F-ZERO GX was INSANELY ahead of its time.
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- In the early 2000s, the racing genre was firing on all cylinders, and F-ZERO GX was one of the most impressive titles of the decade. Release in 2003 for the GameCube, Fzero GX holds up incredibly well compared to its competitors from the time, and even compared to modern racing games. So in this video, let’s explore and compare why F-ZERO is a masterful experience that was so far ahead of its time, and why it still holds up so well even today. Please consider subscribing to support the channel, and let’s race.
00:00 Intro
00:57 F-ZERO in context
02:34 Competitor comparisons
06:32 Modern comparisons
09:39 Graphical analysis
12:00 Controls and gameplay
15:20 Story mode & closing
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CLARIFICATION - In the video at one point I mention F-Zero GX doesn't really have a combat system. I phrased this poorly - I meant that GX doesn't have a projectile-style weapons system in comparison to those found in most of the other games shown in the video. Obviously there are useful melee combat elements to take advantage of - sorry for the confusion! I also accidentally said "Most Wanted 2" instead of "Hot Pursuit 2" on the need for speed footage at one point.
@@crywolfplays I was wondering about that and whether or not I should mention that to you. I figured you must have known about it since the other racers occasionally perform the attack moves.😄
@@davidaitken8503 Yeah, thanks, this was just sort of a verbiage gaffe on my part, I should have clarified but the video was starting to really run long.
Yeah the combat becomes a more important aspect on higher difficulties like Master.
You'll want to strategically take out other racers such as your "rival" (person who's above you in the leaderboard) in order to net yourself a better overall position in the GP if you can't make 1st every time & to earn more lives in case you die. Like you said in the vid, it's just another way the game becomes deeper for experienced players while first timers can play on novice just fine without ever having to engage with those kind of mechanics.
@@VexAcer Yeah, those are great points. On the lower difficulties combat also isn't important for more skilled players because you're usually at the front of the pack so there aren't as many ships around you for melee combat.
I was gonna comment on Hot Pursuit 2 since I was a bit confused for a second there and wondering if Most Wanted really looked so much worse than i remember :D Thanks for clearing that up
Beating the Story Mode is still one of my greatest gaming achievements. Literally put it down in 2003, picked it back up in 2013 and finally finished it in 2020
I beat the story mode one night and failed so many times, staying up for hours.. early 20's years old at the time, and believe it is my best achievement since the early $treet Fighter Days. Oh yeah, I beat GX the first year out and now I lost all game data.. it sucks, oh well.. take it easy and God Bless.. ❤
I cant get past mission 3 😢 I lead on lap 1 and then the boosting fest starts and it’s over.
i destroyed my hands learning snaking, but made it very far in a short timespan, til i burned out
my greatest achievement in this game was beating Story mode on Very Hard. Did it back in the mid-life range of the Wii. My original Wii (which I had picked up on launch day) had been stolen along with my library of Wii games, my Wii Remote, one of my Gamecube controllers and the memory card that was in the Wii at the time. Sadly that card had contained almost all my gamecube files from the heights of the cubes days. So I was going through and replaying a bunch of the games, when I got to F-Zero GX, I cleared Story mode on normal with such ease I thought, you know, lets try Hard. The only chapter that made me struggle a bit on Hard was the Grand Prix and the Ghost Race. So I figured, hell, lets give Very Hard a try, and promptly got annihilated in the Samurai Goro race. So I figured, well, I'm much better at the game now, lets try unlocking the AX cup, and succeeded in unlocking it. Well after finishing the Diamond Cup on the hardest difficulty as the winning car to cross the finish line out of 2 surviving cars, I figured it was time to try Story on Very Hard again. Grand Prix and the Ghost Race again were the hardest chapters to complete, Deathborn took a couple tries but in the end finished his chapter fairly easily. Grand Prix I will never forget crossing that finish line, final lap, final stretch, 4 cars left in the race, myself, Black Bull, Blood Falcon, and Zoda. I am boosting, boosting, boosting to desperately try to take the lead over both Black Bull and Blood Falcon, as I catch up and start to pass both of them, my instincts scream at me to hit the brakes, so I tap the brakes just in time to watch Black Bull attempt a side tackle, slide right past me, hit Blood Falcon and both going ricocheting towards the walls as I instinctively hit the boost one last time, Black Bull nearly clipping my tail taking me out as I fly across the finish line. I dont think ANYTHING I have ever done in gaming to this date, compares to the feeling of crossing that finish line.
@thesuminer I did unlock all cups and racers fairly quickly back before 2005, I think. Greatest experience winning in this game I tell ya. Probably too old to try all that again.. but it sure was worth it then.. By the way, my game cube with game boy player along with memory cards was stolen by my girlfriend's at the time, brother.. also my Mario Sunshine, windwaker, and 2 more classics were also taken. Such loss, but got some stuff back by purchase again. Stuff happens to everybody I guess.. now just waiting for Metroid prime 4. Hope you pick it up. Well, take care and God bless anyways..
Still unbelievable that Sega developed this game, something no one would have believed just a few years prior.
Better yet, it was made by Yakuza devs. On a Super Monkey Ball 1 engine. Just like something out of gigachad memes
SEGA doing great racing (and VS-Fighter) games in the 90's and early 2000's? It only was their bread and butter.
Yes I remember. It would be probably akin to Forza coming out on PS5 and looking twice as good as Gran Turismo 7. Wild times!
@@Larry They squeezed the most out of that glorious Super Monkey Ball engine
@@one_step_sideways And the director also was heavily involved with Virtua Racing, Daytona USA and Scud Race before that, this game had the perfect setup for greatness.
Super godlike game, used to compete in this and spent a week doing statistics tests for the game, best racing gamr by FAR
I didn't inow you actually competed for GX. That's not something the documentaries talk about lol. Awesome piece lore, and of course you had to go all out.
Was there anything fun or interesting you found? Now, I'm curious.
Any supporter for GX is a good friend of mine.
You need new friends.
@leargamma4912 🧌
Hello friend
*manly handshake ensues
We should have gotten a remaster for switch years ago...
Miyamoto is on record saying we've yet to see a sequel to GX because in the devs minds, they can't think of anything else to add to the series. GX itself is nigh perfect.
Uuuuugh, then at least release a remastered version
And yet Mario Kart still isn't done? Maybe they feel audience isn't as big for F Zero
@@nagatom fzero has a steep learning curve and difficulty. Theres GX mechanics that some people can’t even grasp, especially at breakneck speeds and reaction times. Like how to play with machines that had no grip at all, or what caused machines to suddenly loose grip. Or with machines that had too much grip, how to break it by using both triggers. Which could cause you to suddenly lose your speed or give you a violent boost (snaking is very advanced). How to configure Acel/topspeed bar. These machines weren’t even usable if you didn’t know the physics, a tutorial on advanced techniques would’ve been very useful for some people.
More tracks, more racers, more challenges, etc. There's a lot you can add to it.
They just have no imagination, or they don't want to try.
@@legendarygary2744Maybe remaster it and have all stages and sing tracks from SNES, F-Zero X, and the GBA games similar to how Mario Kart has recently done and maybe make it the Smash Bros Ultimate of F-Zero. It can be called F-Zero GX Deluxe.
I still wish more racing games had characters for their drivers who would do the little interviews during the Grand Prix like GX has. It was a small thing but added so much charm to the characters, and the fact everyone had an ending cutscene too was great, it was almost like a fighting game in that regard.
Completing the GX story mode on the highest difficulty is and always will be my greatest gaming accomplishment. And despite the several hundred retries, I loved every second of it. GX is one of the greatest video games of all time and it will NEVER be topped by another racer.
The most frustrating thing about GX, is that it really made you feel like F-Zero as a franchise was becoming something magnificent.
...aaaaaaaand we never saw it again :(
Definitely, it's sad that we never got a sequel from the same team on more powerful hardware. I'm sure a modern sequel could be great, but it might not be able to recapture the exact "feel" anymore.
Painfully accurate.
Having VF make a comeback gives me hope.
But Nintendon’t… Not even a re-release, remaster, remake of the greatest iteration in the franchise. Maybe they need more time and power to make sure they get it working online without any problems… Or maybe 99’s the last we’ll ever see of this series 🤷🏻♂️
@@Gigantemanatee Sega does what Nintendon't. Very apt considering the game was Sega's. Ran on the Super Monkey Ball engine.
Playing it regularly since I discovered the game in 2015. There will never be a better racer than this.
Glad you found it
The only game I herald in a similar fashion is Excite Truck. Burnout 3 is awesome, but a different beast altogether.
I still have my gamecube copy, but emulating GX on a PC with a large monitor and good quality headset yields the most adrenaline-boosting experience a video game can offer.
@TripleC3III I've heard Dolphin is the way to go. Too bad disc drives are neanderthal level now.
You can boot from usb or sd card on the wii and still submit times, and it runs perfectly. I use a 36" component crt for time attacking, and it helps a lot with shiftboosts. Component helps me line up mine boosts Ive noticed, not much else though. Still play on disc, just bc I have it.
The GameCube's game library is just legendary in general. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!
I showed this game off to my younger cousin and his two best friends that are all 19-21, and they absolutely loved it and we all had a blast playing the 4 player vs mode for a few hours
Its actually SHOCKING that we havent gotten a HD Remaster of this game yet
Agreed. This is easily in my top 3 games of all time that need an hd remaster or port
Soon my brother. Soon
Rather have a sequel
You wouldn't want it. Go compare the first two Monkey Ball games to the "remake" they put out in 2023 or 2024. Completely broke the physics,.game does not play even remotely similar.
Didn't they fix it? @@Professor_Utonium_
One of the greatest games ever. I hope they re-release this game with hd graphics and online play. Would love for it to be on steam as well
It's so impressive how many little graphical details F-Zero GX has in its levels, because you're going so fast that it's incredibly easy to miss them. It's really cool to see a deep dive on this game that goes into that level of insight, especially on the graphics/tech side. I've been watching your other videos like the Gamecube and PSP retrospectives, and I really dig your thoughtful approaches to analyzing the games of the past. I often get nostalgic for the Gamecube/PS2/Xbox era of games, so thanks again for the videos. Looking forward to more!
This is really cool feedback, thanks for sharing. There's actually other things I wanted to go deeper into, but I wanted to try to keep the length of the video reasonable. For example, like you said, there's so much detail that's easy to miss when you're going fast. I think it's interesting how F-Zero uses almost no motion blur yet is able to achieve enormous sense of speed because so much of that detail is flying past you - that doesn't really work with empty environments.
@@crywolfplaysthat’s a good point, the lack of motion blur is a huge distinguishing factor for GX. It looks so crisp and still feels insanely fast
Sega will always hold a special place in my heart
Yeah this game is insane, I was 13 when it released and I made a hand drawn calendar which I pinned on the wall next to my bed, where every morning I'd cross off a day until I could finally get my hands on it. I was so excited about it that it was all I could talk about for months, and I think I annoyed my friends at school for a while haha. I even printed off previews and screenshots of the game from IGN, put them in a folder and took them to school to show my friends how awesome the game was going to be!
Finishing every story mode chapter on very hard was the crowning gaming achievement of my teenage years, and at the time I was the only one in my friends circle who managed to complete it, unlock all the vehicle parts and the AX tracks etc. It's still hard to believe how the devs managed to pull off a game that looks this good, with 30 racers on screen, all at a rock solid 60fps, on Gamecube hardware in 2003.
I still fire up the game once every couple years and do a full run through of story mode on very hard just to make sure I've "still got it" haha. And it's a blast every time - what a game.
This is awesome, thanks for sharing
absolutely SOULFUL
I don't think you unlocked all the parts unless you were in Japan or used cheat codes
@@crawfy48 I didn't know there were some Japan-exclusive parts until I just looked it up just now - oh well, I just meant the ones that are unlockable in-game by conventional means.
@timmy3441 I don't know any way to get them without destroying the save file, so I didn't get them either. I also never got Cosmic Dolphin and Rainbow Phoenix, chapters 1 and 6 are especially hard
it really was, I wouldn't belive what my eyes where looking when I played GX for the first time. everything was amazing
A few others come close, but nothing is on the same level as GX, an absolute master class of a game. The music, graphic design, rock solid FPS, play play, and insane precision of analog control (unparalleled in any racing game I've ever played), all brilliant. GX is built upon the Super Monkey Ball 2 engine, which Amusement Vision released the year prior, and is equally brilliant in the same ways, especially the precision controls.
Also, If you can ever track down the rocking cockpit version of AX (GX's arcade counter part, same engine and general game play, but new tracks), prepare to throw all your money at it. Had the fortune of playing it once, amazing game experience in it's own right, though GX is far richer in content and game play. You can unlock all the AX tracks in GX, which I eventually did, but I recall it being super hard to do.
If Nintendo isn't interested in making a new one, I wish they would at least give us a new way to play GX. Perhaps it will show up on Switch 2, though it will absolutely need a really flawless emulation and a proper GameCube Controller to be able to finish the harder difficulty challenges.
Sold my collection, kept 1 game. It was F-Zero GX.
Same. Sold my Switch, kept my F-Zero AX license cards
Still own my copy even though it hasn't been played in years. 💪
A man of culture
I kept Tales Of Symphonia
Agreed. There hasn't been a racing game like F-Zero GX. Sense of speed and control, unmatched. Music also deserves a nod, too. XGRA had great music, too, but those were all licensed; F-Zero GX was all original pieces, and the composer did phenomenal work on it. Also, the announcer really had fun with this one, made getting first place all the better. I will say that the vehicles didn't match up with actual performance and the story mode was absolutely brutal. My memory card hated the game because it always corrupted my save data, and with how brutal the unlocks were, replaying was quite the trial. The game definitely wanted to push linking the F-Zero AX arcade cabinet with a memory card, but finding those were next to impossible depeinding where you lived, and with my csrd issues, it was unfeasible even if i could find one becuse at anytime it could just corrupt my save data. It was fun while it lasted.
The announcer is great and a big part of the experience lol I wish I had mentioned it. Somehow its over the top without being annoying like most other racer announcers.
Wow is this on the GameCube?? I wish this was available for the switch. I played FZero on the N64 back in the day and absolutely loved it. The sense of speed was amazing.
"It's fascinating to contemplate the increasing diminishing returns of graphics when compared to hardware power"
Man what a poignantly true statement.
SEGA really accomplished wonders with GX..hell on the Gamecube in general.
Thank you, I keep thinking about this idea and might make more content around it. I feel like most gamers understand graphics progress has slowed way down, but I also think a lot of people don't understand just how vastly more powerful consoles or computers today are than in the early days of 3d gaming, it's not 10x or 20x, it's so far beyond that.
And its a Sega game , this and outrun coast to coast are the best arcade racers
Shame they’ve officially ended up trapped on old consoles though. Afterburner Climax and the first two Summo developed Sonic all stars racing games deserve a mention as well.😁
Not to mention the toughest story mode ever known to man 💀
I love how the good controls enable them to push the player so hard. F Zero X and GX feel like I drive faster than my brain can comprehend. The others always feel slow and floaty. Any recommendation to a game that pulls that off would be welcomed by me.
Yeah I feel like you're almost driving with the subconscious part of your brain it's awesome
Aero GPX on Steam looks like it might be a good alternative to Fzero GX, haven't played it myself so don't know.
Aero GPX is fantastic, Super Pilot also handles a lot like F-Zero but with the addition of a drift mechanic kind of like Mario kart's. I have heard XF Extreme Formula compared to GX, but I haven't played it myself.
I usually put 1080 Avalanche up there, yeah, it's a totally different setting, but because you can't turn on a dime and can get some insane speed built up, you really have to look ahead and commit to your movement. Mistakes are severely punished and it encourages learning the runs inside and out.
@@nnc2199great game, been following the development of the game this past year and now that it's out I can only recommend it
Game looks more at home on 7th gen hardware. The fact they got this game to look this good while also maintaining a constant 60fps, even in multiplayer mode, is one of gaming's greatest technical achievements.
The game also plays amazing as well and also lets you do many things with actual single player content
This game has great memories for me and I still play it on emu at times. I remember being blown away by the preview screenshots of it in gaming magazines and it absolutely didn't disappoint! My best memory is bringing this to my pro racing driver friend's house and playing 4 player on his big screen for hours!
Playing and finishing F-Zero GX for the first time ever 2-3 days ago after years of having it on my backlog and got this video recommended after watching some MT tutorial vids. Loved the video and even read through every single comment before finishing and never thought that I would be spoiling myself by having F-Zero GX be my first racing game ever which is also considered as the most perfect racing game ever.
Would definitely like to see a part 2 to this video which expands on the “very simple but very hard to master” quote that also covers the game in more detail on what the experience is when mastering the game and 100%ing it. (Like when talking about the story mode difficulty and unlocking AX tracks and Master Difficulty)
When playing this game and thinking of your quote, I relate it to the gameplay style of TEKKEN which is another game I grew to love and appreciate its high skill ceiling.
Currently need to finish Story Mode on Hard and Very Hard and beat all Grand Prix on Expert and Master difficulty and I know the experience basically is just getting even better.
Cool thank you for the feedback, glad you got to play it. I'm hoping to make more fzero content
Clearing Story Mode on Very Hard is one of few gaming achievements I'm a bit proud of. F-Zero GX is probably my favorite racing game of all time, and the points you made in the "Graphical analysis" section of your video was enlightening and made me better understand why I appreciate its graphics more thoroughly and artistically (in addition to its fidelity). Great video!
Thanks! You definitely should be proud of that
TERRIFIC video. You captured my thoughts on GX so flawlessly, including thoughts I didn't realize I had until you verbalized them.
I don't know if you knew this, but I read somewhere recently that Nintendo currently has no real plans to resurrect the series because, "Where else could we take it after GX?" (Well, modern visuals and availability on modern hardware would be good!) But on a foundational level, I honestly see what they mean. The game is essentially perfect. Even two decades later, I still had all the track layouts memorized as your video unfurled. I remember it like it was yesterday. What a thrilling game, and absolutely stunning to look at. And the music! Ugh, I could go on. Thank you for making this!!
Thanks for sharing and for watching!
The developers at Sega's Amusement Vision really had a good understanding of what is important in conveying eye catching graphics at high speeds. The foliage in the forest levels are actually nothing more than a bunch of 2D objects bobbing about, for example. At those speeds, though, it totally works, and they keep those very close to the edge of the track so you would never notice that they are 2D objects that always face you no matter what direction the camera is pointing. The game even does an excellent job of helping the player know where they are on the track with the orientation of lines, which is important if you play with the camera angled down a bit more like I do as I am very aggressive at attacking and knocking out my rivals. F-Zero GX actually has the most impressive combat of any of the futuristic racers and it is because it is completely melee based and doesn't have a bunch of guns and missiles.
The visionaries at Amusement Vision have used the Pareto principle to achieve 80% of the graphical fidelity with 20% the performance required. The foliage, the baked-in god rays, and whatever is going on in Fire Field, and you have to understand that they did all that with a limited budget and very limited time, and in C. What they have achieved, with F-Zero GX/AX being a uniquely timeless game, is nothing short of impressive. This is a masterpiece and the best arcade racing game of all time bar none. The runner-up would be the arcade version of Sega Rally 2, which also looks fantastic 26 years later on that Lockheed Martin fighter jet simulation hardware that is the Sega Model 3 - and the physics and gameplay are even more so.
@@one_step_sidewaysAh, yes, optimization. A word that modern AAA devs don’t seem to understand. It’s not about adding more triangles; it’s about removing triangles where they don’t need to be.
This is a pretty good video, I find it focuses on graphics a lot, which I found annoying until I remembered that I showed my coworkers Aero GPX (my beloved), and nobody batted an eye, but when I showed GX to them, they all lit up and asked when it came out. The game's visuals really do sell it far beyond its age, and details like the different & transparent ground textures, and level of detail scaling are elements I didn't give much thought to, but will be studying hard now that you've brought it to my attention more. As someone who's nearly 100% GX, it's always fun to see someone give it more love. Also, thanks for recommending the Extreme G series, haven't heard of them. I would like to say that I like your voice and general writing, and will be subscribing.
12:20 I will say, the game can be TOO responsive, especially if you're a loser with a 3rd party controller (who could that be). But, the game offers CONTROLLER CALIBRATION AND BUTTON LAYOUTS IN A GAMECUBE GAME. Nintendo got it right 20 years ago and still can't fathom button mapping today. I 100% agree that floatier antigrav games can feel good, but they don't encourage SPEED, as much as they do STEERING. I like WipEout, but it does get under my skin for that reason.
13:30 I'm assuming given that you know about Quick Turns and Momentum Throttling, you know that F-Zero does have combat, and it's incredible and very well integrated. You have two attacks, Side & Spin, getting KOs is sharp and satisfying, alongside netting you an extra life for 5 KOs, which encourages you to splice in combat were applicable to get more chances in harder difficulties. As well, it means you can KO opponents to prevent them from getting points and allowing you to win Grand Prix without making 1st place each time. It's an extremely important part of the game, smoothing out the difficulty by rewarding risky plays.
Thanks for the insights and thoughtful feedback here. you're right that the video focuses on visuals a lot - I find this is easier to show examples of "being ahead of its time" versus other elements. I tried to include a good amount of gameplay discussion later in the video, but I regret not mentioning some of the controller options you pointed out - that really was crazy for a GameCube game. I wanted to keep the video a reasonable length so I wasn't able to talk about every single item I wanted to.
I also regret the way I framed the "no combat" - I meant that GX doesn't have a full blown projectile weapons system when compared to the other games shown such as Flashout, Xtreme or Wipeout. But you're right, it does have combat elements like you mentioned that can be fun and useful. Thanks for watching!
@@crywolfplays For sure, a 15 minute video is always a large project, and deciding what makes it in will always be tricky.
Well, Aero GPX uses rather boring cell shading, it's not a surprise.
@@Razumen Cell Shading is my favorite kind of 3D, but I often forget how rare it is so it doesn't land for most people I show it to. Like, I was talking about Hi-Fi Rush and nobody cared either.
I think Aero GPX looks fantastic, if a bit unfinished.
Gx is good. It's one of those games you can pick up years later and remember what pain feels like
You absolutely killed it on this video! Thanks for shedding light to this incredible gift. Congrats
Thanks for watching!
Closest thing I've played lately is Redout 2. It was free one week on Epic but I've had enough fun with it that I think I'd recommend actually paying for it.
Was and still is. Gotta hope F-Zero 99’s success leads Nintendo to make a whole new entry similar to GX that allows multiplayer to that same degree. A dream come true
For sure, I'm hoping it inspired them to make a new one or at least also revisit GX
I am still flabbergasted how many insanely good games the early 2000s produced. Even if you focus on a single genre, you were spoiled for choice. Look at how many racing games came out during that time. Now look at today... we need to go back to smaller games with shorter dev times.
Absolutely, I think about this all the time. Every genre just had an endless supply of quality games
Best racing game of ALL TIME hands down. Perfectly optimized. Insane amount of content. I have 100%ed this game twice. It's still just as much of a challenge and I can't wait for a possible Switch 2 game for this... Also, the music in GX adds so much life and pop to the game. Unparalleled!
If anyone can get their hands on the Wii U emulated port for this game with the upscaled resolution. It's dope. A PC emulated version in 4K also looks sick.
Daiki kasho, who also composed music for the GranTurismo series, also composed the soundtrack for this game. Chiaki, the lead singer in the j-pop band "Dakota Star" commonly works with Daiki Kasho for the GranTurismo series and is also involved with the soundtrack of F-Zero GX. She is the vocalist in Mrs. Arrow's , and digiboy's theme. One of her most popular songs in the GranTurismo series is "Break Down" which sounds a lot like Digiboy's theme.
The Gamecube was the first console for me that approached IRL arcade games. Had so much fun on it back in the day; sold my Glastonbury ticket for one. No regrets.
cheerio, mate.
I must've been the only one that loved how brutally difficult the story mode on the highest difficulty was. I don't know how many attempts it took me, but fully beating it felt SO good!
I remember playing this for the first time ever. My local gaming store had a japanese import copy and from the moment i picked up the controller i knew this game was something special. An absolute powerhouse in every respect. Still probably my fave racer of all time. That day i dropped about 120 quid on a japanese copy and the boot disc to play it and played til my fingers bled.
Might just have to dig out my old copy and replay it. Its been a while. This game needs a remaster 10 years ago.
I can't tell you how much the Very Hard story mode in GX made me angry back the day, I think I even smashed one of my controllers because of this game lol. It took me days, maybe even weeks to do 1 mission on Very Hard.
This is definitely one of the best looking games of all time and one of the only games that stands up over time. Every time I go back to FZero gx I am amazed by how good it still looks
It's definitely timeless
You kinda forgot to mention that those very hard story missions weren't just for bragging rights. Beating them on the highest difficultly would unlock F-Zero AX content. All those unlockable characters had full FMV cutscenes, just as the 30 regular drivers. Not only was this game amazing, it was also absolutely stacked!
Fantastic game. I still have it of course, proudly sitting in my game shelf. It really was a decade ahead of its time. When you compared the games its visual details are much closer to modern games than the other games of its generation. Really striking difference. All that visual fidelity, all that chaos and it almost never skips one frame. Really astonishing game engine they made for it. The best racer i have ever played.
It really is
Still my favorite racing game of all time, it's criminal that it never got a sequel.
Absolute heart-pounder of a game, and one I absolutely recommend playing on real hardware. The sheer responsiveness feels on par with 8 and 16 bit games.
Yeah exactly, the GameCube controller is just perfection for this game. I hope if they do a Switch port or remaster of some sort it works properly with the GameCube controller like Smash Bros does.
People are going to think you are just exaggerating, but yes, F-Zero GX was literally the first game that ever got my heart pounding!! I was so surprised the moment I realized it. The harder difficulties definitely require extreme effort and concentration.
Run it on Dolphin emulator with a low latency monitor and GC Controller adapter, trust me. Never felt more responsive controls. If you're used to playing on an average HD TV, it will feel like night and day. Not to mention, up to 4K. Still looks insane.
Man, the hours I sunk into this - it came to a point where it was just twitch reflexes. This and Outrun were the absolute peak arcade racers
Nintendo need to stop messing around and bring this game back like seriously.. let us get it on the Switch 2 and put it online just like the one on the old Switch. Watch this game make millions.
- Masteful use of color to benefit the reading of racetracks and other racers.
- Perfect controls.
- Perfect sense of speed at solid 60fps.
- Amazing artistic presentation and design.
Sega’s history is rooted in Arcade games, so the presentation levels are much higher than everyone else, including Nintendo of course. For people that grew up with Sega games, the level of polish in GX is what is expected. I think most Gamecube enthusiasts are strictly Nintendo heads and GX gets spoken about a lot because they simply haven’t experienced games of the standard of GX.
That's a bit reductive and dismissive. "Nintendoheads" played Sega arcade games.. and played Dreamcast and Saturn Genesis games too. We knew Sega arcade games were good. Bit F-Zero GZ was a above and beyond what even Sega had created for themselves in the arcade or on Dreamcast. GX is great not just because its Sega... it's in the alchemy that happened when Sega and Nintendo worked together on something. Also, Namco for the arcade version.
@@DanJackson1977 I think there’s a huge difference between Sega’s and Nintendo’s approaches to games. Games like Pokemon or other cutesy games that are relaxing and don’t require much skill would never see light on Sega consoles as first party releases. Sega games required arcade-level skills to clear in comparison to Nintendo games that were more mass appeal and therefore easier and worried about alienating the average gamer. Going back as far as the SNES and you’d see a lot of RPGs, games with cute graphics, but not many all out action games that pushed skills to the limits (of course there were a few exceptions like Contra III). The Mega Drive on the other hand, had a wealth of hardcore action titles rooted in arcade gameplay along with high intensity arcade graphics. This philosophy continued all the way until the Dreamcast while Nintendo went even further the other way with their relaxing and inoffensive N64 titles. The Gamecube felt different but it wasn’t due to Nintendo titles, it was mostly down to Capcom with titles like the superb Resident Evil 4 and PN03. Of course, Sega isn’t the same company today but for people who owned Sega consoles in their youth, the presentation and gameplay of F-Zero GX was the standard we’d learned to expect.
That's why so many Sega games have aged so well. Tight, deep gameplay mechanics, everything else is secondary. Straight to the point, feels good, room for high levels of mastery, no f***ing around. No meaningless progression systems or fluff. Not all of their games are like that, but a lot of them are compared to other developers that still exist. Gaming in general needs to re-examine its arcade roots. Luckily, many indies do that. But also, many indies are also poor misunderstandings of the source material they're drawing from.
@@Sir_Robin_of_Camelot Couldn't agree more. TheElectricUnderground here on RUclips has videos going further into the exact points you make.
@@tournaline3448 One of my favorite channels lol. Mark has interesting gameplay design analysis you don't see much of anywhere else.
For me, this game is not a masterpiece.
It's a godlike.
Easily one of my favorite games of all time. Probably the #1 thing which sticks out for me in F-Zero GX was the blinding speed. Unmatched in it's exhilaration. Good thing the handling was so precise.
Back in the day, I even had the opportunity to use my custom cars in the F-Zero AX arcade cabinet. If you thought handling the cars with a GC controller was hard, try doing it behind the wheel in a gyroscope. 😵💫
Still so good. My fave racer ever.
As a kid, I only played F Zero Gx in a demo disc. Now as an adult, the whole game is so much fun. Great adrenaline rush and the itch to win the race at first place.
I remember how hard GX was when I first played the story. It was probably one of the hardest racing games I ever played.
I've said this a million times over the years that game is criminally underrated.
Except it isn't "criminally underrated" as, since its release, it's always been rated EXTREMELY well. It was also a commerical success becoming a Players Choice title on the system.
It's worth mentioning that Studio Liverpool wasn't able to get their hands on a PS2 dev unit for the first stretch of Wipeout Fusion's development. They were working under the assumption that the PS2's hardware would be similar to a high-end PC of the time, and wrote their code accordingly. When they finally did receive a dev unit, they quickly realized that their code was mostly incompatible with the hardware, and had to restart from (almost) scratch.
Perfect video! Other than all the wall hits!! Stay on the track!!!
Of note is some very inspired visual direction in GX. Every machine is a distinct shape of bright, high-saturation color. This means your machine is always the center of attention, and never gets lost in the bright lights and detail of the track.
Many of the other games you showcased here either have an environment that's brighter than the machine, or a machine with an indistinct silhouette.
The F-Zero machine design helps make every frame of the game easier to appreciate, even at very high speed.
The "Flashout 3" machine designs stands out to me as just being awful. An unreadable dark shape covered in tiny lights that don't clearly indicate the actual outline of the machine... its seems designed to be more confusing to look at.
I had no lack of fun with this game. Even though I no longer have the game, I still love the music and keep listening to it.
This game was and still is incredible.... The graphics, story, gameplay. Master piece
F zero gx and even x just felt so goddamn good to play.
Unlocking AX mode from the Story mode and the grand prix was such a good moment for me. Love this game and the track.
Same, it's such a nice add
It's a ongoing travesty that it hasn't received a rerelease on one the newer Nintendo systems.
I think the music and sound effects are really cool as well as well as the things you mention in the video.
I would also point out that f zero gx probably had a much bigger budget and team compared to what the g racing game had. But great video thanks 👍.
F-Zero GX
> Have a beautiful OST
> Good tracks
> Requires experience and skill over luck
> Opponents are actually hard to beat
> Beautiful on GC
Well that's why I love that game
this game has the hardest final boss of any game i've played, ever. it still haunts me to this day.
had this game for a year or two in my collection and havent gotten around to it yet, but this vid got me excited to try it out soon!
btw gotta say I really appreciate your scriptwriting abilities. You explain your points really well & provide lots of context 👌👌 good stuff. subbed after that cool vid on the metroid title screens
Thank you for this feedback and the sub, I appreciate it :D
Never played GX because I never had a videogame console.
But what you pointed out the details of the levels and yes, they're insane!
If Nintendo don't make a remaster of this game, we should riot! lol
SEEEGAAA! 💙
Played AX on cabinet for the first timewhen I was at Anime NYC last year, I'll never forget the time I spent playing it!
I think one of the main reasons why there's diminishing returns with graphics is because back in the day it was all up to the 2D art of the textures and lightmapping. What's more is that it more the less looks the same on low and high settings.
Now most of the work is done with shaders and high brush/poly counts which all kinda ends up looking the same. When you lower the settings, it becomes obvious how much detail depends on performance. I genuinely think some community made mods in Quake look better than a lot of the modern games.
True I always think this and feel this wen playing watching unreal 5 games its using far to much processing power for its MATERIALS and old school textures look just as good it’s sll like things are done just for the sake of it rather than a advantage
I've 100% completed GX, Redout 1, Hot Wheels Turbo Racing, Red Asphalt, and played a few NFS games around the same era, but none of the other zero-g racing games shown here. Your visual comparison actually has me thinking that Extreme-G looks better. Not "better" in terms of resolution or graphical fidelity, but better visual environment design. This shot at 3:24, GX has nothing like that. In GX, almost every track just feels like a bunch of floating stuff a la Rainbow Road. I don't know how far the ground is, and sometimes I can't even tell which way is down (which I guess is fine in a zero-g game). But in Extreme-G, as well as most of the other games mentioned, it looks and *feels* like you're on the ground, at location, and not just on a giant floating Hot Wheels track (which is ironic when comparing GX to an actual Hot Wheels game).
try Grip, it's good.
Story was hardcore, but succeeding was so rewarding.
I loved those techno tracks. The one playing on the lighting track with 3 lanes, which has that railway rhythm to it that makes ist somewhat westernish and driving, totally great.
Also the characters themes were somewhat great. I dont know how often I listened to Dr Stewart.
Yes, the game was ahead of its time, I totall agree. But many gamecube games were, imho. Starfox Adv., Rogue Sq.. Mario Party games and Mario Golf the best party games, Metroid Prime...
The 'art style' your enjoying screams its name when you load Sonic 2..... SEEEEGAAAAAAA ❤️
I just got a copy of F Zero GX today at a thrift store. Playing it on a CRT TV with no lag is awesome. With component cables the image quality is great and it does have that arcade machine feel to it.
That's awesome
GX is my favorite racing game.
Holy smokes that campaign though. I remember I would try and try to be at a level on hard or very hard. It was such a a rush when I finally beat a new one. Most days though I'd just fail, and pivot to playing a Grand Prix or two.
The Gamecube in general really impressed me back in the day.
Between F-Zero GX, Rogue Squadron II and Resi 4 to name a few, it was a little beast of a console.
I'm now playing F-Zero on the Retroid pocket 5 and it looks stunning on that Oled display.
This game is an absolute masterpiece. So much to do, so much to unlock. I just completed all the story mode missions on very hard difficulty. Probably the hardest thing I've done in any video game ever. With f zero tho, you know its your mistake when you fail or come in second place, rather it being complete rng in other games
The difficulty of story mode was insane, but with the ridiculously tight controls and just how much fucking FUN it was to play, you eventually got skilled enough to overcome the challenge (even if you had to cheese it a bit).
@6:12 Burnout 3, on PS2 hold Cross+Triangle when the game boots up, that's how you get 480p with components, same thing if you play the game on a back compat. PS3
The combat in these games is underrated. Getting good at taking out multiple drivers per race becomes essential, especially at the higher difficulties. Managing to take out half the other racer really helps make up for a lower finish placement.
Yeah F-zero GX is definitely one of my favorite racing games, right next to Motorstorm.
One hundred percented it because I just couldn't get enough!
This game slapppppped so hard back in the day, I was a dedicated player, I used to train my reflexes with F Zero GX for when I wanted to play Grand Turismo 4. I also with a looooot have headaches Completed every story mission in every level. The worst level was beating that undead race in a one on one. I forgot his name, jesuuussss Christ, that was nerve wrecking.
I like that you used XGRA as a comparison. I really enjoyed that game as a kid.
It's a good game
This is my favorite NGC game period
My favorite racing game of all time, such a shame it's never had a proper sequel!
I want a 240 fps racing game so my eyes stay peeled like a fighter jet pilot
i dont know how anyone can play ANY of the wipeout games, i love F-Zero GX specifically because of the way the machines steer, its not all drifty unless u press L+R then let go of the direction u wanna turn to drift/hug the turn on a dime, meanwhile in wipeout its extremely floaty and like your driving on ice. im sorry but F-Zero GX is the best racing game out, 2nd is Burnout 3 and 3rd is Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition Remix. my goto custom vehicle is ScudGoose-Z but if i had to pick a regular vehicle to drive it would probably be Deathborns
It is indeed the most hardcore racing games around alongside Power Drome on PS2. I had managed to beat it all. But the fact we STILL don't have another proper new F-Zero game is so disappointing.
Some of the very hard story missions took me 3-5 hours to beat them they were so hard & brutal.
7:36 Redout 2 holds that position in my mind. Absolutely mind-blowing visuals.
Redout 2 looks amazing too, especially in ultra wide on PC
Nintendo makes literally game programming miracles. It's already 20 years after F-Zero GX and still looks great and it is pretty much lovable and playable.
The F-Zero series is my favorite racing game series of all time. I'm such a fan that I have named every car I've ever owned after machines in the games! My current car is Night Thunder Mark 1, which in the games is driven by the oldest racer on the F-Zero circuit, an old man that shows them young punks how it's done! 👴
So, the real question is this: WHY is this game still not available to play on the Nintendo Switch?!?! Thanks to the popularity of the newest game in the series, the Nintendo Switch Online Exclusive F-Zero 99, Nintendo now realizes there IS an audience eager to play these games, and through NSO, has made available every other game in the series, including the 2 GBA games that were never available in North America before now, but they still haven't brought GX and its arcade counterpart F-Zero AX to the Swtich! We are long overdue for having these games on modern hardware!
And then they need to do an F-Zero Complete Series release for players to be able to OWN, not just rent via NSO, EVERY game in the series, including F-Zero AX and F-Zero 99, all on ONE Game Cartridge for the Switch and Switch 2! I would definitely pay $70 for that, as long as they properly remaster all the games for the Switch hardware, so that they all look fantastic running on modern HD monitors and TVs!
But WILL the "Big N" be smart enough to actually do that?! I guess we'll have to wait and see. 🤔
After learning all the tricks from Chen about f-zero I beat the hardest difficulty mode.
The „bugs“ really are are feature in this game, so much, that it makes mastery incredibly satisfying.
It’s sad that I haven’t found a sci-fi racing game that feels so crisp in its handling like gx. I found rx too floaty to play even though the colour changing was interesting
I bought this game twice at the time. First with the select series and when I was hooked, I bought the regular edition as a second hand copy. I managed to finish the story on hard difficulty but never the cups. I have to thank the arcade close to my place to have an Fzero AX machine I plugged my cart to. Still a fantastic game. Play on my modded wii to have native hdmi connection on my 4k TV. Still hard af and I'm getting old 😂
This is awesome lol. I'm not sure if I'm just out of practice or just no longer have kid reflexes
I love this game. It molded my character. I can't believe we haven't got a proper sequel after more than 20 years. Even so, never forget to boost fire my friends
I can't remember how many hours (or days) it took me to beat the last two story races on the highest difficulty. Especially when you realize you have to run over the mines in the Deathborn race to have any chance of winning. GX is like the Devil May Cry of racing games.
Also breaking the physics engine with the custom builds to "fly" up in a spiral was just ridiculous.