F-Zero X

About F-Zero X

F-Zero X (1998) is Nintendo's first 3D F-Zero, a Nintendo 64 racer that keeps 30 hovercars on screen at 60 frames per second by stripping back its graphics.

F-Zero X in Depth

Thirty plasma-powered hovercars race on high-altitude circuits full of hills, loops, tunnels, corkscrews and pipes. There are 26 new vehicles plus the four from the original F-Zero, each graded A to E for grip, boost and durability, and before a race the player sets a balance between acceleration and top speed. Drifting holds momentum through corners. A single energy meter serves as both health and boost: it drains when the machine hits rivals or walls and when the player boosts, usually from the second lap, and refills on recharge strips. For the first time racers can attack each other with side and spin attacks, and every five opponents eliminated earns a spare machine.

The Grand Prix runs three-lap races across the Jack, Queen and King cups, six tracks each, on four difficulty levels, with the Joker Cup and the X Cup to unlock. The X Cup generates six random tracks on every playthrough. Death Race sets the player loose on a special course to wipe out the other 29 racers as fast as possible, Time Attack adds ghost racers, and up to four players can race in VS Battle, where eliminated players can drain the leaders' energy on a slot machine.

Making F-Zero X

Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned a Nintendo 64 F-Zero sequel in mid-1996 while Mario Kart 64 was in development. Nintendo EAD built it with several key Wave Race 64 programmers, including the lead programmer; Tadashi Sugiyama directed, Miyamoto produced, and Taro Bando and Hajime Wakai composed a soundtrack that remixes the original's tunes. Holding 60 frames per second meant cutting background, texture and vehicle detail, with the bulky tracks blocking most of the scenery and fog hiding the horizon. It was first playable at Nintendo Space World in November 1997.

It came out in Japan on 14 July 1998, and in North America on 27 October after a delay under Nintendo's policy of spacing out first-party releases. Critics praised its speed, track design and frame rate but criticised its sparse visuals; it averaged 85 on Metacritic and was EGM's Game of the Month for November 1998. It sold 383,642 copies in North America and 97,684 in Japan.