon through nine chapters.

The GX and AX project was the first significant game collaboration between Nintendo and Sega. It runs on an enhanced version of the game engine used in Super Monkey Ball (2001). GX received positive reviews for its visuals, intense action, sense of speed, and track design, though its difficulty was criticized. In 2025, it was rereleased on the Nintendo Classics service for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Gameplay

Template:See also F-Zero GX is a futuristic racing game where up to thirty competitors race on massive circuits inside plasma-powered machines in an intergalactic Grand Prix.Template:Sfn It is the successor to F-Zero X and continues the series' difficult, high-speed racing style, retaining the basic gameplay and control system from the Nintendo 64 game.<ref name=GameS/><ref name="IGN review"/> Tracks include enclosed tubes, cylinders, tricky jumps, and rollercoaster-esque paths.<ref name=GameS/><ref name="GameSpy Review"/> Some courses are littered with innate obstacles like dirt patches and mines.<ref name="GameSpy Review"/> An emphasis is placed on track memorization and reflexes.<ref name=GameS/><ref name="IGN review"/> Each machine handles differently,<ref name="TT review">Template:Cite AV media</ref> has its own performance abilities affected by its weight, and a grip, boost, and durability trait graded on an A to E (best to worst) scale.Template:Sfn Before a race, the player is able to adjust a vehicle's balance between maximum acceleration and maximum top speed.<ref name="IGN review"/> Every machine has an energy meter, which serves two purposes. First, it is a measurement of the machine's health and is decreased from accidents or attacks from opposing racers.<ref name="player guide 5">Template:Cite book</ref> Second, the player is usually given the ability to boost after the first lap,Template:Sfn but must sacrifice energy to do so.<ref name="player guide 5"/> Pit areas and dash plates are located at various points around the track for vehicles to drive over. The former replenishes energy, while the latter gives a speed boost without using up any energy. The less time spent in the pit area, the less energy will regenerate.Template:Sfn Courses may also have jump plates, which launch vehicles into the air enabling them to cut corners.<ref name=euroG/>Template:Sfn

Each racing craft contains air brakes for navigating tight corners by using an analog stick and shoulder buttons.<ref name="GameS PV">Template:Cite web</ref> Afterwards, the physics modeling gives vehicles setup with high acceleration a boost of acceleration. Players can easily exploit this on a wide straight stretch of a circuit to generate serpentinous movements.<ref name="IGN techniques">Template:Cite web</ref> This technique called "snaking" delivers a massive increase in speed,<ref name="IGN review">Template:Cite web</ref> but it is best used on the easier tracks, when racing alone in Time Trial, and with heavy vehicles with a high grip rating and given high acceleration. According to Nintendo, the snaking technique was an intentional addition to F-Zero GXTemplate:'s gameplay.<ref name="FoF">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:F-Zero GX - Lightning Loop Cross track WIDE.jpg

Screenshot of F-Zero GX, showing the player's head-up display and racing craft. The game features widescreen and progressive scan support.<ref name=GameS/>

F-Zero GX features numerous gameplay modes and options.<ref name=euroG/> In the Grand Prix mode, the player races against twenty-nine opponents through three laps of each track in a cup.<ref name=euroG/> There are four cups available (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Diamond) with five tracks in each.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Unlocking the AX cup gives the player all six tracks from the arcade game, F-Zero AX.<ref name="IGN Track Strat">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Each cup has four selectable difficulty levels: Novice, Standard, Expert, and Master.<ref name="IGN Track Strat"/> Players get a certain number of points for finishing a track depending on where they placed, and the winner of the circuit is the character who receives the most total points.<ref name=euroG/> If the player has a "spare machine"—the equivalent of an extra life—then the race can be restarted even if the player's vehicle is destroyed from losing all energy or falling off the track. A predetermined number of spare machines based on the difficulty level chosen are given to players before starting a cup.Template:Sfn Players get an additional spare machine for every five contenders they destroy through vehicular combat,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn with each destroyed and eliminated opponent also granting extra energy.Template:Sfn

The Vs. Battle is the multiplayer mode where two to four players can compete simultaneously. Time Attack lets the player choose any track and complete it in the shortest time possible.Template:Sfn An Internet ranking system was established where players enter a password on the official F-Zero website and get ranked based on their position in the database. Players receive a password after completing a Time Attack race, which records their time and machine used.<ref name=Conference>Template:Cite web</ref> Ghost data, transparent re-enactments of the player's Time Attack performances, can be saved on memory cards to later race against. Up to five ghosts can be raced against simultaneously.Template:Sfn The Replay mode allows saved Grand Prix and Time Attack gameplay to be replayed with different camera angles and in-game music.Template:Sfn The Pilot Profile mode has each character's biography, theme music, information on their machine, and a short full motion video sequence.<ref>Template:Cite video game</ref>

Customize mode is divided between the F-Zero Shop, Garage, and Emblem Editor. The shop is where opponent machines, custom parts for vehicle creation, and miscellaneous items such as story mode chapters and staff ghost data can be purchased with tickets. Tickets are acquired as the player progresses through the Grand Prix, Time Attack, and Story mode. In the Garage section, players can create a machine with three custom parts or print emblems on any vehicle. The parts are divided into body, cockpit, and booster categories, and affect the vehicle's overall durability, maximum speed, cornering, and acceleration. The Emblem Editor lets players create decals.Template:Sfn

F-Zero GX is the first F-Zero game to feature a story mode.<ref name=Conference/> Its story has the player assume the role of F-Zero pilot Captain Falcon in nine chapters of various racing scenarios; such as Falcon's training regiment, a race against a rival through a canyon with falling boulders, attack and eliminate a rival's gang, and escape from a collapsing building through closing blast doors. Each chapter can be completed on a normal, hard, and very hard difficulty setting.<ref name="player guide story">Template:Cite book</ref> Toshihiro Nagoshi, one of the co-producers, stated that this mode was included because the development team felt that the F-Zero universe was unique and they wanted to explain some of the characters' motivations and flesh out the game world.<ref name=Conference/>

Arcade counterpart

Template:Infobox video game F-Zero AX is a futuristic racing arcade game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega for the Triforce arcade system board.<ref name=developerpublisher/> It is the second game by Sega to use Triforce,<ref name="NWR at AOU">Template:Cite web</ref> which was conceived from a business alliance between them, Nintendo and Namco.<ref name="triforce">Template:Cite web</ref> This hardware allows for connectivity between the GameCube and arcade games.<ref name="GS Impressions">Template:Cite web</ref> F-Zero AXTemplate:'s arcade cabinet is available for purchase in standard and deluxe versions. The standard version is a regular sit-down model, while the deluxe version is shaped like Captain Falcon's vehicle and has a tilting seat simulating the craft's cockpit.<ref name="GS Impressions"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> IGN demoed the Cycraft version dubbed "F-Zero Monster Ride" at the 2003 JAMMA arcade show. The Cycraft machine, co-developed between Sega and Simuline, is a cabin suspended in midair controlled by three servomotors for an in-depth motion-based simulation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The game features 14 playable vehicles with their pilots, consisting of ten newcomers and the four returning characters from the original F-Zero, as well as six race tracks.<ref name="GS Impressions"/> Each track must be completed before time runs out. Time extensions are awarded for reaching multiple checkpoints on a course however, the player will receive time penalties for falling off-course or depleting their energy meter.Template:Sfn Two gameplay modes are available: Race mode, in which the player races against twenty-nine opponents; and Time Attack mode, in which the player attempts to complete a track in the fastest time possible.Template:Sfn Connecting multiple cabinets opens up "Versus Play" in the race mode, thus enabling up to four players to compete simultaneously.Template:Sfn

Data storage devices

F-Zero AX cabinets can dispense magnetic stripe cards called an "F-Zero license card" to keep track of custom machine data, pilot points, and race data. A card was bundled with the Japanese release of F-Zero GX. The card expires after fifty uses, but its data can be transferred to a new card.<ref name="GS Impressions"/> Once inserted, the game builds a machine with three custom parts which can be upgraded by earning pilot points.Template:Sfn Pilot points are acquired as the player progresses through the Race and Time Attack modes.Template:Sfn Players can increase point earnings by improving finish place, eliminating opponents, and finishing races with a large amount of energy reserved.<ref name="GS Impressions"/> A magnetic stripe card is needed to enter the F-Zero AX Internet Ranking system.<ref name=connectivity>Template:Cite web</ref> Similarly to GX,<ref name=Conference/> players receive a password after completing a Time Attack race to enter on the official F-Zero website's ranking system.Template:Sfn

GameCube memory cards, on which saved games are kept, can be inserted into these arcade units.Template:Sfn A memory card is required for players to win the AX-exclusive machine parts for use in GX,Template:Sfn though it also gives players an opportunity to unlock the AX characters, vehicles, and tracks in an alternate way.<ref name="IGN Track Strat"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Players can store up to four machines from GX on a memory card, then play them in AX. If a memory card is used with a magnetic stripe card, players have additional options; they can enter stored GX machines into the F-Zero AX Internet ranking system, and transfer custom AX machine parts to GX.Template:Sfn F-Zero AX content can also be acquired by completing GXTemplate:'s tougher challenges,<ref name="GXSecrets">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or through the use of a cheat device.<ref name="2013 AX">Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Clear

Development

After Sega transitioned from first to third-party development in 2001,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> they and Nintendo developed a close relationship.<ref name="IGN Interview">Template:Cite web</ref> Toshihiro Nagoshi, president of Sega subsidiary Amusement Vision, developed Super Monkey Ball for the GameCube, which opened up the opportunity for a collaboration between the two companies.<ref name=Arcadia>Template:Cite web</ref> Nintendo announced on February 18, 2002, that an arcade system board under the name of "Triforce" was being developed in conjunction between Nintendo, Namco, and Sega.<ref name="triforce"/> The idea for the arcade board originated after discussions between Sega and Namco about the capabilities and cost effectiveness of the GameCube architecture to make arcade games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sega, having helped to develop Nintendo's Triforce arcade system, wanted to support it with software that would "stand out and draw attention to Nintendo's platform."<ref name=Arcadia/> Nagoshi was suggested to develop a driving game and agreed under the stipulation he could come up with something unique—which was working on the next installment in Nintendo's F-Zero series.<ref name=Arcadia/> Nagoshi contemplated declining the project due to the combined pressure of making a great impression on Nintendo and creating the next installment of an esteemed franchise, but his curiosity about what he and his team could create overcame his hesitation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Quote box In March 2002, an announcement from Sega and Nintendo revealed that Amusement Vision and Nintendo would collaborate to release F-Zero games for the Triforce arcade board and the GameCube.<ref name=developerpublisher>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> F-Zero GX and AX was the first significant software collaboration between Nintendo and Sega,<ref name="gx 2011">Template:Cite web</ref> and the announcement that Nintendo had handled development of one of its franchises to former competitor Sega came as a surprise to some critics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nagoshi claimed that 1991's F-Zero "actually taught me what a game should be" and that it served as an influence for him to create Daytona USA and other racing games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> F-Zero producer Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Nintendo "gained a lot of fans among current game developers, including famous producers like Mr. Nagoshi who grew up playing Nintendo games and are big fans of some of our titles."<ref name=Conference/> and thought the collaboration resulted in a "true evolution of the F-Zero series", enhancing the simulation of racing at high speeds and expanding the "F-Zero world on a grand scale."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

While Amusement Vision was responsible for most of the development,<ref name=Arcadia/><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Miyamoto and Takaya Imamura of Nintendo EAD took on the role of producer and supervisor, respectively.<ref name="credits" /> Sega handled planning and execution and Nintendo was responsible for supervision of their product.<ref name=Arcadia/> Nagoshi was initially concerned about differences in opinion between the two companies, and mentioned "If Nintendo planned to hold our hands through development, I would have suggested they develop the game themselves. That way we could focus on a project which would reflect our studio's abilities. I figured that would cause a war, but I was told most of the responsibility would be left to us."<ref name=Arcadia/> F-Zero GX runs on an enhanced version of the engine used in Super Monkey Ball.<ref name="Engine">Template:Cite web</ref> Nagoshi focused on what he called its self-explanatory "interface" and "rhythm" to give the way the tracks are laid out a rhythmic feel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The game's soundtrack features an array of songs from rock and techno musical styles originally composed by the game music staff's Hidenori Shoji and Daiki Kasho.<ref name=webcity>Template:Cite web</ref> Shojii is known for his musical scores in Daytona USA 2 and Fighting Vipers 2, while Kasho worked on the Gran Turismo series.<ref name=webcity/> Kasho composed the character themes and their lyrics were by Alan Brey.<ref name="credits">Template:Cite video game</ref> Both Shoji and Kasho supervised the soundtrack's audio mastering.<ref name=webcity/>

Nintendo revealed the first footage of F-Zero GX at the Pre-E3 press conference on May 21, 2002. While it was known to exist several months prior, it had remained behind closed doors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In early March 2003, according to the official Nintendo website, F-Zero was delayed by two months.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Via a live video conference call from Japan on July 7, Miyamoto, Nagoshi, and Imamura answered questions about the two F-Zero games. There, Miyamoto announced the Japanese version was finished and would soon be available to the public. Nagoshi mentioned that back at E3 2003, he was hoping that they would have that time to include a local area network (LAN) multiplayer mode, however they chose not to support this mode. The development team focused more on the single-player aspects, and a LAN multiplayer mode would distract greatly.<ref name=Conference/> Imamura commented that even though he worked directly on F-Zero throughout its different incarnations, this time he took a "step back and was involved at kind of a producer level at looking over the game."<ref name=Conference/> Imamura added "hav[ing] worked on the F-Zero series, and seeing the results of the collaboration with Sega, I found myself at something of a loss as to how we can take the franchise further past F-Zero GX and AX."<ref name=Conference/>

Release

Published by Nintendo,<ref name="developerpublisher" /> F-Zero GX was released in Japan on July 25, 2003,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> North America on August 25,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Australia on October 24,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Europe on October 31.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The arcade version was released in 2003 alongside its GameCube counterpart.<ref name="2013 AX" /> A demo of the game was released via a special edition bonus disc packaged with Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> F-Zero GX/AX Original Soundtracks, a two-CD set composed of BGM soundtracks to the video games GX and its arcade counterpart, was released in Japan under the Scitron Digital Content record label on July 22, 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="enix">Template:Cite web</ref> The first disc consists of forty-one tracks and the second has forty with an additional track rearranged by Supersweep's AYA (Ayako Sasō) of "Big Blue".<ref name="webcity" /><ref name="enix" /> F-Zero GX was added to the Nintendo Classics library for the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear

Reception

F-Zero GX has an average score of 89/100 on the aggregate website Metacritic.<ref name=Metacritic/> Some video game journalists consider it as one of the best racers of its time and the greatest racer on the GameCube platform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=EGM>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was listed "Best GameCube Racing Game" in the E3 2003 IGN Awards and "Best Racing Game of 2003" by IGN.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> F-Zero GX was named the best GameCube game of August 2003 and "Best GameCube Driving Game" of 2003 overall by GameSpot, and was nominated for "Console Racing Game of the Year" at the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards held by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.<ref name=gotm>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Official Nintendo Magazine ranked it the 92nd best game available on Nintendo platforms. The staff felt it was best for hardcore fans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, Edge named it the 66th-best game.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The game has been credited for its visuals,<ref name=GameS>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="GameSpy Review"/> arcade/home connectivity, longevity, sharp controls, tough challenge,<ref name="Tough Challenge"/> and fleshed-out single-player modes.<ref name="GameSpy Review">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=EGM/> The game's most common criticism is its difficulty, especially in the story mode.<ref name=GameS/><ref name="NTSC review">Template:Cite web</ref> It earned fourth place in IGNTemplate:'s and GameTrailersTemplate:' toughest games to beat.<ref name="Tough Challenge">Template:Cite web</ref> GameTrailers mentioned F-Zero GX demanded players to master the "rollercoaster-style tracks [which] required hairline precision" to avoid falling off-course.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> Electronic Gaming Monthly criticized GXTemplate:'s sharp increase in difficulty and GameSpotTemplate:'s Jeff Gerstmann agreed stating it "will surely turn some people away before they've seen the 20 tracks and unlocked all the story mode chapters".<ref name=GameS/><ref name=EGM/> Bryn Williams of GameSpy mentioned that "purists may find it too similar to Template:Sic N64 version" and criticized the lack of LAN play.<ref name="GameSpy Review"/>

1UP.com stated that the F-Zero series is "finally running on hardware that can do it proper justice".<ref name="1Up and EGM reviews">Template:Cite web</ref> EurogamerTemplate:'s Kristan Reed pointed out that, graphically, "it's hard to imagine how Amusement Vision could have done a better job".<ref name=euroG>Template:Cite web</ref> Matt Casamassina of IGN praised the developers' work commenting they have "done a fine job of taking Nintendo's dated franchise and updating it for the new generation" and summed up the general opinion by stating that "For some, GX will be the ultimate racer. For others, it will be flat out too difficult."<ref name="IGN review"/> In Japan, F-Zero GX sold 100,981 units<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and became qualified for the Player's Choice line in both Europe<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and North America<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> by selling at least 250,000 copies.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Nagoshi said in a 2018 Edge interview that F-Zero GX sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Template:Clear

References

Bibliography Template:Refbegin

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite web

External links

• Official F-Zero GX/AX website (archived)