F-Zero GC

The product of an unlikely, but not unwelcome collaboration, F-Zero GC is on its way. Full preview with media.

	Version GameCube	Developer Sega / Amusement Vision	Publisher Nintendo	Genre Racing

By Kikizo Staff

Poverty, famine, apocalyptic wars, sentient machines and savage alien invaders notwithstanding, the future seems quite the dandy place indeed.

Granted, sport will purpotedly evolve into violent, gladiator-esque pastimes where failure means death, but other than that, it's all roses, baby. In the meantime, we'll just have to make do with the slightly less dystopian, but nonetheless thrilling, vision of the future as depicted in Nintendo's long-running F-Zero series. The latest incarnation, a joint development effort between Amusement Vision and Nintendo, looks for all intents and purposes to be a worthy addition to the franchise, if not a rebirth of sorts.

While few people outside of Japan can attest to its quality, the talent responsible for its creation -- Shigeru Miyamoto, Toshihiro Nagoshi and Takaya Imamura -- all but ensures that F-Zero GC/AC is about as close to being a 'sure thing' as any piece of gaming software can be. And as is the case with many of its cherished franchises, Nintendo appears to once again be straddling a fine line with F-Zero; offering an evolutionary title that is sure to please past fans while at the same time injecting it with a modicum of new ideas and concepts, and topping it all with a good deal of visual splash. It's an approach that has served the company well thus far, having successfully introduced many of its classic franchises into the current console generation.

For the uninitiated, F-Zero is a paradigm of simple design: Players compete in blazingly fast hovercraft races against 30 or so opponents on tracks that loop, spiral, twist and turn in ways that would no doubt render any mere mortal incontinent. Typical of Nintendo's philosophy, this description belies the true depth to be found in the franchise, as only profound knowledge of your craft's capabilities, layout of the course and careful use of boosts and powerslides will see you succeed at the higher levels. The same could probably be said about the many titles with which the genre has been inundated since the inception of Wipeout, but the one-two punch of the 'Nintendo Difference' and the talent behind Daytona USA can only bode well for this release.

The design seems to borrow much from the N64 incarnation, allowing players to perform a dangerous spin-maneuver in order to damage fellow racers, as well as being able to boost to your heart's content, or at least to the content of your energy meter. You see, damage incurred during the race will reduce your ship's energy meter, and by boosting you could very well ensure your early demise. Energy can, however, be replenished in the series' trademark recharge areas that line sections of the course.

It's a simple, yet effective means of forcing the player to think, albeit briefly, about their race strategy. Do you a) back your ability to keep off the walls and away from opposing vehicles while initiating a boost that could very well see you maintain a slim victory margin? or do you b) play it safe and creep around the course trying to hold onto your slender lead and possibly lose it in the process? Like I said, deep. At least as much as you'd care for a racer of this kind to be, anyway. Another welcome feature is the two-player split-screen option, and while assumed, no four-player mode has as yet been demonstrated to the public. We expect it's a given, though.

The heart of F-Zero's appeal has always been the sense of speed portrayed and the outlandish track design, issues which, to the relief of many, appear to be the focal point of the combined vision of both companies. Players will find themselves in the familiar surrounds of Port Town and Mute City, along with a collection of yet to be revealed environments. Footage displayed so far depicts immense worlds, along with many of the track types inherent of the franchise, such as the gravity-defying tube-like courses. Similarly, players will be able to assume control of old favorites such as Captain Falcon (Blue Falcon), Dr Stewart (Golden Fox), Pico (Wild Goose), and Samurai Goroh (Fire Stingray), along with numerous others. QQQ, Phoenix and Princia Ramode are reportedly exclusive to the arcade title.

Of added interest is the supposed symbiotic relationship of the arcade (which runs on the Triforce hardware) and GameCube versions of the title. The arcade machine allows players to utilize F-Zero 'License Cards' -- smart card devices, analogous to those released by Sega for Virtua Fighter 4 and other titles, that record the player's name and other pertinent in-game data -- as well as GameCube memory cards. While the ramifications for arcade players are relatively obvious, it remains to be seen how this will affect GameCube players. Will arcade-exclusive content be downloaded to your memory card? Will the arcade version feature time-released secrets? Quite frankly, we have no idea, but it remains an intriguing concept regardless and in line with what Nintendo is trying to achieve with the GBA/GCN link capabilities.

While not under the direct curatorship of Nintendo, the efforts of the two companies will almost assuredly produce a title that will appeal to long-time fans of the series and newcomers alike. And with the dearth of quality racing titles on the GameCube, the arrival of one of the genre's best is something to look forward to with bated breath.