|ŻŻŻŻ| |ŻŻŻŻ| \ \ / / \ \ / / |ŻŻŻŻ| |ŻŻŻŻŻ| |ŻŻŻŻ| |ŻŻŻŻŻŻ\ /ŻŻŻŻŻ\ \ \ / / | |ŻŻ ___ ŻŻ/ / | |ŻŻ | |ŻŻ| | | |Ż| | \ \ / / | ŻŻ| | | / / | ŻŻ| | ŻŻ _/ | | | | \ \/ / | |ŻŻ ŻŻŻ / /__ | |ŻŻ | |Ż\ \ | |_| | \ / |_| |_____| | ŻŻ| |_| \_\ \_____/ / \ ŻŻŻŻ / /\ \ F-Zero X FAQ/Guide v.1.2 / / \ \ by Michael Kelehan / / \ \ megamanx@iname.com / / \ \ September 26, 1998 / / \ \ |____| |____| This FAQ is based on the Japanese version. The only changes made to the American version are English text replacing the little Japanese there is, and two changed racer names (MM Gazelle became Mighty Gazelle, and Arbin Gordon was changed to The Skull). See the Closing section for the version history (updates). This FAQ can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com, www.nintendojo.com, www.n64cc.com, www.n64gazetta.com, and my page, www.erols.com/megamanx. This is my first FAQ, so bear with me. I may write ones for Blazing Dragons and Dark Savior, since they have none at this time and really need them. ________ Contents ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ I. Overview II. Controls III. Game Modes IV. Translations V. Cars and Tracks VI. Secrets/Tricks VII. Strategies VIII. Closing ___________ I. Overview ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ F-Zero X is the sequel to F-Zero, a racing game released for the Super Famicom in Japan in 1990 and the SNES in the rest of the world in 1991. It is a futuristic racing game with 30 cars and 24 tracks (plus a random track generator). There are no conventional weapons present, but rather direct physical attacks that take less luck and more skill to pull off. In fact, unlike other racing games, F-Zero X is entirely skill-based, with the only random factor being the optional VS slots. The game has gotten very good reviews, from "just short of great" to "100 out of 100". Graphically, F-Zero X isn't as detailed as other current-generation games, but rather sacrifices detail for smooth framerate and speed. The game runs at 60 frames per second, even in the four player mode, with very little slowdown. Even when it does slow, it goes at about 50fps, which is much faster than the typical 24-30fps of most games. The backgrounds aren't very detailed, but that is very minor, as taking your eyes off the road is NOT recommended. There is no clipping, and popup is minimal. In the X Cup, you may see some of the track being drawn in ahead of you, but it never impedes on the gameplay. You really need to race 1500 km/h at 60fps to know why the trade of detail for speed was indeed a good one. The sounds are in stereo, but the music is unfortunately in mono. This is to save cartridge space (the game is already 128Mbits/16MB) as the music is streamed from the cartridge much like Shadows of the Empire. This saves valuable processor time, thus allowing more of the N64's reality co-processor to focus on the game itself. Most of the music is of the hard rock variety, which many people say has "very little American appeal". I know I like it. There are some remixes of music from the original F-Zero, such as Mute City and Big Blue. For a long time now, Nintendo has been planning a 64DD upgrade disk for F-Zero X with a track editor and possibly some more Nintendo-made tracks. In the games credits, two "DD Programmers" were listed, and the track editor has been shown to industry insiders, along with screen shots shown in some magazines and web sites. However, with the 64DD's future in serious jeopardy, it is unknown whether or not this disk will ever be released. If the 64DD is released in Japan, it is unknown whether or not the Japanese F-Zero X expansion disk will be compatible with the US version of F-Zero X. One thing is certain, however, and that is that the Japanese 64DD will be compatible with the American N64, as the only difference between the two systems is the plastic rail between the cartridge and the system. Whether or not the Japanese DD will be compatible with PAL and SECAM N64s has yet to be seen. The original F-Zero sequel, G-Zero (aka Zero Racers), was planned for the Virtual Boy, but scrapped when the VB went down. An alternate version of the original, F-Zero Grand Prix, is available until March 1999 on Japan's St. Giga Satellaview system. It has 5 new tracks (Mute City IV, Big Blue II, Sand Storm I, Silence II, and Sand Storm II) and 4 different cars (Blue Thunder, Luna Bomber, Green Amazone, and Fire Scorpion). ____________ II. Controls ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Control Stick Controls the car A Accelerate, stop slots B Boost (after first lap, uses energy), start slots C-Down Brake Z,R Shift weight (good for heavy turns) ZZ,RR Side attack, aka Bump attack R+ZZ,Z+RR Spin attack (hold one button and press the other twice) Start Pause L Switch lead indicator on/off (yellow time under the green lap time, shows distance between you and the racer in first, or the racer in second if you're in first) C-Up Look behind C-Right Change view C-Left Switch between lap indicator/map in 3 and 4 player modes _______________ III. Game Modes ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ GP Race: Race one cup (6 tracks) against 29 opponents. After each track, every racer gets a certain number of points depending on how well they do. The point distribution is as follows: 1. 100 11. 50 21. 25 2. 93 12. 47 22. 23 3. 87 13. 44 23. 22 4. 81 14. 41 24. 21 5. 76 15. 38 25. 20 6. 71 16. 35 26. 19 7. 66 17. 33 27. 18 8. 62 18. 31 28. 17 9. 58 19. 29 29. 16 10. 54 20. 27 30. 15 Any racer that crashes out gets no points. The racer with the most points at the end of 6 tracks wins. When you crash out or restart a race, you lose a car. You get 6 cars in the Novice difficulty level, 5 in Standard, 4 in Expert, and 3 in Master. Once all of your cars are gone, the game is over. Time Attack: Race any track by yourself to try to get a great time. The top 3 times and best lap are saved, along with the car used to get them. Death Race: On a special loop track, see how fast you can take out the 29 other racers. Simple, yet fun. VS Battle: 2, 3, or 4 player racing. Unlike most multiplayer games, the second player is on the lower left, and the third player is on the upper right. Practice: Play any track you've opened for as long as you'd like. The best lap is saved, and unlike other modes, boosts can be used on the first lap. Options: See below for the translations of the game's changeable settings. ________________ IV. Translations ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Title screen: If you turn it on without a controller plugged in, it says that there is no controller plugged in. Duh. Options: VS Computer Opponents (On/Off, default on) VS Slots (On/Off, default off) VS Handicap (Off/+1/+2, default off, gives slower players a boost) Sound Mode (Stereo/Mono/Headphones, default Stereo) Clear All Data Time trial mode: Ghost On and Ghost Off are on the top of the track select screen. Press up and down to turn the ghost on and off. Car select: After you select your car, the body, boost, and grip ratings are listed again in Japanese. The top is body, then boost, and grip is on the bottom. The meter on the top right changes the balance between acceleration and top speed. Acceleration is on the left, and top speed is on the right. Beginners should be more on the acceleration side, and advanced players will find their own best setting for each course. VS Results: The word "Player" is before the player numbers. Menus: Continue (not in Retire menu, obviously) Retry (loose 1 car in GP mode) Change speed settings (loose 1 car in GP mode) Change Car (not in GP mode) Change Track (not in GP mode or Death Race) Quit __________________ V. Cars and Tracks ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ An X is earned whenever you place first on a new difficulty level. When three X's are earned, a new row of cars opens. The Joker Cup opens when the other three cups are completed on the Standard difficulty setting, and the X Cup opens when the other four are completed on the Expert level. Opening the X Cup also opens the Master difficulty level, which will challenge even the most experienced racers for years to come, and a new title screen appears. When all cups are completed on the Master setting (that will take you some time, I assure you), a third title screen is opened. Each cup has 6 tracks, totaling 24, except for the X Cup, which generates tracks randomly. Cars: Japanese names are in parentheses. Car ratings are in Body, Boost, Grip form, followed by the weight in KG. Name Driver Ratings Blue Falcon Captain Falcon B C B 1260 Golden Fox Dr. Stewart D A D 1420 Wild Goose Pico B B C 1620 Fire Stingray Samurai Goroh A D B 1960 White Cat Jody Summer C C A 1150 Red Gazelle Mighty Gazelle (MM Gazelle) E A C 1330 Iron Tiger Baba B D A 1780 Deep Claw Octman B B C 990 Crazy Bear Dr. Clash A B E 2220 Great Star Mr. EAD E A D 1870 Big Fang Bio Rex B D A 1520 Mad Wolf Billy B B C 1490 Night Thunder Silver Neelsen B A E 1530 Twin Noritta Gomar & Shioh E A C 780 Wonder Wasp John Tanaka D A D 900 Queen Meteor Mrs. Arrow E B B 1140 Hell Hawk Blood Falcon B A E 1170 Astro Robin Jack Levin B D A 1050 Little Wyvern James McCloud E B B 1390 Death Anchor Zoda E A C 1620 Wild Boar Michael Chain A C C 2110 King Meteor Super Arrow E B B 860 Super Piranha Kate Alen B C B 1010 Mighty Hurricane Roger Buster E B B 1780 Space Angler Leon C C A 910 Mighty Typhoon Draq C A D 950 Hyper Speeder Beastman C C A 1460 Green Panther Antonio Guster A B D 2060 Black Bull Black Shadow A E A 2340 Sonic Phantom The Skull (Arbin Gordon) C A D 1010 Tracks: Jack Cup: Mute City Silence Sand Ocean Devil's Forest Big Blue Port Town Queen Cup: Sector Alpha Red Canyon Devil's Forest 2 Mute City 2 Big Blue 2 White Land King Cup: Fire Field Silence 2 Sector Beta Red Canyon 2 White Land 2 Mute City 3 Joker Cup: Rainbow Road Devil's Forest 3 Space Plant Sand Ocean 2 Port Town 2 Big Hand X Cup: X Nicknames: Since the race results screen is in Japanese, some players have come up with nicknames for certain racers to remember who their main rivals are. Others are just for fun. If you have another nickname, be sure to send it to me, and I may put it in a future release. Name Nickname(s) Pico Picochu Mr. EAD Mario Silver Neelsen Father Christmas Zoda Borg The Skull (Arbin Gordon) Castlevania __________________ VI. Secrets/Tricks ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Open all: To open all cars and tracks, press L,Z,R,C-Up,C-Down,C-Left,C-Right on the mode select screen. You'll hear a sound if you do it right. Think hard before you do this; earning them feels much better... Compact cars: Press L,R, and the four C buttons simultaneously at the car select screen to shrink the cars slightly. Rotate cars: On the car settings screen, use the C buttons to rotate the car. Change colors: Use Z and R to change the colors of your car on the car settings screen. Vehicle editor: There are rumors circulating about a hidden vehicle editor. As of now, these have not been proven, so they are just that, only rumors. If anyone knows *exactly* how this is opened, let me know and I'll include it, with your name. VS Slots: Not really a secret or trick, but I didn't know where else to put it. The VS slots contain the announcer, all of the faces of the racers in play, skulls, and Xs. If you get three of any racer, it depletes their energy by one half. If you get three skulls, it takes away all of the energy from all of the players. I don't know what three Xs and three announcers do, but I'm going to keep looking. If you know, be sure to email me and I'll credit you. _______________ VII. Strategies ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ General: If you start holding the accelerator just as the announcer says "Go!", you will have a better start. For deep turns, letting go of the accelerator is always good. Braking is seldom necessary, but don't forget that your brakes are there. Don't overturn at high speeds. You'll lose your grip. Move the stick over slowly, not sharply. Always try to attack someone who's doing better than you in the overall standings. If you can take them out of the race, your chances of winning can improve greatly! If you lose your control of the car, let go of the accelerator very briefly. Try to spin into large groups of cars. Spinning slows you down, so don't spin to get cars in front of you. When there's no side to the track, try to knock other cars off with the side attack. Just like the original F-Zero, a bump from behind gives you a nice boost of speed, and costs very little energy. This can go the other way as well, so don't hit someone else from behind. While you're in the air, going down gives you speed, but the air gives less resistance than the track. Try to go diagonally forward and down. Remember to straighten yourself out before landing. When you're on the energy refill area, using boosts won't cost you energy, and you'll regain it just as fast. Boost at least once in them, and if it's near the end on the final lap, boost like hell. You may need to retire when you have an undesirable position if you're trying to get first. Just remember that you have limited cars. If you don't get first on the first race, simply quit and start over. It's quick, and won't cost you a car. Mute City: Overturning can be a problem here, so be careful. Try to hit the right sides of the boosters. Between the start of the second lap and the energy refill on that lap, boost continuously. Between that refill and the next, budget your boosts to keep your speed up. Between the third lap's refill and the end, boost continuously. Silence: Put the speed meter way over to the right. There are lots of speed boosts and no turns. Just remember to hold up on the stick when you go by the energy recharge zone, or you may fly off the track. Sand Ocean: While in the tunnels, try to stay on the bottom of them so that you come out straight. That will also make you cover less distance, thereby making your lap time less. Swing to the sides to pass other cars, though. Don't forget the booster near the end of the second tunnel. Devil's Forest: After deeply turning to avoid the rough, boost out. Big Blue: The boosts on the pipe make all the difference. The first is on the top right, then the next is to the left, then straight, then left, and all the rest are on the top right. Port Town: Use Z and R with the turns. Boost when you land from the big jump. Be sure to hit the boost between the recharge lanes, unless you're really low on energy. Sector Alpha: Be sure to hit the two boosters, and be aggressive! There are lots of good places to attack here. Red Canyon: Be aggressive on the turns. Many people will crowd together, just waiting for a side attack. Don't miss the boosters, except for those in the recharge lanes if you're low on energy. Be careful on those jumps! Devil's Forest 2: If you hit a booster before a turn and someone else doesn't, they can be perfect prey for a spin. All of the boosters are important. Conserve your boost, since it is easy to get carried away and blow yourself up. Mute City 2: Try to hit all of the jumps, and watch out for others in the turns. If you're in a narrow area, you may want to slow down so that you won't hit someone ahead of you and boost them. Big Blue 2: The railless areas near the beginning are a great place to knock others off with a bump. Just be careful with the turns, especially the one after the energy recharge. White Land: Right after the rough is another great place to knock others off, and the part after the boost is a great, long, narrow stretch of railless pushing space. Just watch yourself. Be careful not to overjump in the jumping area. Press up on the stick to point yourself down so you don't miss the next jump. Fire Field: Try to clear the zig-zag area with the jump, and boost in the air if possible. Don't miss the booster, stay out of the rough, and be sure to straighten yourself out after the ramp near the end. Silence 2: After you hit the first boost, move away from the wall. Do the same with the second. Since everyone else is near the wall, they will all hit each other, and you may see a great spin opportunity on one of your great rivals. Avoid the rough, and use Z and R to make deep turns when necessary. On the railless corkscrew, a well placed spin could knock out some rivals, but don't forget your own safety. Sector Beta: You may need to enter the rough to avoid the pack, but don't miss the boost. The landing part after the jump and on the first loop is a great place for rival disposal. Boost on the loop, but be very careful of the railless turn ahead. After the second loop is another railless area, with mines that may throw you off the track. Red Canyon 2: This track is narrow. Always watch out for cars in front of you, and attack when given the chance. Do NOT boost too much in the first area with the walls on the sides, as you could fly right off the track. In fact, due to the narrowness of the track, heavy boosting is not advised, especially with low-body cars. Don't miss either of the boost zones. If you hit a wall while in a boost zone, that's okay. White Land 2: The halfpipe. Very dangerous. A good side attack can knock many off the track, including yourself. Watch the boosts, because you can't recover from rocketing off the edge. If you miss a turn and fly up, brake with C-Down and turn deep. The white, lined area near the end is a great place to boost. Mute City 3: You won't find a turn less than 90° here. After hitting a jump, be prepared to turn deep in the air. On the railless straightaway, get ready for an upcoming railless turn, that could be difficult for you if you boost. With practice, though, you should be able to make it even at a high speed. Rainbow Road: Very much like that of Mario Kart 64, only at about 30x the speed. There are plenty of trackless areas, so be careful. Try to hit all of the energy and none of the mines while boosting like a maniac. If you hit the drop in the beginning on lap 2 or 3 at high speeds, you may fly into the air. Point yourself down and get back on the track. You'll have a nice boost of your already great speed, thrusting you ahead several places. Devil's Forest 3: A very short track, with four railless places for dropping rivals who were close behind you in the last race. Space Plant: If Big Blue's pipe wasn't enough for you, here's an even harder one. The area before the pipe should pose no problem. The pipe itself has no boosters, so try to stay on top, and on the pipe. You can fall off, remember. Be sure to get all of the recharge, and be prepared to jump after it. If your speed is high, you could jump near the beginning of laps two and three, so be prepared to point yourself to land on solid ground. Sand Ocean 2: Don't let this track's bumpy nature throw you off. Stay on the track, hit the boosts, and turn deep when you have to. This isn't one of the more difficult courses. Port Town 2: A recreation of the original F-Zero's Port Town II. This is a real test of all your basic racing skills. Don't miss any recharge area. You *might* need to brake for some turns. Nearly every turn will be deep. Big Hand: Nearly the whole course is railless, so be very, very careful. Don't try to turn on the ice, or you may fall off. Make turns after clearing it. Since this is the last track, staying on won't be easy, so stay alert. _____________ VIII. Closing ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Version history: 1.2: New ASCII art at top. Nice, eh? With that huge X, you can play your own little version of Denryu with the "I" cursor! :) Width corrected for easier Notepad viewing. N64 Gazetta was added to the sites carrying the FAQ (we've all been there, right?). The Overview section was reworked a bit to include graphics, sound, and 64DD info. Added some of what the VS Slots do in the Secrets/Tricks section, but I haven't yet figured them all out. Numerous spelling errors fixed. Added American racer names. Replaced tabs with spaces. 1.1: Added alternate name for G-Zero (Zero Racers), Game Modes section, stage strategies, new general strategies, the vehicle editor rumor, info on getting the third title screen, and the Nicknames section. All nicknames are from me, except for Mr. EAD's Mario, which is common. If you have any, send them in! Nintendojo and N64CC are now added to the sites carrying the FAQ (thanks!). This is now a "FAQ/Guide" due to the larger amount of strategies, as opposed to the old version's straight info. It's now 225% as big as the original! 1.0: First release. That's it for the F-Zero X FAQ. If you have any quesitons, would like something added, want to contribute something (you will of course be noted for doing so), or if you'd like to see FAQs for Blazing Dragons and Dark Savior, e-mail me at megamanx@iname.com. F-Zero X is a trademark of Nintendo. Copyright 1998 Nintendo. This FAQ is copyright 1998 Michael Kelehan. Distribution is permitted (in fact, it's encouraged) as long as this FAQ is unedited and in its entirety. Don't sell it.