I mostly have a fond memory of the first F-Zero, I still think it’s one of my top three SNES games. THe music, sense of 3D and speed all come together in fantastic fashion. It would be the beginning of my love for the WipEout series on PS1.
I should try and get into the N64 game, GX was just way too hard for me, although it looked amazing.
Heheh… sure…
0_0
This is a tough question! I don’t really find myself wanting for the things X/GX added, when i’m playing the original. But I don’t think the original is as good a game in general.
It has a lot going for it no doubt - smooth gameplay, precise controls, interesting tracks, cool visuals and outstanding music. It’s problems are: obviously cheating AI on the harder levels, unforgiving collisions with other vehicles (which are mostly annoying backmarkers!), lack of tracks in practice, limited viability of most of the cars (Fire Stingray rules all!). It’s still fun, but that stuff tests my patience! It would have been nice if it had multiplayer as well. I think Super Mario Kart is a much better package, all things considered.
F-Zero X is almost flawless. I think i’d argue the only flaw is the low detail and minor popup/clipping issues (not the frame rate obviously!). It’s tough but fair even on Master difficulty, has a huge variety of tracks and cars, even better music. The physics - how you can truly lose grip, fly off the course, different types of drifting all make it better I think. The big selling point for me though, was the 30 cars in the race. It means there’s never a dull moment, something a load of futuristic racers fail on, since they tend to have very long courses. The vehicles can be somewhat goofy looking, but by being very distinct from each other, and attaching the driver personality, meant you could easily make them out on the track. So despite low detail visuals they made all the right choices given the hardware.
GX was like a dream come true. I’d always linked F-Zero and Daytona cause they both had that large amount of racers on the track. And it was immediately apparent that low detail wasn’t going to be a problem! Despite it’s difficulty, I think the story mode is on-point, offering events really that suit this kind of game, and feel much less “glorified level select screen” than something like Diddy Kong Racing’s adventure mode. I don’t think it’s a perfect game - the AI has some tracks where they’re much better than others. A few of the tracks are a bit long. I’m not sure i want to say the overall difficulty is a fault though. I managed to finish the entire thing, so i’ve always felt it was a bit overblown. With enough practice, you can get good enough at the tracks (and killing opponents) to beat the GP, and the story mode mostly comes down to practice with a little bit of abusing the rubber banding AI.
It IS very much a twitch based, unforgiving game though, so I can see how it might simply be beyond some people’s abilities. But to them i’d say just play it on the easier difficulties! I want to shout out the improved “side ram” controls as well. In GX, it’s on a single button and works with a feather touch on the analog stick, so you have this surgical level of precision even at full speed. X had double taps, and though some might like the additional feeling of weight that gives, it would often result in some spinouts.
I didn’t much like Maximum Velocity when I first played it. I think because I wanted my traditional locations, music and characters. But in revisiting it, I think overall it’s got a bit more going for it than the SNES game. The tracks seem a little less well designed, but there are more of them. There’s also many more cars and most of them are useable. The controls leaned heavily on the tapping to get around corners (that was in the original, but not required as much), which I think is most people’s point of contention when comparing the two. But it also has a “strafe turning” mechanic that really opens up the game to a new level of mastery. The AI is still a bit bullshit, but not as bad as the original. Over time I even grew to love all the new locales, goofy cars and music!
GP Legend is when the 2D and 3D games started to converge. 3 laps instead of 5, the boost mechanic from X, side attack, all the old characters, settings etc. I don’t know that the boost was integrated to the track design as well as it could have been, as the game ends up quite easy. It has a load of tracks although more of them are minor alterations now. It’s a fun game with a lot of content in its modes, some of it is kind of tedious though. For me, this is where i started thinking “maybe they’ve done all they can with flat tracks”.
Climax fully feels like a mini GX at times. They added the spin attack and drift types and sort of have both Mode 7 and 3D boost mechanics. It has even more tracks than GP Legend, but they consist of a lot of variants that really start to make the Mode 7 tracks seem tiresome. When you start out, they don’t seem designed for the speed of the game either, so it can be a challenge until you master the controls, memorize layouts and shortcuts etc. As a package it’s pretty loaded again (some tediousness again too), but it gets extra points for the track editor!
I went through to the GBA games just to get to Climax, since if you’re finding the SNES game doesn’t hold up against X or GX, Climax just might as it has a lot more in common.
I need to try this one. I still haven’t picked it up and now it goes for triple digits on eBay. That’s not a dealbreaker, but I really need to be craving it to give it a shot at this point.
I think the rest of your post is spot-on by the way.
Yeah unfortunately I probably wouldn’t recommend it at the going price either. I was lucky to pick mine up years ago before the hike! At this point it may be cheaper to buy a Japanese Wii U and get it on VC 
It holds up to neither for me. I prefer GX to X mainly due to the visuals tbh. I like the controls of both games. I appreciate everything mode 7 did in terms of pioneering/innovation for the gaming space but I don’t enjoy the faux 3D look of many titles utilizing the feature as much anymore. It’s like… I dig top Gear, but I’d rather play the modern equivalent
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought GP Legend was a bit tedious. At first I was really excited to find similarities to F Zero X in it, from the course themes to the music to the boost system. But it was far too easy compared to Maximum Velocity and it ultimately outstayed its welcome.
I keep forgetting Climax existed, might pick up a copy. Is it as hard as Maximum Velocity was? I seem to remember that game making the AI racers faster than you on Expert (or was it Master?)
In Maximum Velocity, the CPU cheats but if you time boosts correctly you can keep them at bay. The vehicles all have boosts that last different lengths of time, so the ones with short boosts are hardest to win with. The Stingray in the early stages before you unlock later vehicles is easiest!
In Climax, the difficulty comes from the speed and more cramped field of racers. It’s also pretty hard to take out the points rival compared to X and GX, so you generally have to focus more on placing higher. Master is doable, though it’ll take a few runs of each league and will give you hand cramps 
Also, for those who don’t know, GP Legend’s eReader courses were only recently fully preserved in the form of a mod, worth checking out as there’s some decent if gimmicky courses in there! Press The Buttons: Lost F-Zero: GP Legend e-Reader Tracks Recovered
I tried F Zero X’s Jack Cup again on Master but finished third overall. Your rivals rarely concede defeat so I guess I might have to figure out how to dispatch of them mid-race to claw back a points lead?
Are there any machines you folk would recommend? So far I’ve just been going blue falcon with the acceleration-speed bar around 75%.
The cheating AI really was part of the appeal for better and worse. I haven’t played Maximum Velocity since GBA launch year, but I have fond(?) memories of heart pounding races on Master difficulty. But it’s also why I never went back to it after finishing it, because winning strategies were so exacting.
I started F-Zero X tonight for the first time. Loving it.
(Don’t hate me.)
I tried the Wii VC version, but it didn’t look good at all. Probably why I didn’t play it way back.
Anyway, Jack League Novice done, 1st, very fun! I love the surprises they throw at you in the course design progression. Shock and awe!
Glad to hear you’re digging it!
Has anybody tried this?
F Zero X Climax (mod)
Switched to true 240p with 3-point texture filtering for a more authentic experience.
Everything is designed around it, from the font textures to the swapping of the low poly models and distance textures. At 240p all of this is hardly visible, but at higher internal rendering certain things stand out and break the immersion.
Perfect. The textures just don’t look quite right otherwise!
I’m still struggling on Master difficulty. Does anyone have any good ship and ship tuning recommendations?
See this setup FAQ;
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/n64/197414-f-zero-x/faqs/3201
Also this strategy guide is superb:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/n64/197414-f-zero-x/faqs/75061
edit: fixed links
Cheers! I guess it’s because it’s a childhood game but this might be my first time looking at a guide for it!
What’s in the 2nd and last column there?
Ghost times and engine settings (acceleration/top speed) from before you race
I misread as second-to-last column, I think @androgyne did too - the second column is machine name.
Pretty cool seeing the variety of engine settings required there, I always used to just go for 80% for most courses. I need to properly read the guides and videos but I’m guessing it’s less straightforward on GP because you’re stuck with the same machine for all courses in a cup.
Which means you really need to understand the engine settings in relation to the machine you’re using and the course you’re attempting?
