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F-Zero GP Legend Review
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| Before we get started with this review, let me point out that this is my first F-Zero video game. Therefore, I cannot compare it to the rest in the series because of never playing them. However, playing this game has convinced me that I want to buy at least F-Zero GX. See, I loved this game very much. In case you didn't know, F-Zero is a futuristic racing game. With that aside, we'll move on to the categories… Story The main mode you’ll be playing is Story Mode, more than likely. First off, the story is split into eight different storylines—yes, eight. All the storylines fit in to a large “storyline jigsaw puzzle”, if you will. Playing one character’s story leads to unlocking another, which reveals more about the previous, and so on. The game initially starts out with you as the “Rising Star,” Rick Wheeler. You’re on a mission to catch an evil guy named Octoman, when you meet an old rival of yours, Zoda. After that, you go after him, chasing him everywhere like an obsessed stalker. Soon, you meet Captain Falcon, and after that, Falcon’s storyline is unlocked. This involves escorting a man named Dr. Clash and then having him get kidnapped. Playing from there, you unlock Jack Levin’s story, then Jody Summer, and following them, the “bad guy” storylines. Black Shadow’s storyline also appears to provide an alternate ending of sorts to what would happen if you lost to him as another character. I won’t go in-depth about the stories; you can find those out for yourself, and additionally I don’t want to spoil much. They move the game along from race to race, but are not really important to your enjoyment of the game. It is, however, rather ingenious the way they all tie together in the end. Nearly every event that happens, you will see occur more than once during another character’s storyline. As far as the levels go, though, I feel that the Story Mode was too short. Even though there are eight characters, each one has only five levels. Also, nearly all of their storylines are left at a sort of cliffhanger, rather than a true resolution. While I know that’s grounds for a sequel, since F-Zero is a series, I don’t like the cliffhanger idea very much. It’s not really in-depth or anywhere near that, but it certainly gets the job done for a story. They all tie together wonderfully. The only problems I have are the cliffhangers at the end of storylines. Story Grade- 7/10 Controls When you first start out this game, if you have not read the instructions, the basic controls are very easy to figure out. A is for acceleration, and B is for brake. However, once you get in-depth and into some of the harder levels, you need to learn some newer techniques. Pushing L and R down simultaneously gives you a boost, which takes away some of your Power Gauge. Double-tapping L or R causes you to side-swipe an enemy and severely lower their Power Gauge (see Gameplay section). Also, letting go of the A button and immediately pushing it down again allows more freedom in turning and is quicker than braking and turning (thus rendering B obsolete). Lastly, when you hit a beam that sends you into the air, you can hold down on your Directional Pad to level yourself (to prevent yourself from slowing down and losing Power). A little of this may seem over your head. It is true that it’s not the simplest control scheme in the world. However, it is not really difficult to control your machine. It is my understanding that F-Zero games are known for being difficult anyway. However, you shouldn’t worry about the controls being too difficult to master. They really do become second nature over time. It should also be noted that you can change the control scheme to your liking in the Options screen. Controls Grade- 9/10 Gameplay This is where I feel GP Legend shines the most. As I’ve said, F-Zero is a racing game. You race in flying machines at speeds which generally exceed 1,000 KPH. Every “level” in F-Zero is a race. You race around the tracks. That’s kind of typical for racing games, right? Well, F-Zero adds something new. Instead of just slowing down when you hit the edge of a course like in most games, there are little barriers all around the F-Zero tracks. When you hit one of these barriers, you slow down, somewhat lose control and bounce around the track, and lose part of your Power Gauge. Over time you’ll learn to pay a lot of attention to your Power Gauge. The Power Gauge, as I’m sure you’ve been wondering, is self-explanatory—it’s a gauge that marks your power. If you hit a barrier, crash-land from a jump, get hit by another F-Zero machine, use a boost, or a few other things, you lose power from this gauge. What happens when you lose all this power? Your machine crashes and explodes. That causes you to have to redo the whole race. In some levels, that can really get on your nerves. You can also crash by not landing on the track from a jump. But how do you regain power? Why, simple. There are little strips of green stuff all over the tracks. Riding your machine over them restores power to your Gauge. One thing that you’ll find essential in races is your boost. To boost, as I have said, you push L and R simultaneously. It has the same effect as a yellow booster on the ground, which is simply to speed you up for a few seconds. Using a boost takes up around one fifth to one fourth of your gauge, however, so uses are nowhere near limited. Often you’ll find them necessary just to win, as this game is difficult. The races themselves are actually fairly simple. As in most racing games, you just race around the track against anywhere from one to twenty-nine opponents. The most common mission is simply to either win the race or beat a specific person. However, there are a couple of missions where you have to crash a foe, or not get passed by another, etc. There are several different courses, as well. Each are on different “planets”. Each has its own special obstacles. Mute City is full of sharp turns. Sand Ocean has quicksand spots which slow you down, as well as many random jump-bumps. The Fire Field has blast mines that take away a lot of your Power, and many other things. Of course, there are other modes besides Story Mode. There is a Grand Prix, in which you select difficulty, cup, and machine, and then you do a set of five races for points. There are thirty racers. Obviously whoever has the most points (out of a possible 500) wins the Grand Prix. There’s also a Zero Test mode, which pits you in a short section of a track, and you try to get through it as fast as possible. It is also a good training method, and there are many different tracks and classes to choose from. For beginners, there’s a training mode for you to learn the racing technique. Lastly, the Time Attack mode simply lets you race through the track like a time trial. All in all, this game’s gameplay really shines. Gameplay Grade- 10/10 Music/Sound Effects Kenji Hikita composed the music for this video game. Upon a slight bit of research, he seems to be very new to the composing business, but just because he’s new doesn’t mean he can’t pull off a good soundtrack. I’ve really enjoyed this game’s soundtrack. The music fits each track, scene, or screen well. Many racing games have obnoxious, loud heavy rock guitar-style music. This soundtrack has several distortion/overdrive guitars, but they are used well and it all flows. You might even find yourself humming some of the music to yourself if you play it enough. But honestly, the music will never get annoying. The sound effects get the job done. There’s nothing significantly great about them, but you won’t just sit there and get annoyed by them over time. They’re basically just average. You’ve got your machine’s engine noise, the boost sound, that electric-buzz type sound for when you hit a wall, and quite a few others. They’re nothing special, though. Music/Sound Effects Grade- 10/10 Graphics While I don’t consider graphics an important part of the game, these are actually good for the Game Boy Advance. Probably the most notably good part of the graphics is when the game explains a planet that you’re on. The images that appear behind the words are very good for the GBA’s capabilities. Also, in the actual races, things can appear pixilated, but that does not affect the way the game is played. Either way, the way they’re used in the race is good, and seems fitting for the game. Some more nice graphics are the depictions of the characters. The characters in cutscenes all appear very nice and not pixilated. The graphics, all in all, are very good. Graphics Grade- 10/10 Challenge I believe I’ve said this once, but I’ve heard that F-Zero games are extremely challenging. This game appears to be no exception—I still haven’t beaten the last Black Shadow level, for instance. It’s not so difficult that you won’t be able to get through anything, but near the end and at the beginning, things can be frustrating. This game is certainly challenging, but it’s not very often that you’ll become so frustrated that you feel like breaking your Game Boy or DS. It may be slightly above an average game challenge level, but it’s not too high. The challenge seems just right to me. However, I will drop its grade by one point due to the fact that to some people, especially younger people, it could be too hard for them. I enjoy a hard game, which is why I like its challenge factor. Challenge Grade- 9/10 Fun Factor Once you get the hang of the way this game is played, it is very fun. Getting past the challenging levels, I think you will enjoy it very much. Even if you play it a lot, none of the game seems annoyingly repetitive, as is common with many racing games. While this may just be my own opinion, I find this game very fun, and that’s all there is to say about fun factor. Fun Factor Grade- 10/10 Replayability/Extras While there are five levels for each of eight storylines, Story Mode does not really take all that long to complete. Chances are, when it’s done, you won’t be tired of the game yet, and there are two save files if you want to save your hard work in a different file. Also, with the other different modes to race and play on, you’ll be busy a while with this game. While you probably won’t play it as much as a long RPG, this game, including its other modes and the fact that you won’t tire of it easily, is by no means short. I would say its length is average, though, and the fact that the Story Mode is too short (five levels per character) puts me off a bit. I feel that some more levels should have been added to it. Replayability/Extras Grade- 9/10 Pros and Cons Pros: -Good graphics for GBA -Great music -Smooth gameplay -Non-repetitive and overall fun -Several modes to play in -Many other things I cannot think of at the time of writing Cons: -Slightly too difficult occasionally (or if you like hard games, this could be a Pro) -Too short of a Story Mode -Special techniques in controls take a little while to master Rent, Buy, or Leave it on the Shelf? All in all, I suggest you buy this game unless you’re a hater of racing games (but if you were, why would you be reading this?). It’s very fun and will keep you occupied for a decent amount of time. I have often found myself thinking when I’m bored, even though I have The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap to currently play, “Why not play some good ol’ GP Legend?” It is a very good game. Overview of Scores Story- 7/10 Controls- 9/10 Gameplay- 10/10 Music- 10/10* Sound Effects- 9/10* Graphics- 10/10 Challenge- 9/10 Fun Factor- 10/10 Replayability- 10/10* Extras- 10/10* *: Separate categories in the Overview, but are listed in the same category in the actual review. When changed into two categories from one, they are subject to slight change in some cases. TOTAL SCORE- 94/100 (or 9.4/10, which I will round down to 9/10) |