F-Zero GP Legend
Publisher: Nintendo
Console: Game Boy Advance
9.2
When the Game Boy Advance originally launched, one of its first games was F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (MV). Whilst it was a decent game, it was rejected by many F-Zero fans due to issues with cornering method and speed. MV also featured totally new vehicles, whose design just didn’t fit the F-Zero universe quite as well as they should have. Thankfully, with the success of GX on Gamecube, Nintendo have stepped in and decided to release another F-Zero for GBA to coincide with the release of the new “F-Zero Falcon Densetsu” Anime series based on the franchise.
GP Legend (GPL) addresses many of the issues found in MV and then improves on the in so many ways. For those not yet initiated, F-Zero is a futuristic racer by Nintendo that focuses on speed, speed and more speed. The F-Zero series has always benefited from stellar tack design and break neck racing - there are no pansy weapons for people who can’t get into first place using their own racing skill, this is a pure racing game through and through.
GPL aims to play much more like its big brother GX and succeeds very well. It takes many of the gameplay elements that were adopted in the 3D versions of the game and applies them to classic SNES setup that fans of the original know and love so well. Gone are the bland tracks and somewhat dodgy handling from MV, replaced with clever design and the boost system introduced in F-Zero X for the N64. This really helps to balance out the gameplay whilst ensuring that there is a huge improvement in speed for the whole race. Basically, after the first lap of a race your machine’s boost function will be enabled. A simultaneous tap of the two shoulder buttons will activate a temporary boost and drain some of the machines power bar. As always, each track has areas in which you can refill your power/boost bar. You can choose to boost frequently and have a serious speed advantage, which could result in crashing out or being open to attack from opponents, or you can play it conservative and keep your bar full to boost when you really need it. This is where the game really kicks in and the more skilful players will be able to get a decent advantage by using boosts frequently but being able to race well enough to not hit the sides.
The series signature shoulder button hard turning control method returns back to true form and thanks the X style engine used, it allows you to perform all sorts of different hard cornering tricks. Generally, when you need to take a right corner, you’d use the right shoulder button to lean further to the right, however, for the more skilled player, using the left shoulder button whilst steering right will put the vehicle into a tight slide allowing you to take corners very efficiently and accurately. Using a mixture of those two cornering methods will assist greatly with even the worst set of hairpin corners. The shoulder buttons can also be used to attack the other cars on the track. Whilst there are no weapons, there is nothing to say that you can’t ram the other cars off into the barriers right? Part of the skill in the game is in knowing when you should ‘take out’ your opponents. A double tap of the left or right shoulder button will ram your opponent into the barriers at high speed causing them a lot of damage. Conversely, if you miss or don’t get it quite right you can cause serious damage to yourself and seriously slow down your car.
There are several different modes in GPL including several new ones such as Story and Zero Test. The story mode is a collection of short scenarios set over several of the games many characters. You set about performing short race style missions such as racing with difficult controls, destroying a certain opponent or reaching a goal in a certain time. Whilst short these can be quite fun and even though the story seems very random at first, the more characters’ you play through the more it’ll make sense as they all interweave with each other. Being honest, the story mode should have been a little longer and well, more fleshed out, but overall it’s a neat addition to the game which will keep you interested for a short time. And for those interested the story follows that of the Anime series with Rick Wheeler (a new character) as the main focus. You’ll use both good and evil characters, giving the story from all sides.
The grand Prix mode is here in full glory with the standard options. There are initially only a few vehicles to select but you’ll end up with over 30 by the end of the game including every one from F-Zero X and a few new faces fresh from the Anime. There are initially 3 different cups each with 5 tracks. After, clearing these cups on harder difficulty levels you’ll be rewarded with another cup of new tracks and then once that is cleared you’ll get a platinum cup which is made up of 8 tracks from the original F-Zero on the SNES. This is a stunning unlockable feature that I’m sure many F-Zero fans will be very excited to get. In addition to this, when you select Expert difficulty on each of the normal cups you’ll get a second version of each track in that cup.
Obviously, GPL has a decent Time Trial mode as with every other in the series. However, the next option, Zero Test, is nice and new. Zero Test is basically a training option with several tests set over 4 different classes. Each test is a short section of a track that you’ll need to master in order to beat the current set time. You’ll be awarded with Bronze, Silver and Gold trophies for coming within the top 3 times set by the testers at Nintendo. Once you get a trophy on every test in a cup you’ll be able to move on to the next one. The Zero Test is where the long term appeal lies in this game. To get Gold medals on each test will take some serious effort and time. When finished I can guarantee that you’ll be a full-fledged F-Zero expert.
One of the biggest improvements the game has seen over Maximum Velocity is in the graphics and sound. No longer using 2D sprites for the cars, Falcon Legend has adopted some basic 3D models that do the job wonderfully. Each of the cars look at least as good as they did on the N64. There are several effects that are used in the game such as the mist on the Mist Flow tracks that help to enhance the gameplay and there are some transparencies used on the Lightning track so the track appears to be like a grid texture allowing you to see underneath the track. There is one track in the game based on the Phantom course in GX which looks totally stunning (and is just as evil). It’s like a twisted version of Rainbow road (Mario Kart) with shifting colours and a dark eerie palette. It’s a really impressive course both from a technical standpoint and from a gameplay perspective. All of the tracks look varied and different with their own characteristics like Mist Flows’ fog which prevents you from seeing more than a few metres in front, Illusions’ lack of walls and Sand Oceans’ empty desert.
The mode 7 tracks are still in use but again have been nicely beefed-up with the addition of extra mode 7 layers in parallax. This helps to give more of a sense of depth to the tracks and help to promote the idea that the ground is actually miles below you. Thankfully, the presentation is solid throughout with decent background images in the menus and some great little anime images to help depict the events going on in the story mode.
The soundtrack was possibly the worst thing about MV, with poor composition and awful sound quality it just didn’t sound like the previous games in the series. This is no longer the case, the tunes sound much closer to the N64 versions in both style and quality, with remixes from several of the games in the series. There is an overall rock vibe to the soundtrack, as with F-Zero X, which works extremely well and helps keep the pace and the feeling that you’re racing against 30 opponents - all of them wanting to take you out of the race. As I mentioned, there are remixes from different versions of the game all of which work great. I particularly love the rock version of the SNES Sand Ocean theme and the excellent Red Canyon remix is stunning. This really is some of the best music to be heard on the GBA in any game.
The sound effects are an improvement over MV also. However, the boost sound (which has been lifted from the Anime) just doesn’t sound right - I can’t put my finger on what I don’t like about it, it just sounds wrong. Thankfully, this is just a minor gripe about an otherwise perfect set of sound effects. Also included in the game are some great commentator style speech samples. These are all good quality and actually fit in very well. So in pretty much every way, Falcon Legend both looks and sounds much better than MV and most other games on Gameboy advance.
With so many cars and tracks to be unlocked this is an F-Zero fans dream come true. The inclusion of classic SNES F-Zero tracks is a great bonus and a great reward for those of use who were there at the start. The various gameplay tweaks have brought the handheld versions in-line with the consoles and have thankfully turned up the speed a few notches past 11. Overall, GPL is a highly polished game which looks, sounds and plays beautifully. I can wholeheartedly recommend a purchase to any racing fan.
Bottom Line: Much better than Maximum Velocity and a must-own for F-Zero fans.
Article By: Phil Haymes
GP Legend (GPL) addresses many of the issues found in MV and then improves on the in so many ways. For those not yet initiated, F-Zero is a futuristic racer by Nintendo that focuses on speed, speed and more speed. The F-Zero series has always benefited from stellar tack design and break neck racing - there are no pansy weapons for people who can’t get into first place using their own racing skill, this is a pure racing game through and through.
GPL aims to play much more like its big brother GX and succeeds very well. It takes many of the gameplay elements that were adopted in the 3D versions of the game and applies them to classic SNES setup that fans of the original know and love so well. Gone are the bland tracks and somewhat dodgy handling from MV, replaced with clever design and the boost system introduced in F-Zero X for the N64. This really helps to balance out the gameplay whilst ensuring that there is a huge improvement in speed for the whole race. Basically, after the first lap of a race your machine’s boost function will be enabled. A simultaneous tap of the two shoulder buttons will activate a temporary boost and drain some of the machines power bar. As always, each track has areas in which you can refill your power/boost bar. You can choose to boost frequently and have a serious speed advantage, which could result in crashing out or being open to attack from opponents, or you can play it conservative and keep your bar full to boost when you really need it. This is where the game really kicks in and the more skilful players will be able to get a decent advantage by using boosts frequently but being able to race well enough to not hit the sides.
The series signature shoulder button hard turning control method returns back to true form and thanks the X style engine used, it allows you to perform all sorts of different hard cornering tricks. Generally, when you need to take a right corner, you’d use the right shoulder button to lean further to the right, however, for the more skilled player, using the left shoulder button whilst steering right will put the vehicle into a tight slide allowing you to take corners very efficiently and accurately. Using a mixture of those two cornering methods will assist greatly with even the worst set of hairpin corners. The shoulder buttons can also be used to attack the other cars on the track. Whilst there are no weapons, there is nothing to say that you can’t ram the other cars off into the barriers right? Part of the skill in the game is in knowing when you should ‘take out’ your opponents. A double tap of the left or right shoulder button will ram your opponent into the barriers at high speed causing them a lot of damage. Conversely, if you miss or don’t get it quite right you can cause serious damage to yourself and seriously slow down your car.
There are several different modes in GPL including several new ones such as Story and Zero Test. The story mode is a collection of short scenarios set over several of the games many characters. You set about performing short race style missions such as racing with difficult controls, destroying a certain opponent or reaching a goal in a certain time. Whilst short these can be quite fun and even though the story seems very random at first, the more characters’ you play through the more it’ll make sense as they all interweave with each other. Being honest, the story mode should have been a little longer and well, more fleshed out, but overall it’s a neat addition to the game which will keep you interested for a short time. And for those interested the story follows that of the Anime series with Rick Wheeler (a new character) as the main focus. You’ll use both good and evil characters, giving the story from all sides.
The grand Prix mode is here in full glory with the standard options. There are initially only a few vehicles to select but you’ll end up with over 30 by the end of the game including every one from F-Zero X and a few new faces fresh from the Anime. There are initially 3 different cups each with 5 tracks. After, clearing these cups on harder difficulty levels you’ll be rewarded with another cup of new tracks and then once that is cleared you’ll get a platinum cup which is made up of 8 tracks from the original F-Zero on the SNES. This is a stunning unlockable feature that I’m sure many F-Zero fans will be very excited to get. In addition to this, when you select Expert difficulty on each of the normal cups you’ll get a second version of each track in that cup.
Obviously, GPL has a decent Time Trial mode as with every other in the series. However, the next option, Zero Test, is nice and new. Zero Test is basically a training option with several tests set over 4 different classes. Each test is a short section of a track that you’ll need to master in order to beat the current set time. You’ll be awarded with Bronze, Silver and Gold trophies for coming within the top 3 times set by the testers at Nintendo. Once you get a trophy on every test in a cup you’ll be able to move on to the next one. The Zero Test is where the long term appeal lies in this game. To get Gold medals on each test will take some serious effort and time. When finished I can guarantee that you’ll be a full-fledged F-Zero expert.
One of the biggest improvements the game has seen over Maximum Velocity is in the graphics and sound. No longer using 2D sprites for the cars, Falcon Legend has adopted some basic 3D models that do the job wonderfully. Each of the cars look at least as good as they did on the N64. There are several effects that are used in the game such as the mist on the Mist Flow tracks that help to enhance the gameplay and there are some transparencies used on the Lightning track so the track appears to be like a grid texture allowing you to see underneath the track. There is one track in the game based on the Phantom course in GX which looks totally stunning (and is just as evil). It’s like a twisted version of Rainbow road (Mario Kart) with shifting colours and a dark eerie palette. It’s a really impressive course both from a technical standpoint and from a gameplay perspective. All of the tracks look varied and different with their own characteristics like Mist Flows’ fog which prevents you from seeing more than a few metres in front, Illusions’ lack of walls and Sand Oceans’ empty desert.
The mode 7 tracks are still in use but again have been nicely beefed-up with the addition of extra mode 7 layers in parallax. This helps to give more of a sense of depth to the tracks and help to promote the idea that the ground is actually miles below you. Thankfully, the presentation is solid throughout with decent background images in the menus and some great little anime images to help depict the events going on in the story mode.
The soundtrack was possibly the worst thing about MV, with poor composition and awful sound quality it just didn’t sound like the previous games in the series. This is no longer the case, the tunes sound much closer to the N64 versions in both style and quality, with remixes from several of the games in the series. There is an overall rock vibe to the soundtrack, as with F-Zero X, which works extremely well and helps keep the pace and the feeling that you’re racing against 30 opponents - all of them wanting to take you out of the race. As I mentioned, there are remixes from different versions of the game all of which work great. I particularly love the rock version of the SNES Sand Ocean theme and the excellent Red Canyon remix is stunning. This really is some of the best music to be heard on the GBA in any game.
The sound effects are an improvement over MV also. However, the boost sound (which has been lifted from the Anime) just doesn’t sound right - I can’t put my finger on what I don’t like about it, it just sounds wrong. Thankfully, this is just a minor gripe about an otherwise perfect set of sound effects. Also included in the game are some great commentator style speech samples. These are all good quality and actually fit in very well. So in pretty much every way, Falcon Legend both looks and sounds much better than MV and most other games on Gameboy advance.
With so many cars and tracks to be unlocked this is an F-Zero fans dream come true. The inclusion of classic SNES F-Zero tracks is a great bonus and a great reward for those of use who were there at the start. The various gameplay tweaks have brought the handheld versions in-line with the consoles and have thankfully turned up the speed a few notches past 11. Overall, GPL is a highly polished game which looks, sounds and plays beautifully. I can wholeheartedly recommend a purchase to any racing fan.
Bottom Line: Much better than Maximum Velocity and a must-own for F-Zero fans.
Article By: Phil Haymes
After a long night of podcasting, we finally got around to recording our own show. Which meant we were drunk off our asses..more than usual. We managed to talk about Boom Blox and R-Type Command, however. You can check it all out on this week's Team Fremont Live.
By the way, me were guests on the The Married Gamers Podcast, so if you're not sick of our crap...well...there's more to be had.
What can I say? It's been a slow week. So let's talk about cabins and Pineapple Express, shall we?
Damn it!!! We lost the bet and this episode represents our punishment for the loss! Just a heads up. While we're usually NSFW, this one is REALLY NSFW! You've been warned. Steve Perry really makes us mad.
In addition to that cucumber sporting bastard, we're talking about Ikaruga for XBLA and Phil Haymes joins us with the British Drunken Gamers for a review of Mario Kart for the Wii!
All this and more on this week's Team Fremont Live!
I rage about activist douche bags, contemplate buying a pinball table, and pine for pomegranate juice in this week's CWJ.
Damn it! We actually DID do a live show but my drunk ass managed too screw up the recording!So here's the non live version of this week's episode..and I think it's better anyway.
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All this and more on the latest Team Fremont Live!
Dont' forget to tune it next week, Feb. 10 at 7:00pm CST for our live call-in show!
Phil's gone and I'm sad. Let's wish him off in this week's CWJ.
Hey asshole! Get out of my way! I need to buy my kid a Mr. Potatohead! I'll take a Barbie doll and use it to gouge out your fucking eyes!Cooking with John.
It's late. I'm tired. And I'm babbling again. This time about Don Rickles. Kind of. I need sleep.
DAMN IT! I got screwed by Ubercaster again this week. You'll hear where. But despite that, we manage to talk about Guitar Hero 3 and some God of War for PSP. Moe also has some thoughts on Little Nemo for NES.
Special thanks to Mrs. Trickman and Mrs. Cade for the heart warming intro!
Sorry about the shitty audio this week. Not sure what settings I had on the old Ubercaster this week, but they made us sound like we're in an amped up bathtub! But despite the shower like tones, you can hear us talking about Halo 3 and the new Fighter Stick EX2 for the 360!
That and news about John's lisp on the latest Team Fremont Live!
If you'd stop cock-blocking me I'd give that news some super sexy lovin'! Nothing like a rowdy drunk...Anyway, I'm talking NFL, baby tours, motor oil, and public urination in Cooking with John this week. Check it out - uninterrupted - here.
Damn am I tired...It's a bit more baby talk this week as I answer a few of your letters. Enjoy while I go take a nap.
Sigh...10 people drunk out of their minds makes for one HARD editing session. So, this week's TFL will be a little late. In the meantime, we'll tide you over with the latest episode of Team Fremont Puppet Theater!
Enjoy!
The lesson of this week's Cooking with John is "Never try to understand the mind of a gamer." For example, what would inspire someone who doesn't read Japanese and hates Japanese RPGs to buy three of them?Prepare to be mystified. Find it here.
It got a little heated on this week's episode, but we all had a good time in the end, thanks to Sailor Jerry!We talk about The Darkness for the 360 and Super Stardust HD on the PS3 along with Turbo Talk from John!
Check it out on this week's Team Fremont Live!
We're back at the Team Fremont Bar this week and that means we're drunk. And the show is long. Go figure.
Check it out here.
We're back from Midwest Gaming Classic 2007 and man are we tired...But not too tired to bring you pictures and info from the show. So many pictures, in fact, that I broke through the page! Stay tuned for a very special podcast episode. And in the meantime, check out the photos here.
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Check it out on this week's Team Fremont Live!
Despite what you may have heard about Sony's Super Rub-a-Dub, the game's not that bad at all. Find out more in this week's CWJ.
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