The guys at Amusement Vision (later Ryu ga Gotoku Studio) were truly masters of the craft around this time, making two of my favorite games: this and Super Monkey Ball 1. They really knew how to make games that feel great to play on a visceral, physical level - games you can sit down for hours and forget you're even using your hands to control it. You just feel it.

F-Zero GX, on the surface, doesn't appear to do much to distinguish it from X. There aren't any obvious new gimmicks or anything. But AV knew exactly what kind of small, precision changes to make that would make a huge impact. The vehicles control extremely precisely; this is something you should simply experience yourself rather than take my word for it. Track designs are a clear step up from X's, with more memorable, varied layouts. To me, this makes up for the lack of the X Cup and track creator/editor.

The new Story Mode is fun, but I think I prefer the simplicity of a standard Grand Prix. I will say though that you should definitely do all the Master Class GPs before diving into the Story since those are pretty much a tutorial.

And of course, Hidenori Shoji and Daiki Kasho bring a world-class soundtrack which fits the game perfectly. I especially love how the music changes for the final lap.

It's no surprise Nintendo seems hesitant to follow up on this considering Sega's AV team knocked it out of the park.

This game is excellent, one of the best racing games out there.
Well-made tracks, pure adrenaline with a fast pace, disorienting in the right way, interesting cast and customization. Fun and challenging story mode.

F-Zero GX didn't deserve to be forgotten, it should have been re-released.

I'm glad I bought a GameCube and a totally original copy to play it. *blinks

Don't miss the opportunity to play it, don't be a mule, be smart as a Dolphin, buy your totally original game and a GameCube yourself too and go play it. It has a Torrent of good games.

This is the best implementation of mid-00's aesthetic - that mix of gritty, earthy, dark greens/blues/oranges and steel-neon cities out of a frutiger aero background. It whizzes by at 700 MPH, and it feels like it. It goes for pseudo-realism and it still looks good two decades later. How does it do it? The story mode is balls-disgusting hard, but with such quick hooks objectives and ever-teasing, escalating difficulties - you can't get through that door? that one boulder is gonna make you stop playing? - it dangles the carrot so well. Great fuckin soundtrack, and there's more than one person I know who got into electronic or ambient music from this. The characters are so distinctly goofy sci-fi, and they don't need to be there or fleshed out like they are, yet they are! And then there's the astronomically-high skill ceiling that's fun to watch, and fun to just graze every now and then with an absolutely perfect slide or snake before you absolutely eat shit off the track like Icarus. Anyone of any skill level can at least enjoy it.

I've been trying to stick all my five star rated games with some kinda commentary, but what is there to add here? Go play it! It speaks for itself. It's so effortlessly cool, such a tightly built game with grand feel, few flaws, and zero friction between it and its experience - just a raw test of skill, and people still keep pushing its limits year by year.

It's.
So.
F*KING. (yeah, also literally)
HARD.

AND FAST. 10/10

Revisiting a childhood game, and realizing the game has not only aged incredibly well, but it is significantly better than you remember may be one of the best feelings in the world. You always knew the game was great, but experiencing that greatness with a deeper appreciation for what makes it so great is like reaffirming your childhood memories. I thought this was one of the best arcade racing games ever made. And fortunately (and somewhat unfortunately) this still reigns true today. F-Zero GX is the peak of the series, and I think I get why Nintendo and Sega were so afraid to make a proper follow-up to it. It's hard to improve on perfection, without fundamentally changing it. What we were left with was Mario Kart 8.....for 10 years.

Rest in Piece F-Zero/10

Remember when Mario Kart 8, one of the most successful videogames ever made, featured 2 circuits inspired by F-zero and people still considered some of the best racetracks they ever played?

There is a reason for that. F-zero is more than a racing game: it's an absolute masterful ride. It's like the most adrenaline inducing and blood pumping rollercoaster you even jumped on, a game so bombastic in everything it does that it will make you come back over and over again.

If you are new to the series it can result brutal and extremely unforgiving, but the presentation, the addictive gameplay, the hyperactive energy it has in its characters, soundtrack and extremely energetic moments makes you come back.

F-zero GX specifically was the result of an "alliance" between Nintendo, Bandai Namco and SEGA, and you can feel the flavors the third party companies put into the series and this gem, which presents the same enthrilling speed of a Sonic game and the same exagerated but also goofy energy of a Tekken game.

One of the best games from the Gamecube era. Nintendo should sue itself for not porting this masterpiece on modern consoles.