***F-Zero X Guide***
Author: marshmallow (m_mallow@hotmail.com)
Possibly the best Racer in existence, F-Zero X is a game that deserves a
FAQ.
Revisions
Initial Release
Version 1.0
Contents
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1) Introduction
2) Basics
3) Cars
4) Secrets
5) Tips and Tricks
6) Tracks
7) Multiplayer Modes
8) Multiplayer Tips and Tricks
9) Credits
10) Legal Stuff
11) Special Note
12) The End
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1) Introduction
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F-Zero X, as you may or may not know, is the sequel to the SNES game of
the same name (Well, almost, just take away the X). And, again, as you
may or may not know, this game kicks serious rectum. You drive
futuristic cars, specially designed to go in speeds in excess of 1000
KM, while hovering just a few inches off the ground (well, at most
times...). Control is about as tight as you can get, and the AI is
tough. All 29 of them. In 60FPS. Mmmm...And the music, drool...I better
stop now before I wet myself.
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2) Basics
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First, the controls
Analog Stick: Move vehicle.
A Button: Gas
B Button: Boost (after first lap)
Down C: Brake (as if you'll need it)
Right C: Switch between camera angles (default is best IMHO)
Top C (hold): Camera goes in front and you can see behind you
R Button: Tilt weight to the right (great for tight right turns)
Z Button: Tilt weight to the left (great for tight left turns)
R + R OR Z + Z (raidly): Bump attack, reduces shields of oppenents
R + Z + Z OR Z + R + R (hold first and tap 2nd): Spin attack, takes out
people very quickly
Each time you bump into another car or a wall, you will lose a small
portion of your shields. If you're shield is gone and you hit something,
your car will explode and you will lose a life. Lose all of your lives
(amount depends on difficulty) and the game is over. "Duh!" you exclaim.
"Well I have to say it!" I reply...To revive your shields, drive through
pit stops (long stretches of pink).
After the first lap you will gain the ability to use turbos, which will
dramatically increase your speed. You can boost all the time, but each
time you do it takes an itty bitty part of your shield away. Run out of
shield and you can't turbo anymore! Speaking of turbos, the yellow
arrows found on the track will also propell you, except your speed will
be faster (shown by the red flames, instead of green when you boost).
If you defeat a car, either by pushing it off a cliff or reducing it's
shields with attacks, you will gain a star. Get five stars and you get a
free life. Not bad, huh?
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3) Cars
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Each car has different attributes, which I will show below. The grading
system is exactly like in a report card: A is the best, and replacing F,
E is the worst. And this is straight from the game, too...
Body: This is how aerodynamic it is, therefor, the better the grade, the
faster it can go! It is also a measurement of how long it's shields can
wistand being beaten to a bloody pulp.
Boost: Basically, how effective is the boost? And how long it lasts.
Grip: I bet you guessed this one...how good it can stay on the track,
and how it handles turns. You'll want a car with a good grade in this
category.
- - - First Row - - -
#1 - Blue Falcon
Driver: Captain Falcon, a strange man in blue.
Description: A Blue Car with some American Colors
Weight: 1260 Kg
Body: B
Boost: C
Grip: B
Overall: Tied with Wild Goose as best racer in first row
#2 - Golden Fox
Driver: Dr. Stewart, a man in yellow who does indeed look like a
homosexual
Description: A rad yellow car with a lot of rocket engines
Weight: 1420 Kg
Body: D
Boost: A
Grip: D
Overall: Very bad pick.
#3 - Wild Goose
Driver: Pico, an alien who resembles a turtle
Description: A compact green car with small rockets
Weight: 1620 Kg
Body: B
Boost: B
Grip C
Overall: Tied with Blue Falcon as best racer in first row
#4 - Fire Stingray
Driver: Sakuai Goroh, a fat man in shades who scares me to no end
Description: A um...hot pink car...
Weight: 1960 Kg (960 being the driver...)
Body: A
Boost: D
Grip: B
Overall: Not bad!
#5 - White Cat
Driver: Jody Summer, a women with bulging muscles? Ew...
Description: A jet shaped car with cool boost effects
Weight: 1150 Kg
Body: C
Boost: C
Grip: A
Overall: Between excellent and average...above average! ;)
# 6 - Red Gazelle
Driver: Mighty Gazelle, a robot with scary eyes.
Description: A red car with air foils on it
Weight: 1330 Kg
Body: E
Boost: A
Grip: C
Overall: Suck, suck, suck...these are the words you think of when you
hear "Red Gazelle."
Obviously, this section is not complete.
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4) Secrets
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Each time you beat a cup you get a different amount of X's.
Easy = 1 X
Standard = 2 Xs
Expert = 3Xs
Get three X's and you can open up the second row of cars! Get six and
you can open up the third! Get nine and open up the fourth! Get 12 and
you will open up a secret cup called "The X Cup." This cup makes random
tracks. Don't mistake it for taking random tracks from the game, it
CREATES RANDOM tracks! This means almost unlimited replay
value...although most of them suck :) Oh, and if you beat all the tracks
on standard difficulty the secret cup "Jack" will open up.
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5) Tips and Tricks
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Above all else, memorize the tracks! It'll do you good. Practice mode
was made for this (what, you think it was made for...practicing? What
kind of pervert are you, anyways?)
Remember that your car acts just like a rocket.
When flying through the air, your vehicle controls much like an
airplane. Up is down, down is up. When going up (down on the control
stick) your craft will go slow, but catch more air and go a greater
distance. When traveling down (control stick forward) you will go fast
but stay in the air for a short amount of time. Try not to fall off the
level during this time :)
When going through pipes, be sure to come out rightsides up. If not,
there's a chance you could flip and fall off the course.
When going into 90 degree turns (aka hell), try letting off of the gas a
tad. You should not have to break, but if have to, then go on ahead.
If you start spinning out of control, let go of the gas a little, it
won't fix your problem completely, but it won't be as bad.
Try spinning (Hold Z and tap R twice or vice versa) into a group of
cars, you should be able to take out a lot of cars (which would get you
1-ups). Especially useful in tight, narrow roads.
On thin paths with no barriers, use the side attack (Tap Z or R) to
knock people off. Be careful! If you miss, you might go down...
If you can drive, go to the nearest highway at rush hour and practice
weeving in and out of a lot of cars at high speeds.
If someone is doing a little better than you in the scores, try to take
him out! He will usually be marked with "Rival"
Boosting in a pit zone will not cost you any shields, and when you come
out your shield will be at 100%, so it doesn't take an Einstein to
figure out that you should...
Do not hit someone in the rear when going 900+ KPH! They will get a
little speed boost, and you'll lose some of your shields...
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6) Tracks
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- - - - - - - Jack Cup - - - - - - -
Mute City:
This level is pretty basic...because it's the first level! Duh! It's
mainly a bunch of straight-a-ways, a few corners, a long pit stop, and
lots 'o boosters. After the pit stop, boost all the way to the exit,
then limit them just to keep your speed up. Repeat, and you should
win...by a hair, but you should win.
Silence:
Whoohoo! You'll be going way over the 1000 mark in this level...The
first section is just a long straight-a-way with tons of boosters, so
you'll want to nab them all. Then there's a tunnel hill, then another
straight-a-way, the pitstop, and the end. Now that I think about it,
this level is just one long, straight line. Neat! After you get past all
29 cars, it shouldn't be too hard. Just the simple matter of not falling
behind. Use your boosters all the time, except during the first half
when you can use the normal boosters (the ones on the ground).
Sand Ocean:
The most difficult aspect of this stage is getting past all of those
cars! You'll be flying through two pipes before finding the exit, where
you can go up, down, and all around. if the ground area is too crowded
(and it will be) then go to the wall or ceiling. The second pipe has a
booster at the end, so you may want to stay on ground level...
Devils Forest:
Sure, the design itself is simple, but it gets a little tougher with the
addition of the sand. Yes, half of the track near the middle is sand,
usually around the corners. Driving in sand will dramatically reduce
your speed, so you need to avoid it. You _must_ be able to turn the
tight corners using Z and R to beat this level...
Big Blue:
You'll be flying on a large steel pipe of somekind, except this time
you're on the outside! If you go fast and turn, you'll fly off and land
in the city below. There are several zippers to help you through this
pipe, though. The first one is straight ahead and left, the second one
is straight ahead, the 3rd is to the right, fourth is left, fifth is
right, and that should be it...I *think*. Pah, it doesn't really matter.
After that is a really wicked hairpen corner, but with proper turning (R
and Z), it shouldn't present a problem. Boost if you miss a zipper.
Port Town:
If this isn't a good place to use the spin move, then I don't know what
one is then. This place is CROWDED! The main feature is the large, death
defying jump that you'll need to make. Shouldn't be hard...the only
thing that you need to do to get 1st place is to turn the tight corners
correctly. And watch out for that ice!
- - - - - - - Queen Cup - - - - - - -
Sector A:
A long and mostly straight path will lead to a _very_ narrow area where
cars will be crammed together, which is great for ambushes, before going
down a valley to find some pit stops and a hill. Easy!
Red Canyon:
Nice. Relaxing. Simple. These are not the words you think of when
playing this level. I repeat...NOT the words you think of. You'll go
sailing over cliffs while dozens of cars are scrambling on every side of
you, threatening to push you over. On the fourth jump you'll need to
catch some air (pull back on the stick) to make it across...try firing a
booster, it's neat!
Devil's Forest 2:
Pretty simple course...except for the part where you're going so fast
you bounce and fall off the course...ha! Hit all the zippers & boosters
you can (same things...) to go flying over the level. Just be sure you
know where you're going to land =)
Mute City 2:
And you thought Port Town was cramped...this place is claughstrophobic
(I know I spelled that wrong)!! Cars will be squished together, sparks
will fly, and getting 1st place will be very difficult. You'll need to
time your boosts when there is an opening in the crowd, and you'll also
need to use the ramps to sail over people. Using the Z and R buttons to
get around the sharp corners is a must!
Big Blue 2:
You won't have to practice getting 1st place in this course...oh
no...you'll need to practice staying _on_ the track! Several of the
roads have no sides, so falling off is quite easy. Stay in the center,
and for God's sake, don't try to push anyone off unless you know what
you're doing! A very touchy situation it is...this track also has a lot
of hairpen corners.
White Land:
Similar to Big Blue 2, White Land has the addition of sand on both sides
of the track, leaving only the center safe, and an even skinnier track
with out sides! Whoever designed this track must have loved to witness
people failing...
- - - - - - - King Cup - - - - - - -
Fire Field:
This track takes place inside of a volcano! The main show here is the
giant jump, which can either be a breeze or a pain in the thingie-
attached-to-your-back-that-is-quite-squishy. If you stay in the air, you
die. If you spend too little time in the air, you fall into a
complicated array of turns that will deplete your shields in seconds.
Solution? Don't touch anything! You'll go flying through the air, and
meet your destiny on a far away track. Ahhh...the rest is a breeze.
Silence 2:
This level is so hard...it's hard. Not only is the track the narrowest
yet, but there are no sides (in some places), lots of 50 degree turns,
all complete with so many dirt stretches it makes a small maze. Ah, yes,
and let us not forget the pathetic excuse for a pit stop. Which is very
bad, since your shields will suffer...
Sector B:
Grrrrr...this level is tough! All the roads are limited to the middle
due to the sand stretches along the sides, several roads have no sides,
and the start begins with a loveingly jump over a chasm. Push your stick
down to go careening over a cliff...ah, yes, this is fun, indeed!
Red Canyon 2:
What's with this sudden surge in difficulty?...Red Canyon 2 empahsizes
roads so small that one car can barely sueeze through at a time, and no
sides, and a meager pit stop, which will leave you thirsty for more, but
then you die because of your @#$%*! shields running out. Fun for the
entire family.
White Land 2:
Getting through is quite easy, but getting 1st place is another thing
entirely. The entire stage is made up of a half-pipe, with no sides, so
falling out is easy. Getting past oppenents is hard, since you don't
want to risk death. But you have to if you want the gold...Well, at
least you get a large pit stop! :)
Mute City 3:
Is it me, or is Nintendo just mean? This level is VERY, VERY hard, as
there are ramps that will leave you sputtering, falling into the city,
and holes in the wall that will make you die. And then there's the
corners...don't even get me started on those. Let me just say this: 90
degrees. (*cringes*)
- - - - - - - Joker Cup - - - - - - -
Coming Soon
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7) Credits
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Nintendo: They made this excellent racer
Me: Um..I wrote it, dum dum!
That was unusually short. Oh, well...
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8) Legal Stuff
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This guide can not be copied without permission of the author. It can
not be used as a means of profit. Basically, just don't put your name
where mine should be (i.e. stealing).
Copyright (C) 1998 marshmallow
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9) Special Note
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Mr. Miyamoto worked on this title for years and years, I'd just like to
give a special thanks to him and the EAD team who helped him make it.
Good job, Nintendo!
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10) The End
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Plans, plans, plans...I'm so busy, I don't know what to do! Between
making guides and um...playing games, I don't know how I'm doing it all!
:) If you have any questions, errors to report, typos, etc., E-mail me
at m_mallow@hotmail.com.
-marshmallow-
