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.